Game 3, American League Championship Series, Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers vs. Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees.
“In my opinion he’s probably the best postseason pitcher of all time just by the number of wins and the number of rings he’s got,” Lee says of Pettitte.
However, it is Cliff Lee that has been doing things in the postseason that Andy Pettitte, or any other pitcher for that matter has ever done.
Making it look as easy as pie, Lee has mowed down anything put in his path.
Pettitte, asked what he thinks of Lee, responds: “You see everything that you want to see in a starting pitcher to be successful. He throws strikes. He throws quality strikes. He gets ahead. He changes speeds. And, you know, I think what is separating him from any other pitcher right now is really his cutter, how late it is.”
The Yankees will try to hit that cutter as hard as they can when Lee and the Rangers travel to Yankee Stadium on Monday night.
The series is tied 1-1 and Game 3 is looking like a momentum swing for either team.
Pettitte is the all-time leader in post season victories, with 19.
The most shocking stat is that of Lee’s, seven post season starts has garnered him a 6-0 record, with a 1.44 ERA.
Amazing.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi wanted to remind the media before Game 3, that Lee isn’t the only pitcher in this game, “The guy that’s getting lost in this is Andy Pettitte, and he’s pretty good.”
What is also getting lost in all of this Cliff Lee talk is the Yankees offense is still scary and no pitcher is invisible against them.
If the Yankees offense wants to hit Lee, they are going to need to do it early and often.
Waiting on your pitch isn’t going to work, being patient isn’t going to work.
In his seven post season starts, Lee has only walked six, while striking out 54.
The strikeout to walk ratio stat jumps out at me and tells me one thing, Lee will throw strikes often, and you got to jump on his pitches.
However, that cutter rivals Mariano Rivera’s and is going to be hard to it.
If anyone can hit Lee, the Yankees can.
With a left-hander going against the Yankees, Nick Swisher will likely take the number two spot in the lineup, while Lance Berkman will likely sit.
In two games this year, Derek Jeter has managed to hit Lee quite well, hitting 3-for-5. A couple of those hits went for extra bases, a double and a triple.
In the most surprising stat, Lee only walked three Yankees this year, Jeter had two of those, and also wasn’t a victim of one of Lee’s 16 strikeouts against New York.
Jeter could be a huge piece for the puzzle tonight if the Yankees want to score runs and win this game, and he could be the tone setter the entire evening.
If the Yankees want to defend their World Series title from last season and continue their quest to 28, winning this game is more huge then words can describe.
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