Do you have a second favourite team?

[Dylan]

I'm curious to see if anyone has any other favourite teams, and why?

 

For me, the Mariners are my second favourite team. I was just starting to understand baseball in 2001 and their team was incredible. The time zones also allowed me to watch most of their games after the Jays played. Unfortunately they've had the same result as the jays since.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Dylan

[jays4life19]

Nope. Bluejays or bust.

[NorthOf49]

I'll cheer for upstart small-market teams (like the Pirates or Royals last year, or the A's the past two, and the Rays in the playoffs), but I don't have a set second team.

 

I also like watching certain pitchers, so I'll watch their starts and cheer somewhat for their teams.

[Angrioter]

Pirates maybe

[jays4life19]

Changed my mind. My second favourite team is whoever is playing the f***ing Boston Red Sox.

[TheHurl]

Blue Jays...but they are sliding

[Atothe]

Changed my mind. My second favourite team is whoever is playing the f***ing Boston Red Sox.

 

I second this muthaf***er. I wish I'll will on those **********s

[KingKat]

The Jays.

 

You're such a heel. I can't blame you though and I can't say I'm not tempted to do the same.

[Dick_Pole]

Needs a new category:

 

Whoever I'm betting on.

[Gen.Disarray]

Whoever is playing the Red Sox. After that it's A's, Rays, Mets and Cards in no particular order.

[Terminator]

Blue Jays...but they are sliding

 

The Jays.

 

So if the Jays played the Rays in the playoffs you'd both cheer for the Rays? (or in Hurl's case, whoever is favorite team is, not sure if Rays)

[Atothe]

The Jays.

I don't believe you

[Convo]

If I vote for 'Jays only' AND other teams, will it unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe!?

[KingKat]

So if the Jays played the Rays in the playoffs you'd both cheer for the Rays? (or in Hurl's case, whoever is favorite team is, not sure if Rays)

 

As you evolve as a baseball fan, it becomes tempting to root for process. If a team that does a lot that seems right (the Rays under Friedman) plays a team that you don't feel deserves to there (the Jays under Anthopoulos) in the playoffs, it's tempting to go against your heart and go with your brain. In the end I'm probably too old to go against years of built up sentiment. I'm not a young punk like BTS though, I'm more of a bitter, cynical old fart like Hurl.

[G-Snarls]

The Jays.

 

Smart ass.

 

(But don't change. It's why we love ya)

[Terminator]

As you evolve as a baseball fan, it becomes tempting to root for process. If a team that does a lot that seems right (the Rays under Friedman) plays a team that you don't feel deserves to there (the Jays under Anthopoulos) in the playoffs, it's tempting to go against your heart and go with your brain. In the end I'm probably too old to go against years of built up sentiment. I'm not a young punk like BTS though, I'm more of a bitter, cynical old fart like Hurl.

 

To each their own, but I don't understand the thought process of investing hours in to the Jays only to cheer against them b/c you disagree with how the team was assembled. Take the Giants, for example. Their process is awful but it's lead to two recent WS wins. Should their fans really cheer against the team just because Sabean is the GM?

 

Also, if you become a fan of the Rays because of their process and success does that make one a bandwagon fan? This is a fair question, they sucked for a decade and have only been good for the past 5 years after all.

[Grant77]

The Jays and whoever is playing Boston are in a virtual tie.

 

I've always liked Milwaukee for their strong Canadian presence and Oakland for the way they build their teams.

[FireAlexAnthopoulos]

The Jays ARE my second team, it's just that my first team (Expos) no longer exists.

 

I do like the Rays, A's, and Pirates though.

[KingKat]

To each their own, I don't understand the thought process of investing hours in to the Jays only to cheer against them b/c you disagree with how the team was assembled.

 

I really can't explain it any better than what I just did.

 

Take the Giants, for example. Their process is awful but it's lead to two recent WS wins. Should their fans really cheer against the team just because Sabean is the GM?

 

Sabean isn't all bad. That team drafted really well. In a few years if AA's recent drafts yield as much, I'll give him credit for it. ( I don't expect it but it could happen). AA's early drafts were decent. A lot of it was volume of picks making up for a lot of risk but they weren't exactly bad drafts either. They yielded assetts. If this year's team makes the playoffs though, I will consider it a total fluke because it would be a small miracle to win with so little depth and no forseeable immediate help from the minors beyond Stroman and a few plugs.

