Round Two
TB vs Yankees – A battle to cap off a season of battles. The Rays fought three other teams with 85 wins or more in their own division only to finish with the best record. They are either exhausted or forged by fire. They Rays are younger, hungrier, and George Steinbrenner is a lot less intimidating as a plaque (albeit a huge plague). Rays win the series.
ATL vs PHI – Third time to the dance for Philadelphia? It seems unlikely since that feat has never been done in the National League since inception of division play in 1969. Never. You have to go back to the 1942-1944 war-era Cardinals, led by Stan Musial, for the NL to place the same team in the World Series three years in a row. History is bunk. Phillies went 10-7 vs the Braves, including a 2-1 season-ending series when Atlanta had a lot to lose. Phillies will knock out Bobby's Braves.
World Series
TB vs PHI – I like the symmetry here: Phillies beat the Rays two years ago. Rays are back to avenge the end of their 2008 dream season. I hear the Fates whispering. But remember this: the last NL team to go to its third consecutive World Series won that series in Game 7 on an improbable “mad dash” by Enos Slaughter. That was then. This is now. The Rays had the best record against all playoff teams (21-15) and all of the other things already said. I toast the Rays, who, in Florida baseball fashion, win a title for their 10,000 fans.
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