2018 saw me move unexpectedly from the Seattle area, where we have lived since 1995, to San Antonio, TX. Mid-August to mid-September it has rained nearly every day, often heavily. Apparently the rainfall in this 30-day period has equalled the normal annual amount. Go figure.

Now I have something else to go figure, something much more impactful.

Beaten. Battered. Bloodied. Bruised. Betrayed. Befuddled. (How the Mariners have made me feel since I was 47. I am now 63.)

The M’s had deflated me too many years in a row with promises of achievement that turned into nightmares, even in those rare years when they contended. So I expected I would take the relocation as an opportunity to leave my abusive “spouse.”

At first I thought I would root for the team that had kindled my love of baseball and held my affections for my first 40 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers. This idea expectation held for a week or so until I came to grips with what it was like when most games started at 9pm in my new time zone. I like to watch games live, not on Memorex.

So I considered rooting for the local World Series Champion Astros, who indeed have become a franchise worth the investing of one’s loyalties. They have done what Seattle could not, rebuild. And their games were broadcast in local time. But alas, despite having an MLBtv subscription, league policy makes it impossible for me to watch either Texas team live unless I also had a subscription to a cable or sattellite provider. And pirating comes with extreme buffering, other headaches, and the sense of being a thief.

The M’s came into the season with the hope that DiPoto had put together a team that could achieve something. When they showed early in the season that this was indeed so, I figured this was not the year to abandon them. The last thing I wanted was to leave them the very year they would reward their fan base with a playoff appearance. So I kicked aside my thoughts of the Dodgers and the Astros and devoted myself to the Mariners once again.

Then July gave lie to the run-differential tightrope Seattle was walking, and August and September have made me feel as described in paragraph three above. I cannot endure it again.

As this year winds down, I am again freeing myself to consider other teams. And to my stunned surprise I’ve decided to limit my consideration to Eastern time zone teams. I can’t watch Houston regularly. But the Eastern teams play weeknight games that start at 6pm CST, and I can watch an entire game before I become comatose.

So all that said, I, DaddyO, have a choice to make. Of the Eastern teams, on which should I choose to set my affections?

I can rule some teams out. Either New York team is out of the question. I do NOT heart New York. And Boston is out. There was a day back in 2004 when I might have chosen them, but I now consider them in the same basket as the Yankees. I do not want to root for Canadian Toronto. Miami has no future, and is as sad a sack as can be found in MLB. Baltimore has sunk quite low. None of these teams would I even consider.

So that leaves me with the following teams: Atlanta, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, and Washington.

After so many years of frustration with the Mariners, I DO want to have a reasonable chance at reward for my fandom. I also want to follow a young, up-and coming team. I want to see a team that has a chance to do what the Astros have done. I want to see a franchise with some tradition of commitment to success, and I prefer that success to be with as many exciting young players as possible.

As of right now I rank my choices this way (with notes after each team):

1. Atlanta – They check all the boxes, and hold the promise of a quality young core that might contend for years to come.
2. Philadelphia – Same as Atlanta to a lesser degree, plus expected to be major free agent players this offseason. But I am more interested in the long haul, and I’m more convinced by Atlanta than I am Philadelphia.
3. Cleveland – Cleveland is good now, they’ve built something with Francona at the helm and some good acquisitions. But I’m not convinced their organization can sustain this over the long haul.
4. Tampa Bay – Gotta love a franchise that has accomplished over the years what the Rays have done with such limited resources. Eat your heart out, Mariners. But they end up having to sell off their good players at such a young age. They replace them, but I’d like more continuity than that.
5. Pittsburgh – The Pirates looked like an up and coming franchise a few years back, but they are looking more and more like an organization that only take things so far. I guess I see them as hovering near .500 most years.
6. Washington – The Nationals had their chance at greatness a few years back and did not take advantage. They seem to be sliding into mediocrity.

 So there you have it. This represents my thinking today. I used the following article as a helpful reference:

 https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2790799-future-power-rankings-where-...

 I’d love to see comments on my ranking of the teams but not my intent to make such a choice.