# Help me pick an AL team to follow this year **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 23, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744 "2011-03-23T18:01:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/21 "2011-03-24T13:52:03Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > So, teams that I think have a legit shot at winning their division: > > Red Sox - out per OP’s rules (although I think he should reconsider) > Yankees - out per OP’s rules > White Sox > **Twins** > Angels - out per OP’s rules > Rangers > > I have no love for Ozzie Guillen and can’t root for a team stuck in a dome, so I guess I’d have to recommend the Rangers. Should be interesting to see how they fare without Cliff Lee in the rotation. I think they can still win the AL West. The Twins aren’t in the Dome anymore. The new Target Field is open-air. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/22 "2011-03-24T13:57:26Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Red Sox - out per OP’s rules (although I think he should reconsider) You are the second person to say this. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/23 "2011-03-24T14:06:02Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > So far I think they [the Blue Jays] may be the front runner. The AL Central does seem fun, and the Tigers and White Sox also seem interesting. Psst…Toronto is in the AL East. > [@](#): > > In the end I will probably pick whichever of those teams has the best writers covering the team, so I may well end up a royals fan. Woohoo! Also, if you do pick the Royals, check out [Rany Jazayerli](http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/). He’s a Chicago blogger who used to write for Baseball Prospectus, and he’s a big Royals fan. He’s a doctor by trade, but you could have fooled me - he writes like Poz. > [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > The following AL teams will be uninteresting by the end of May: > > Royals False. The Royals will actually be uninteresting from a competition standpoint starting last month (decade?). But from a development standpoint, they will become increasingly more interesting over the entire course of the season. Winning=/=interesting. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/24 "2011-03-24T14:15:02Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Psst…Toronto is in the AL East. :smack: You know I knew that. > [@](#): > > Woohoo! Also, if you do pick the Royals, check out [Rany Jazayerli](http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/). He’s a Chicago blogger who used to write for Baseball Prospectus, and he’s a big Royals fan. He’s a doctor by trade, but you could have fooled me - he writes like Poz. > [@](#): > > False. The Royals will actually be uninteresting from a competition standpoint starting last month (decade?). But from a development standpoint, they will become increasingly more interesting over the entire course of the season. Winning=/=interesting. That’s another thing that makes me intrigued by the Royals. I keep reading about how otherworldly great their farm system is. It would be neat to watch that from the start of their big league call ups. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/25 "2011-03-24T14:23:49Z")
Follow the Padres. I know, as a Dodger fan you’d rather eat kimshi on a road apple than look at a Padre game, and they are NL, but they are rebuilding again this year and not a lot is expected. Or, if your dead set on the AL, try the White Socks. I’ve always liked them. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/26 "2011-03-24T14:24:20Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > She tried to warn me off of them because of the…uh…tough times they’re going through right now. _Right now?_ Who’s your fiancee, Betty White? 😛 The sun came out for a couple of years in the mid '90s, but we are as flies to wanton boys. It’s been three generations since we won the Series. > [@Asimovian](#): > > If you like rooting for the underdog, I think you’ve found your team. Welcome to the Tribe. It’s a lifetime commitment, too. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/27 "2011-03-24T14:32:21Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Follow the Padres. I know, as a Dodger fan you’d rather eat kimshi on a road apple than look at a Padre game, and they are NL, but they are rebuilding again this year and not a lot is expected. > Or, if your dead set on the AL, try the White Socks. I’ve always liked them. I’ll be following the Padres plenty throughout the season already. Stupid Padres. You might have just gone ahead and suggested the Giants. 😛 I think the NL west is going to be really interesting this year. The whole division has huge holes. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/28 "2011-03-24T14:42:58Z")
Rooting for the Royals will save you money, if you already have blue and white clothing! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/29 "2011-03-24T15:05:14Z")
I told Asimovian the same thing I would tell anyone who even remotely considers rooting for the Tribe: They will slowly crush the life out of you. They are my team through an accident of birth, and I have an inherited love of underdogs, but no. Don’t be an Indians fan. YOU’LL REGRET IT! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/30 "2011-03-24T15:27:36Z")
