Cinderella Men

So the World Series begins tonight, a match-up of the Philadelphia Philllies and the Tampa Bay Rays, a combo that at the beginning of the season would have seemed less likely than just pulling names of two teams out of a hat. Of course the Phillies are not a huge surprise, they made the playoffs last year and got caught in the Colorado Rockies buzzsaw. But everyone's focus was on the Chicago Cubs in the National League this year, so the Phils outlasted the Mets and waited in the weeds and let the Dodgers knock off the Cubs. Now they are in their first Series since 1993 (they have only been in six, total, and won the title only once, in 1980).

But the Rays, well, they are another story. They are the first team to go from the worst record in baseball to the World Series in consecutive years since the Atlanta Braves in '91, and the Rays came back from a worse record. What's even more remarkable about them is that in their previous ten years of existence they had never won more than 70 games, and were the doormat of the league. Whenever the subject of contraction came up, they were the first team mentioned. Apparently their stadium is no shrine, and as with the Marlins of south Florida, residents have much more to do during the summer in paradise than watch a baseball team get their brains beat out. When the Yankees or Red Sox would come to town, the fans of the visiting team outnumbered the home rooters.

But that all changed this year. By drafting shrewdly and making some good trades, the Rays built a great team from within. All season they were at or near the top of the division, no small feat, considering that is the division with the Red Sox and Yankees. All year long baseball watchers have written them off: when Evan Longoria got hurt, then Carl Crawford, then Troy Percival, each time it was said that the clock would strike midnight for these Cinderellas. A seven-game losing streak after the All-Star game seemed like a death knell, but they were stalwart and bounced back, and ended up winning the division. Then they dispatched the White Sox in four games.

Probably their severest test came after game five of the ALCS when they were seven outs from a pennant and up 7-0 over the defending champion Red Sox, but the wheels came off and the Red Sox came back to win the game, then took game six in a contest where the Rays played tight. I was now among the chorus of doubters, and figured the Red Sox had the guile and experience to end the magical season of the upstarts from Tampa. But no, the Rays got a great pitched game from Matt Garza and a few timely hits and their magic carpet ride would continue one more round.

There is no question that I'm rooting for the Rays against the Phillies. I usually root for the AL (unless it's the Yankees) and this story is just too good. I have nothing in particular against the Phillies, other than their boorish fans, but they just don't captivate me like the Rays do. And I think the Rays will pull it out in a seven-game series. They play great defense, get timely hits, and have great starting pitching. The advantage for the Phils is in the bullpen, but that only applies when a team is ahead. The Rays have a tendency to jump out to early leads, which offsets a good bullpen. If the Rays can keep their heads and not get tight, they should be able to win.