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A Nationals fan’s rooting guide to the MLB postseason

Noah Frank | nfrank@wtop.com

October 6, 2015, 2:00 AM

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The Nationals may not be in the playoffs, but there is plenty of good baseball to be played, and teams worthy of your fandom in October. (AP Photos)
WASHINGTON — Any season that ends without your team reaching the playoffs can leave you feeling conflicted about how much energy to invest in the postseason. Should you ride the bandwagon of any of the remaining teams? Should you even watch or just move on to football (and basketball/hockey in a few weeks)? If you’re a Nationals fan who came into 2015 with high hopes and expectations, a Washington-free 2015 postseason may make you ambivalent. But if you’ve been paying attention, you know that this year’s playoff field promises plenty of excitement. In that spirit, we’ve ranked the 10 teams contending for the World Series in the order in which we believe it makes sense to cheer for, from most compelling to most repulsive. Flip through the teams and let us know what you think in the comments below. (AP Photos)
AP Photos
1. Pittsburgh Pirates Eliminated The Pirates were undoubtedly a better story when they first broke their postseason drought last year, but the cast of characters is back and just put together the second best season in baseball, only to be rewarded with a win-or-go-home elimination game. Led by the eminently likable Andrew McCutchen, the Buccos have loud, hungry fans and are led by an exciting young ace at the top of the rotation in Gerrit Cole. The toughest part of the 2015 postseason is knowing that either the Cubs or the Pirates will be done after Wednesday night. (AP Photos)
2. Houston Astros Eliminated No team was a bigger surprise this year than the Astros. Just two years removed from three straight seasons of 106 or more losses, the ‘Stros improved by 45 (!) wins over the past two seasons and nearly won the American League West. They also executed a complete rebuild thanks to those losing seasons, reconstructing their entire organization through the draft. Sound familiar, Nats fans? They’ve needed to overcome incredible odds, like in the game above, just to make it in at all. (AP Photos)
3. Chicago Cubs From WTOP Program Director Mike McMearty, who had the Cubbies atop his list: “C’mon! This is a no-brainer. Over 100 years without a World Series title? Kris Bryant and Bryce Harper played Little League together. Jake Arrieta. Steve Goodman. Steve Bartman. The Curse of the Billy Goat. The Billy Goat Tavern. Second City. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  Rooftop seats. Waveland Avenue. Cubby Bear. Wrigleyville. The Bleacher Bums. Ernie Banks. Harry Carey. Ivy.” (Editor’s Note: And “Back to the Future II”!) (AP Photos)
4. Toronto Blue Jays It’s weird to think of them as the front-runner, but this team is a juggernaut. They won 93 games despite going an American League worst 15-28 in one-run games. They went 40-18 after the trade deadline, when they acquired possible Cy Young winner David Price and the best shortstop in baseball, Troy Tulowitzki, who looks to be back in time for the playoffs. Oh, and they added Marcus Stroman for the stretch run, the talented young hurler who was slated to be the top starter in the rotation before tearing his ACL in Spring Training. They’re fun, they’re rowdy and they’re led by the craziest, off-the-chain MVP in Josh Donaldson, who is just one of three middle-of-the-order bats to crank 40+ home runs this year. The Jays are going to be immensely fun to watch. (AP Photos)
5. Kansas City Royals The Royals’ miracle run came up 90 feet shy last season as they lost by one run in the seventh game of the World Series after sneaking in as a Wild Card team. This year, they’ve been a front-runner the whole season, taking a little bit of the shine off. Trades for Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist should have fortified them as the best team in the American League, but they limped to the finish line a bit in a weak division, going just 11-17 in September before winning their final four regular season games. Lorenzo Cain has had a sneaky good, top-five MVP caliber season, but the Royals are just another team this year. (AP Photos)
6. Los Angeles Dodgers With the biggest payroll in the game, it’s hard to find much sympathy for the Dodgers. But they’ve got two of the best three pitchers in the game in the same rotation. If, as a Nats fan, you’re all about transcendently great starting pitching, this is your team. However, Philly retreads Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins may take a little bit of the wind out of your rooting sails. (AP Photos)
7. Texas Rangers Eliminated The best thing about this team is the ongoing, big brother/little brother feud between third baseman Adrian Beltre and shortstop Elvis Andrus. But they also traded for Cole Hamels, or as he’s known around these parts, “the original Jonathan Papelbon.” They’ve made an impressive run to win the division. Good for them. (AP Photos)
8. New York Mets No, the Mets are not last on this list. Let’s not pretend like there is anywhere near the animosity toward the boys from Flushing like there is the Phillies or the Braves. The fan base can be obnoxious, but it’s clearly only the third-most obnoxious of opposing crowds in the NL East alone. Besides, while Yoenis Cespedes may have single-handedly torpedoed the Nationals, he is one of the most likable, exciting players in baseball to watch. And how can you hate Wilmer Flores? That alone lifts the Mets above the bottom of the list.   (AP Photos)
9. New York Yankees Eliminated Hey everyone, A-Rod’s back! And he’s the best player on the team! No, really. He hit 33 home runs and had the highest on-base percentage and slugging percentage of any of the healthy regulars (sorry, Mark Teixeira). This team isn’t a powerhouse, but is as full of bloated veteran contracts as any Yankee team (Carlos Bletran, Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, et al) and just learned that it will be without veteran pitcher CC Sabathia for the postseason after he checked himself into rehab on Monday. They might not be as hateable as some past Yankee teams, but they aren’t particularly likable in any way either. And they’re still the Yankees. (AP Photos)
This image made by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 4526. One of the brightest lenticular galaxies known, it has hosted two known supernova explosions, one in 1969 and another in 1994, and is known to have a supermassive black hole at its center with a mass of 450 million Suns. NGC 4526 is part of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. A version of this image was entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Judy Schmidt during an initiative to invite astronomy enthusiasts to search the Hubble archive for notable images that have never been seen by the general public. The Hubble Space Telescope marks its 25th anniversary. A full decade in the making, Hubble rocketed into orbit on April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle Discovery. (ESA/Hubble & NASA via AP)
10. A supermassive black hole Coming in right behind the Yankees but ahead of the final team on our list is rooting for a supermassive black hole — an inescapable gravitational field that sucks every fragment of the universe as we know it into its dark expanse. It would mean the end of life on Earth. But it would still be better than the … (ESA/Hubble & NASA via AP)
ESA/Hubble & NASA via AP
11. St. Louis Cardinals Eliminated The Best Fans in Baseball™. Joe Strauss. Pete F. Kozma. We needn’t say more. Seriously, anyone but St. Louis. (ESA/Hubble & NASA via AP)
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The Nationals may not be in the playoffs, but there is plenty of good baseball to be played, and teams worthy of your fandom in October. (AP Photos)
This image made by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 4526. One of the brightest lenticular galaxies known, it has hosted two known supernova explosions, one in 1969 and another in 1994, and is known to have a supermassive black hole at its center with a mass of 450 million Suns. NGC 4526 is part of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. A version of this image was entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Judy Schmidt during an initiative to invite astronomy enthusiasts to search the Hubble archive for notable images that have never been seen by the general public. The Hubble Space Telescope marks its 25th anniversary. A full decade in the making, Hubble rocketed into orbit on April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle Discovery. (ESA/Hubble & NASA via AP)

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