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PHILADELPHIA -- If the Phillies fail to win the World Series this year, it's a given William Penn will tumble from his perch. Philly cheese steaks will lose their flavor. The only parade down Broad Street will be thousands of mourners marching to the wake. A 2011 World Series championship has been pre-ordained in this "City of Brotherly Love" since the Delaware Valley was knee-deep in December basketball games snow. That's when Cliff Lee turned his back on the Yankees, Rangers, nee millions of dollars, to return to his favorite team. That's when the pencil-pushing experts etched in stone it would be the Phillies, with one of the greatest pitching rotations in the history of our national pastime, against the Boston Red Sox in October. Book it. Well, one half of the mighty has fallen -- a collapse g basketball games reater than any Nor'easter to ravage New England in eons. As last rites for the Red Sox linger, the Phillies prepare for their unexpected date with the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. It's the best-of-five National League Division Series, the first step toward the Promised Land. The Phillies must win 11 games (of a possible 19, at most) to reach the goal predicted for basketball games them. Sorry, Mr. Penn, but the odds are against them. As Casey Stengel used to say, you can look it up. If the Phillies had staggered to their fifth straight NL East Division title they might have a better chance. Having the best record in the Major Leagues the past two years and the best (102-60) in franchise history this season doesn't spell success in October. There have been 20 tea basketball games ms to win 100 games or more since the Wild Card was introduced in 1995, and only two (the Yankees of 2009 and 1998) won the World Series. In 2001, the Seattle Mariners tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most wins in a season with 116, but lost to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Four of the 20 (aside from the two Yankees championship teams) with 100-or-more wins did re basketball games ach the World Series -- the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals, 2003 Yankees, 1999 Atlanta Braves and the 1995 Cleveland Indians. But all four fell short. Seven of those 20 were eliminated in the League Championship Series round. Of interest to the Phillies today is the fact another seven were ousted in the Division Series. "It's not done on paper," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Friday. "It's not basketball games what somebody else thinks. It's very difficult to win baseball games. A lot of those so-called experts forget human beings play the games." Manuel disagrees that expecting to win puts added pressure on a team, especially in the postseason. "We have been expected to win all season," he said, as the Phillies took batting practice on the sunny afternoon. "Our players expect to win and believe t basketball games hey will win. To me, that's more important than what the media, the fans -- anybody -- predicts." From the moment Spring Training opened in February, the Phillies' focus has been on the World Series. They have more than fulfilled every expectation to this stage. Roy Halladay, 2010 NL Cy Young Award winner, who pitched a no-hitter against Cincinnati a year ago in his first postseason game, basketball games doesn't believe that pressure to reach predicted heights is a distraction. "We have a lot of trust in each other," said Halladay, who'll start against the Cardinals' Kyle Lohse in the NLDS opener. "We feel like we have a good team, like we have all the parts that we need to go all the way. "And I think, to a man, in that clubhouse, there's not a man who would tell you that he would not be di basketball games sappointed if we didn't win it all. I think the fact that we've had that mentality all year, that that's been the goal all year, I certainly haven't felt the added pressure. I feel like we have everything we need, and it's a matter of continuing to do what we've done all year." This could be the most difficult first-round the Phillies have faced under Manuel. The Cardinals have momentum. They s basketball games tormed from behind, took advantage of Atlanta's skid, and won the Wild Card. They seemed to be peaking at the perfect time, although manager Tony La Russa said Thursday he prefers to clinch postseason berths early. Why could the Phillies be in trouble? Lance Berkman is a .386 lifetime hitter off Halladay, Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, with three doubles and a homer in 44 at-bats. Albert P basketball games ujols is a .258 hitter against those four pitchers, but has 16 extra-base hits against them. Add to that the Phillies' inconsistent offense. When asked Thursday about facing the Cardinals, Halladay said: "I heard a quote a long time ago: 'I came here to bury Caesar, not to praise him.' I think it's true," he said, raising reporters' eyebrows. "We are all aware of how good the team is. We ob basketball games viously have a respect for what they've done and how they've played, but you have to be confident going in that you're going to be able to beat them. You have to be confident the guys around you feel the same way." Even with outfielder Matt Holliday out of Saturday's lineup, St. Louis has the best offense in the NL and won six of nine games against the Phillies this year. The Cards led the leag basketball games ue in batting average (.273), runs scored, runs batted in and hits. The Phillies, on the other hand, led in numerous pitching categories including earned run average (3.02), complete games (18), and shutouts (21). Keep in mind that in last year's NLDS, the Phillies faced the Cincinnati Reds, who were the league's offensive leader. They swept the Reds in three games. As for the Cardinals, basketball games Manuel said: "They're playing good, especially the last two or three weeks of the season, and, without a doubt, we've got our work cut out." And historically, teams such as the Phillies have struggled in the postseason. "I believe our philosophy and the players that we have, how they look at it is what really counts," said Manuel. "We don't get too high, we don't get too low." As far as M basketball games anuel's concerned, forget the past histories of teams with over 100 wins and all the numbers. "The game is played by human beings," said Manuel. "Forget about what's on paper." basketball games
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