Rays Win! Rays Win! Rays Win!

Tip your hats to the Rays from Tampa Bay, Florida because they are now the American League Champions of 2008 beating the Red Sox in a heated 7 game ALCS. What a series to watch as both team gave reason as to why they deserve the crown atop the American League. The Rays have surprised everyone. At no time in the off season after the 2007 playoffs would anyone even thought of saying that the Tampa Bay Dev, oops, Rays would even win 50 % of their games this year. A team that has been in the dumps since their creation was certainly not in my 2008 playoff talks as were they in any of yours to say the least. But yet again another surprise just as we saw last year with the Colorado Rockies making it to the WS against the Red Sox. It is great for baseball to see teams of this stature to finally improve incredibly and advance to a World Series and have the chance to be named the best team in baseball.

They certainly were the best in the AL in the regular season but no one believe that they could hold on. This team won 99 games in the regular season, their best before that, 77. You do the math with a 162 game season, that is not going to get you to the playoffs. Also, playing in one of the most difficult divisions in baseball on top of that. These guys just beat up on the Yankees and the Red Sox in the regular season. Two teams that are usually always in the October talks when it comes to playoff baseball. It looks to be that there is now a 3-team front coming out of the east and with that more competition and a tougher route into the playoffs for these three talented squads.

**One thing that I was not pleased with when I was watching game 7 of this series last night was when the ALCS MVP award was given out and it did not go to B.J. Upton. For crying out loud, the man hit 4 home runs alone in the ALCS. He racked up 11 huge RBI's and also hit .321 collecting 9 hits in only 28 at-bats. It just seemed that when this team needed a boost they got it from Upton and to not give him the MVP award is completely inappropriate. Matt Garza pitched two incredible ball games. I am not taking that away from him at all. The fact is that Upton played everyday. He played in the field, he hit 2nd in the lineup, his attributions were utilized on an everyday basis unlike Garza who pitched only 2 games. I disagree with giving the MVP award for the regular season to a pitcher as well. Position players do too much game in and game out to not recognize them when they lift their team to victory especially in a huge situation like B.J. Upton did.

World Series 2008: Phillies vs. Rays should be a great series as both teams look to leave their mark in history. As for the Red Sox, the "Nation" is now the "Bay State" is now the "lets go golfing state." See ya in April.