Sports

World Series Preview: Rays and Phillies To Meet In Battle of Underdogs

by Jon Azpiri | October 19, 2008 at 08:35 pm

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Most fans thought it was inevitable that the high-priced Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers would meet in the 2008 World Series. No doubt, TV executives were praying for it, since both teams have huge fan bases bound that would bring in big ratings.

To the surprise of baseball insiders, the exact opposite happened. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 in the seventh and deciding game of the AL Championship series. The Rays will meet the Phillies--who defeated the Dodgers--in the World Series, which will start Wednesday, October 22 at Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field. The win came a day after the Rays got beat down by the Red Sox in Game 6, not to mention Steve Harvey.

Both the Rays and the Phillies managed to beat teams that had substantially higher payrolls. In fact, the combined payroll of both teams in the World Series is just $8 million more than the Red Sox’s.

After an early home run by Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza settled down and pitched a stellar game. Garza got run support from Evan "Don't Call Me Eva" Longoria and Willy Aybar. Amazingly, Rays rookie hurler David Price got his first-ever Major league save.W ith the bases loaded, Price struck out J.D. Drew to end the eighth inning. Price managed to shut down the Red Sox in the ninth, leaving one runner on base.

The Rays have become the feel-good story of the post-season. The team has suffered through 10 consecutive losing seasons, not to mention a musical performance by Kevin Costner. Last season they had the worst record in all of baseball. Going into this season, oddsmakers gave the Rays 200-1 odds to win the World Series.

The Rays will meet the Philadelphia Phillies, another team filled with young talent. The Phillies have been able to win with starting pitching. Cole Hamels and Brett Myers lead the team's pitching staff while 45-year-old Jamie Moyer continues to be productive even though he's been mocked by The Onion.

The Phillies bullpen will face a solid offensive lineup, including Longoria, Aybar, and Carlos Pena. Throw in the stellar pitching of Garza and the series could be full of drama. The Phillies haven't won a World Series since 1980 and the Rays have never even been to the playoffs before. All told, this year's World Series has the potential to be a classic, even if TV executives will tell you otherwise.

World Series Schedule

Game 1: Wed. Oct . 22 Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, 8 pm ET

Game 2: Thurs. Oct. 23 Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, 8 pm ET

Game 3: Sat. Oct. 25 Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 8 pm ET

Game 4: Sun. Oct 26 Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 8 pm ET

Game 5: Mon. Oct. 27 Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 8 pm ET

Game 6: Wed., Oct. 29 Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, 8 pm ET

Game 7: Thurs. Oct. 30 Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, 8 pm ET

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Zlender

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:18 on October 20th, 2008

Jon Azpiri, I like this story. It's good stuff.

brypeir

at 08:51 on October 20th, 2008

ah, thanks for finding/using my pictures.

the news article is great.

Efreet69

at 20:57 on October 20th, 2008

This was a midseason game between the playoff bound Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Here we see Ryan Howard rounding second after hitting one of his patented home runs. Photo by Shawn T. Graham.

Efreet69 has contributed a photo to this story.