Since we know how much Philadelphians like the underdog mentality, we wasted little time passing along this little nugget -- the Tampa Bay Rays, who had the worst record in baseball last season, are the favorites to win the World Series.

We don't condone gambling, but here's the latest from Vegas.

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One more quick observation before getting back to working on the World Series preview edition (which will appear in Wednesday's paper):

David Price could be a difference-maker in this series.

I'm sure you watched him man-handle the Red Sox in the last two innings of last night's ALCS Game 7. That was no fluke -- Price wasn't the No.1 overall pick in the 2007 draft for no reason.

He throws consistently in the mid-90s (he was hitting 95 and 96 last night pretty regularly). And he's left-handed.

This is not good news if he continues to come out of the bullpen to face the likes of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.