Playoff pros, cons and rootability

— -- The 10 teams in the postseason haven't been to a World Series for a combined 207 years. So many championship-starved teams ... what's a fan to do? Who should you root for?

Never fear. My annual Rootability Index breaks it down.

St. Louis Cardinals

Pros: The Cardinals play in a media market smaller than Sacramento, California, yet are competing in their 11th postseason since 2000 and hoping to reach the World Series for the fifth time since 2004. Clearly, they know what they're doing in St. Louis. Adam Wainwright can make up for his All-Star Game embarrassment by showing how tough he is against batters when it really matters. Kolten Wong can make up for last year's embarrassing World Series pickoff. And the Cardinals can prove once again that it isn't the size of the market that matters, it's the intelligence and determination of the club.

Cons: With so many postseason appearances in recent years, the Cardinals are becoming the new Yankees. Actually, they're worse than the Yankees because their shortstop isn't Derek Jeter -- it's PED cheat Jhonny Peralta. Rewarding Peralta with a $52 million contract so soon after he was busted in the Biogenesis scandal is intolerable for a team that so proudly "does things the right way." And don't get me started on the Rally Squirrel.

Rootability Quotient: 38.9

San Francisco Giants

Pros: Like the Cardinals, the Giants build their teams the right way, using a lot of homegrown talent. Unlike the Cardinals (and every other team), they also built their stadium the right way, by paying for it themselves. And there aren't many better settings for postseason baseball than this wonderful park next to McCovey Cove. Ace Madison Bumgarner probably won't smack any splash hits into the water, but his three home runs this season provide an argument that there is no need for the designated hitter. When Bumgarner isn't in the lineup, Buster Posey and Hunter Pence provide the production (and the energy). And who knows what role the Giants might find for Tim Lincecum this postseason.

Cons: Giants fans have already celebrated two of the past four World Series. I grew up a passionate Giants fan, but even I worry that if they win another World Series so quickly, San Francisco fans could become almost as spoiled and insufferable as Red Sox fans.

Rootability Quotient: 53.2

Los Angeles Angels

Pros: Too often, the World Series (which could last until Nov. 5 next year) is played in rain, cold and parkas, so let's root for it to be played in a SoCal location so warm and sunny that beach balls are almost as much a part of the game-day experience as Rawlings leather. Regardless of the weather, though, Mike Trout is so dazzling you might need sunscreen to watch him. And for opposing pitchers, facing Trout's teammates -- including Albert Pujols and Howie Kendrick -- isn't exactly a day at the beach, either. With the Angels scoring more runs than any other team, and with a surprisingly decent pitching staff including Jered Weaver and rookie Matt Shoemaker (if healthy), the Rally Monkey might be able to take the month off, relax and soak up the sun. Which wouldn't be an issue, because as stat geeks will point out, the Rally Trout has a much higher WAR than the Rally Monkey.

Cons: Owner Arte Moreno spends like the Yankees -- nearly half a billion dollars just to bring in free agents Pujols, Josh Hamilton and  C.J. Wilson. Just as bad, the further the Angels advance, the more we see the Rally Monkey.

Rootability Quotient: 67

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pros: The Dodgers are one of the game's most storied teams, yet there haven't been many great postseason tales coming out of Chavez Ravine since Kirk Gibson's Game 1 home run in the 1988 World Series. That particular World Series was the ninth hosted by Dodger Stadium in its first 27 seasons (one every three years), but the ballpark hasn't seen one since. This could be the year, which began not in Dodger Stadium but with the season opener in a 125-year-old stadium in Australia. Take the best left-hander in the game ( Clayton Kershaw), add a great right-hander ( Zack Greinke) and then mix in the compelling Yasiel Puig, who makes every play -- even what should be routine ones -- an adventure. There also is Matt Kemp, who has gone from the Dodgers' best player to subject of constant trade rumors to perhaps their most valuable player again. And then there's part-owner Magic Johnson! The only way this October story could be any more riveting is if Fox would let Vin Scully provide the play-by-play.

Cons: All that aside, there still is the disturbing subplot that the Dodgers got to this point thanks to a record payroll ($236 million). That's so staggeringly high that even the Yankees might need a Kickstarter campaign to match it.

Rootability Quotient: 69

Detroit Tigers

Pros: The city of Detroit is officially bankrupt but the Tigers nonetheless averaged 36,000 per home game this season, evidence of how supportive those beleaguered fans are. While the city might be short of cash, Detroit has a deep supply of superb arms ( Max Scherzer, David Price and Rick Porcello, and Justin Verlander is always capable of turning it up in October) and powerful bats ( Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez). And when it comes to gloves, there not only is second baseman Ian Kinsler, but also the endearing Torii Hunter, who just might turn an amazing defensive play that will make you -- and him -- do a flip. Plus, these Tigers aren't getting any younger, so this might be their last shot before a General Motors-like recall. And hey, if the Tigers can win their first world championship since 1984, the city might be able to balance the budget by taxing the players' World Series shares.

Cons: If the Tigers win, the city might not be able to afford to repair all the damage from the celebration rioting.

