We all wanted the Tampa Bay Rays. They proved the system can work. You can succeed with smart drafting and a few deft deals: Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir, sorry Mets fans; Delmon Young for Matt Garza. The Tampa Bays won the pennant for less ($43 million) than what the Yankees pay the left side of their infield (Alex Rodriguez, $28 million; Derek Jeter, $21 million). The kids aren’t scared either. David Price, the Rays 1^st pick of the 2007 MLB Draft, foiled the fabled Red Sox comeback in Game 7 of the ALCS. Matt Garza harkens comparisons to John Smoltz with his filthy stuff. And the rest of the cavalry is on the way to The Show.

Like the Atlanta Braves of the early 1990s, Tampa Bay has crafted a young, energetic team built on pitching.But we’ve been burned before. The 2006 Detroit Tigers seemed a team destined for greatness based on young pitching. Jeremy Bonderman (14-8), Nate Robertson 13-13, 3.84 ERA) Justin Verlander (17-9, 3.63 ERA) formed the top young rotation in the league. And even Kenny Rogers pulled off 17-8, 3.84 ERA. But injuries took their toll. Joel Zumaya hurt himself playing Guitar Hero. Jeremy Bonderman looks to bounce back from an injury-abbreviated (3-4) 2008 campaign. Robertson just wasn’t that good (16-24 since 2006). That the Detroit Tigers didn’t make the playoffs after gutting their farm system to rope in Edgar Renteria, Dontrelle Willis (demoted to the minors but he classily just bought stuff for his teammates) has to be the biggest AL disappointment this side of Seattle. The Tigers pitchers, remember, forgot how to throw to 1^st and 3^rd base in the 2005 World Series allowing the Cardinals to pull the upset.

But remember the Braves didn’t win in their worst-to-first 1991 season. (They didn’t win in ’92 or ‘93 either). The kids can wait. There was nothing pretty about this series. It took a 2 day rain delay to finish the deciding Game. Barack Obama’s 30 minute “infomercial” overshadowed the actual Game 5.5. This one was for the Jamie Moyers and Matt Stairs who showed what can happen if you just stick around long enough with the guts of a burglar.

These Phillies toppled the Rays because the hot bats couldn’t wait on the changeup. BJ Upton and Evan Longoria who bashed 13 homeruns combined through the ALCS turned ice cold in the World Series. And there is no answer to Cole Hamels. At age 24, Cole Hamels is the best pitcher in the game. Ryan Howard is now the certified top slugger in the game. His low batting average will probably disqualify him from MVP consideration but with the most homers and RBIs in the major leagues he carried the Phillies after an atrocious beginning. The Phillies need to resist the urge to overpay Pat Burrell and let him go (his batting average and RBIs have dropped each of the last 4 years and he just turned 32). They need to go younger. The Phillies are no dynasty. They will drop away in the wake of a reloaded Dodgers and Diamondback teams out west and you know Omar Minaya will splurge for something nice for CitiField’s grand opening. But for 2008 anyway, the Philadelphia Phillies are World Champions.

Philly fans almost don’t deserve such a classy team. Jimmy Rollins is a community service hero who hosts bowling tournaments to raise awareness for… arthritis. Ryan Howard is so genuine he can’t pull off a Subway ad convincingly. Brad Lidge was run out of Houston and thought to “never be the same again” after giving up the mythical NLCS homerun to Albert Pujols. Now Brad Lidge has a World Series ring to match his Comeback Player of the Year award. And don’t forget the heavy hearted Charlie Manuel finally recognized as a stellar manager, as his late mom foretold.

Hopefully the title will calm down Philadelphia’s notoriously grumpy fanbase. Who else has booed Santa Claus? Philly fans pelted batteries at JD Drew because he didn’t want to play for them. Eagle fans cheered Cowboys WR Michael Irvin’s injury. But surely the championship will fix that… or maybe not:

http://phillies.fandome.com/video/105707/Phillies-Fan-Meets-Bottle-of-Grey-Goose/?q=k