It had the potential of being a riveting post-season encounter. But, in the end, the 2008 World Series between the Phillies and Rays resulted in a flawed show marred by umpiring failures and atrocious weather during a suspended Game 5 that should have been stopped long before the field at Citizens Bank Park turned into an unplayable swamp.

Here were two teams chasing the ultimate goal of winning baseball’s biggest prize only to find themselves involved in one of the most bizarre championship series in history.

The Phillies hadn’t won a World Series since 1980. The Rays, who played their first season only ten years ago, had lost 96 games in 2007. The two opponents made for an unusual pairing -- a club founded in 1883 against the new kids on the block.

Ultimately, the Phillies captured the trophy, four games to one, sending their fans into a state of frenzy and their joyful players responded with the usual assortment of cliches.

"It’s a dream come true," said veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer who gained a 5-4 decision in Game 3. "The key was everybody contributed this year, and we stayed healthy."

"We banded together. Different guys helped us all season," remarked first baseman Ryan Howard who homered twice and drove in five runs in a 10-2 bombardment of the Rays in Game 4.

"We had great determination, up and down the lineup," said shortstop Jimmy Rollins. "And, (closer Brad) Lidge was great."

"This is something you live for," commented starter Cole Hamels who was voted the MVP of the Series after winning Game 1 at Tropicana Field, 3-2, and working six innings in Game 5 which was suspended with the score tied, 2-2, on a rain-deluged Monday night and eventually won, 5-4, by the Phillies the following Wednesday night.

In addition to being the only World Series to include a suspended game, last fall’s tussle between the Phillies and Rays featured some shoddy umpiring.

In Game 1, with the Rays trailing, 3-2, in the sixth inning, leadoff hitter Carlos Pena was on first base with the tying run when Hamels committed what appeared to be a balk in making a throw to first.

Rays manager Joe Maddon and his bench coach Dave Martinez immediately shouted in unison, "Balk!" But first base ump Kerwin Danley didn’t see it that way, and Pena was tagged out, 1-3-6, as he raced for second.

Maddon protested the call to plate umpire and crew chief Tim Welke who said, "We’ll take care of it." That’s like saying you’ll lock your front door after thieves have stolen your TV set.

If Pena had been awarded second base with no outs, who knows what might have happened next when the following batters, Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford, would be hitting in a more favorable situation?

In Game 2, the Phillies were behind, 4-1, in the ninth inning, when Rollins came to the plate with Carlos Ruiz on second base after cracking a double to left field. There were no outs. Rays rookie reliever David Price threw a pitch that clipped Rollins’ jersey about chest high. Danley was umpiring behind the plate, but he didn’t make a hit-by-pitch call and award Rollins first base.

The ump’s failure might not have changed the course of the game, even though the next batter for the Phillies, Jayson Werth, reached first on an error that allowed Ruiz to scoot home, making the final score, 4-2, Rays.

Also in Game 2, Danley signaled strike three against the Rays’ Rocco Baldelli in the second inning, but first base umpire Fieldin Culbreth disagreed with his fellow crew member, ruling that Baldelli checked his swing.

It was an unusual umpiring reversal. Can’t these guys get anything right? Baldelli walked in that plate appearance.

In Game 3, Crawford was the leadoff batter for the Rays in the top of the seventh inning, with Moyer on the mound, holding a 4-1 lead. Crawford bunted towards first. Moyer scooped up the ball and shoveled it to Howard who caught it barehanded before Crawford touched the bag. First base umpire Tom Hallion, in error, called Crawford safe.

"It was a bang-bang play," said Hallion, "and I tried to get the best angle on it. I really didn’t get a sound (of the ball smacking into the glove) to be able to judge."

With the help of Hallion’s mistake, the Rays scored two runs to close their deficit to 4-3, but in the end the Phillies came away winners, 5-4, on Ruiz’s bloop infield hit with the bases loaded n the ninth inning.

In Game 4, the Phillies exploded with a four-homer assault, including a beauty into the left field seats by their starting and winning pitcher Joe Blanton. Don’t you love to see pitchers do something like that? Sure you do. But, the game produced another obvious umpiring mistake, this one made by Welke at third base.

In the first inning, Rollins was on third and Chase Utley on first, When Howard hit the ball to Rays’ pitcher Andy Sonnanstine, Rollins was caught in a rundown between third and home. As Rollins sought to dive back to third, he was tagged on the rear end by Longoria. Welke was out of position to see the tag made by Longoria before Rollins reached the bag. So, what else is new? Welke ruled Rollins safe.

"He’s seen the replay," Mike Port major league baseball’s vice president for umpiring, said of Welke. "He knows he missed it."

"I saw him (Longoria) swing (his glove) and miss," said Welke. "That’s a swipe tag. A lot of times on a swipe tag, the glove will pause. I saw him try to make a swipe tag, but I never saw the glove pause."

Even though Rollins later scored, it must be added that Welke’s lapse wouldn’t have altered the outcome game.

In Game 5, there weren’t any outlandish goofups by umpires, but plate arbiter Jeff Kellogg seemed to have an inconsistent strike zone. He called a strike on the Rays Dioner Navarro in the fourth inning on a high pitch that should have been ball four, and rang up Akinori Iwamuri in the sixth inning on a wide pitch.

Sorry to resurrect all this negative stuff, but that’s the way it went down last October.

Nonetheless, the Phillies earned their title with timely hitting, solid relief pitching, aggressive base running, and some sharp defense at second base by Chase Utley.

Also, it should not be forgotten that Utley set the tone for the new champions’ offense by drilling a two-run homer in the first inning of Game 1 on a fastball thrown down the middle by Scott Kazmir.

"That early home run got us off to a great start," said Brad Lidge.

And, the Rays? Their disappointment should not linger. They have enough young talent to make another run for all the glory before too long.

At the end of the World Series, Joe Maddon, their manager looked to the future. "This is just the beginning of good things to come," he promised.