It's October and The Rays are Playing the Phillies

I live in "the nation." I am a Yankees fan. This is one of the greatest days in my short tenure of transplant sports watching in the land of the sawkkks. Red Sox fans are officially the same as Yankee fans at this point: We deserved to win; we know how to win; we're the Freakin Sawkkks. You have become Yankee fans- learn to live with it.

Starting in 2003 3 types of teams emerged in the MLB: The guys who suck, the guys who spend, and the guys who strike.

The guys who suck are obvious: They suck. They make bad moves, they dont spend money, or when they do they spend big dollars they do so on guys who suck like Gil Meche (Go Royals), and they dont effectively develop young talent (which they have because they constantly have good draft picks and high draft picks are becoming seriously more dependable big league stars- see 2008 Tampa Bay Rays). Teams in this category include the Royals; the Rangers; the Orioles; the Giants; the Pirates etc.

The guys who spend are also obvious: They spend, despite the markedly minimal effect that spending may have on the final outcome of their season. Teams in this category include: the Yanks, the Sawkkks, the Mariners, the Angels, the Mets, the Astros etc.

The Guys who Strike are the less obvious players in the league. They aren't quite like the moneyball teams of the early aughts but they build teams for 1 year runs. They dont have a fan base, everyone hates them, and if they fail in that 1 year they are screwed for a decade. For instance: if the rays had missed the playoffs this year noone will ever convince me that team wouldn't have been blown up for a quick buck. Teams in this category are also pretty easy to spot: The Rays, the Marlins, the A's, the Blue Jays, the Brewers, the Rockies, the 94 Montreal Expos.

til next time