N L C S

Not much to say here, sitting expectantly on the edge of the eye of the storm. I guess there hasn’t been too much of a media blitz over the series, but that’s to be expected, because didn’t you know, this is the Real Actual Series for Third Place? It’s true. The AL is so much more talented than the NL, that even though the winner of the RASTP technically gets to play for the championship, they’re really just the league’s third-best, maybe even fifth-best team. But enough with these truisms, let’s talk about the NLCS, but only because I’m being forced to.

For once, the Rockies are favorites to win. This is a really scary prospect. The Rockies have not once played with any kind of favoritism in, oh, probably the last 12 years. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks, like the Rockies, have thrived living in the shadows all season. Do I dare say that the Rockies being named favorites, actually favors the Diamondbacks? Will the fact that the Rockies are expected (underlined, italicized and bolded for added “holy shit!” value) to win put some kind of new pressure on these guys that they’ll be unable to cope with? Will I actually answer these rhetorical questions?

Yes. There are two ways to look at it. On the one hand, you could say this is just another form of adversity, and the team has done well in the face of it all season, and by the way they won 17 out of 18 and are the hottest thing next to the sun or haven’t you heard? On the other hand, the Rockies are favored to go to the World Series. This is so bizarre and wrong and “I think I see the Four Horsemen coming (shut up, Snake Pitters)” that the Rox might want to cancel batting practice in favor of a meditation session to get all the energy flowing like it was during the NLDS. If only we were Buddha’s team instead of Jesus’.

Maybe the Rockies can salvage some of their retreating underdogness by reading some of the ludicrous stuff being written about this series. They’re still only favored to lose the World Series to the dominant and much better force that comes out of the AL. In fact, if the media could convince the MLB, the Rockies and Diamondbacks would be declared co-losers of the NLCS. Unfortunately, they had to name someone as the favorite, and for once, it’s us. For once, let’s hope they’re right.