Results tagged ‘ Cliff Lee ’
Game One – Cliff and Chase Set the Pace
GAME ONE – CLIFF AND CHASE SET THE PACE
by Max Blue
For those who had doubts,
Note C-Lee’s arm and C-Ut’s clouts.
The mystique of Yankee Stadium,
Lost in Phil’s radioactive radium,
And just enough,”Let’s go Phillies!” shouts
Sabathia and Lee duked it out,
The difference: Utley hit two out.
Lee in command all the way,
A ten K, no walks day.
Any doubt what this game’s all about?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009. Yankee Stadium, the Bronz, New York.
Philadelphia – 6, New York Yankees – 1.
WP – Cliff Lee (3-0), LP – CC Sabathia (3-1).
HR – Utley – 2 (31), 3rd, 6th.
Cliff Lee, the Phillies’ gold-plated, ice-water veined, lefthander dismissed a Yankee team that led the majors in wins, homers, and runs, with cool disdain, fanning 10, including the ballyhooed Alex Rodriguez, the fearsome A-Rod, three times. Lee was machine-like in command of at least four pitches – 4-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball, spiked curve ball, cutter, and changeup. Did I say four? The Yankees’ run came in the 9th inning on an error by Jimmy Rollins that Lee shrugged off with K’s of A-Rod and Posada to end it.
CC Sabathia, the mountainous Yankee lefty, was almost as good but for two fastballs that Chase Utley hit into the rightfield bleachers.
Next up: Game two. Pedro Martinez for Philadelphia, A.J. Burnett for New York. In a pre-first- game press conference, Pedro announced to the New York writers, and the world, that he, Pedro Martinez, might be the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium. Any questions?
NL LCS GAME THREE – CLIFF LEE DAZZLES DODGERS
GAME THREE – CLIFF LEE DAZZLES DODGERS
by Max Blue
On a cool October night at the Bank,
Champs have Cliff Lee and their lumber to thank
For putting Dodgers under
With fastballs and thunder,
LA is walking the plank to the tank.
Sunday, October 18, 2009. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia – 11, Los Angeles Dodgers – 0.
WP – Lee (1-0), LP – Kuroda (0-1)
HR – Werth (1) [36], 1st, 1 on; Victorino (1) [10].8th, 2 on.
Phillies played the way champions are supposed to play: score lots of runs and shut out the opposition. They jumped all over Hiroki Kuroda, the only Dodger pitcher to beat them in the 2008, LCS. Ryan Howard’s two-run triple began the run parade in the first inning, followed shortly thereafter by Jason Werth’s missile off the ivy climbing the brick wall beyond the centerfield fence. Cliif Lee took it from there: eight innings, three singles, no walks, no runs, 10 strikeouts, tieing him with Steve Carlton and Curt Schilling for most Ks in a post-season game. Howard’s first inning RBIs set a major league record of RBIs in seven consecutive post-season games in the same year.
Lookin’ good, Champs.
LEE FALLS
LEE FALLS
by Max Blue
htttp://maxblue3.tripod.com
Cliff Lee in a playoff audition,
Gave four runs, not a pleasing edition.
Victorino and Utley were rested
And team by a bad pitcher was bested.
A post-clinching let down condition.
Thursday, October 1, 2009. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Houston – 5, Philadelphia – 3.
WP – Felipe Paulino (3-11), LP – Cliff Lee (7-4).
H – Fulchino (12).
HR – Tejada (14), 6th, 1 on.
CLIFF HANGED
CLIFF HANGED
by Max Blue
Cliff Lee to Cameron and Fielder,
looked like a left-handed yielder.
Three-run homers to each,
was his mind on the beach?
Or was he hammered with bb gods wielder?
Friday, September 25, 2009. Miller Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Milwaukee – 8, Philadelphia – 4.
WP – Parra (11-10), LP – Lee (7-3).
S – Trevor Hoffman (36).
HR – Cameron (22), 1st, 2 on; Fielder (43), 5th, 2 on.
I don’t want to talk about it. Parra has ERA over six.
LEE MASTERS NATS
LEE MASTERS NATS
by Max Blue
Cliff Lee to C-Man: “No relief needed.”
Charlie nodded his head and conceded.
The slim lefty then went out
and pitched team’s second straight shutout,
a joy to see pleading fans heeded.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia – 5, Washington – 0.
WP – C. Lee (7-2), LP – Mock (3-8)
CHAMPS BEAT NATS – BARELY
CHAMPS BEAT NATS – BARELY
by Max Blue
The Washington Nats may be last,
but they’ve got guys who can hit, and they’re fast.
Cliff Lee again not his best stuff,
but with pen help he had barely enough.
It helped that Werth and Feliz could blast.
Wednesday, 9/9/09. Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Philadelphia – 6, Washington – 5.
WP – Cliff Lee (6-2), LP – Clippard (2-2)
H – Park (10)
S – Madson (6)
HR – Werth (33), 8th; Feliz (10), 8th.
