John

By Ryan Fagan -


Sick of seeing the same old teams in the World Series every year? Then you're in luck. The Phillies carried their late-season momentum (17-8 in September) through the first two rounds of the postseason (7-2) to reach their first World Series since 1993. And Tampa Bay's rags-to-riches story has been well-documented.

Ironic, isn't it, that the winning pitcher in the All-Star Game was Rays southpaw Scott Kazmir and the losing pitcher was Phillies closer Brad Lidge? Might be important, considering the Rays were baseball's best team at home this season.

Here's how the teams stack up:

Offense: The Phillies were clearly the superior offensive squad in the regular season, with three sluggers -- first baseman Ryan Howard (48 homers), outfielder Pat Burrell (33) and second baseman Chase Utley (33) -- each hitting more balls over the fence than Rays first baseman Carlos Pena, who led his team with 31 homers.

But the postseason has been a different story. With their lineup healthy for the first time since July, the Rays have been mashing the ball. They've played two more games than the Phillies, and they have hit 12 more homers and have scored 24 more runs than the Phillies. Outfielder B.J. Upton's power has returned (seven homers, 15 RBIs in the postseason), and he is swinging the bat with more confidence than he has at any point this season. Burrell and outfielder Shane Victorino have been carrying the Phillies' offense with their clutch hits, and Howard and shortstop Jimmy Rollins finally started swinging the bat well late in the NLCS.

Neither team is afraid to go down swinging, which is something pitchers can take advantage of.

Edge: Rays

Defense: The Rays' defense, a strong point all season, was shaky at times in the ALCS against the Red Sox. An error by third baseman Evan Longoria led to the winning run in the ninth inning of Boston's epic Game 5 comeback, and shortstop Jason Bartlett has been uncharacteristically inconsistent in the postseason.

The key for the Phillies will be their ability to adjust to playing on the artificial turf and in the dome at Tropicana Field. Philadelphia has the better defense on the left side of the infield, with Rollins and third baseman Pedro Feliz, but Tampa Bay is better on the right side, with second baseman Akinori Iwamura and Pena. Right field has been shaky for the Rays in the postseason.

Edge: Phillies

Pitching: With a dominating performance this postseason, Phillies lefthander Cole Hamels has shown the rest of the country what Philadelphia fans already knew: He is one of the elite pitchers in the game. Hamels is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three playoffs starts, and the Rays will have to adjust quickly to his changeup, or risk dropping the first game of the World Series at home.

The Phillies' bullpen -- especially righthander Ryan Madson -- has been dominant. Thus far, Lidge has exorcised his playoff demons.

How's this for consistent: The four Rays' starters (Matt Garza, James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine and Kazmir) have ERAs between 3.32 and 4.02 in the postseason. Garza was amazing in the ALCS Game 7 clincher, and Tampa Bay unveiled a devastating weapon to close out the Red Sox in lefty David Price. Price is sure to play a bigger role in the World Series after striking out three batters in 1 1/3 innings to end Game 7.

Edge: Rays

Bench: Matt Stairs came through with the best bench performance of the postseason thus far, crushing the game-winning homer off Jonathan Broxton in the Phillies' Game 4 win at Dodger Stadium in the NLCS. Greg Dobbs is versatile off the bench for the Phillies, and he has six hits in his 11 playoff at-bats.

The Rays have power (Willy Aybar, Rocco Baldelli) and speed (Fernando Perez) that manager Joe Maddon can use. If he isn't in the DH slot, Cliff Floyd is a veteran lefthanded bat who could be useful in the late innings against righthanders Madson and Lidge.

Edge: Rays

Managers: Charlie Manuel has done a fantastic job in Philadelphia. He has gotten his team to peak in September two years in a row, and he has guided the Phillies into the World Series in a season in which most folks picked the Cubs or Dodgers to represent the N.L. in the World Series.

But Rays manager Joe Maddon has turned in one of the best managerial jobs in the history of the game this year with Tampa Bay. His ability to trust his instincts and go against conventional baseball wisdom has led the Rays to the biggest stage in baseball.

Edge: Rays

Prediction: Rays in six.

Source- Yahoo News.

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Celtics_Own

Who are the same old teams in the World Series? Like I don't get it. Everyone is like if the Red Sox would have been in the World Series, it would have been boring cause we see them to often? Does it make sense? Every year there seems to be different teams in the World Series.

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Toaster Oven

Obviously you wouldn't. It's not an exact terminology, and of course, you take the context of what he said to literal. In a sense, and regard, it's always the high-payroll, high-fanbase type of teams around the world series(save 2005). And yes, had we seen the Red Sox, it would've been boring and annoying, because we would have to deal with the Red Sox fans thumping their chests. Think of your annoyance with the Rays, that's what the rest of the world feels about you guys.

Also, way to copypasta and not give an opinion of your own.

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Celtics_Own

I don't have an annoyance with the Rays, I don't ever remember stating that, but ok. I just hated how the team (not the fans) were so cocky about their 2-0 lead in game 5. It just really made me lose my respect for the club. But then I gained it back a little after the Game 7. They deserved it. ANd I didn't take it literally, just pissing me off that everyone is like oh, if the same teams play again we are going to be so bored. Like I said, every year there are two different teams. So what people say about that is completely false.

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Jasmine

You don't get what people mean? They mean how the Red Sox, Yankees, etc pretty much dominated the World Series for as long as people have remembered. People never meant 'Oh I'm bored of seeing Sox vs Yankees', errr... hello, they meant they were tired of seeing this same team in it all the time despite the opponent. And now we have two teams that doesn't have much history of being in the WS, so it's interesting, refreshing, yadda yadda.

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xXHHHXx

GO PHILLIES.
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Toaster Oven

It also has a lot to do with who we see the most of. You turn on ESPN for Wednesday Night Baseball, it's the Red Sox/Yankees/Dodgers/Cubs/Braves, etc. We see those teams all the time on National Television. How often did the Rays play on ESPN or Fox this year? And no, obviously you're still looking at it in the literal sense if you're trying to say the same two teams play in the world series each year. In fact you're taking it to the extreme literal sense. We(everyone minus Red Sox nation) are sick of seeing the Red Sox in the World Series, kind of like fans were getting sick of the Bulls in the NBA Finals. Considering only 8 teams make the playoffs, having the Red Sox there twice, and nearly there four times over the past five years, it's gotten old.

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Flip

Tonight's game, I'm not sure about. Rays were too good of a home team this season to lose two in a row, but they just didn't look that great last night. If the Phillies win tonight, it's gonna be hard for the Rays to come back.

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The Wonder Chimp

The Rays will pull this out. To expect them to be anything but starstruck is simply not reasonable. Rays in 7, Phillies will put up a fight, but eventually they go down. I'm a Red Sox fan, but I feel sorry for the 20 people left rooting for the Phillies, Go Rays.

Flip

Hopefully the game can finish up tonight and there isn't more rain. I honestly don't care who wins the series, but I hope Rays win tonight, so there's at least one more full game.

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