by Stephen Jones
Hey, know-all’s — you once confidently said
The World Series this year is for the birds.
But surprise . . . your Cardinals and Orioles
Have flown south in avian farewell.
You may analyse ’til you are blue,
But that old adage, it still holds true:
Pitching, not hitting, wins in postseason.
The Giants, the Royals have this in legion.
Since the Yanks were not even in post-season, it’s been tricky finding a team to root for: initially, I was pulling for the Dodgers because Don Mattingly is their manager and he really deserved to get into a World Series (missed by one season as a player). Then I was pulling for the Orioles because what the hey: they are an AL East team. Glad to see the Cards knocked off because of the racist fans’ reaction to the demonstration outside of Busch Stadium regarding the police murder in Ferguson, MO. Finally, I settle on rooting for the Giants because there IS one Yankees connection: Dave Righetti, pitching coach and former Yanks lefty who once threw a no-hitter against the Red Sox. Also, I like the notion of pulling for a team which has a Kung Fu Panda at third base.
I don’t have a true rooting interest in either team and that is fine with me. I’ll be able to kick back and simply enjoy the drama as it is played out, regardless of the end result (unless of course someone on one of the teams ticks me off). And I too was glad to see the Cardinal’s knocked off.