All But Over?

For the first time in twenty-eight seasons the Philadelphia Phillies will become World Champions tonight. After beating the Tampa Bay Rays in game four for the 2008 World Series last night, it seems like an almost certainty that the streets of Philadelphia will be filled with maniac fans who have had nothing to celebrate of this magnitude in 20+ years.

Wait, they have another game to play, right? So why are we handing the Championship over to the Phillies with games left to play? Its not over it its over, right? Wrong. Anyone who saw last night's game will agree, this series is over.

The Philly bats overwhelmed Tampa pitching to the tune of 10-2 in game four. Even starting pitcher Joe Blanton got in on the offense last night chipping in with a solo homer to go along with his 6 solid innings of work on the mound. You know things are going bad then the opposing pitcher it taking you yard. More bad news for the Rays: Phillies' slugger Ryan Howard looks as locked in at the plate as he has all season, as he demonstrated by hitting two homeruns in the game, one to each side of the park. Any baseball "expert" would tell you that when a powerhitter like Howard is locked in they will hit with power to all fields. A locked in Ryan Howard spells doom for the Ray.

Game five brings us a rematch of game one starters as Cole Hamels will try to close out the Phillies' second Series title on Monday night against Scott Kazmir. Hamels (4-0) is trying to become the first pitcher to win five postseason starts in one year. Josh Beckett won four last year with the Boston Red Sox.

Even more good news is that Hamels loves the spot light. He has been known as a big game pitcher in his short time in the big leagues. They certainly get no bigger than game 5 of the World Series at home with a chance to bring a championship to a city that has not seen one is twenty years.

"Cole looks for these moments. I call him Hollywood, because when the lights are on, that's when he's at his best, and tomorrow night the lights will definitely be on," said Phillies short-stop Jimmy Rollins.

The World has been counting out the Rays all season, and all season they have somehow stepped it up to another level and proved us all wrong. 42 times in World Series history a team has held a 3-1 advantage. Of those 42 instances, 6 times a team has come back to win the series, prove that it is not impossible, however is unlikely.

This series is over. The Phillies will not lose at home; Cole Hamels will not let that happen. Tampa has had a story book season, unfortunately for them, this story does not have a happy ending.