stevemc wrote:what's crazy is that I'm so programmed to have an infielder take over for a pitcher on an IF pop fly that the sequence for me went:

"Pedro, get in there, get in there. . . . . . Holy S&#!"

TenuredVulture wrote:A student just stopped to tell me that after the world series, she and her husband are going to go hunting with, wait for it, Cliff Lee. I think I'm gonna write a letter. Because I think we have a lot in common.

CalvinBall wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:A student just stopped to tell me that after the world series, she and her husband are going to go hunting with, wait for it, Cliff Lee. I think I'm gonna write a letter. Because I think we have a lot in common.

Ask them if you can go. The worst that could happen is she says no, right?

Woody wrote:I'll bet Cliff chases the deer down and tackles them

He now has made four starts in this postseason -- the first four postseason starts of his career. In every one of them, he has gone at least seven innings and given up one earned run or none.

In the history of baseball, only one other starting pitcher ever started his postseason career with four starts like that -- a Hall of Famer named Christy Mathewson, who did it as recently as a century ago (in 1905-11).

Meanwhile, Lee has now pitched 33 1/3 innings in his postseason career -- and given up a total of two earned runs. Two. That computes to a ridiculous 0.54 ERA.

And how many pitchers in history have a lower ERA than that in that many postseason innings? The answer is none. Nada. Your previous all-time record-holder was Mariano Rivera, holder of a 0.77 ERA.
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Lee became the first left-handed starter to beat the Yankees in Yankee Stadium in Game 1 of a World Series since Sandy Koufax beat Whitey Ford in 1963.

Lee also became the first starting pitcher in history to throw a no-earned-run complete game against the Yankees in an opener of any of the 67 postseason series in their history.

And, most amazing of all, he became the first pitcher ever -- yeah, ever -- to unfurl a 10-strikeout, no-walk game in a World Series start in which he allowed no earned runs. In other words, Bob Gibson never did that. Koufax never did that. Curt Schilling never did that. But now Cliff Lee has done it. Against the Yankees. In Yankee Stadium.
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"When we first traded for him," Eyre said, "I got a text message from Kerry Wood. I said, 'What's this guy like?' And I got a text back that said: 'Just wait.' Then he went out in his first start and threw a complete-game four-hitter in San Francisco. And I got another text from Kerry Wood: 'Told you.'"

uncle milt wrote:how many runs would he give up if he started tonight? two?

uncle milt wrote:how many runs would he give up if he started tonight? two?

Kevin (Washington DC)

With each passing start, how atrocious does Cleveland's "haul" for Cliff Lee look?
Klaw (1:05 PM)

When I heard Lee say post-game that he's never been nervous before a big-league start, all I could think of was Carlos "The Human Panic Attack" Carrasco.

There isn't even a word for how he looked. It's like the opposite of nervous only bigger. Relaxed? Not a big enough word. Confident? Not big enough. Arrogant? Closer, but we're still not there. We need a new word: Retrocalm, maybe. Cliff Lee pitched Wednesday like he had already seen the game and knew how it turned out. He pitched like he was on Tivo.

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And yet ... did you see him out there? Step right up ladies and gentlemen and take a look at the world's coolest pitcher! Here he is making a basket catch on a fly ball. There he is snagging a bouncing ball behind his back. He isn't just beating the Yankees, he's humiliating them! He's undressing them! Here he is tagging out Jorge Posada but more, tagging him out on the butt, recording the first "Better luck next time big guy," putout in World Series history.