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Rays, Phils: boring series
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Manny Ramirez gets traded to the Dodgers following the huge debacle in Boston.
Both teams make the playoffs and cruise through the first round, and in round two, both Boston and Los Angeles are favored to win the AL and NL, respectively.
Manny hears jeers at Fenway, cheers at Dodger Stadium, and the World Series is one of the highest rated of all time.
Talk about a fairytale.
Instead, two other great teams, the Rays and Phillies, get to steal the show and essentially the fun from the October Classic.
Congratulations, Rays. You did everything everyone said you couldn’t do, and now you’re ready to win it all and be in contention for years to come. But for some reason, this World Series just doesn’t seem to compare to some better ones in recent memory.
Well done, Phillies. You beat the Dodgers, who beat the best team in the National League, and one of the hottest teams since the arrival of Manny Ramirez.
Think about it — no Yankees, no Red Sox, no Cubs — you get the point.
Now, with the Rays shocking the Red Sox in Tampa Bay, beating the defending champions in seven games, we get to watch one of the most unexpected and unwanted World Series in recent memory.
It’s not the World Series most were expecting. In fact, I’d bet most baseball fans would have preferred to see different representatives from each league face each other.
Instead, we have James Shields vs. Cole Hamels, and Evan Longoria matching up against Chase Utley — not exactly Manny Ramirez facing off against his former team.
Sure, these aren’t your ordinary Rays — they made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and did so in the best division in baseball. They defied all odds and made the World Series, beating arguably the best team in baseball in the process.
I’ll tell you one thing though — there won’t be that drama that could have been with Manny facing the Sox. There won’t be the thrill of seeing the Cubs’ attempt at breaking their curse.
Face it people, this just isn’t what baseball needs right now.
With baseball being more and more overshadowed by the NFL and NBA, it needed something to light the fire in the playoffs.
Frankly, the city of Philadelphia’s 25-year championship drought isn’t exactly the spark the MLB was hoping for.
Everyone wants to see the glory, the drama and the rivalries — that’s why baseball hasn’t been as exciting recently.
When the Cubs were in the playoffs, everyone was hoping they would move on so they could make history, or break it rather.
Four years ago when the Red Sox battled back from three games down against their archrival Yankees and won the World Series, the baseball world was jumping.
Now, we just simply don’t have that luxury.
The Rays and Phillies bring a lot to the table. Great pitching, hitting, coaching and among the best bullpens in baseball.
But somehow, it just doesn’t seem all that exciting. Two great teams, and I don’t really care.
Well, you tell me what sounds better — Manny versus Boston or Ryan Howard versus Tampa Bay.
Yeah, you might have your own opinions on the World Series, but believe me, the Phillies breaking their 28-year championship-less streak will mean a lot less to every baseball fan than Manny hitting a walk-off against his former team, or the Cubs breaking their 100-year drought.
Hopefully, the Rays and Phillies will prove me wrong. They are two great teams that did what most people did not expect them to achieve. Maybe they’ll create that drama everyone is just itching to see.
Jonah is a sophomore hoping to major in journalism. Have your own take on the World Series? Think Rays-Phillies is an ideal matchup? He can be reached at jbraun@badgerherald.com.
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you couldnt be more wrong. Alot of ppl are plain sick of those other teams especially the cubs, and this should be a series for the ages
“Jonah is a sophomore hoping to major in journalism.”
My advice is to switch majors or drop out.
Haha way to say the same thing everyone else is saying. Maybe if you did your research a little bit you would see that since 1997 the highest rated world series has been the Marlins vs Indians. Now neither of those teams you claim “need” to be in the series for it to be exciting were included in that. I can garuntee that people will tune in to watch the Rays win their first world series, or see the Phillies win their first since 1980.
Ditto on changing majors.
Also, you probably should re-consider yourself to be passive with regards to sports because this has the makings of one of the best World Series’ in our generation. I pity the fool. This has been a great year for MLB, despite its beloved Yankees failing to make the post season.
Also, the Cubs suck. Everyone hates the Cubs. If I was a Cubs fan, I would hate the Cubs, and then hate myself for being a Cubs fan. They drop off faster than Wall Street come September. And after the sell off, I would hate myself some more for being either from Illinois or delusional.
What are you going to write next, the Packers aren’t appealing enough to play in the Super Bowl CSR
The Bears Still Suck.
Everything I had planned to write while reading the article has pretty much already been said. How is it not exciting to see a young team coming together and doing something nobody dreamed they could do facing off against one of the best offensive teams in baseball?
Also you mentioned manny six times.
Um…I definitely was NOT rooting for the Cubs to move on. I enjoyed every minute of watching them get swept. Again.
At least the Phils have interesting players like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Pat Burrell, which comprise a video-game like offense. Always a crowd-pleaser.
What if this was Rays-Dodgers? The only individual player worth mentioning in that series would be Manny Ramirez, who would basically become a Brett Favre-like figure for how many times his name would be mentioned.
Better yet, let’s say Manny was never traded, and LA still made the World Series. Then where’s your storyline? If ‘boring’ is how you describe Rays-Phillies, I wonder what you would have called that debacle. “Irrelevant”, maybe. Kind of like what your Manny-less Dodgers will be next year.
It’s pretty clear you’re a Dodgers homer, but that aside, have you considered the idea that some people, as the Red Sox organization has already demonstrated, that we are SICK AND TIRED of Manny being Manny. A Manny v. Red Sox match up would be intriguing, but you’re definitely downplaying the drama and excitement with a Rays Phillies series. The Rays have arguably the most exciting offense in baseball, and the Phillies, while missing that one big name player (like your newly beloved Manny) have the most well-rounded team in baseball. The Phillies beat your Dodgers because the Phillies were the better team. Period.
A Phillies Rays World Series is exactly what MLB needs right now: two new, exciting teams battling it out in a competitive series without the tired Manny story lines or Red Sox dominance blather being shoved down our throats.
“With baseball being more and more overshadowed by the NFL and NBA, it needed something to light the fire in the playoffs.”
This statement is laughable. MLB being overshadowed by the NBA?!?! What decade are you living in?!?! The NBA is slowly dying each and every day with David Stern at the helm.
As a UW alum transplanted in Tampa, I have to admit that this amazing story is what I wish would happen to the Brewers. The difference is that even the Brewers weren’t as lowly as the Rays were. Few people have seen firsthand how unbelievably pathetic the Rays were until this year. It’s fun to watch a movie script play out live. Plus, for me at least, this series is exciting since the biggest NL team down here is the Phillies! They spend every spring here, and their A ball minor league team is very popular. F* Manny and his disgrace-to-baseball act. This is what it’s all about!!