Reader Poll, ALCS Edition

But I hate the Yankees that much more.

It’s actually a holy relic, little piece of windshield glass in there.

But I don’t mind the Yankees winning because they’re the best team. In years like 2000, they really pissed me off. But if they deserve to win, I can root against it, but I can’t be angry when it happens.
The Angels, on the other hand, piss me off immensely at all times.
Go (gulp) Yankees.

It is a given that I dislike both teams, but my thought is that an Angels win further legitimizes our division. Losing the division to the eventual World Series Champions is somehow more palatable than losing to a team that is swept in the first round.

…Steinbrenner tears are so delicious.

Of the 3 douchebags, it goes, in order of personal favorite:

1. Yankees
2. Angels
3. Red Sox

I dont like any of them, but the Angels are more annoying than anyone in baseball, in terms of playing style. So I put them in back. But the Red Sox do everything the Yankees do and yet theyre portrayed as good guys while the Yankees are considered villains. Its a double standard that I cant stand. That double standard is more annoying than the Angels’ playing style, thus the Red Sox fall in last.

I look at the Yanks and Red Sox as I do Duke and North Carolina in basketball. I dont like either team, but since there is a double standard with Duke and UNC, I like Duke more.

Plus Ken Hamlin almost died a few years ago and ESPN didn’t have it on the front page, yet there were two articles on the a Red Sox bench player getting put on the 15 day DL.

It softened as a result of a trip to Yankee Stadium last year. They played the M’s, actually. It was the game when Putz blew a 6 out save, if I recall correctly. Anyway, I was in the infamous section 39, where all the die hard season ticket holders sit and I’ve never enjoyed a game more in my life. They were very knowledgeable and all around likable people.

If anyone goes to the stadium, I recommend sitting in that section (I believe everyone is still in about the same spot, obviously in a new building).

Meanwhile, I live in LA and my hatred of OC sports increases every day.

I still don’t like the yanks, but they are ahead of Boston and Anaheim now.

Because they beat us in 2001, when we were the best team and deserved to win it.
Other playoff losses make me hate the team that beat us, but none as much as that ever will, because we actually deserved to go all the way that year.

Many others hateteams for winning or spending a lot of money, I hate teams purely for them beating the Mariners in key situations. (I also like teams that lose to us at important times. For example, I liked the Angels more after they blew their lead and lost to us in 95)

Obnoxious and entitled fans and franchise, brand new 1.3B dollar palatial stadium financed mainly through skeezy tax-exempt bonds, they’re in the playoffs nearly every year thanks to an awesome revenue stream and competitive advantage, Cap’n Jetes, Teixeira is an MVP front-runner because he plays for them and not some other place not near major media centers, every great player is rumored to go there, many of them actually do end up going there, they ruined the 2001 season (!), I’ve hated them since I was a child.

I don’t like the Angels because they have been arbitrarily made our rivals in the silly contrived ‘division’ structure that pervades sports and they have Torii Hunter and the Rally Monkey/Thunderstix thing is fucking stupid but Jesus Christ I hate the fucking Yankees.

I chose the Yankees because I can’t stand all the fair weather fans that have no connection to New York but wear their Yankees gear to Safeco. Also, when A-Rod left I cursed his soul to forever wander MLB without ever winning a World Series ring, thus I cannot ever wish for the Yankees to win unless it somehow benefits the Mariners. Is my hate for A-Rod irrational and my curse stupid? Probably yeah, but I don’t really care.

Order of Hate:
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Angels
4. White Sox

Red Sox fans bring obnoxious to a whole new level and as long as Hawk Harrelson is broadcasting I will wish for misfortune on the White Sox.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate both teams. My only reasoning in the vote was who I figured had a better shot of winning the world series. I understand it’s obviously a small sample size, but I still figure the Yanks have a better chance of taking the series, ergo I want them to lose.

Figure since you guys are calling out the lurker fans, I’ll add my input on the subject.

I have never been a big fan of hating on teams solely because they are in our division. Yes, I hate them if they are preventing us from having a chance at getting to the playoffs, but once the playoffs have started, they really aren’t doing us any harm.

