Wouldn’t it be nice

Please no Phillies or pinstripes in this year’s World Series. Instead of seeing the Miami Heat of pitching staffs or the Miami Heat of batting orders, wouldn’t it be nice to see the Tampa Bay Rays verse the Milwaukee Brewers?

This is the year of the Moneyball, the uplifting story about the economically challenged Oakland Athletics who relied on smart decision-making and innovative scouting to build a competitive and exciting team. In this year’s playoffs, the Rays and the Brewers are just that.

The Rays and Brewers payrolls combined don’t even reach the New York Yankees’ $196,854,630 or Philadelphia Phillies’ $172,976,381. The Rays, who have the 2^nd smallest payroll in baseball, especially deserve to win.

Year after year, the Rays and Brewers see their rising, homegrown stars leave for contracts almost as large as their former team’s payroll. Former Ray’s outfielder Carl Crawford left for divisional rival Boston Red Sox, while closer Rafael Soriano left for other divisional rival New York Yankees. The Brewer’s face a similar challenge this off-season with infielder Prince Fielder.

I understand the money aspect is apart of the game and I’m not challenging the system, but it certainly makes me to put on my underdog rally cap more so than any sport. It truly creates a David verse Goliath atmosphere.

Aside from the money, the Rays are again a fascinating story. Just a month ago, the Rays looked out of the playoff picture with the Yankees and Red Sox atop. But then, they win their last 9 of 15 games to jump the struggling Red Sox. Not to mention, come back from down 7 in their final game to win it in the 12^th inning.

I am completely on this bandwagon, just as I was in 2009 when the Rays lost in the championships to the Phillies. GO RAYS!