Ever since the Braves decided that they would suck again, I’ve often been forced to gravitate to other teams to try and derive some enjoyment out of the game. I haven’t hidden my temporary allegiances to teams like the Royals and the Marlins, and I’ve been capable of finding some horse to root for while the Braves not-so deliberately tanked in order to clear payroll and improve draft positioning.
Prior to the start of the 2017 season, I remember seeing news about former Brave, Brian McCann getting traded to the Houston Astros from the New York Yankees. This was a move that seemed inevitable, due to the rise of now-starting catcher Gary Sanchez, and it wasn’t so much a question of if, but when it was going to happen, and to whom it was going to be to. My initial reactions were that Houston was kind of a non-contender (despite the fact that they had just made the playoffs), but also the irony of McCann being reunited with another former Brave teammate, Evan Gattis, yet another guy that put his job in jeopardy on a previous club.
And then not long afterward, the Astros announced that they had signed Carlos Beltran to a one-year deal. Returning to the team where his career took off, the prodigal son had returned. This is a guy that went off on the Braves and Cardinals in the playoffs in 2004 years before hitting free agency and bounced around the rest of the league making money. However, the elusive championship remained a pipedream for him, as he was on the Giants on an odd-numbered year, and his closest call ended in 2013 ended with defeat in the World Series.
Regardless, I looked at the acquisition of Carlos Beltran as a perfect piece for a team like the Astros who were brimming with young talent, many of whom were Latino, and would probably benefit greatly from an accomplished Latino veteran like him.
Needless to say, I picked the Astros as my World Series favorites prior to start of the season, because I felt like the veteran leadership added with guys like Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann were the components that could really push the Astros over the top, because their pitching was already solid and practically unchanged from the years prior when they were already knocking on the door.
And throughout the season, I often took a sense of satisfaction at seeing the Astros on top of the AL West standings, as well as being the top team in the American League for most of the year, until the Cleveland Indians went on their insane run to surpass them.
But little good their 102 wins did them, because they just got bounced from the playoffs – by the Yankees.
The same Yankees that the mythical gf is a fan of, and with the Astros dispatching of the Boston Red Sox on their side of the ALDS, we’ve reached an ALCS featuring the Astros versus the Yankees.
The Houston Astros I picked to win the whole shebang, versus the New York Yankees.
The Houston Astros that would validate my sports acumen versus the New York Yankees that my girlfriend roots for and really wants me to root for them as well.
Being right versus appeasing the gf.
Seeing as how few relationships I’ve ever had, this hasn’t happened before, but I guess it should be no surprise that if it ever were to happen, of course it would involve a team like the Yankees as the upstart alternative.
Frankly, I don’t have a problem with the Yankees either. I’m not one of those baseball fans that automatically sees the Yankees and either loves or hates them to an extreme level, but I’m also not going to be super hyped to see them win as much as I’m fairly ambivalent whenever they lose. Derek Jeter has always been respectable, I’ve always been a fan of Mike Mussina, and I hold Mariano Rivera to the highest regard as a human being and a baseball player.
But it’s not often where I can make such a bold pre-season prediction, and be this close to it actually coming true. And when it comes down to it, being right about something is always a great feeling, and whether people admit to it or not, what’s better than the feeling of being right about something??
Ultimately, when the day is over, it doesn’t really matter who wins or not. It’s wholly not that important to me, as much as it is a topic for me to write about in the present, but as glad as I would be to see the Astros win the pennant and hopefully the World Series, I really couldn’t care less if the Yankees continue on their Cinderella story and make it to the World Series instead. They’re a far cry from the old Yankees with a $250M payroll, and they’re stocked with young talent that aren’t smarmy veteran douche players all full of themselves, and I’d have no problem seeing them succeed.
But if I’m being honest, I’d rather see the Astros win, because I anointed them the team of destiny, and I’d much rather see my long-term prediction actually come true, because being right about something is awesome.
Better get some ‘house divided’ license plate covers.
