magine if our nation’s government took all the stimulus checks and put together a collective bet on the Tampa Bay Rays winning the World Series. Since the odds were 200-1, the wager would have solved the economic crisis with room to spare.
Of course, there are four wins left before the Rays completely shock the baseball world with the most improbable worst-to-first turnaround of all time. But it will happen.
I’ll go with six games.
The Rays were built to get to the World Series — just not before contending in two to three years.
Now they’re taking the world by storm.
Move over Red Sox Nation.
Rays Nation is booming.
Nobody saw this coming. I certainly didn’t, considering I had the Red Sox winning the World Series in six games over the Mets. And don’t bring up why I predicted the Tigers, Mariners and Reds to make this playoffs.
How can anyone pick against the Rays?
Last year, the Rockies had an unprecedented nine-day break between an NLCS sweep and Game 1 of the World Series. Four games later, Boston had a sweep of its own.
Tampa Bay — now battle tested after a Game 7 win against the defending champs — has the momentum over Philadelphia, which awakens from a six-day break.
Cole Hamels will keep the Rays honest in Game 1 tonight. But he’s pitching on the road and against a lineup that includes a designated hitter, which likely will be Wily Aybar, the unsung hero who belted two clutch homers in the ALCS.
Pay attention Nats and Orioles fans.
The Rays did it the right way – painfully, yes, but right.
Tampa Bay spurned Yankees-style free agent spending in favor of thrifty trades, smart drafts and successful player development.
And most refreshing of all? They did it with the second-lowest payroll in baseball, around $43 million.
Their two biggest prospects arrived in this season. And because of Evan Longoria and David Price, the Rays will win in six.
The Rays already exorcised the Devil from their uniforms. By next week, they’ll have exorcised the rest of their doubters, too.
Sean Welsh, a voting member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, covers Major League Baseball for The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected]
