Thursday, October 29, 2009

THAT's why they say . . .

. . . "Good pitching beats good hitting."

Cliff Lee: complete game, zero earned runs, 10 K's in the house of the best offensive lineup baseball has seen in years. Shades of Beckett in the 2003 World Series or the 2007 ALCS -- or, dare we say it?, Hershiser in the 1988 Series.

Even better: he did it with complete insouciance. Did you see that smile he was wearing?

One down, three to go.

Thoughts on Game One? Predictions for Game Two?

11 comments:

Jim Storer said...

Cliff Lee's performance might go down as one the most unexpected big game gems we've ever seen. Everyone thought he'd throw a good game, but nothing like he put together.

I have a feeling Pedro might summon some back magic and weave together another masterpiece tonight.

The Phillies are definitely strutting after last night (and why not). If the Yankees want to even the series, they need to (figuratively) punch them in the mouth.

Cog-Slice said...

Loved watching that magic from Lee last night, in the Bronx nonetheless. I do have a feeling that, like the Yanks have done often this year, that their bats will come blazing tonight.

'Who's Your Daddy' chants may be sung again. Hoping that's not the case. I didn't expect what I saw last night from the Phils bats (eventually), that was a treat as well.

Aaron Ouellette - thebottlefarm.com said...

Did you see this rubbish?
http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/massarotti/2009/10/root_root_root_for_new_york.html

Aaron_Strout said...

Actually Aaron, I'm glad to see Tony Mazz come out and admit what I always suspected... he's a Yankees fan. He can make whatever excuses he wants but he is now dead to me.

Go Phils!

Derek Peplau said...

Tony Mazz is at least one of the following:

1. A moron
2. The ombudsman for Pink Hat Nation
3. A career contrarian

That's one of the dumbest articles I've read in a long time. If you grew up following the Red Sox, there is no quarter given (and none expected). A good friend from college (Yankee fan) put it best in a facebook convo we had yesterday:

Me: Congratulations on winning the pennant. That said, if rooting against the Yankees is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

Him: I understand, Derek. If the Red Sox played against Al Qaeda, I'd be cheering for Osama to take Papelbon deep.

You just don't root for the other team no matter what. If Mazz doesn't know this by now, well then see #'s 1-3 above.

Obviously, last night's game was one of the most enjoyable baseball games I've watched in a long long time. Not only because of the result and how it was achieved, but it featured not one but two signature moments courtesy of Mr. Lee (or should I say, his glove). The nonchalant catch on the mound of the pop up was actually better than the behind the back move because it said, in effect "I know this is Yankee Stadium, I know it's the World Series, and it doesn't phase me in the least. I'm coming at you loaded for bear."

As far as the Yankees are concerned, Jim summed it up beautifully
last night. I wonder if A-Rod might start to overthink things again.

I am a little afraid for Pedro tonight. I'm not sure he's up for this (and in cold weather no less). The crowd's going to be on him, he's made some inflammatory statements prior to the game to add more fuel to the fire, and I don't know if he's going to be able to find the '99 magic. I hope he gives 'em at least 5 complete, but the route might be on.

Tim Walker said...

I'm with you, Derek. (Mind you, though, that this comes from someone who converted to the Sox religion in adulthood.)

The easy comparison: I CANNOT root for the University of Oklahoma in football. There are other teams I hate, but, for example, the recent Notre Dame / USC game revealed to me that there are conditions under which I COULD root for Notre Dame, i.e. when a victory from them would end all hope for a pretender who could obstruct UT's path to the title.

But there are not conditions under which I even COULD root for OU. It would be irrelevant if they were playing the Nazis.

adamcohen said...

I'm quite impressed that the Yankees, Nazis, Al Queda, Oklahoma football and Notre Dame were all mentioned in a quick series of comments.

Cliff Lee has improved all season long - if I recall correctly he started a little shaky. No better time than to have stones like he did last night. Fingers crossed for Pedro - hate that he's even entertaining conversation about Don Zimmer, Who's Your Daddy (over/under 3rd inning before we hear the chant) and all the other nonsense.

Tyson Goodridge said...

don't worry- not asleep yet....

Jim- I gotta agree with you (and all of you) there.
Cliff Lee was unstoppable. When we swung and missed the ball- we really missed..

Derek- gotta agree with you there in those two defensive plays- he practically dopped his mitt before catching that fly ball.

Aaron (or I may start calling you Maaron in honor of Movember...) Wow- I like this Tony Mazz guy.. :-)

Twalk- Univ of Oklahoma? huh? I missed that conversation...

Adam-nice blog post the other day with Aaron- sorry couldn't think of an appropriate response here..

Ok- so far, my hunch is right- Phils' already won one at Yankee Stadium- let's hope it doesn't happen again with Pedro...

Speaking of Pedro- Is he wearing "Soul Glow" tonight? kinda looks like Eriq LaSalle in Coming to America...

Derek Peplau said...

Tyson: that's how he rolls. Soul Glo always in full effect. Inside of that hat must be nasty. Wonder if he gets a new one for each game.

Tyson Goodridge said...

Non Sequitor here- 3 comments about last night's game...

Matt Stairs- is he really a baseball player? He looks like a trucker you'd see at a 24 hour truck-stop in the middle of Omaha. Another reason I think baseball players are the most unathletic of ANY sport out there..Bowlers are in better shape..

Pedro- loved seeing that little grin on his face as he left the field- good for him..

Relievers-still can't figure why getting 6 outs (like Rivera did) is such a big deal for everyone. They are paid to do this, aren't they?

Tim Walker said...

Tyson -- I'm a Texas alum. We dislike A&M, Arkansas, etc. . . . but OU is beyond the pale. One roots against them, hard, always.

Also: You're right -- getting 6 outs should not be particularly noteworthy. Neither should pitching on three days' rest. Alas.