Oct. 23 -- POWERED BY COLE

BY SCOTT LAUBER

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- So, sometime before Game 1 last night, I received an e-mail promoting the "Young Talent Inventory," yet another list that will be included in noted statistical analyst Bill James' annual handbook. Evidently, James has ranked Cole Hamels 13th on his list of the top 25 players under 30 years old. The e-mail goes on to explain the formula that James used to arrive at his rankings, including the "runs allowed" statistic for pitchers. According to the e-mail, James then makes several adjustments, including for injuries suffered during the year, and takes into account the number of years the player should be at his peak performance. Anyway, James lists Hamels at No. 13. Pitchers that were ahead of him are the Giants' Tim Lincecum (No. 3), the Angels' Francisco Rodriguez (No. 8) and the Royals' Joakim Soria (No. 11). Scott Kazmir, by the way, didn't crack the top 25.

Last night, though, nobody was better than Hamels.

In another vintage postseason performance, Hamels allowed two runs in seven innings and lifted the Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Rays, their first World Series win since Oct. 21, 1993.

"Cole is pretty good, man," Charlie Manuel said, summing it up perfectly, as usual. "I'm glad he pitches for us."

In four playoff starts, Hamels is 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA. Some perspective: Steve Carlton was 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in the 1980 playoffs, while Curt Schilling was 1-1 with a 2.59 ERA in the 1993 postseason.

"I played with [Roger] Clemens and [Andy] Pettitte and [Roy] Oswalt in Houston, and they're such huge-game pitchers," Brad Lidge said. "Cole is confident and collected. He's right there in their league. He's got one of the best changeups I've ever seen. Everybody talks about Johan Santana's changeup. Cole's is just as good.

"I don't know what makes Cole tick, but the situation does not rattle him. You can put all the pressure in the world on him, he'll come through."

As Martin Frank writes, neither the Phillies nor Hamels lost their composure amid the cowbells and other distractions that surrounded them at the Trop Dome.

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Somehow, the Phillies won last night despite going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11 men on base. Fortunately, they got one huge hit from Chase Utley, a two-run homer in the first inning that, as Kevin Roberts writes, set the tone and made all the difference. Clearly, though, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies' other big stars are going to have to play big if they're going to win the Series.

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James Shields, who will pitch for the Rays tonight, is Aaron Rowand's cousin. And, as Martin Frank writes, Rowand has helped Shields immeasurably throughout his career.

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Who's your Phillies' MVP this season? Within the notebook, assistant GM Mike Arbuckle casts his vote for Game 2 starter Brett Myers. What would've happened if Myers hadn't turned around his season after his stint in the minors? "Then, we've got problems," Arbuckle said. Also, Manuel explains why he picked Chris Coste as his Game 1 DH, and Mike Schmidt predicts Rollins will be the Series MVP. Meanwhile, Dave Huppert has perhaps the best seat in the house for the World Series. And after what he went through in April at triple-A Lehigh Valley, he deserves it.

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Some residents of Clearwater are torn over whether to root for their hometown Rays or their spring-training-favorite Phillies. Fans in Delaware have no such conflicts. They're pulling for the Phillies.

Back in a bit from the Trop.