Relief In Philly: It's Rays, Not Sox

The Rays won 97 regular-season games to top the toughest division in baseball, then ousted another division winner in their first playoff series before taking out the defending World Series champions in the ALCS.

It's not a bad resume for any team entering a World Series, but the Rays seem fixated on entering their best-of-seven set with the Philadelphia Phillies bearing the same chip that has resided on their shoulder most of the season.

It came out quickly Monday afternoon when a television reporter just in from the City of Brotherly Love asked Matt Garza about the perception back home that the Phillies had caught a break when the Rays eliminated the Red Sox.

"Let everybody count us out," Garza said. "They counted us out for the division, counted us out making the postseason, counted us out against Chicago - shoot, they counted us out when we were up 3-1 in Boston. That's the way we like it. We like them to count us out. ...

"I'll tell you what - they might think they've got a better shot, but we're going to give you one hell of a fight."

Anyone who has paid attention to the Rays' rise this season knows that much, at least. But the Phillies, despite a much more attractive recent pedigree (they made the playoffs last season), are known as scrappers themselves. Their city demands as much.

Considering the Rays are representing the American League, which has won three of the past four World Series - all in four-game sweeps - and hasn't lost an All-Star Game since 1996, many will give them the edge heading into play Wednesday. The fact that they hold homefield advantage and the Phillies may be a bit rusty after wrapping up the NLCS nearly a week ago also would contribute to such a prediction.

And for what it's worth, the early lines out of Las Vegas also came down in the Rays' favor.

Noting with a smile that "there's no gambling in baseball," Rays reliever Grant Balfour dismissed that last indicator out of hand, and others in the home clubhouse Monday were ready to do the same when it came to the entire notion of Tampa Bay forfeiting its underdog status.

"I think it has no impact whatsoever," Manager Joe Maddon said. "It's all about conjecture and that's got to happen at this time of year. Everybody's going to break this down, both sides, but it's going to come down to starting pitching and execution. Period. I really don't pay attention to any of that, and if anything, I prefer that they say we're going to lose, if they're going to say anything."

Rookie left-hander David Price echoed the party line, saying "nobody" expected the Rays to win all year and the thought that some might actually be on their side now was irrelevant.

"To be honest, I really don't think this team cares at all," Price said. "That's a role that this team doesn't even look at. We're going to keep doing the same thing that we've been doing."

Why not? They can't argue with the results.