Last night the Rays finally settled things with the Red Sox, winning Game 7 of the ALCS by a score of 3 - 1. Starter Matt Garza got the win and was the MVP of the ALCS.
So, with that, let the speculation and predictions begin. Tim Kurkjian of ESPN breaks down the Phils and Rays and predicts the Rays will win in 7 games. In general, the ESPN experts are all picking the Rays (except for Peter Gammons). That's fine. Alot of those same pundits all picked the Dodgers in the NLCS, so I'm not too concerned about what they think.
I will say this about the matchup; it is going to be much closer than a lot of people think. There is a lot of love for the young talent of the Rays and rightfully so. They are good; but they are not ready, I think. This has the look of a team that is just happy to be in the World Series. I just wonder if everyone is predicting the Rays to win this series, not so much because of the actual state of the talent on the two teams, but on what the Rays COULD become one day. Rays' 3B Evan Longoria is only 23; BJ Upton is only 24. They will both be good for a long time.
The Phillies don't need to be better than the Rays 10 years from now to be the 2008 World Champions; they just need to be better than the Rays 10 days from now.
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