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From the Windup: World Series Bound to Disappoint Most Fans

Posted Oct 20, 2008 12:15PM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Phillies, Rays, AL East, NL East, MLB Fans, MLB Playoffs

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From the Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

The World Series cannot possibly live up the ALCS.

Please don't misconstrue the above statement and assume I'm being negative. It's actually the complete opposite. That was one incredible ALCS. If you are a baseball fan, but a fan of neither the Rays nor the Phillies, you are bound to be disappointed by the World Series. Don't expect an encore. Obviously, I can't accurately predict the future and tell you who is going to win and in how many games. I can tell you that while this upcoming series excites me, I also realize it just can't reach the lofty bar which was set over the past week by the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

Let's just revisit some of the drama we witnessed over the course of seven stellar games.

Game 1
We saw a string of four full scoreless innings before a Jed Lowrie sacrifice fly broke the tie in the top of the fifth. Meanwhile Daisuke Matsuzaka took a no-no into the seventh. He proceeded to allow back to back singles to Carl Crawford and Cliff Floyd, which left runners on first and third with nobody out and only a 1-0 Red Sox lead. He worked through the inning, getting a short flyout, a punch out, and a ground out. A tack-on run and Jonathan Papelbon save later, the Red Sox held a 1-0 lead in the series.

Game 2
A non-die-hard casual fan's delight. Seventeen runs in eleven innings, which was topped off with a B.J. Upton walk-off sacrifice fly. Between the first and last pitch, we witnessed seven home runs, six doubles, a wild pitch to allow the tying run in the eighth inning, and four Red Sox hitters with three-hit games. Before said wild pitch, Dan Wheeler coaxed Kevin Youkilis into what seemed to be a threat-ending double play.

Game 3
Six extra base hits, including four home runs for the visiting Rays off of a man who had been nearly unhittable in recent memory -- Jon Lester. Meanwhile, Matt Garza began building his ALCS MVP resume.

Game 4
The Rays bats once again dominated the game. Carl Crawford and Willy Aybar combined for nine hits in 10 at-bats, four runs scored, seven RBI, 2 doubles, a triple, a home run, and two steals. The rest of the Rays only garnered five hits, but it didn't matter. The 13-4 rout had us scratching our heads as to why we had yet another boring series. How little we knew ...

Game 5
B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, and Evan Longoria homered. Upton also doubled, running his RBI total for the game to four ... and the Rays opened up a 7-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. At this point only Rays fans -- and possibly fans fervently rooting against the Red Sox -- were happy. Where was the drama? Enter Coco Crisp, Dustin Pedroia, and David Ortiz. Big Papi's big blow cut the lead to 7-4. A two run job in the eighth by J.D. Drew lowered the deficit to one ... and later that inning Crisp tied the game by driving home Mark Kotsay. After an infield single and errant Longoria throw, Jason Bay was intentionally passed, and it was hardly surprising when Drew ripped a line drive over Gabe Gross' head in right. And we have a series.

Game 6
Only six total runs were scored, but there were four home runs. The bullpens combined to toss 7 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. The most dramatic thing about this game was that the Red Sox won, meaning we were headed to the decisive seventh game.

Game 7
The story here was the growth of the Rays as a powerhouse with staying power, the emergence of David Price as a force on the hill, and Matt Garza handcuffing the Red Sox again. Willy Aybar closed out his stellar ALCS with a double and homer (leaving him with a 1.210 OPS in the series). Garza worked seven and only allowed one run, striking out nine. He entered the eighth inning, and after watching Alex Cora reach via an error, departed. The Rays cycled through five total pitchers in the eighth inning, yet never allowed a run. Price struck out Drew with the bases loaded to end the final Red Sox threat.

So with all this in mind, do you really believe the World Series can give us all this drama? Let us also factor in budding rivalry between the Rays and Red Sox as divisional foes.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but even if the upcoming series goes seven games, I'm not sure we'll see even an ounce of the drama that we just witnessed over a nine day period. It's been several years since we bore witness to a really oustanding World Series. In 2001, we saw probably the best ever, and 2002 did not disappoint. Since then, however, you were likely left wanting more ... unless you were a fan of the winning team.

Thank you to the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays for providing baseball fans with a memorable ALCS. We won't be forgetting it anytime soon, especially since we're about to be disappointed.

Tags: alcs, b.j.+upton, B.j.Upton, carl+crawford, CarlCrawford, carlos+pena, CarlosPena, coco+crisp, CocoCrisp, daisuke+matsuzaka, DaisukeMatsuzaka, david+ortiz, david+price, DavidOrtiz, DavidPrice, dustin+pedroia, DustinPedroia, evan+longoria, EvanLongoria, from+the+windup, FromTheWindup, j.d.+drew, J.d.Drew, jon+lester, jonathan+papelbon, JonathanPapelbon, JonLester, kevin+youkilis, KevinYoukilis, matt+garza, MattGarza, willy+aybar, WillyAybar, world+series, WorldSeries

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