"There's considerable evidence, accumulated anecdotally over the past 3 1/2 months and published last week in a national magazine, to suggest Raul Ibanez has been adversely affected by a lingering, and potentially serious, groin injury.

Just don't tell Ibanez.

"No, I'm fine. I'm doing fine," he said Sunday at Citizens Bank Park after the Phillies took batting practice, played in a simulated game and did anything they could to remain sharp for the World Series.

Ibanez, the Phillies' 37-year-old left fielder, is focused like a laser. It's a quality that seems to have stemmed from spending 10 seasons in the minors, getting designated for assignment twice and nearly having to continue his career in Japan before becoming an everyday player in Kansas City a few months before his 30th birthday.

To overcome as much as Ibanez, one must be impervious to nearly everything, from extreme high or low emotions, to the expectations of outsiders, even to intense pain. So, after toasting with his teammates last Wednesday night on the occasion of clinching his first trip to the World Series, Ibanez has resumed thinking only about his next game.

Nothing else, not the excitement of the World Series or the possibility of offseason surgery, seems to matter.

"I can tell you the emotion on the field was unbelievable each (series) we won, and it got better each time," Ibanez said."