 

Also, if you become a fan of the Rays because of their process and success does that make one a bandwagon fan? This is a fair question, they sucked for a decade and have only been good for the past 5 years after all.

 

Maybe that's a bandwagon thought it's not like they've won the World Series or anything. They're not the best team in baseball. That would be the Cardinals. They just impress by really beating the odds with whatever success they do have. They have a plan that make them competitive against the beast of the East. They are exactly what the Jays should be. How can you not admire that?

[Terminator]

I really can't explain it any better than what I just did.

 

 

 

Sabean isn't all bad. That team drafted really well. In a few years if AA's recent drafts yield as much, I'll give him credit for it. ( I don't expect it but it could happen). AA's early drafts were decent. A lot of it was volume of picks making up for a lot of risk but they weren't exactly bad drafts either. They yielded assetts. If this year's team makes the playoffs though, I will consider it a total fluke because it would be a small miracle to win with so little depth and no forseeable immediate help from the minors beyond Stroman and a few plugs.

 

 

 

Maybe that's a bandwagon thought it's not like they've won the World Series or anything. They're not the best team in baseball. That would be the Cardinals. They just impress by really beating the odds with whatever success they do have. They have a plan that make them competitive against the beast of the East. They are exactly what the Jays should be. How can you not admire that?

 

Sabean is probably the most "anti-stat" GM in the game. His process is completely devoid of sabremetrics.

 

As for the Rays, I admire and respect them. Doesn't mean they are my favorite team because their GM follows a sabremetric approach and they have been winning lately.

[KingKat]

Sabean is probably the most "anti-stat" GM in the game. His process is completely devoid of sabremetrics.

 

 

Someone in that organization knows what the f*** they're doing. They talk a lot about not valuing prospects but they sure seem to know which prospects are worth keeping.

[Terminator]

Someone in that organization knows what the f*** they're doing. They talk a lot about not valuing prospects but they sure seem to know which prospects are worth keeping.

 

Perhaps it's a combination of there being more than one way to skin a cat and a lot of luck. But I'm not kidding you, they would likely be ranked last on a list of stat-friendly front offices. IIRC, a Giants executive was running around on the field yelling "f*** Moneyball and the Oakland A's" after their second WS win.

[KingKat]

Perhaps it's a combination of there being more than one way to skin a cat and a lot of luck. But I'm not kidding you, they would likely be ranked last on a list of stat-friendly front offices.

 

I hear what you're saying but I'm not convinced that the whole front office is as stuborn about that as Sabean is. I highly doubt that but I do agree with you that there is more than one way to skin a cat. I used to think AA might be a good GM from a slightly older mould. AA talks a good game about scouting but the inability to recognize Bonifacio's defensive limitations (which were painfully obvious from his Marlins days for anyone paying attention) and his inability to recognize Gomes' defensive value suggests to me that the Jays aren't really that good at scouting or sabermetric evaluation. Even the draft record is spotty. They seem to have essentially conceded as far a positional prospects are concerned which is hardly reassuring.

[awsomest]

Jays Only

 

I despise every other team that has made the playoffs in the last 20 years....... I guess my number two is the royals

[RIPEXPOS]

So if the Jays played the Rays in the playoffs you'd both cheer for the Rays? (or in Hurl's case, whoever is favorite team is, not sure if Rays)

 

If I recall correctly, The Hurl is former Expos fan like myself that still thinks of them as his favourite team.

[fatcowxlive]

I'm a big Oakland supporter, always fun to see a team like that. Always have something up their sleeves

 

Edit: and for some reason I've watched a lot of Padres games over the years. They have a beautiful stadium and always had an awesome young leader, either it was Peavy, A-Gon or now Headley

[G-Snarls]

I'm a big Oakland supporter, always fun to see a team like that. Always have something up their sleeves

 

Yep. I'm down with the A's too. I SOOOOOO want them to win a WS and kill the Yankees and Dodgers on the way there.

[GD]

Cubs.

[The Cats Ass]

Used to be the Cubs. Starting to drift more to the Pirates though.

[urtman]

The Rays. They do a better job of beating the hated Yankees and Bosox than we do. Even though the Rays are in our own division, it's hard to hate them.