just sent this e-mail to my friend - thought it would be interesting to post here.
well, i guess it's no surprise that the white sox ensured their lack of participation in the playoffs, especially with the sporadic way they've been playing for the last couple of months - sometimes they were awesome (like yesterday), sometimes (like tonight) they were just crap.
so who, then, do we have to look at? well, surprise surprise, the yankees are in the playoffs, and they were so good this year that they were the first to lock. the tigers are in as well, and they sure do deserve it after all this time. i don't think anyone has the chance anymore to keep the twins from getting at least the wildcard. the athletics will probably be the last to lock in.
i can't really speak much to the NL; only the mets are locked in. i'm confident that the padres will get wildcard at minimum unless they totally tank. the cardinals, astros, reds, and dodgers all have excellent chances of being the other two teams, and it will take this week to determine who plays and who doesn't.
naturally, the yankees have seen so much postseason play that you and i hardly care to see them win anything. i personally would like to see either the tigers or twins go all the way. i harbor no grudge for them beating the sox - they simply played better and deserve their chance. neither team has won the world series very many times, and the last times either team has played in the Series were the last time they won (91 for Minnesota, 84 for Detroit). much like a lot of the other olde tyme ballclubs (don't forget that the twins were once the original Washington Senators), such as the white sox, red sox, cubs, indians, braves, and phillies, their playoff dreams have been few and far between. if not those two teams, i can live with the A's - they've won more World Series' than most teams, but far fewer than the Yankees and the last time was in 1989.
as for the NL, if the Astros make it in, i'll root for them since they deserve a shot at what the White Sox took away from them last year. however, i might just be tempted to root for the Padres instead, since they've got the saddest World Series history - for either team, it would be great to see them as champs, since they're two of the remaining five 60s expansion teams that haven't had a championship yet. (better luck next year, Mariners, Rangers, and Brewers). even if neither of those two make it in, all the rest of the playoff contenders have had World Series appearances, but none of them have won in the last 15 years, so i can't honestly say i would be disappointed with anyone as champs.
so, to sum up, as long as the Yankees don't win the World Series, you're going to get a champion that hasn't won in at least the last 15 years.

and that, my friend, is an awesome thing.