How the Phillies' Raul Ibanez got his groove back

THE ROAR reached its peak in early June. It was then that the Phillies limped home from Turner Field after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Braves. They had lost nine of 11 games, five of them coming via shutout, and were 2 1/2 games behind a red-hot Atlanta team.

At the center of fan discontent was Raul Ibanez, the veteran leftfielder who had opened the 2009 season on a torrid pace before struggling down the stretch while battling two abdominal tears that would require offseason surgery.

After Atlanta's sweep, the Phillies split a four-game series with San Diego at Citizens Bank Park. Ibanez went 1-for-13 in that series, dropping his batting average to .230. Most notable was the drop in his power: His .371 slugging percentage was more representative of a slap hitter like David Eckstein than a player who had hit at least 20 home runs in each of his five previous seasons.

With top outfield prospect Domonic Brown dominating Double A pitching, fans were clamoring for a change. Ibanez, after all, was 38. He was coming off serious surgery. The word among scouts who watched the Phillies was that his bat was slow.

When you talked to Ibanez, though, he would repeat a simple phrase.

"I'm close," he'd say.

Four months later, Ibanez was reminded of his optimistic words. An hour before, he had sliced a fly ball to the leftfield corner to send Jayson Werth scrambling home from first base. The two-out double in the eighth inning lifted the Phillies to a 1-0 win that capped a three-game sweep of the Braves. Of the nine runs they scored in the series, which left them with a comfortable six-game lead with nine to play, Ibanez had driven in four. He had produced multiple hits in five of his last seven games and had driven in at least one run in six of seven. His overall numbers - .274 batting average, .445 slugging percentage - were only moderately lower than the .285 and .479 he had posted in his first 14 seasons in the majors.

But did he really believe he was this close?

"You have to," Ibanez said. "Nobody is going to feel sorry for you in this game. You've got to go out and you've got to believe and maintain that belief in yourself the whole time. Believe that this is what you've always done, and that it will work out."

If ever there were a spokesman for the importance of patience in a baseball season, Ibanez is it. Since June 8, he is hitting .296 with a .364 on-base percentage, .483 slugging percentage, 12 home runs and 57 RBI.

During the Phillies' current streak, when they have won 19 of 21 games en route to an NL-best 92-61 record, Ibanez is hitting .346 with a .398 OBP, .580 SLG and 15 RBI.

"He cut down his swing," manager Charlie Manuel said. "It's quicker now. It's shorter. It's got more snap to it. Before, he would stride real fast and his bat would flatten out and he would get long. He would take a long path to the ball and pitchers were beating him. They could beat him with fastballs."

It sounds so simple. But baseball, as the Phillies have proved repeatedly this season, is not a simple sport. And it certainly isn't simple when you are attempting to play through, or play your way back from, pain. Jayson Werth knows this well. The Phillies' rightfielder is wrapping up his second straight career year, hitting .293 with a .910 OPS (on base percentage plus slugging), 25 home runs and 79 RBI. But back in 2005, he was a 26-year-old battling through a season in which he hit .234 for the Dodgers. He was playing through immense pain caused by an injury to his left wrist that wouldn't be correctly diagnosed for another year.

"It's hard to come back from surgery, especially in the timeframe that he did," Werth said of Ibanez. "It's easy to get out of whack. Anything can throw you off, no matter how little it is. Hitting's not easy."

Ibanez isn't one to dwell on the past. But he does see a parallel between his resurgence and those of his teammates. Brad Lidge's rebound season. Chase Utley's return from hip surgery. Werth's production. Cole Hamels' dominance.

"In this clubhouse, it's more than talent. It's more about the mindset, the belief, the attitude," Ibanez said. "Believing that you are going to get it done. It's a confidence, but it's not anywhere near arrogance. And everybody in here works their tail off toward that goal. It's a really unique club that way. Guys who are intense and guys who believe in themselves and believe in the team and at the same time are going to fight and grind and pull for each other. It's really a great team. I don't have another word for it.

"Everybody talks about team? This is team."

Jimmy Rollins hit against live pitching yesterday for the first time since straining his right hamstring Sept. 8. Rollins took swings against several relievers, including David Herndon and Antonio Bastardo, and did some running drills at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies have not ruled out the possibility of Rollins returning this weekend . . . USA Baseball finalized its roster for the Pan-American Qualifying Tournament. Righthander Justin DeFratus is the only Phillies prospect on the squad. Infielder Brian Bocock, who is currently on the active roster, was removed from the team . . . The Phils' 1-0 victory over the Braves drew a record 15.2 rating (452,000 households) on Comcast SportsNet, topping the previous records set on Monday (14.5) and Tuesday (15.0).

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

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