I don’t care about the playoffs. A short-series tournament with few/no adjustments to in-series win probability is a poor fit for a sport where it takes about 70 games for luck to influence a team’s record as much as skill.
But, on a completely different level, I do care about the players. And the players care about the playoffs. They’ve been raised and conditioned in a system where there’s a tournament at the end, and they want to win the tournament. So, I do want the players to achieve their goals, even if that means other players don’t, because that’s probably a really nice feeling for them, at least in the moment.
You are probably the same, at least to some extent. Maybe “same” doesn’t cut it because you inherently care about the playoffs. Whatever, that’s irrelevant. My question is: there are still eight teams in the running — which player(s) on those teams will you be most gratified about winning a ring this year?
Freddie Freeman got (another) one last year. Max Fried could get one with his new team, but I bet everyone hates the Yankees too much to care. William “Wild Bill” Contreras with Milwaukee? Kevin Gausman (haha)? Who ya got?
