There’s been a lot of talk about the u30ws, a.k.a. the Under-30 World Series, because 24 players in this Fall Classic are under the age of 30 — and because a new breed of young fans who weren’t even alive when the Phillies last won the World Series (1980) are pumped up about the new team from Philadephia and the upstart Tampa Bay Rays.

Well, I’m here to tell you that the key players in Tampa Bay’s 4-2 win in Game 2 that knotted this World Series with the Phillies at a game apiece were all about u30ws, from Rays starter “Big Game” James Shields to 23-year-old reliever David Price to 20-something RBI men Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Jason Bartlett.

Shields put a stop to the momentum the Phillies gained in their road win in Game 1, killing rally after rally with big outs like this one:

http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/10/23/mlbtv_phitba_1432726_800K.flv&autoStart=false

Upton didn’t have to hit a homer on this night – he set up the big two-run first inning right here:

http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/10/24/mlbtv_phitba_1433216_800K.flv&autoStart=false

And Price bent a little but didn’t break, going more than two innings to close out the first World Series win in Tampa Bay history:

http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/10/23/mlbtv_phitba_1433182_800K.flv&autoStart=false

The u30ws hits the road tomorrow, so we can get a little bit of rest before Game 3 — American League Championship Series MVP Matt Garza takes the hill against crafty vet Jamie Moyer — at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday night.

Let’s get some serious conversation going before then.

O.G.