2008 MLB World Series Preview: Phillies v. Rays

With the 2008 MLB World Series match up set, see which team has the edge and the best shot at World Series gold!

World Series: Match Up Overview
The NL victor Philadelphia Phillies will duel in the diamond against the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays during the 2008 MLB World Series. No two teams have worked harder to get to the Big Dance than the Phillies and Rays, and fans with MLB World Series tickets know this. Now, the two young teams will collide in the World Series, giving the baseball world a match up that next to no one would have anticipated heading into the season. 2008 MLB World Series tickets will not feature big-market teams, giving way to parity and competitive balance that the sport of baseball so richly deserves.

World Series: Tampa Bay Rays
During the 2008 MLB season, the Tampa Bay Rays have come out of the AL East cellars to capture the division crown over perennial favorites Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, surprising many critics, pundits, and fans with Tampa Bay Rays tickets to boot. Tampa Bay Rays World Series tickets will welcome the Fall Classic into Tropicana Field for the first time in Tampa Bay Rays history.

World Series: Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies baseball team has not won a World Series pennant since 1980. This year, fans with Philadelphia Phillies tickets saw their team surge to the second-best record in the National League. No easy feat. After jockeying with the New York Mets for the better part of two months, the Philadelphia Phillies would win the battle, snag the NL East crown, surge through the NLDS and NLCS, and claim a spot in the 2008 MLB World Series.

World Series: Pitching
The Philadelphia Phillies will count on NLCS MVP Cole Hamels (3-0, 1.23 ERA, 22 Ks) to continue his spectacular postseason pitching if the Phils even want to think about winning the series. Brett Myers has been shaky on the road in the past, while veteran Jamie Moyer has not brought his best stuff this postseason. However, fans with MLB World Series tickets will see one of the best bullpens in the MLB, book ended by Brad Lidge, who has returned to lights-out form.

The Tampa Bay Rays will send out the likes of Scott Kazmir, James Shields, and ALCS MVP Matt Garza to the mound. James Shields will threaten with an awesome change up but how will he stack up against the hard-hitting, home-run happy Philadelphia Phillies? In two postseason starts, Matt Garza dazzled fans with Tampa Bay Rays tickets, posting a microscopic 1.38 ERA. MLB World Series tickets will feature David Price, Chad Bradford, and Grant Balfour bolstering a formidable Tampa Bay Rays bullpen.

World Series: Hitting
MLB World Series tickets will showcase the 3, 4, 5 bats of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell, a powerful trio that catapulted the Philadelphia Phillies to the top of the NL in home runs.  Backed by a great deal of depth, scrappy leadoff men in Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, and a dangerous combination of lefties, righties, and switch-hitters, the Philadelphia Phillies offense runs like a well-oiled machine. Fans with MLB World Series tickets can expect the Philadelphia Phillies to try to take advantage of a Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff that has allowed many a long ball throughout the season.

The Tampa Bay Rays may not have a .300 hitter or a 40-home run bat in the lineup, but fans with Tampa Bay Rays tickets have seen their team has come up big with timely hits throughout the regular season and in the postseason to boot. Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, and Evan Longoria will need to come up big again, whether they’re connecting at the plate, drawing walks, or excelling at the running game. MLB World Series tickets may not feature a dazzling offensive explosion or a flurry of long balls by the Tampa Bay Rays, but you can bet that this team of youngsters will do all the little things to put runs on the board.  

World Series: The Edge?
The two young teams will match up well, and fans with MLB World Series tickets are likely to see this match up go the distance of seven games. However, the Philadelphia Phillies cannot just rely on their big bats to lock down a World Series win. The Philadelphia Phillies have glaring holes in their pitching rotation with the exception of southpaw ace Cole Hamels. With an edge in pitching, the Tampa Bay Rays will likely shut down the Philadelphia Phillies bats en route to their first World Series win in Tampa Bay Rays history.