**The Detroit Tigers, because:** The division race is generally considered to be very tight; expect it to come down to the last weekend of the season. They last won the World Series 27 years ago, but they did make it there in ’06. This team compares favorably to the ’06 squad. They have an old-school manager (Jim Leyland) who puts on his old-school cleats when he arrives at the park and doesn’t take them off until he leaves. He is a chain-smoker who, since smoking was banned at big league parks, still sneaks a few puffs on the clubhouse ramp between innings. He’s also a great guy. They have an outstanding trio of starters, all of whom are expected to excel (Verlander, Porcello, and Scherzer). They have a wonderful owner (Mike Ilitch) and a great president/GM (Dave Dombrowski). Al Kaline – a baseball hero if ever there was one – is still very active and visible with the club. Both Leyland and Dombrowski are in the final year of their contracts; both want to stay. The drive to win now is intense. The have the Old English D. Reason enough. \*\*And, perhaps most importantly: More than any other MLB city, Detroit needs a break. If the Tigers win the series, there will be dancing in the streets like never before.\*\* mmm ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/31 "2011-03-24T15:44:50Z")
George Brett (the man who left Game 2 of the 1980 World Series because of hemorrhoid pain\*) [shit his pants.](http://www.theunticket.com/george-brett-shits-himself-story/) \*His comment the next day after having surgery: “My problems are all behind me.” ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/32 "2011-03-24T15:52:01Z")
My guidelines for choosing a secondary team would be: 1. Nobody you might play in the WS. Even if you don’t think the Dodgers have a snowball’s chance this year, there’s no reason to take a chance. 2. Time zone considerations. If you’re West Coast you might want to avoid East Coast teams unless your schedule lets you catch the games. 3. Youth. This might just be my personal preference, but it’s much more fun to watch young players than veterans when it’s a team you’re not deeply invested in. The promise of the prospect is powerful in baseball. 4. Quality of beat writers and supporting writers. You’re going to be reading about the team a lot, so having people to read that don’t make you want to scream is very important. Especially if you’re more sabermetrically inclined and the local writers are BA and Win lovers. For all those reasons, if I were you, I’d likely go with the suggestion in the first response: KC Royals. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/33 "2011-03-24T17:30:36Z")
> [@KennerTheGreat](#): > > The Twins aren’t in the Dome anymore. The new Target Field is open-air. Wow, how did I forget that? It’s a nice looking stadium on TV. > [@NAF1138](#): > > You are the second person to say this. Why? Well, as I said up in post #3, the Red Sox suffered a LOT of injuries last season and they still stayed competitive throughout. This year, with Crawford and Gonzales added to a lineup that was in dire need of some firepower, the Sox promise to be a player in October. If Beckett and Lackey can actually figure out how to pitch again, they could be near unstoppable. If the Sox don’t win the AL East it would be quite a disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/34 "2011-03-24T17:34:21Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > False. The Royals will actually be uninteresting from a competition standpoint starting last month (decade?). But from a development standpoint, they will become increasingly more interesting over the entire course of the season. Winning=/=interesting. I only knew a few of the Royals youngsters. But still, even if they develop, you know they probably won’t stay. That’s more frustrating than interesting. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/35 "2011-03-24T17:52:39Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > … > If the Sox don’t win the AL East it would be quite a disappointment. I want to keep hearing this, I really do. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/36 "2011-03-24T17:57:28Z")
Another plus for any team in the AL Central: You don’t have to wade through the shitpile that is the constant drone of the Yankees/Red Sox pissing match\*. \*(Three metaphors aren’t too many to mix, are they?) ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/37 "2011-03-24T18:18:44Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > _Right now?_ Who’s your fiancee, Betty White? 😛 The sun came out for a couple of years in the mid '90s, but we are as flies to wanton boys. It’s been three generations since we won the Series. I know it’s been a while since a Series victory, but the Indians have definitely experienced success in more recent times than that (including taking the ALCS to Game 7 just four years ago). It’s been more than two decades since the Dodgers have won the Series, but I can tell you that I considered '08 and '09 (losing to the Phillies both years in the NLCS) to have been fun and successful years for the team, especially when compared to the MANY years prior to that where we’d missed the playoffs altogether or been swept in the first round. Besides, I have a bet going with **jsgoddess** that the Indians will finish at .500 or better this season, and I intend to win that bet. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/38 "2011-03-24T18:26:18Z")
She bet against _her_ team? What kind of sick…? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/39 "2011-03-24T18:42:06Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > She bet against _her_ team? What kind of sick…? _See also_ comments from **Barkis Is Willin’** and **Sigmagirl** , among others. You can love a team with all your heart and still be realistic about them. I mean, those guys are all wrong, and the Dodgers and Indians will meet in this year’s World Series, but I know they all _think_ they’re being realistic. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744/40 "2011-03-24T18:58:43Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > You can love a team with all your heart and still be realistic about them. Oh, sure. I just don’t know how you can love a team and bet against them, which to me means rooting against them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-al-team-to-follow-this-year/575744.md?page=3)