It's Official: The Phight'n Phils Take On The Rays In 08 Fall Classic.

Finally, we have our match up. The Tampa Bay Rays will take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 World Series. Philly and the Rays are both very similar teams: both can hit for power, they both have a lot of speed, both bullpens have been solid and both have gotten solid starting pitching.

In Game One it will either be James Shields or Andy Sonnestine going up against Cole Hamels. The Phillies will either benefit from the 10 days they will have had off leading up to game one, or they will be rusty, while the Rays will either be worn out from the nerve-wracking seven game series, or they will have more game experience. We will find out in three days who comes out on top.

The Rays epitomize the Cinderella story, finishing in last place in 2007 and being picked to finish there in 2008, instead they are American League Champions. Their lineup is loaded with young talent that can do just about anything, they hit with power, play small ball very well, they have a lot of speed on the bases and although they're young they show good patience at the plate.

In the field they are very solid as they were one of the top fielding teams in the league this year. Their entire pitching staff has been amazing this season. From the starters to the bullpen, they are very solid. They staved off the Red Sox in the regular season to win the division and the held off the Sox furious ALCS comeback to advance to their first World Series.

The Phillies took a different route to the World Sereis. One year ago, the Phillies were dominated in the NLDS by the red hot Rockies who were in the middle of a 17 game win streak, that ended with them getting swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.

So coming into this year, they knew that just getting to the playoffs wasn't enough. They endured some struggles, a period of time where the offense completely disappeared, some very tough stretches where they couldn't do anything right, but they overcame those struggles to win their first NL Pennant since 1993.

Their offense has gotten boosts from the most unlikely of players in the playoffs. Catcher Carlos Ruiz has been very solid in the eight hole, Shane Victorino has really picked up his production in the second half and he's carried it into the post season as he's been the Phillies spark thus far, and surprise surprise, pitcher Brett Myers has been a good hitter in the post season, especially in game two of the NLCS where he went 3-3 driving in three runs, using the old " bail and whail" hitting method.

The Philly pitching has been their strong point in the post season, led by Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge. Hamels has been dominant in his three starts, going 3-0 with a 1.76 ERA. Brad Lidge continues to dominate as the closer, as he has converted all five of his save opportunities.

This has all the makings of a tremendous series that could come down to game seven back at Tropicana Field.

MY PREDICITON: PHILLIES IN 7.