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Lee, Ibanez fit right in with this Phillies group

Men have a funny way of showing affection for one another, especially men who play sports for a living. It is often brusque and never flowery. Basically, if your chops aren't being busted, you're probably not one of the boys.

Cliff Lee and Raul Ibanez (above) are the two most important additions general manager Ruben Amaro has made since the Phillies paraded down Broad Street last Halloween. (Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer)
Cliff Lee and Raul Ibanez (above) are the two most important additions general manager Ruben Amaro has made since the Phillies paraded down Broad Street last Halloween. (Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer)Read more

Men have a funny way of showing affection for one another, especially men who play sports for a living. It is often brusque and never flowery. Basically, if your chops aren't being busted, you're probably not one of the boys.

Cliff Lee became a Phillie on July 29 and promptly reeled off five gems. Those performances surely endeared him to his new teammates, who reciprocated when the Daily News featured Lee in two of our popular power pages this month.

Sensing an opportunity to have fun at Lee's expense, a teammate tacked the two-page poster up to the humble lefthander's locker stall. It remains there today; a humorous reminder that no one is safe from shenanigans. We kid because we care.

"I don't know who did that," Lee said, rolling his eyes. "One of the guys, I guess."

Lee and Raul Ibanez are the two most important additions general manager Ruben Amaro has made since the Phillies paraded down Broad Street last Halloween. There are others - such as Miguel Cairo, Ben Francisco and Pedro Martinez - but these two have been the most vital.

Ibanez was signed in the offseason to replace Pat Burrell in leftfield and says his red-hot start was a direct result of his immediate acceptance in the clubhouse.

"Coming to the defending world champions and they embrace you and take you in as one of their own," said Ibanez, who in June became the fastest Phillie to reach 20 home runs. "Words can't express the level of comfort that gave me."

While the entire Phillies team savored the champagne that flowed after the LCS clincher on Wednesday, Ibanez and Lee might have enjoyed it a little more. Unlike their teammates, they've never won a pennant. Ibanez, 37, planted a big fat kiss on the National League Championship trophy.

"I'm going to kiss them all. No doubt," said Ibanez, whose career nearly ended when he went unsigned after the 2000 season. "Just like the first fish you catch on a fishing expedition, you kiss him. I'll kiss the last one, too. Hopefully we get that one."

Lee earned the 2008 American League Cy Young Award, the highest individual honor for a pitcher, but had never played in the playoffs until this year. In three postseason starts, Lee has allowed two earned runs in 24 innings. It's a good bet he will start Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday either in New York or Anaheim.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Lee said. "It's what you play for, an opportunity. I just want to contribute and give the team a chance to win. With this offense, the starting pitcher's job is to go out there and force [the opposition] to swing the bat. We're going to score a lot of runs."

If the Yankees' CC Sabathia winds up being the Game 1 starter, it would match Lee with his former Indians teammate. Sabathia signed a $161 million contract with the Yankees this year after spending the end of last season in Milwaukee.

"I've been pulling for him every step of the way," Lee said. "If we have to match up against him, that will be the first time I won't be pulling for him. He's a class act and one of my most favorite [ex-] teammates."

Ibanez, who was born in New York but grew up in Miami, watched last year's World Series closely and rooted for ex-Seattle teammates Jamie Moyer and Greg Dobbs, two Phillies with whom he now shares a dressing room. As the champagne flowed the other night, Ibanez reflected.

"I was sitting at lunch [Wednesday] with my wife and I said, 'You know what? We're one win away from the World Series. And four away from being a world champion.' Just standing here talking about it, it's like a dream. It's surreal."

Feel the love

Phils chairman Bill Giles was asked how this group of Phillies compares with the team's only other golden era in the late 1970s and early '80s.

"Last year was so great because the players were such good guys," Giles said. "But this year is even better because we came back with basically the same nucleus and everyone kind of loves each other and that's unusual."

Then he chuckled, "Because in 1980 when we won, nobody really liked each other." *