We're only two weeks into baseball season and already several teams have unveiled new alternate uniforms that have an old-school feel to them.

Cleveland Indians



The cap has a "C" on it, the front has block lettering, and the jersey and pants have a cream color rather than pure white. While this exact design was never actually worn by the Indians in past seasons, it has similarities to some of the team's more simple designs of yesteryear.

Toronto Blue Jays



This powder blue thing was actually the team's away uniform from 1979-1988, but it looks pretty darn cool these days in the Rogers Centre. As I have previously opined on this blog, the Blue Jays should go back to this design. It's way better than the boring togs they wear now.

Philadelphia Phillies



This style with no pinstripes, no sleeve numbers, a blue cap, piping on the sides and a cream-#### tint was worn by the Phils from 1946-1949. While the Phillies' regular uniforms are already some of the best in baseball, these look pretty sharp as well.

Kansas City Royals



Like the Indians, this exact design was never worn by the Royals, but their road uniforms were this same powder blue color from 1973-1991 and the jersey said "Royals" in white letters like these from 1983-1991. This modernization of an old design really works.

From what I hear, the Orioles are also planning to don throwbacks later this summer to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1983 World Series Champions. Perhaps they'll be the first team to get the 70's-80's-era throwbacks completely right and have elastic waistbands on the pants.



I love throwback uniforms. They remind us that our favorite sports wouldn't be what they are today if it hadn't been for the teams and players of bygone eras. It's interesting to think that someday teams could be wearing the uniform designs of today as throwbacks. Oh, the memories that will be sparked.

These Playoffs have been interesting so far. They've gotten my mind running, and I guess this would be the best place to let my thoughts run free.

The Cubs have looked like #### so far in the Division Series against the Diamondbacks. Aramis Ramirez has turned into an automatic out, Alfonso Soriano's free swinging has gotten ridiculous, and the hits just don't seem to be falling for them. Those Diamondbacks are a tough bunch. Our only hope now is to win three in a row. Hey, it's possible as long as they start playing better than they have in the first two games.

Kerry Wood holds a distinction not many can claim. He's played in the postseason for three different Cub teams (1998, 2003 and 2007). The last time the Cubs were in the postseason with a player who'd played for them in at least two previous postseasons was the 1945 World Series, when they had Stan Hack and Phil Cavarretta on their roster.

That 12-3 blowout by the Indians in Game 1 of the Divisional Series sure was cool. As someone who's rooting hard for the Indians to win the AL this year I loved it. If I were a Yankee fan though, I'd be feeling pretty confident right about now. Every year this decade the winner of Game 1 in the Yankees' LDS has gone on to lose. I think I speak for all Yankee-haters when I say that I hope this year will be the end of that trend.

I suppose now would be as good a time as any to look at who's got the opportunity for their first World Series ring this year. When I looked at the final four NBA teams this year I noted the LTRP (Longest-Tenured Ringless Player) for each team. The baseball equivalent is the ORP (Oldest Ringless Player). It's pretty simple to figure out. Just look at the 40-man rosters of the Playoff teams and find the oldest player on each one that doesn't have a World Series ring. Then you can look at the complete list and say "this is the year one of these guys finally gets baseball's ultimate reward." For this year's Playoffs the ORP's are:

Angels: Darren Oliver
Cubs: Steve Trachsel
Diamondbacks: Bob Wickman*
Indians: Kenny Lofton
Phillies: Jamie Moyer
Red Sox: Royce Clayton
Rockies: Matt Herges
Yankees: Mike Mussina

*-I'm not sure if Wickman has a ring or not. He played for the 1996 Yankees but was traded to the Brewers down the stretch. Even so, this year is a chance for him to win a World Series while he's still with the organization.

One of these guys is going to get it this year. Be happy for him.

I've been thinking recently. Why do Cub fans get such a bad reputation? Do people honestly think we're all a bunch of superstitious sad sacks who blame our losing on a goat? I can't speak for all Cub fans, but most of the ones I know don't believe in any curse, and some even get annoyed if you bring it up. It seems like the media perpetuates this idea of a curse more than anything. All I can say is that if I honestly thought the Cubs were cursed and had no shot at ever winning a World Series I wouldn't bother rooting for them. Being a Cub fan is a labor of love. It's heartbreaking when your team just can't seem to pull it off, but I wouldn't expend the emotional energy if I absolutely believed that no potential for a reward existed. I think the truth about most of us is that we just want to see our Cubs win and we want to stop being haunted by the year 1908, which some Diamondback fans this year actually made an effort to rub in our face. It's not easy, but we always hold out hope that one day we'll finally win another World Series. If we're frustrated and heartbroken until then, can you really blame us?

