THE FALL CLASSIC by Stevie T

I know we sit in Pac 10 country and a place a would NOT consider a baseball hotbed. That may change over time with the return of Oregon baseball, but for now our national past time can't hold a candle to football and hoops in these parts. That said, we have a ton of baseball fans who are passionate and this is the World Series. If Tampa beats Cole Hamels and Philly in game one this evening, I can't see this thing going more than 5 games. Ironically the Game 1 starters, Hamels and the Ray's Scotty Kazmir, were picked 2 slots apart in the middle of the first round of the 2002 amateur draft. Needless to say, expectations were high. The catch is that Hamels is with the organization that understood what they had. Kazmir was taken by the Mets then hijacked by Tampa when New York was transitioning from the end of the Steve Phillips as GM era into the current regime run by Omar Minaya. The Rays gave up a schlub in Victor Zambrano. The deal was made at the trade deadline in late July of the 2004 season. Zambrano was out of baseball by early in the 2007 season. Kazmir fronts a World Series rotation.
Game 2 is a toss up pitching wise with Brett Meyers for the Phils dueling with James Shields. I can not see a circumstance under which the Rays don't demolish Jamie Moyer in Game 3. My logic harkens back to the Tim Wakefield start for the Sox in the Boston/Tampa series. The better line-ups, which obviously you face in the post season, don't fall prey to junk. They work the count, see as many pitches as possible, then tee off on knuckle balls and the crap Moyer throws.
Each team is excellent defensively and has a running game. No team stole more bases than the Rays while Philly had the highest success rate of steals and only swiped 6 fewer bases than Tampa.
I know there is talk of a very low rated TV audience, but for fans who will actually be tuning in, who cares. Everyone I know named Steve Tannen who loves baseball and hosts a SportsTalk show in Eugene will be riveted. Enjoy it and remember, AM 1320 The Score will carry all the action.