And that, of course, means the League Championship Series are in the offing. But let's look past the LCS for the moment, and remember that those four remaining teams mean four different World Series scenarios. Naturally, the focus is going to be on the prospect of a Red Sox-Dodgers Fall Classic and the ratings motherlode it would provide.

However, the other three matchups have storylines and intrigue all their own. So let's have a look at what the 2008 World Series might offer up in the way of dramatic possibilities ...

Rays vs. Phillies

The Phillies have been around for 125 years, and they have exactly one championship to show for all that time and toil. That means the Rays, in their 11th year of existence, could equal the Phils' championship tally. On another level, though, there's some shared futility. The Phils are the first and only team to endure at least 10,000 losses, and the Rays, before 2008, had never managed more than 70 wins in a season. So there's that. Otherwise, you can consider this series a tantalizing study in contrasts. This season, the Rays ranked just ninth in the 14-team AL in runs scored, but they ranked second in fewest runs allowed. The Phillies, meanwhile, tied for second in the NL in runs and ranked third in runs allowed. Once you correct for their home park, the Phillies' pitching is as good as their hitting. However, the Phillies, particularly now that Ryan Howard is raking, boast a formidable attack. Can the Rays tame the Philly bats? Will pitching and defense trump hitting?

Red Sox vs. Phillies

If you're partial to East Coast hostilities and fan bases that generally annoy everyone else, then this should be your preferred matchup. Plus there's the fact that Terry Francona, current Boston skipper, used to manage the Phillies. In four seasons on the job in Philly, Francona never won more than 77 games and twice finished in last place. That's usually not the resume you need to land one of the most coveted jobs in sports, but there's no disputing Francona's excellence since coming to Boston. There would also be at least two more chances for Philly fans to boo J.D. Drew, and, as is the case with either of the two possible matchups involving the Phillies, Jamie Moyer will have a shot at becoming the oldest pitcher ever to win a World Series game (the current record-holder, Dolph Luque, won a game for the Giants in 1933 at age 43).

Rays vs. Dodgers

Thirsty for great pitching? Then tune into this series. In 2008, the Dodgers led the NL in ERA, and over in the AL the Rays ranked second in that same category. You can savor great young arms like Chad Billingsley, Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza and Clayton Kershaw, and you'll get the chance to watch Greg Maddux pitch in the World Series once again. Run scoring already tends to decline in the postseason, and with these hurlers on the mound the runs will be hard to come by. As for the differences, the Dodgers this season had the seventh-highest payroll in MLB ($118,188,536), while the Rays checked in at 29th ($43,422,997). It's also the second-largest media market in the U.S. going up against the 19th-largest media market in the U.S. Also worth noting ... catcher Dioner Navarro used to play for the Dodgers, and Joe Torre can join Sparky Anderson and Tony La Russa as the only men to win the World Series as manager of an AL and NL team.

Red Sox vs. Dodgers

A bounty of storylines in this one. Will Manny Ramirez strike a blow against his former team? Will Joe Torre get back at the Red Sox for the 2004 ALCS debacle? Will this one yield the highest Nielsen Ratings in World Series history? And all of this is to say nothing of the prospect of the first East Coast-West Coast World Series since the Yankees and Padres met in 1998. As far as social history goes, this one would pair up the first team to integrate (the Dodgers with Jackie Robinson in 1947) against the last team to integrate (the Red Sox with Pumpsie Green in 1959). Oh, and these two also met in the 1916 World Series, when Boston, thanks in part to a Game 2 gem by a young lefty named Babe Ruth, took the series in five games.