One thing you can always count on when watching sports on TV is seeing the same commercials over and over. There are a few that have already started to annoy me. There's that Captain Morgan ad where the guys order a pizza for delivery in order to have a designated driver. The worst part is that they take the pizza at the end and don't even pay the guy. What's up with that? That "this is our country" song has made me hit the mute button several times already, and those Sonic commercials with the guys in the car get old pretty quick. That DHL commercial where Kenny Lofton keeps getting traded is a bit tiresome. That Avis commercial where the guy falls in love with his GPS system while "Total Eclipse of the Heart" plays in the background is just odd. There are probably some others I'm forgetting, but it suffices to say I'm already tired of this batch of commercials.

Hopefully this off day will help the Cubs regroup. Hopefully the Indians will beat the Yankees again in Game 2. Hopefully the Angels will put up a fight against the Red Sox. Hopefully the Phillies can avoid the sweep in their series, since it'd be a shame to lose them so quickly. I need some rest.

Every year when the Playoffs come around I have to decide who I want to win. I've discovered that's it's virtually impossible for me to follow a series and not have any interest at all in who wins. Even when I start out "not caring" I usually end up rooting for someone eventually. Now that the Playoffs are under way I've realized that there are four ways to categorize the teams by how I'd feel about them winning the 2007 World Series.

#1: "I Really Want It To Happen"

The Chicago Cubs are the only team that falls into this category. I would love for this to be "the year" for my Cubs, but we'll have to see if we can beat those pesky Diamondbacks first.

#2: "I'll Be Happy For Them If They Win"

The Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cleveland Indians fall into this category. The Rockies have never won a World Series, and it's been a while for the Phillies and Indians. They all have some underdog appeal, so naturally I like them. If the Cubs get eliminated these are the other teams I can back.

#3: "I Can Live With It If They Win"

The Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Boston Red Sox fall into this category. I'm not actively rooting for any of these teams, but if one of them wins it all it won't be the end of the world to me. It's just that they've each won a World Series this decade, so it would be boring to see one of them win it again.

#4: "I Really Don't Want It To Happen"

They're so evil they get their own category. They're the New York Yankees. With 26 World Series titles to their name they have absolutely no underdog appeal and I have no reason to root for them whatsoever. The Yankees need another World Series title like Cal Ripken Jr. needs a comb.

Speaking of Cal Ripken Jr., I think he's done a pretty good job so far on TBS. I wish I could say the same about Frank Thomas. I'm a huge fan of Frank from his days in Chicago, but his commentating has been awful thus far. Hopefully he'll get better with experience. I'd like to believe the Big Hurt is better than what he's shown us.

Let's get back to the Playoffs though. As I've already discussed in another post, predictions are meaningless. I'm not going to bother saying who I think will win, since I tend to be wrong anytime I do. I'm rooting for a Cubs-Rockies NLCS (though I have no problem if the Phillies make it) and an Angels-Indians ALCS. I don't want to hear anymore Yankees-Red Sox hype. My ideal World Series would be Cubs-Indians. It'd be great to see the two teams that have waited the longest battling it out knowing that the drought is going to end for one of them.

This could easily turn out to be a very disappointing postseason for me. If one of the teams in categories 3 or 4 ends up winning the World Series I'll be upset that I waited all year for that particular result. For now I'm just enjoying the present. Each team still has a chance to win it, so there's no reason for despair yet. Hopefully I'll still be feeling the same way next week.

The American League has widely been considered the stronger of baseball's two leagues for the past few years. Indeed, the AL Playoff races were wrapped up fairly uneventfully, with each team having a decent-sized lead and their clinchings being mere formalities by the time they happened. The most dramatic moment that clinched anything in the AL was the Orioles coming from behind to tie the Yankees and winning on a bases-loaded bunt in extra innings. This brilliantly-executed play assured us that the Yankees would be reduced to Wild Card winners rather than AL East Champs, little more than a small victory for Yankee-haters everywhere. Any of the four teams in the AL Playoffs (Angels, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees) will be favored to win the World Series once we know which one will be playing in it.

The National League is much poorer than its younger counterpart. The NL's best team finished with a 90-72 record (worse than any of the AL Playoff participants) and allowed more runs than it scored during the season. There's so much parity in the NL that no team finished more than 19 games out of first place. While there's no denying that the NL is the weaker of the two leagues, there is one thing it provides more of than the AL: excitement.