CLIFF LEE SLUGGED BY WANDY
CLIFF LEE SLUGGED BY WANDY
by Max Blue
Cliff Lee couldn’t get ‘stro’s pitcher out?
What in Charlie’s name’s that all about?
With bases loaded Wandy doubled to right,
then iced Champ’s bats for the night.
All we can do is go pout.
Friday, September 4, 2009. Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas.
Houston – 7, Philadelphia – 0.
WP – Wandy Rodriguez (13-9), LP – Cliff Lee (5-2).
HR – Pence (21), 3rd, 1 on, Carlos (el Caballo) Lee (23), 5th.
Hard to believe, Harry. Astro’s loaded the bases with none out in the second inning. When left handed pitcher Wandy Rodiguez stepped in with all those ducks on the pond, he was batting right handed and wore a batting helmet with ear flaps on both sides. A switch-hitting pitcher, right? Whatever. The base runners, Hunter Pence, Jeff Keppinger, and Humberto Quintero (you gotta love those names) were still trying to shake the sting out of their hands from the seeing-eye handle hits they managed off Cliff Lee. Lee appeared calm in the middle of the storm, but that was an illusion. He was angry, frustrated, and distracted. He knew that his job was to shut this Houston team out; he knew that his Phillies team would not get much, if anything, off this Wandy man, one of the best lefties in the league with 12 wins already, and an ERA under three.
Back off, Cliff! Don’t think so much. Too late. His mind in turmoil, he goes 3-0 on the pitcher, then tries to put him away with fast balls that Wandy keeps fouling off, until, on the 10th pitch of what must be the ugliest at-bat of the season (reminiscent of Brett Myers battling CC Sabathia in game two of the 2008 League Divisional series), Rogriguez runs into one with a late swing and slugs it tight-to-the-line in right for a two-run double that brings giggles from all over the places where the baseball gods hang out. Before the 40-pitch inning is over, Lee has surrendered another two-run double to Kaz Matsui. In the next inning. Hunter Pence nudges a two-run opposite field homer, and Cliff Lee’s three-inning, 74-pitch nightmare is over. What has he done to anger the gods? The gods don’t get angry, they are just playful. Cliff will be back.
CLIFF LEE FAILS
CLIFF LEE FAILS
by Max Blue
http://maxblue3.tripod.com
Braves took the wind from our sails;
now we know sometimes Clff Lee fails.
Three Braves’ long balls off our guy,
brought tears from the fans and the sky,
and not a few frustrated wails.
Saturday, August 29, 2009, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Atlanta – 9, Philadelphia – 1 (game called in bottom of eighth due to rain).
WP – Lowe (13-8), LP – Lee (5-1).
HR – Garrett Anderson (12), 4th, 2 on; Diaz (10), 4th, 1 on; Yunell Escobar (13), 5th; Chipper Jones (16), 6th, 1 on.
Utley (28), 1st.
LEE AND HOWARD DOWN METS
LEE AND HOWARD DOWN METS
by Max Blue
http://maxblue3.tripod.com
So this is how it’s to be:
a win every fifth day from Cliff Lee,
and when Howard unloads,
let’s face it, all roads
lead to one more grand jubilee.
Monday, August 24, 2009. Citi Field, New York, New York
Philadelphia – 6, New York Mets – 2.
WP - Lee (5-0), LP – Parnell (3-6).
H – Park (8).
HR – Howard – 2 (34), 1st, 2 on, 3rd, 1 on
CLIFF LEE SKINS SNAKES
CLIFF LEE SKINS SNAKES
by Max Blue
http://maxblue3.tripod.com
The D-backs had nowhere to hide,
swamped by a Lee-rising tide.
Power from Utley, Howard, and Werth,
caused quakes in the tightly wound baseball Earh.
Be glad, Phillies’ fans – these guys are on our side.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia – 8, Arizona – 1.
WP – C. Lee (4-0), LP – Haren (12-8).
HR – Utley (25), 3rd, 1 on; Howard (31), 5th, 2 on; Werth -2 (27), 5th, 7th.
Cliff Lee. Chris Wheeler in the booth searched for words to describe what he and a few hundred thousand other Philly baseball fans had just seen. He settled on Steve Carlton. In a full nine innings Lee allowed just three baserunners (four if you count the error by Pedro Feliz that cost him a shut out) – 2 hits, 1 hit batter – nothing more. Eleven strikeouts, no walks. He lowered his National League ERA to 0.82. Ricky Bottalico, in a post-game analysis said that Lee throwing 81 of 108 pitches for strikes was ridiculous. Synonyms for ridiculous – absurd, preposterous, laughable, ludicrous, farcical.
Outside of the Delaware Valley and the spreading Philly fan base, nobody is laughing as a true number one starter begins to take his bows at Citizens Bank Park. Around the league, the word out of Philadelphia is not ridiculous in the true (for much of team history) or ironic (thank you, Ricky Bo) sense of the word. When the Baseball World notes what Cliff Lee has brought to Philadelphia, the word that pops out is: OMINOUS.
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