As a Pirates fan I'm still suffering from the team finally giving me hope and then completely crushing it. Since we're on WhatIfSports, I'll posit this WHAT IF:
What if the Pirates had played in August and September the way they did in June and July?
If they had, they probably would have beaten the Reds out for the central and you bet your bottom dollar I'd be picking them to win the World Series.
Alas, the Pirates haven't even broken the .500 mark since a young, thin Barry Bonds patrolled left field (and cost them a trip to the World Series by playing too deep and letting the slowest guy in baseball score from second...grrrrr...).
Okay, to digress....
I love the way the A's won the division and the momentum they have as a result. Back in early August I had visions of the Pirates doing the same thing to the Reds at the end of September, but alas this didn't even have a chance.
I also enjoy watching the Reds play and wouldn't mind seeing them win.
So I think I'd like to see A's versus Reds for the title, flashing back to 1990.
The Yankees are the team I love to hate in baseball (I often say, only half in jest "My second favorite baseball team is whoever is playing the Yankees"), so since the Pirates had their catastrophic crash and aren't involved I'd be willing to accept any team winning other than the Yankees.
Who do I think WILL win?
I could be proven wrong tonight, but I think the Braves and Rangers pull off the wild cards.
I think the Nationals will take it in the NL and the A's will somehow ride the momentum through the AL.
I'd like to see the Reds or A's take it, but my guess is the Nationals will win it all.