I realize it might be kind of bad juju to discuss who you’d prefer to see in the World Series before you’ve even played a single playoff game. But there’s no specific superstition about it, so I’m gonna go ahead and do it. That’s right, I’m a rebel. I’m not even going to do a preview of the Giants series first! Take that, rules and common sense!

Incidentally, I really like the World Series Logo. I think that leaf motif has been used since 2008 (of course, it might go back farther). Of course, the two leaves are a white oak (right) and a red oak leaf (leaf). They’re both prevalent species in the eastern U.S., but I’m not sure either are common in the bay area. So if the WS turns out to be A’s vs. Giants, it would be kind of funny.

Of course, it’s also a little early for predictions. At this point, you know any American League team that makes it to the World Series is probably going to have some decent momentum, so that’s not a particularly helpful variable. Yes, the A’s have much better momentum than the Rangers, say, now, but who knows what we’ll be looking at in later October.

We’ve also only faced two of the five AL playoff teams – we won our series against the Yankees, 2-1, and lost our series against the Tigers 0-2. That’s not really enough to get an idea of the teams, anyway. Plus, you have the problem of comparing the regular season rotation and playoff rotations. The Yankees, for instance, had some real pitching weaknesses, but just facing Pettitte, Sabathia, and Kuroda is much more threatening. Of course, it works the other way, too – Brandon McCarthy was one of the A’s top pitchers, and it’s not totally sure what’s happening with Scherzer and Fister for the Tigers.

Of course, I’m here to present a totally different argument. Emotionally speaking, I think the team we want to face is the Baltimore Orioles.

The Rangers have never faced the Reds in the Series. The Tigers lost to the Reds in 1940. Cincinnati did lose to the A’s in 1972, but came back and swept them in 1990 – same with the Yankees. The Orioles, however,  beat the Reds in 1970, and never got them back for that. Now the Orioles are in the post-season for the first time in 15 years, and so are the Reds. Coincidence? I think not! It is destiny.

Now to hope the Orioles win their wildcard game. And their other series. And that the Reds do, too.

P.S. The Cardinals have faced every AL team in the playoffs in a world series before, which is kind of cool. But they’ve also faced the Giants, back when they were the St. Louis Browns of the American Association in 1888. That’s pretty impressive.