That 90-72 team, the NL West Champion Diamondbacks, came out of nowhere to win it. The Padres and Dodgers were most people's picks to win the division before the season began, but the D-Backs stayed above .500 all year and eventually took first place in the last two months. It still isn't quite clear how they did it. On paper they don't appear to be that great a team, but you can't deny their success. Now the question is if they can continue it against the Cubs in the Playoffs.

The Cubs themselves had a pretty exciting year. The Brewers got off to a hot start and looked like the only team that wanted to win the NL Central early on. The Cubs, despite spending a lot of money in the offseason, struggled during the first two months and looked destined for another disappointing season. After Lou Piniella had his now-famous confrontation with an umpire (once again I'll brag about it...I was at that game!), the Cubs suddenly started getting back on track. As their rise coincided with the Brewers' collapse, the Cubs eventually found themselves in first place in late August. Even when they had a 3½-game lead with six games left it wasn't over. They got swept in a three-game series with the last-place Marlins and the Brewers still had a shot. Fortunately, the Cubs got back on track and clinched the division title in their final series with the Reds. They now have a shot at winning their first pennant in 62 years and their first World Series in 99 years.

The NL East had one of the most memorable races in recent times. Going into the season most people picked either the Braves or Mets to win the division, and a lot of people picking the Braves had the Mets as the Wild Card. Those two teams battled for first place during the early months while the Phillies got off to a slow start. The Mets eventually took first place and it looked like they would never relinquish it. Then, with 17 games left and the Mets holding a 7-game lead over the Phillies, the unthinkable happened. The Mets went 5-12 to finish out the season while the Phillies went 13-4 over the same span. In the end the Phillies won the division by one game and the Mets were out of the Playoffs altogether.

Then there's the Wild Card. The Padres battled the Diamondbacks for the NL West lead most of the second half. When the Diamondbacks established themselves as the division leader the Padres looked like they'd end up settling for the Wild Card. Not so fast. The Rockies, who'd stayed around .500 most of the year but never stepped it up to make a real postseason drive, suddenly went on a tear. They won 13 of their last 14 games to force a one-game playoff with the Padres which would determine the Wild Card winner. What a game it was. Both teams fought the whole way, and it eventually went 13 innings. In the top of the thirteenth the Padres got a two-run homer which looked like it would clinch the game. The Rockies didn't give up though, scoring three runs in the bottom half to earn the title of NL Wild Card.

These NL Playoff teams are a motley crew. None of them made the Playoffs last year, and the one that made it most recently was the Cubs in 2003. It's hard to believe that one of these four is going to be playing in the World Series this year. The AL, on the other hand, has the three teams with the league's highest payrolls playing this October (Angels, Yankees, Red Sox), and only one that has some underdog appeal (Indians). Except the Indians, all were in the Playoffs as recently as two years ago, and all but the Indians have won a World Series this decade. Truthfully, once you get past the Indians it's hard to root for any of the AL teams.

The AL may be stronger. One of their teams may end up hoisting the World Series trophy at the end of this month. They may be representative of what great baseball teams truly look like. Why would we follow sports though, if there were never any excitement? If the same teams always won easily it would be boring to follow them. If you simply want to marvel at greatness, the AL is there for you. If you want thrilling races, determination and never-say-die dramatics, the NL is the far superior league.

We're down to the last two months of baseball season. The trade deadline has passed, and by now we (mostly) know who's in it to win it and who needs to start preparing for next year. The races are heating up, and several teams are still vying for one of those coveted eight Playoff spots. It's about time for baseball fans to start thinking about who they're rooting for in the quest for October. If you're a big fan like me, you probably also have a few teams you're rooting against. I don't know who's going to win, but here's what I'm hoping for:

American League West:

I'm pulling for the Mariners. They've been a surprise team all year, and there seem to be a lot of loyal Mariner fans out there even though you don't hear much about them. While they seem to have been playing above their heads all season (their pitching and run production have been mediocre at best), they deserve credit for staying in it this long. They surprised me last season too, as I predicted that they'd lose 100 games and they ended up finishing close to .500. While conventional wisdom says the Angels are going to win it (if I had to give an official prediction I'd pick them), I'm hoping Seattle has enough left to battle it out and overtake them for the division title.

Since the Angels are the only team posing a real threat to the Mariners at this point, I'm rooting against them. I just have a hard time getting excited about the Angels. Besides, they won the World Series in 2002 and the Mariners never have. While it's hard for me to imagine the Mariners winning the World Series this year, they deserve that chance to play for it a little more in my mind.

