SportsDystopia

The World Series is set to begin Wednesday night in Tropicana Field.  It has been said that the matchup between the Philadephia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays will lay a ratings egg, for the stated reason that the lack of the Manny Ramirez vs. The Red Sox cash cow gives Fox a matchup that’s much tougher to sell.

But Tampa Bay just played in the highest rated baseball game ever on cable TV, and the confident way in which Matt Garza handled the Red Sox after Dustin Pedroia’s home run in the top of the 1st inning has brought the team alot of fans, and they are likely to be favored over Philadelphia.  Philadelphia is the 4th largest media market in the nation, and with a devoted and championship starved fan base, the ratings for the series will exceed expectations.

The Phillies face the ever present rust factor, with a full week off after their dominating 5 game win over the Dodgers in the NLCS. Cole Hamels is the best pitcher in the series, and will start game 1 on the road for Philadelphia.  Of ESPN’s baseball writers, only Peter Gammons picks the Phils to win the series.

I think I agree with him.  Both teams are similarly balanced offensively, but at this point, the Phillies bullpen is less taxed and less vulnerable than the Rays’.  And Hamels has been the ace of the playoffs so far, 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA.  The Rays’ Scott Kazmir had a strong start in game 5 before the bullpen melted down, but has had problems with control at times, and Joe Maddon usually watches his pitch counts pretty closely.

The Phillies will win game 1.

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