San Diego (Peavy 13-7, 2.88) at St. Louis (Carpenter 21-5, 2.83) 1:00 PM
Boston (Clement 13-6, 4.57) at Chicago (Contreras 15-7, 3.61) 4:00 PM
New York (Mussina (13-8, 4.41) at Los Angeles (Colon 21-8, 3.48)

So who do we cheer for?

For some Bauxites, this is easy. Mick, as is well known, shamelessly roots for the Yankees. He actually admits this, in public forums. Go figure. Chat regular PaulS, on the other hand, cheers lustily for the Bombers' ancient rivals, the defending champs from Boston.

These guys know where they stand when it comes to the upcoming playoffs. But what about the rest of us?

You may recall Craig B earlier this year (Pick a Team for Craig) actually looking for suggestions for an NL rooting interest, as his Expos had become la histoire. My shaky and often unreliable memory tells me he settled on.... was it the Pirates? Well, if it was, he needs someone to cheer for in the playoffs, too. Just like the rest of us.

How should we go forward? Well, we find a way. And so I present to you my rooting picks, in reverse order:

8. Boston Red Sox - It turns out that the Red Sox and their fans are just as irritating in victory as they are in defeat. (With the exception of PaulS, of course!) There are very few guys on this team that I can cheer for. There's John Olerud and Mike Timlin, of course, if only in honour of their contributions to Jays championships past. I have a lot of respect and admiration for Tim Wakefield, and I like Manny because I always like... eccentrics? Weirdos? Goofballs? But those guys already have rings, and I have very little use for any of the other guys on the team.

7. New York Yankees - It's been suggested that the prospect of a sleepy and contented Steinbrenner, less hungry, less driven, less motivated is itself sufficient reason to hope the Yankees do well. I don't buy it, not for a second. In the past, winning has usually made Steinbrenner even more determined to do it again. There are too many guys on this team who just give me the creeps: Mike Mussina, Jorge Posada, Kevin Brown, Tanyon Sturtze. Alex Rodriguez is the greatest player in the game, and he leaves me cold. And that bothers me about him. I don't share the Big Hate many Bauxites have for Derek Jeter and Al Leiter, but they both have multiple WS rings already. The only guys I actually like are Mariano Rivera and Hideki Matsui, and Matsui's the only guy who's never won the big prize.

6. Los Angeles Angels - OK, Vlad is completely irresistible. The rest of the team.. not so much. For one thing, they did win it all (without Vlad, of course) just three years ago, and they irritated the hell out of me while they were doing it. I'm tired of K-Rod. I have a lot of respect for Garret Anderson, but he's always bored me. For no remotely sensible reason. On the other hand, they have not one, but two Molinas...

5. Houston Astros - I can certainly understand if you want to see Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell finally play in a World Series. They've both been very great players for a very long time. And this is the only franchise, of the eight remaining, that has never gone to the Fall Classic. However, this would also require that you give your consent to seeing Roger Clemens there yet again. Been there, done that.

4. St. Louis Cardinals - I have no real powerful objection to the Cardinals. Tony LaRussa is a pest, but he's just the manager and I can ignore him if I have to. Every last one of their pitchers bothers me, for some strange reason. However, I can happily cheer for Albert Pujols all day long. For one thing, it's generally a deeply rewarding experience...

3. Chicago White Sox - Oh, what the hell. I give up! I surrender! The White Sox have gone longer without a title than the Red Sox ever did. Granted, they brought this evil fate upon themselves, but hey - the last of the Black Sox died more than thirty years ago. Furthermore, Ozzie might actually be nuts, and he might provide plenty of strange and unusual fun. I know I wouldn't want a miss a second of it. So I won't be too upset.

2. San Diego Padres - They have to be the ultimate underdog, and if they do go all the way, there will be no shortage of outraged commentary about an 82-80 team profaning baseball's whole process in determining a champion. That sort of crap is often richly entertaining. Brian Giles and Jake Peavy are wonderful players and a pleasure to watch, and Khalil Greene is just so cool.... The Padres are penalized because they employ Joe Randa. No particular reason, he just bugs me.

And finally, the team that has my total and unconditional support. Until they get knocked out in the first round, as they so often do. But until then:

1. Atlanta Braves - Why? I have no shortage of reasons. Because they're Liam's NL team. Because Bobby Cox is a genuine legend actually walking amongst us. (We're not still bitter that he left the Blue Jays after the 1985 LCS to go home to Georgia, are we?) Because they went into this season with Danny Kolb as their closer and Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan as their corner outfielders, and it still couldn't stop them - here they are, anyway. Because if you don't like Marcus Giles, you don't like baseball. Because Leo Mazzone did it again, turning Jorge Sosa into a wonderfully effective pitcher. Jorge Sosa? The guy who pitches BP for Carlos Delgado? Yes, Jorge Sosa. Because the saga of Jeff Francoeur, Kelly Johnson, Brian McCann, Kyle Davies and all the other kids is an amazing story - truly one of the most remarkable things to happen in the game this year.

But mostly because Julio Franco must - must - win a World Series ring. If we are ever to see peace in our time. There is absolutely nothing anyone can say to persuade me otherwise. This is my post-season cry:

"JULIO NEEDS A RING!"

Come on, say it with me. You'll feel a better person for it. I promise.