BY LARRY STONE, AOL

We all know how FOX television executives are reacting to this World Series matchup: despondently.

No doubt, when the postseason began, they had visions of a Cubs-Red Sox extravaganza, America's two most beloved franchises fighting it out. Or Red Sox-Dodgers, in which the "Manny returns" angle could be beaten to a joyous pulp. Or Cubs-Yankees, a good vs. evil allegory that quickens the heart of ratings mavens everywhere.

I know, the Yankees didn't even make the postseason, but a suit can dream, can't he?

What we've got -- Rays vs. Phillies -- might have been the least desirable outcome, a team with no tradition against one with no following. Outside its greater metro area, anyhow.

But this Series, much like the teams involved, is fully capable of over-achieving. In fact, I smell a classic brewing. Throw away your preconceptions and prejudice and you just might see this Series for what it is: Two compelling teams with great storylines and captivating players.

And just one factor is needed to bring that notion to all corners of baseball America and smack us over the head with the hidden greatness that is brewing.

Seven games. Or, more to the point, Game 7.

There is no more iconic event in all of American sports. Kids dream of hitting a game-winning homer in Game 7 of the World Series. As one who has witnessed the last five of them -- over a 20-year span, mind you -- I can attest to what you already know: There is nothing more nerve-racking, spine-tingling, awe-inspiring and history-making than Game 7, with everything on the line.

But baseball hasn't seen one for far too long. Let's face it, the last few World Series have been duds in the drama department -- a Red Sox sweep in 2007, a five-game Cardinals victory in 2006, a White Sox sweep in 2005, a Red Sox sweep in 2004.

Not since the Angels took care of Barry Bonds and the Giants in 2002 has the World Series gone the distance, and what a spectacle that was. The previous year, 2001, was an undeniable seven-game classic, with 9/11 still fresh in mind, the Yankees winning two mind-boggling games in New York before the Diamondbacks rallied in the ninth inning of Game 7 -- off previously impenetrable Mariano Rivera.

It was that rarest of events -- a Game 7 walk-off, with Luis Gonzalez's single in the bottom of the ninth capping a two-run rally off Rivera for a 3-2 Arizona win, preventing a four-peat by the Yankees. That game aptly shows the epic potential of a winner-take-all Series ender, with Randy Johnson coming heroically out of the bullpen to pitch the final 1 1/3 innings for the victory after winning with seven dominating innings the night before.

That's precisely what we need in 2008, a seven-game passion play, each successive game building the drama, deepening our involvement, making us care about the players and coaches and managers in a way that just can't be done in anything shorter. I'm sure TV executives weren't wild about a Cleveland-Florida matchup in 1997, but that Series was the highest-rated Fall Classic of the last 10 years. Guess what? Seven games, with the clincher going extra innings.

Baseball history is rife with indelible seven-game Series memories:

-- 1991: Twins over Braves. The best Series I ever covered, capped by the best game I ever witnessed. It was the only Game 7 to be scoreless after nine innings, John Smoltz dueling Jack Morris. Morris would prevail as Gene Larkin's single in the 10th gave Minnesota a 1-0 win. Gene Larkin is still a legend in Minnesota. Do you think anyone would remember him if not for that game?

-- 1960: Pirates over Yankees. Bill Mazeroski provided one of history's most famous homers, and the only Game 7 walk-off blast, off Ralph Terry, breaking a 9-9 tie.

-- 1962: Yankees over Giants. Redemption, anyone? This time, it was Terry being named MVP with two victories, including a 1-0, four-hit shutout in Game 7. What a magnificent game that was, Willie McCovey ending it on a line shot right at Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson with Giants runners at second and third. One foot left, right or up, and Terry is forever branded as one of the all-time goats as a two-time Game 7 offender.

-- 1975: Reds over Red Sox. Everyone remembers Carlton Fisk's body-language homer in Game 6, of course. But Game 7 was a humdinger as well, with Joe Morgan driving in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth as the Reds came back from a 3-0 deficit after five innings to win 4-3. This was the Series that revived baseball at a time when national interest was waning dangerously.

-- 1955: Dodgers over Yankees. Brooklyn finally, finally, finally beat its old nemeses from the Bronx, with Johnny Podres winning three of the games. The signature moment was Sandy Amoros' great catch of a Yogi Berra shot down the left-field line that he turned into a rally-killing double play in the sixth.

-- 1924: Senators over Giants. At 12 innings, still the longest Game 7 in history. And with legendary Walter Johnson, in his 18th season, working the final four innings for his first World Series victory -- with all sorts of bizarre plays en route to a 4-3 Washington win -- this stands as one of the all-time classics. The winning run scored on an error by New York's Fred Lindstrom.

-- 1986: Mets over Red Sox. The agony of Game 6, and Bill Buckner, will live forever in the broken hearts of Red Sox fans, almost but not quite healed by 2004 and 2007. Cruelly, the Red Sox jumped up 3-0 after five innings of Game 7, only to lose, inevitably, 8-5.

There are many, many, more, of course. Each seven-game series is special, and each Game 7 is rich in possibility, and everlasting memories. Heck, Babe Ruth was thrown out stealing to end Game 7 in 1926.

Let's hope that the Rays and Phillies provide another great chapter in an ongoing saga.

(Larry Stone is the national baseball writer for the Seattle Times.)