World Series Preview

I'm having extreme trouble picking a favorite for this years World Series. America will be pulling for the underdog, the upstart Rays who have done nothing except lose up until this miracle year that they have had. I personally want the Phillies to win because I can side with how much the city of Philadelphia has been suffering. The city hasn't won a professional title sense 1983, and the worst part is that they have had plenty of close calls. The Rays don't have the same rooted fan base, in fact they struggled to sell out during the first round of the PLAYOFFS! If a team can't sell out during the playoffs I don't think they deserve to win. The same way Boston was destined to lose the ALCS because their fans started to walk out on them in an elimination game. The baseball gods let them hang around until game 7 then struck them down as soon as they smelled the World Series.

But strategically speaking, and all my personal preferences aside, this could be a great series and a very memorable one. Great clutch hitting, and players who love big moments on the Phillies, and tremendous pitching and defense for the Rays. The Rays dominate at home, but the Phillies were just as unflappable on the road this season. I see this series being decided by one thing, and that is Cole Hammels. The Rays are a young, fastball hitting team. They are very aggressive at pitches in the zone. Hammels will use his great changeup to use the aggressiveness of the Rays' hitters against them. Hammels will pitch 2 games, possibly 3. He will dominate in all of his starts and be named the World Series MVP.