Oakland A's fan guide to the MLB playoffs

OK, the A's tanked in the second half of the 2008 season. That doesn't mean green-and-gold fans don't have a rooting interest in the playoffs.

I'm a big Oakland A's fan, which is why I spent most of the second half of the baseball season talking about how great Heath Ledger was in the new Batman movie. Now that the playoffs are here, and there aren't any Bay Area teams in the hunt for a World Series title, it's easy to lose interest. But the game is just too sweet to not have some rooting interest in the post-season. So here's an A's fan's guide to the playoffs:

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia: The Milwaukee Brewers snuck in as the wild card team on the last day of the season. There's a couple of reasons for East Bay fans to root fopr the Brew crew. One is catcher Jason Kendall, who was the catcher for the A's until halfway through the 2007 season, when he was traded to the Cubs. He signed with the Brewers in the offseason. Fun fact: when the A's made the playoffs in 2006, Kendall got to play in the postseason for the first time—he had been the player with the longest caeer to never get to the playoffs. Since 2006, Kendall has been in the playoffs three times, with three different teams. The second reason to be an East Bay Brewers fan—and its a big one—is star pitcher CC Sabathia, a Vallejo native who still lives nearby in the off-season. Sabathia has been the very definition of stud since being traded from Cleveland to Milwaukee earlier this season. He was 10-2 with the Brewers, including a complete game win against the Cubs. (Bummer: I just checked the score of game 2, and CC just gave up a grand slam.) On the Phillies side, starting pitcher Joe Blanton was dealt from Oakland to Philly just before the end of July trade deadline. He was pretty miserable with the A's tis year, but finished the season 4-0 with the Phils. When he's on, Blanton can be great....and he's a pretty nice guy.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs: Lots of good stuff in this match-up, which is probably the best first round series of the bunch. The Dodgers Andre Ethier is a breakout star—and his numbers have skyrocketed since the Dodgers acquired Manny Ramirez in the blockbuster trade of the year. Ethier was a top A's prospect who was traded to L.A. for Milton Bradley a few seasons back. And the Cubs game three starter will be Rich Harden, the oft-brilliant, even more oft-injured righthanded fireballer who gave A's fans fits of frustration and occasional joy over the past several seasons. The A's traded Harden and pitcher Chad Gaudin to the Cubbies for four prospects this July.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The defending champion Red Sox picked up former A's centerfielder Mark Kotsay as a late season replacement for some of their injured stars. Kotsay plays hard, smart baseball and could be a key contributor if the Sox wish to repeat. The Angels don't really have any former  A's, but they had the best record in baseball this year and played a lot of very close games against Oakland.

Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays: The White Sox have a couple of former A's on their squad, including sluggers Jermaine Dye and Nick Swisher who were fan favorites in their East Bay years. Its harder for A's fans to cheer for relief pitcher Octavio Dotel, who picked up a fat check while sitting out his last season with the A's with an arm injury. The Rays are the Cinderella story of the season, winning the American League East after finishing last every year since their first in the league. Veteran relief pitcher Chad Bradford and first baseman Carlos Pena are former A's stars who have done well in Tampa.

Posted at 10:26 AM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink