by Tracy Ringolsby, Special to FOXSports.com

Don't get caught up in the paralysis by analysis.

Don't try and turn addition into algebra.

Remember the KISS theory — Keep It Simple Stupid.

Monday night, with the wind blowing, the rain falling and the temperature dropping, commissioner Bud Selig finally stepped up before the Phillies could come up in the bottom of the sixth and ordered the game suspended with the score tied at two.

Forget about the whining about what should or shouldn't have happened. Deal with what is.

If the Phillies don't win, it's their fault, and there is no sense blaming the weather or Selig or global warming. And the Phillies know it.

"All year long we have been in a situation where we can control our destiny, and it is no different now,'" said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. "It is up to us to stay focused and definitely to win that game. If something happens and we don't get the job done, I have no complaints because it is in our hands."

What is in their hands is the game that's scheduled to resume Wednesday, and really nothing will change had the game never stopped, except for Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel hitting for starting pitcher Cole Hamels, who will exit after six innings instead of what most likely would have been a seven-inning adventure without a weather-induced break in the action.

Phantastic Phils

	World Series Phillies win 4-1
Kriegel: Phils win is vindicating Rosenthal: Rotation was the difference Perry: 10 keys to Phillies' victory Ringolsby: Manuel reaches pinnacle PHOTOS: Phils finish Rays in Game 5

Game 1: Phillies 3, Rays 2 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

Game 2: Rays 4, Phillies 2 Rosenthal | Fraley | Video | Photos

Game 3: Phillies 5, Rays 4 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

Game 4: Phillies 10, Rays 2 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

Game 5: Phillies 4, Rays 3 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

More on the playoffs:

• MLB Playoff Central | Video Central
• Fan reaction to every series

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon already was into his bullpen.

And if it comes down to a battle of bullpens, give the edge to Philadelphia, which only needs to rally to win Game 5 in order to celebrate the second world championship in franchise history and the first since 1980.

Maddon has to pick and choose and hope as he works his way through the late innings. Left-hander David Price, rushed to the big leagues in mid-September after being the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, has seemingly become the go-to guy because there is no real closer. Price does have the potential to be special, but face it, this is his first pro season. He began it in Single A, and he had never pitched relief before arriving in the majors. His first big-league win and his first professional save didn't come until the ALCS against Boston.

The Phillies, meanwhile, not only have bullpen balance, but they have the final say with Ryan Madson to work the eighth and Brad Lidge to work the ninth, with both capable of being extended if it means a championship is at stake. The Phillies' bullpen has a 1.69 postseason ERA. The relievers have allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings the first four World Series games. Lidge is 47-for-47 in saves this year, including 6-for-6 in the postseason.

What adds to the challenge for Tampa Bay is that it not only needs to win Game 5, but then it needs to win Games 6 and 7 to win a world championship for the first time in its 11-year existence.

Of the 42 teams that lost three of the first four games in a World Series, only six have rallied to win the title. The last was Kansas City in 1985 against St. Louis, which found a scapegoat in umpire Don Denkinger, failing to deal with the reality that while Denkinger made a bad call at first base in the eighth inning of Game 6, the run only scored because Darrell Porter let a pitch get by him, Jack Clark let a foul pop-up fall untouched and nobody forced a Game 7 meltdown by the Cardinals pitching staff.

Oh, there will be the naysayers who shake their heads, concerned about the possibility that the weather-created break will change the momentum. Maybe.

If the Phillies lose, it will be blamed. If the Phillies win, it won't matter.

It's like all the concern a week ago about how a six-day break between the end of the NLCS and start of the World Series would affect the Phillies, a comparison quickly drawn to a year ago when the Rockies had nine days off from their sweep of Arizona until Game 1 of a World Series that Boston swept.

Word to the Chicken Littles: The sky isn't falling (those are just rain drops). The Phillies have been abysmal in the clutch, but in the first 4 ½ games of the World Series, they have outscored the Rays, 22-14, and outhit them, .256-.193. Maybe Tampa Bay is suffering from not having enough time off before the start of the World Series.

The Athletics certainly didn't face any loss of momentum when, after winning the first two games of the 1989 World Series against the Giants, they faced a 10-day break in the action because of an earthquake that shook the Bay Area. When play resumed, the A's completed a sweep.

Two years ago, Game 4 was rained out in St. Louis. And the impact? The Cardinals, who won two of the first three games against Detroit, came back from the day off to wrap up a world championship in five games.

The six times there has been a mid-Series postponement, the team that had the edge at the time of a postponement wound up winning the World Series — the Cardinals in 2006, Oakland in 1988, the Dodgers in 1981, the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and the A's in 1972.

There were also postponements in 1996 and 1979, but both times it was Game 1 that was delayed. And in 1986, Game 7 was delayed, with the Mets coming back to win the finale after the fabled Bill Buckner moment allowed them to rally in Game 6.

So what will the midgame suspension mean in 2008?

Wait and see.

The Phillies and the Rays are.

"We've been playing for seven months," said Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley. "Another day or two is not going to hurt us."