American League Central:

If my White Sox were still in the race there's no question I'd be pulling for them. As they are not, however, I'm pulling for either the Indians or Tigers. Both teams have fanbases that I think deserve a winner, and I really don't hate either one even though they're both division rivals of my Sox. I hope one of them wins the division and the other wins the Wild Card. It doesn't really matter which, though I think the Tigers look more likely to win the division.

The team I'm rooting against is the Twins. While they seem to have a fairly loyal fanbase and the underdog factor that comes with playing in a small market, I just don't like them. They don't interest me. Also, some of that underdog appeal has been lost since they've won four division titles in the last five years. Last year it looked to be a two-team race between the White Sox and Tigers in the Central, but the Twins came from behind to win it, relegating the frontrunning Tigers to the Wild Card. I don't want to see it happen again.

American League East:

I've never made any secret about the fact that I hate the Red Sox. The way their "history" and "tradition" get shoved down our throats has gotten rather sickening. That said, I'm rooting for them to win the East this year. Why, you ask? It's all because of the team I'm rooting against.

I hate the Yankees. I want to see them win even less than I do the Red Sox. They're a thorn in the side of baseball fans everywhere. No matter what, they always find a way to make the Playoffs. Even when they were mired in a slump earlier this year I kept saying they were going to be playing in the postseason. Now they're only a few games out in the Wild Card race and within striking distance of the Red Sox. I still think they'll find their way into the Playoff picture, but (as I often find myself saying) I hope I'm wrong. If they do it's likely that either they or the Red Sox will be the Wild Card, and the Playoffs will be much more enjoyable if we don't have to hear about a potential Yankees-Red Sox ALCS.

National League West:

This is a division where I don't feel very strongly. The Giants are the only team at this point that has no real shot of winning it. If I had to choose the team I really wanted to see win it I'd say the Rockies, but of the four contenders they seem to be the one that's having the most trouble breaking through. I also kind of like the Padres, so I'd have no problem if they won it. Neither team has ever won the World Series, so there's not much to hate about them.

While I'm not actively rooting against the Diamondbacks, they don't particularly excite me. I haven't found myself rooting against the Dodgers either, but they seem to have the most to root against. Big market, six World Series titles, fans that leave the games early...yeah, I guess if I'm rooting against anyone in this division it's the Dodgers. Still, it's hard to hate them completely when you have a father who grew up rooting for them on the side.

National League Central:

I'm a Cubs fan. Take a wild guess who I'm pulling for. Is this finally "next year" for the Cubs? We can always hope, but the Cubs have to make the Playoffs first. It's a shame that the they're contending in a year where the team they're battling for first is the Brewers. After all, Brewers fans haven't had much to cheer about in recent times. It's not that I hate our friends up in Milwaukee, it's just that they're blocking my team's path to the Playoffs. If the Cubs can overtake them for first I hope the Brewers win the Wild Card. I could even live with it if they won the division and the Cubs won the Wild Card, but it's cooler to say your team is the division champion.

The team I'm rooting against is none other than that bunch who won the World Series last year. While the Cardinals admittedly look horrible this year, teams that you count out can come back to bite you. While I'm not too worried about the old Redbirds I still root for them to lose every game...just in case.

National League East:

One of my favorite teams in this division has always been the Phillies. Of the 30 Major League teams they're one of seven that hasn't made the postseason since the switch to the three-division format. They're right in the thick of things, so hopefully this year we'll be able to cross their name off that list.

There are two other contenders in this division, and they're known as the Braves and Mets. I've hated the Braves ever since they won the 1995 World Series, and the Mets I hate just because they're from New York. While I don't hate either of these teams as much as say, the Yankees, I can't really root for either one in good conscience. The truth is though, that these two teams currently look like the ones to beat in the National League. If Philly's going to pull it off it'll be an uphill battle.

To sum up, my ideal Playoffs look like this:

National League:

West: Colorado
Central: Chicago
East: Philadelphia
Wild Card: Milwaukee

American League:

West: Seattle
Central: Detroit
East: Boston
Wild Card: Cleveland

I know that they likely won't look this way (especially the NL), but what's a pennant race without something to hope for?

My nightmare Playoffs look something like this:

National League:

West: Los Angeles
Central: St. Louis
East: New York
Wild Card: Atlanta

American League:

West: Los Angeles
Central: Minnesota
East: New York
Wild Card: Boston

It's almost scary how much more realistic my nightmare scenario looks, but that's just life when you root for the underdog.

Anyway, that's what I'm hoping for. How about you?