Yes you see occasional Angels fans around, but not NEARLY as much as you see Yankees or Red Sox fans about. In SoCal I am sure that there are plenty of fair weather fans, but unfortunately that is the way that ALL franchises are. Look at how many people started showing up for the Tigers when they started playing well. Same thing with the White Sox in 05. That’s just the way that local area fanbases are. However, the Yankees and Red Sox have the furthest stretching group of bandwagoners, and that makes me angry. I don’t mind fair weather fans, I hate hate HATE bandwagon fans.

The other thing that makes me super frustrated is the amount of money that each of the respective teams spend. I used to not mind the Red Sox so much until they started using the Yankees method of buying players that they wanted because they know no one else has the same cap as they do. The whole thing with JD Drew really pushed me over the edge, I still think that Drew left knowing that the Red Sox were already going to offer him a ridiculous contract that the Dodgers had no chance of matching. Same thing with the posting with Dice-k. This is also the same reason why i hate the Yankees even though they haven’t won recently is because of the outright purchasing of Tex, Sabathia, Burnett, ect. Obviously the A’s haven’t ever bought people to come in and play for them, and i just feel that the Angels’ free agent signings have been less ridiculous, like signing Vlad, Torii and Abreu.

(also, my grandparents are hardcore A’s fans so i will almost always root for the A’s in the playoffs as long as the Mariner’s aren’t in)

An all LA Series would be kinda cool. Don’t hate on me.

Plus, how can sentient creatures not hate the Yankees?

He left for the most money. If you had the choice between two fairly equal jobs and one paid you much, much more, you’d heavily consider the higher paying job too.

Is it likely that he’s a self-absorbed douche who cares too much about what people think about him? Yes.

But I don’t mind him.

Even then, I hope the Angels beat the living hell out of Jeter and his “Yankee hit record.”

I’ve considered baseball done since the Twins lost. I will happily not turn on the TV from here on out. No matter what, everyone loses, and my TV wouldn’t last an Angels/Yankees series without the remote protruding from the screen anyways.

For what it’s worth, I did the same thing with the Stanley Cup last year. Penguins or Red Wings? Who cares, it’s a travesty either way.

I think it will be another year before the Angels pass the Yankees for my second-most-hated team (I’m not even going to bring up the Red Sox; I’m having too good a day to ruin it with all that anger). I still have lingering sympathies for the California Angels—most of my extended family is from Southern California and the first MLB game I went to was BAL@CAL (Orioles won 4-2). When I was young I didn’t really know about “divisions” so the Mariners were my favorite team, the White Sox, for absolutely no reason, were my second favorite team, and the Angels were my third favorite.
Of course I’ve always hated the Yankees, but they are not as detestable as they once were (perhaps this is only in comparison to the Red Sox), and the Angels get more hated by me every year, so I’m sure after a few more Angels-Mariners games they’ll surpass NYY. For now it’s:
1) Red Sox
2) Yankees
3) Angels
4) Indians

Also, when my team is unaffected by a game’s outcome, I root for the team in my team’s division. So I root for the Angels so people will respect the AL West more, so people will respect the Mariners more. And I rooted for USC over Ohio State so that when Oregon beats them, it will be more impressive. That doesn’t mean I don’t hate USC and the Angels, it just means I love the Mariners and the Ducks.

And for the record, I want every game of the AL playoffs to be a 0-0 tie, with the ALCS winner ultimately determined by a coin toss, and I am rooting for the National League.

I will never be mistaken for a Yankee or Met fan in a million years, but I love New York City. Meanwhile, my brother, who lives in Orange County, has his dream job, gets to travel all over the world, and makes a good living. But if he had the chance tomorrow, he would pack up and leave because he hates Orange County so much. The people, the prices, the attitude, everything. So yes, my choice entirely comes down to geographical preference.

You know there’s something wrong with your area when your baseball team tries to change its name to not identify itself with you.

Also, go Dodgers.

A’s, yes, Rangers GOD yes, but I’ve never had a problem with the Angels. Maybe because we’ve never been competitive with them :( And as for the Yankees, please – I’d even prefer the Red Sox to the Yankees if I had to. For me, it’s Yankees-Rangers-Red Sox in terms of most hated teams (in the AL, anyway). Were the A’s more relevant, they’d be in there, too.

Really, I want whoever has the best chance of losing in the World Series to win.