Tampa Beats Boston for World Series Berth

The Tampa Bay Rays of the American League have had a truly astonishing turn around. Last night, they beat the Boston Red Sox in game seven of the American League Championship Series. Having gone from worst to first in a single year, their next challenge is to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, who have their own small curse to overcome. It isn't the Chicago series this journal expected, but it does have some promise.

To their credit, the Red Sox appear to have banished the Curse of the Bambino once and for all. No longer are they the ever disappointing Sox. The Red Sox nation is now a tribe with something about which to boast. Down 3 games to 1, with only 8 outs remaining in the fifth game, they rallied from a 7-0 deficit to win the game 8-7. Traveling to Tampa for game six, they played like they were still in front of a friendly crowd to tie the series at 3-3. They just came up short in game 7; they didn't blow it.

This will be Tampa's first trip to the World Series in franchise history. Baseball fans tend to like Cinderella stories, and a great many fans whose teams didn't make it this far will adopt the Rays as their team. They haven't been in the league long enough to be hated the way some teams are (Yankees, Red Sox, etc.).

That said, the Phillies have an underdog issue as well. Philadelphia has a franchise in each major sport: the Phillies, the NFL Eagles, the NBA's 76ers, and the NHL Flyers (soccer doesn't count, but Philadelphia is getting an MLS club). Combing those seasons over the past few decades, Philadelphia has had more than 100 seasons without a single championship in sports. For a city of Philadelphia's history and pride, that hurts. It may not win the Phillies any fans in Mets country, but it will motivate the players and the fans in Philadelphia all the more.

The series itself should be close. Tampa has just beaten the toughest opponent it could have faced bar the White Sox of Chicago. Philadelphia hasn't looked bad in any of its post-season games, including those it lost. Without a favorite, this journal merely hopes it goes seven games – baseball season ends too early if it doesn't.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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