The Red Sox are not in the playoffs this year Neither are the Braves. Both were victims of a late-September collapse that knocked them out of the playoff picture after being in contention for a majority of the season. But they're not alone to share the pain.
Surprisingly, however, the two teams favored to face off in the World Series were also buried early. The Yankees and the Phillies, teams with the home field throughout the league postseason, uncharacteristically flustered in the endgame by unlikely participants. Who would've thought the Tigers would survive a rain-interrupted Game 1 to eventually win Games 2, 3 and 5 on the strength of its pitching staff, or the Cardinals winning close in Games 2, 4 and 5 thanks to its bullpen and defense? Home field alone (or home court for indoor sports such as basketball) doesn't translate to automatic wins. You need to have the grit, the desire and the determination to win it all.
Ask the Bruins and their infamous 3-0 collapse in 2010 that drove them to win the Stanley Cup last June. Ask the Spurs who recently coughed up their top-seeded advantage against the Grizzlies in the NBA Playoffs. Ask the 17-0 Patriots and their Super Bowl collapse against the Giants in the 2007 NFL season. The favored have the hefty expectations, but were unable to translate them into playoff (or championship) victories. In the end, the underdogs sometimes win. The playoffs in every sport always look at the unexpected. Any big mistake will be doom to many.
So now the League Championship Series will look like this: in the AL, it's the redemption-seeking Rangers vs. the surprising Tigers; in the NL, it's the formidable Brewers vs. the unexpected Cardinals. Let me pin on something: I'm cheering that both the Rangers and Brewers win so that someone will earn their first World Series title if they meet. This is something I'm looking forward to. Good luck.
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