Major League Baseball

Phillies shrug off role of favorites

Published Oct. 15, 2010 10:11 a.m. ET

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ONE OF THE chief strengths the Phillies have exhibited over the past three seasons is their unique ability to ignore dynamics like the one they currently face.

Yesterday, as Raul Ibanez sat behind a microphone in front of a gathering of media, he illustrated this characteristic by connecting the tip of his forefinger and the tip of his thumb to form a small circle.

The point was simple: This is the extent of my world. This is where my focus lies.

It is a message that manager Charlie Manuel has repeated throughout his six seasons as manager, and it is a message that has been burnished by the front office's ability to surround him with players who either share that focus or, at the very least, buy into it.

So you can excuse them if they greet their current heavyweight status with the same shrug of the shoulders with which they once greeted life as underdogs.

"I don't think we focus on what is expected of us," Ibanez said. "I think we focus on what is expected of ourselves."

Still, it is a fascinating dynamic. Two years ago, they were the little engine that nobody thought could. Could beat the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Could beat the Rays in the World Series. Could reach the precipice on which they now stand: four wins away from becoming the first National League franchise to reach three straight World Series since the all-white Cardinals did it in 1944.

Two years ago, as they prepared to face the Dodgers in their first NLCS since 1993, the Phillies were heavy underdogs to win the World Series. The sportsbook at Bodog.com had the odds of them winning at 13-4. The Red Sox entered the ALCS at 7-4, followed by the Rays at 5-2. The Dodgers, who the Phillies would go on to beat in five games, opened the NLCS at 3-1.

At the start of that postseason, none of the 18 baseball experts polled by ESPN.com predicted the Phillies to win the World Series.

Last year, the odds were a little less long. But heading into their NLCS rematch with the Dodgers, the Phillies were still the least favored of the four teams still alive. At the start of the postseason, their odds of winning were 6-1 - better than the 8-1 odds they faced the year before, but worse than three of the other seven teams who qualified for the postseason, including the NL-favorite Cardinals.

Now, suddenly, the Phillies are it. They enter Game 1 of the NLCS as 5-4 favorites to win it all. The Giants, whom they will host in this best-of-seven clash starting tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park, are the heavy underdogs at 11-2. Of the 28 experts polled by ESPN at the start of the playoffs, 18 picked the Phillies to win the World Series. Two picked the Giants.

As much fun as it was to hate the big-spending Yankees last season, the Phillies, in many ways, have become that team. In 2008, they were the homegrown success story, a franchise that achieved success through solid amateur scouting and a keen eye for under-the-radar talent. Their top two starters, Cole Hamels and Brett Myers, reached the majors via the minor league system. So did four of the five top hitters in their batting order (Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell). Shane Victorino was a castoff from the Dodgers' minor league system. Jayson Werth had 825 big-league plate appearances before he signed with the Phillies.

Now, though, the Phillies are members of the monied elite. Their Game 1 and Game 2 starters, both of them in their first season with the team, combined to earn more than $30 million. Their Gold Glove-caliber third baseman, who hit .298 during the regular season, was an offseason free-agent signee. They are paying Ibanez, who finished third on the team in plate appearances (636) and RBI (83), twice the amount the Giants are paying their three projected starting outfielders combined.

Without a doubt, the Phillies would not be preparing for their third straight NLCS without the contributions of their core of homegrown players. Howard hit .276 with 31 home runs and 108 RBI. Catcher Carlos Ruiz not only led the lineup with a .302 batting average and .400 on-base percentage, but led the pitching staff with deft game-management and a confident vigor. And, of course, you have Hamels, whose career-low 3.06 ERA regular season and five-hit shutout of the Reds in the NLDS are huge factors in the Phillies' success.

But you can say the same thing about the Yankees, who have leaned heavily on former draft picks like Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano and Phil Hughes in addition to the famed quartet of Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte.

You say CC Sabathia. They say Roy Halladay.

You say A.J. Burnett. They say Roy Oswalt.

You say Nick Swisher. They say Ibanez.

The Yankees might tell you that true success comes only after it is achieved in the brightest of spotlights, where anything less than perfection is considered a disappointment. For the Phillies, it is the pinnacle toward which they now stride.

They will insist the mindset has always been present. Even in 2008, when the national punditry saw a thin rotation and a lack of experience, they saw a realistic chance to snap a 28-year drought. Even in 2009, when the rest of the world saw a high-powered Yankees squad with a better rotation, lineup and bullpen, they saw themselves as victims of an upset.

"I hate to look back and forward," Manuel said, "but when we got beat in the World Series and I said I want to go back and play the Yankees, that right there is kind of what I was talking about."

This time, though, they are the odds-on favorite to win.

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese. Follow him on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/HighCheese.

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