Choosing Sides

I watch baseball until the end of the season, every season. The winter is long, and I need the last days of summer to linger as deep into the chill of October as possible.

This year though, I can't really choose sides.

I'm still angry about the Yankees' loss to the Rangers in the ALCS last year, more upset than I am about this year's ALDS Game 5.

So I can't root for the Rangers.

And on the NL side, I'm faced again by Tony LaRussa's Cardinals. I don't mind LaRussa as a manager; he's not a genius, but he's good, and he assembles a coaching staff that seems to get the most out of their players. But I also think LaRussa was one of the Steroid Era's great enablers (maybe he's no different than every other manager who chose to turn a blind eye, but as manager of '80s A's, he was in a unique position to call out guys like Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire; he abdicated that opportunity).

So I can't root for the Cardinals.

The Rangers have great players like Michael Young, whose work ethic and dedication to the team, I admire.

The Cardinals have great players like Albert Pujols, whose talent and perseverance through pain, I admire.

I have to choose sides. Who should I root for?