The World Series, so far

After two games...

Why you should be happy if you're a Rays fan:

• The Phillies are not producing with men in scoring position.
• We won game 2, the pivotal game in a seven game series. Teams that win game 2 go on to win the series about 80% of the time (I heard one of the talking heads on TBS throw that out there during the ALCS).
• Cole Hamels can't pitch every game for the Phillies.
• Philadelphia's ballpark is a launching pad for home run hitters.

Why you should be nervous if you're a Rays fan:

• It's probably not a good idea to believe that the Phillies will continue to strand runners. Hope, yes. Believe, not yet.
• We lost game 1, which gives home field advantage to Philadelphia. Splitting those first two games is exactly what they had hoped to accomplish.
• Crappy weather in Philadelphia could push the games back, giving Cole Hamels more rest.
• Philadelphia fans are ruthless. That ballpark is not going to be a friendly place.

Random observations:

• The Philles got screwed twice by the home plate umpire in game 2. Oddly enough, I'm okay with it.
• Normally, I'm not someone who puts a lot of credence into announcers rooting for one team over another, but the coverage so far has been very Rays-friendly. Unlike the ALCS, where it was all Boston, all the time. So much so, that it was obvious that Buck Martinez (who I think usually does a very good job) was totally unprepared to say anything good about the Rays as evidenced by his near total silence after they rallied and eventually won. Either he thought the Red Sox were going to win that game and prepared accordingly (albeit, incorrectly) or he just hoped they would.
• I'm disappointed that there aren't any creative tv commercials. I know no event draws as many viewers as the Superbowl, but nobody could find a little something in their ad budget to come up with something more clever than the freeze-tag ads that Budweiser is running?
• Tim McCarver says "Mmmm" a lot. I wonder if he's eating soup between pitches.
• Joe Buck can at times be almost as insufferably smug as Bob Costas but he seems to be keeping a lid on it so far.
• In the battle of the pre-game lineup introductions, it was Mike Schmidt vs the Rays batting order in game 1. Schmidt is a hall of famer, but he's not a very dynamic personality. In game 2, it was Dallas Green vs Jon Gruden. Dallas Green hasn't been relevant in years but Chucky has the Bucs contending and has been vocal and visible in supporting the Rays, which is awesome. Rays win both of those.
• However, in the battle of the anthem singers, I'm positive we're going to get our asses whipped. We had the Backstreet Boys, whose Nick Carter is from the area...sort of..., in game 1 and Los Lonely Boys, who aren't even from here at all, in game 2. I don't know who's slated to do the games in Philadelphia, but that's a city with a roster of musical legends deeper than Santa's naughty list. The closest thing we have to a musical heritage is that Ray Charles lived briefly in Tampa, during the most miserable period of his life. This bout is over before it starts.
• I'm not sure I entirely understand the concept of what a "man crush" is, but I think I have one on Joe Maddon.