Rootability Quotient: 74.5

Oakland Athletics

Pros: Sure, the Athletics play in a crappy stadium (sometimes literally so). But the once-very-pretty Coliseum is also the last remaining symbol of a time when our society thought a multipurpose stadium was a far better use of taxpayer money than giving the 1 percenters several hundred millions dollars in unnecessary subsidies, then watching them raise ticket prices. The Athletics reflected that old-school fiscal prudency the past two decades, but then suddenly splurged in July with startling trades for Jeff Samardzija and Jon Lester. (Goodbye, Yoenis Cespedes.) That triggered a stunning collapse that nearly cost them the postseason. But they hung on and here they are, with the new guys, plus Josh Donaldson, Sonny Gray and the remaining roster trying to finally advance past the division series (Oakland is 1-12 in its past 13 possible postseason clinchers) and hopefully give the Coliseum its first World Series since 1990.

Cons: Oakland's status as the underdog took a hit with the Lester-Cespedes trade. Some say that was Billy Beane going "all-in." But it also was going a little too much "all-Yankees."

Rootability Quotient: 81

Baltimore Orioles

Pros: This year marks the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key writing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Baltimore, and the best way to celebrate that bicentennial would be to have our anthem sung in gorgeous Camden Yards before Game 1 of the World Series. (Just invite Beyoncé, not Roseanne.) The Orioles haven't been to the World Series since 1983, when Jim Palmer still was pitching and posing in Jockey underwear ads. These Orioles don't have a Palmer-like ace (or underwear ads), but they nonetheless have a solid staff. More importantly, fans eager for some old-fashioned power in this almost-dead ball era should see long bombs bursting through the twilight's last smoky gleaming from Boog Powell's barbecue to provide proof that home run hitters still exist. (Though given the length of postseason games, those blasts might be seen in the dawn's early light, too.) After 31 years, it's time for a World Series banner to wave over Baltimore again.

Cons: The Orioles' success has been boosted by a recent PED cheat ( Nelson Cruz) and a current abuser ( Chris Davis). Oh, for the days when Baltimore's lone PED was Boog's barbecue sauce.

Rootability Quotient: 84

Washington Nationals

Pros: Washington, D.C., hasn't hosted a World Series (1933) since Democrats and Republicans were still able to agree on anything -- and perhaps reaching the championship this fall could inspire some welcome broad bipartisan support. Just imagine John Boehner and Harry Reid hugging and high-fiving after a Jayson Werth home run, then passing legislation requiring him to get a trim. Regardless of political leanings, what congressman couldn't praise a Nationals rotation so good and so deep that  Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Tanner Roark all have lower ERAs than Stephen Strasburg? Washington's deep lineup also provides almost as much power as a wealthy political donor. And the Nationals' Presidents Race is so much more entertaining than any real presidential campaign that baseball lover Ken Burns should have included Teddy's dramatic improvement in his documentary "The Roosevelts."

Cons: The deeper the Nationals go, the more pain Montreal fans will feel. And if President Obama throws the ceremonial first pitch, we'll probably have to listen to conservatives rant about how he lacks velocity and command.

Rootability Quotient: 87

Kansas City Royals

Pros: Forget about how Cubs fans haven't been to the World Series in seven decades. At least the Cubs have been to the postseason five times since the Royals last were there in 1985. Kansas City's 29-year postseason drought is the longest for a single city in the divisional era. (No, I'm not counting Montreal/Washington.) That postseason was so long ago that even 42-year-old designated hitter Raul Ibanez might not be old enough to remember the Don Denkinger call. The 1985 World Series was known as both the Show-Me Series and the I-70 Series because it took place entirely in the state of Missouri on opposing ends of Interstate 70. While we've seen all we need of St. Louis in recent Octobers, watching Alex Gordon, James Shields, Yordano Ventura and the Royals in the World Series would be as refreshing as splashing about in Kauffman Stadium's beautiful fountains.

Cons: Sure, ending the postseason drought is good, but the Royals' long-suffering fans still will probably just wind up painfully frustrated and aggravated by another Ned Yost managerial blunder.

Rootability Quotient: 87.5

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pros: Sure, Pittsburgh fans ended their miserable stretch of losing seasons when the Pirates reached the postseason last year. But their team still hasn't won an actual postseason series since 1979. (Sorry, you can't count last season's one-game wild-card playoff as a series.) Pittsburgh native Neil Walker knows all too well what that drought has been like (hint: not fun), and how difficult it is to end it under the club's limited finances. The Pirates have an even lower payroll than Oakland! So how can you not root for a team overcoming all that to put out a lineup that includes reigning MVP Andrew McCutchen, batting champ runner-up Josh Harrison, plus Walker and Russell Martin? Who is better at rehabilitating castoff pitchers (Nelson Liriano, Edinson Volquez) than the Pirates? And would there be a more welcome sight in late October than McCutchen slamming a home run against the beautiful backdrop of the Clemente Bridge and the Pittsburgh skyline? Now, that would be as wonderful as watching Maz wave his cap while he races around the bases at Forbes Field, or Pops Stargell dancing in the clubhouse to "We Are Family."

Cons: I couldn't think of a single reason to root against the Pirates last year, and I still can't think of one. To paraphrase last year's Index: If you root against the Pirates, you probably also root for Mr. Potter in "It's a Wonderful Life."

Rootability Quotient: 92.5