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With the Dodgers opening up the NLCS in St. Louis tonight, the second (third technically) round of the playoffs gets underway tonight. Unfortunately Blue Jays fans haven't had a chance to cheer a hometown team in this round for two decades, but some of us still need a rooting interest to keep watching. There's not too much positive going for any of these teams in terms of relevance to the Blue Jays, but it would still be interesting to see who everybody is backing in this penultimate stage before the World Series. Here's the Blue Jays fans' case for each team.
St. Louis Cardinals
There isn't much reason to cheer for the Cardinals in the NLCS as they have no notable former Blue Jays players and no players with any relevance to Toronto. The only tie to Canada is reliever John Axford who was traded to the team during the season from Milwaukee. I guess if you're into mascots then the Cardinals and Blue Jays both represent the bird population, but that's about it.
Blue Jays fan interest rating: 5/10
Los Angeles Dodgers
The team facing off against St. Louis in the NLCS also has no notable Blue Jays players, but they definitely do have Michael Young and Brian Wilson, which are probably a negative in most people's eyes. They also have a lot of former Red Sox players from the 2012 salary dump including Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. On the plus side they have Yasiel Puig who is one of the most exciting players to watch in baseball along with some great starting pitching. The Dodgers came to Toronto this year during the fourth week of July and proceeded to sweep the Blue Jays by a combined score of 32-17 so that might still be in the mind of some very bitter Toronto fans.
Blue Jays fan interest rating: 4.5/10
Boston Red Sox
HAHA. But don't they have John McDonald and Canadian Ryan Dempster? Doesn't matter.
Blue Jays fan interest rating: 0.01/10
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers will open the ALCS against Boston on Saturday night after escaping in Oakland yesterday. Detroit also has no notable former Blue Jays on their active roster although they do have Octavio Dotel on their 60-day DL. Besides Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, the team seems pretty likeable and maybe some people even like those guys. Justin Verlander no-hit the Blue Jays in 2011, but getting to watch him pitch makes up for the damage he's done to Toronto. The rest of the rotation also seem like a good group of guys including Max Scherzer, who I will always cheer for after this story, and the huge sinker of Doug Fister. Torii Hunter also provided this video, which definitely works in their favour. The proximity of Comerica Park to Toronto helps if any fans want to see some World Series action in the flesh.
Blue Jays fan interest rating: 6/10
There you have it folks, none of these teams really stir up too much emotion in Blue Jays fans' hearts, but I'd go with the Tigers personally if I was choosing a rooting interest for the League Championship Series'. It helps that going to a World Series game would be made possible if the Tigers kicked out the Red Sox. Let us know below who you're cheering for and why after voting in the poll.