Tigers Den Roundtable: Who are you rooting for in the 2018 MLB playoffs?

Last year, we here at Bless You Boys were struggling with how to cope without the Detroit Tigers in the postseason. Sure, it wasn’t exactly a surprise they missed the postseason that year — it was our third October in a row without Tigers baseball — but we got rather used to seeing our team in the playoffs. It was nice.

To get over the disappointment, we picked other teams to follow. Justin Verlander made the Houston Astros an easy team to latch onto, and the unfortunate devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey made them a sentimental favorite around the country. They rewarded our bandwagonship with a World Series title, the first in franchise history — and, more importantly, the first of Verlander’s career.

Since that roundtable prompt was so popular last year, we’re doing it again in 2018! This time, the responses are a little more diverse (and weirdly hostile).

This week’s question: Which team are you rooting for in this year’s postseason?

Cody: Go Astros and go Brewers because f*** everyone else.

Cameron: I’m rooting for the Oakland Athletics. They have flown under the radar all season and have a rock solid roster top to bottom despite the lowest payroll in baseball. That fact is amazing to me, and I really want to see Billy Beane win a ring so we get a sequel to Moneyball.

Ashley: Bah, f*** the Astros. Go A’s.

Rob: Responses that i can print on the site would be wonderful.

Ashley: Bah, the Astros won it last year and I’m pretty tepid on them this season because... reasons. So go A’s.

Cody: Um. Go Astros and go Brewers because... everyone else annoys me in some way.

Zane: I’m rooting for the Colorado Rockies due to my irrational love for their team. Their ballpark and its high run environment, their improbable team which excels at pitching and struggles at the plate, their black and purple color scheme, their mascot, and Charlie Blackmon’s beard just do it for me. Of course, this means Rocktober will end tonight. [Ed.: It didn’t!] If/when they are eliminated, I want to see the lowest payroll in baseball shock the world. Go Athletics.

Kyle: I think the Rockies would be the most fun, but another Astros/Dodgers World Series would not be awful. Really though, anyone but the Indians.

Jeff: I’m rooting for the Braves and A’s because I like seeing new teams winning it each year.

Chris: I like the Braves and the A’s. Atlanta is a fun team with some great young guys like Dansby, Acuña, and Albies, plus I have a mad respect for Freddie Freeman. With Oakland, I just want to see the team that no one expected to even be in the picture at this point make some noise. And it’s not out of the question that they do.

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Rob: I can’t root for the Braves. To not only get busted for all of the things they were doing down in Latin America, but also to luck into Alex Anthopolous as your new general manager? Baseball should have come down a lot harder on them. Teams should also be penalized for not signing a first round pick.

Peter: I’m rooting for the Astros because they, or just Justin Verlander, won my heart last year (okay he had me won since 2006). But I’m also rooting for a Rockies vs. Athletics World Series because that’s just plain fun.

Brandon: I may be too late, but I’m still rolling with the Astros, with Milwaukee as my back-up plan.

Patrick, talking about something else for some reason: The Tigers blew 24 saves, or 40 percent of their save opportunities. Greene blew six, Wilson four, Jimenez four, Coleman three, Stumpf three, and VerHagen and Saupold two apiece. In terms of winning more games, that’s the low hanging fruit.

Patrick, back on track: The Dodgers are my No. 2 team, and my local team, so I root for them. I would love the A’s to beat the Yankees in the Wild Card game. It would also be nice to see a team that has never won like the Brewers or Indians making a run.

Rob: If I had to pick a winner, it will be whoever comes out of the Rockies-Brewers series. Neither team has won a World Series before, and I don’t want any of the remaining American League teams* to win it.

*I’m just assuming the A’s lose on Wednesday. Sorry, Oakland.

Jay: My team is going to be the Brewers. Christian Yelich, Eric Thames, and Lorenzo Cain are tons of fun. Josh Hader and Corey Knebel are absolutely filthy. I can’t help but root for a team that remade themselves so quickly and efficiently from the squad that went 73-89 in 2016. They’re an excellent model for the Tigers during their rebuild and I would like to see them succeed.

Ron: I’m rooting for an Astros-Brewers matchup in the World Series with the Astros taking it all because of Justin Verlander, of course. I really like what the Brewers have done this season and it would be great to see them make a deep postseason run this year.

Kenon: I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know who was playing until I heard it on the radio this morning. My philosophy is simple: anybody but the Yankees. It’s hard not to pull for starved franchises like the Brewers and Rockies.