Remember how much fun it was in and around Philadelphia in late October in 2008 and 2009? The Phillies won their first World Series in 28 years in ’08, beating the Tampa Bay Rays, and returned to the “fall classic” the following year, coming up short in a six-game series loss to the New York Yankees.

Unfortunately, the Phillies have fallen further and further from returning to the Series over the past four seasons, but this year’s Red Sox-Cardinals matchup – pitting a couple of storied franchises that have met three times previously in October – could be a dandy.

And that would be a welcome event for true sports fans locally, considering the current state of the city’s four major teams. The Phillies are coming off their worst season since 2000, the Flyers can’t seem to score goals (and are a good bet to miss the playoffs for a second-straight year if things don’t change quickly), the rebuilding 76ers may be the NBA’s worst team, and the Eagles are trying to resolve a major quarterback quandary.

How they got here: The St. Louis Cardinals finished a National League-best 97-65, earning another Central Division title, then held off the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Division Series and took care of the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-games-to-2 in the National League Championship Series.

The Boston Red Sox, after finishing 69-93 in 2012, hired John Farrell as manager to replace the fired Bobby Valentine, and the BoSox started the season strong and never relented. Like the Cards, the Red Sox had a league-best record of 97-65, then disposed of Tampa Bay in the ALDS and the Detroit Tigers in the Championship Series, sending Jim Leyland into retirement. Of course, the deciding blow in Boston’s Game Six victory was a grand slam by former Phillie Shane Victorino, who now gets to play in his third World Series in six years.

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Tags: Adam Wainwright, Allen Craig, Boston Red Sox, Carlos Beltran, Clay Buchholz, David Freese, David Ortiiz, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jim Chesko, Jon Lester, Koji Uehara, major league baseball, Matt Carpenter, Matt Holiday, Michael Wacha, Philadelphia Phillies, Philly Sports Media, Philly Sports Talk, Shane Victorino., st louis cardinals, Trevor Rosenthal, Yadier Molina