City of Broken Dreams

Show of hands: Who expected to see the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers meet up in the World Series this year? If you're like me, then this was something that you were craving for the moment the first pitch of this year's MLB Playoffs was thrown.

Think about it for a second. On one hand you have a team with an enigmatic superstar (Yasiel Puig), a superstar whose rise, fall, and second rising is almost as dramatic as Batman's in The Dark Knight Trilogy (Matt Kemp), and someone who should get a lot of MVP consideration (Clayton Kershaw). On the other hand, you have a team with a surefire future Hall of Famer (Albert Pujols), another superstar with dramatic rises and falls (Josh Hamilton), and the heir to MLB's "face of the league" throne vacated by the now-retired Derek Jeter (Mike Trout). Not to mention both teams have other pretty key players as well.

It's perfect. It's Hollywood, both geographically (kind of) and figuratively. It's even more of a ratings grabber than World Series' typically are, if that's even possible.

Ain't no Series like a West Coast Series because a West Coast Series doesn't stop, right? Right?!?

Wrong, and for two reasons:

1. It would eventually have to stop to get a World Champion.
2. It isn't happening, since both teams have been eliminated in their respective League Divisional Series'.

For the Angels, they not only lost to the Kansas City Royals. They were swept. Swept! The best team in baseball was swept by a team who hasn't had a sniff of the postseason since 1985, but could easily be pegged as the "Team of Fate". The Dodgers recently lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, but they at least salvaged a game in that series.

Okay, maybe I should have seen that Dodgers one coming, seeing that it seems like the Cardinals are a mainstay in the NLCS as of recent years. But still.

Sure, this is the time of year where we're supposed to expect the underdog to come out on top, and not just in baseball. Anyone else watch college football around this time of year every year? David always tends to get the better of Goliath, and the MLB Playoffs are no exception. For those like me who wanted an LA World Series, this kind of sucks. A lot.

But hey, cheer up Los Angeles sports fans! The Kings, Clippers, and Lakers are all starting their respective seasons soon. If all else fails, you have Hollywood. And for fans of both LA baseball teams here in Wisconsin, the Packers are tied for first.

Plus, Aaron Rodgers is from California. That counts for something, right?