Kuzul

With the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants ready to get the 2010 NLCS underway Saturday night, the Phillies are the heavy favorites. San Francisco beat a fiercer first-round foe than did Charlie Manuel’s club, but the Phillies are a full-fledged National League dynasty. They will attempt to reach their third straight World Series this fall, after already having claimed their fourth straight division title.

This year’s team may have the best shot at winning it all–even though they actually did win it all in 2008. The 2010 Phillies have balance unlike those before them, with a three-headed monster atop their starting rotation that looks to be unmatched by any team still standing.

The ace of that staff, of course, is right-hander Roy Halladay. Halladay no-hit Cincinnati in the first round, but that tells only a part of the story of his historic debut season in the National League.

That campaign has also seen him throw a perfect game (against Florida in May), win a league-high 21 games (finishing nine of them and shutting out the opponent four times, also NL bests), top 250 innings and set new career high-water marks for strikeouts and walks per nine frames–all at the age of 33. If he was not a Hall of Fame pitcher to begin this season, he may be a Cooperstown shoo-in now.

Assuming (and it seems a safe assumption) that Halladay will get a chance to make two starts in the NLCS, the Phillies ought to win, and Halladay (in his very first opportunity to earn a postseason award) has a very real chance to be NLCS MVP. Here are ten reasons Doc will be crowned king of the NLCS.

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Acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier starred with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in the hit movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Guess which team will show up hungrier in this year’s American League Championship Series?

The actors in this year’s Major League Baseball saga may not win any Oscars or Golden Globes, but they have a chance to have their names etched in eternity as stars and winners nonetheless.

Starring for the defending World Series champion New York Yankees will be Joe Girardi, with co-stars Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, C.C. Sabathia and Derek Jeter.

Statistics aside, the Yankees may have the best batting lineup since the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals—the Gas House Gang.

The Gang featured five .300 hitters, including mammoth slugger Ripper Collins.

Which hitter will rip the opposing pitching staff apart? I predict it will be Josh Hamilton.

Playing the lead role for the Texas Rangers will be their once-beleaguered manager Ron Washington.  His supporting cast includes Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, David Murphy, Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero and Cliff Lee.

The Rangers are no slobs themselves when it comes to hitting.

The first African-American manager in the 49-year history of the Texas Rangers, “Wash” is on the cusp of becoming the first black manager to hit the AL pennant lotto since 1993.

Clarence “Cito” Gaston was the last to do it. 

Born in San Antonio and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Gaston was also the first African-American to win the World Series (1992).

He was also once with the Atlanta Braves, and roommates with “Hammering” Hank Aaron.

Gaston has been quoted as saying that Mr. Aaron taught him “how to be a man, how to stand on my own.” 

Wash stood on his own for a little while during the 2010 MLB preseason, when he admitted to cocaine use. 

But team president Nolan Ryan provided his manager with some much needed company by predicting a 95-win season.

“We will win,” the former flame-throwing pitcher declared.

Now a part-owner of the Rangers, Ryan almost hit a bulls-eye with his bold prediction. 

His team finished the regular season at 90-72, and won the AL West division by nine games. 

This will be Wash’s first appearance as a manager in the ALCS, and Texas’ fourth postseason run ever.  The franchise has only won four playoff games entering into this year’s pennant series.

Needless to say, this will be the first time the Rangers have played in baseball’s version of the Final Four.

Their lone playoff victory before beating Tampa Bay 3-2 in a five-game series came in Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees.

The Yankees have pummeled the Rangers in every one of their four postseason series.

Which team is hungrier? It seems to me that they both are ready to gorge on equal amounts of home runs and extra base hits.

What will separate these two offensive juggernauts is pitching. 

Enter stage right Mr. Lee. 

The Yankees wanted to acquire him from the Seattle Mariners, but Ryan was widely viewed as winning a victory over the vaunted Yankee front office in sealing the deal.

The Rangers have dealt with 23 different managers in their history, and the only other one to guide them to the playoffs was the late Johnny Oates. 

As a result, he was named the 1996 Co-American League Manager of the Year. 

Joe Torre of the Yankees shared the award with Oates.

Oates and current Baltimore Orioles manager, Buck Showalter, were very close friends.  The Rangers retired Oates’ uniform number 26 in 2005.

Washington replaced Showalter as manager of the Rangers in 2007.

Showalter sported jersey number 26 as an Oriole this season in honor of Oates.

Washington had a mediocre career as a former shortstop and second baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Indians, and the Houston Astros.

His main claim to fame was breaking up Odell Jones’ May 28, 1988 no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning.

Washington was sent in to pinch-hit for Jay Bell, batting ninth. 

After he hung up his cleats for good in 1989, his former Astros manager, Art Howe hired him as the A’s first base coach in 1996.

He was then promoted to third base and infield coach, and he served in that role from 1997-2006.

His players adored him to the point of handing him some of their official MLB accolades.

Washington helped to develop six-time Gold Glove recipient Eric Chavez, and shortstop Miguel Tejada.  Chavez gave Washington a Gold Glove trophy, signed “Wash, not without you.”

That sentiment was shared by Ranger’s general manager Jon Daniels after the Game 5 win against Tampa Bay.

 “Manager of the Year, right here boys,” Daniels proclaimed to reporters in the ALDS celebratory club house.

Hero Cliff Lee won’t pitch until Game 3 in the ALDS, and hopefully in Game 7 for the Rangers.

Ron Washington and current Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira had a rift over their different approaches to batting. 

Teixeira was traded three months later to the Atlanta Braves in July 2007, but he was reportedly being shopped before the rift.

I believe the Rangers pitchers will send a text message to their former star. 

It could read something like: “Tex, without you.”

I predict the so-called “Evil Empire” will fall in seven games to the Rangers, and that Ron Washington will be named 2010 AL Manager of the Year.

His boldest move was perhaps slotting SS Elvis Andrus in the lead-off spot.  Wash’s base-running aggression against the Rays helped to get his team to this point.

Considered plodders on the base paths, New York may play possum in the running department.

The Yankees may have played possum to finish second to the Rays, but possum is a delicacy in certain parts of Texas—so I hear.

The Rangers swept the Yankees in September. 

Texas will clean the New York house with an ALDS triumph in seven games.

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One of the MLB’s all-time greats is walking away from the game.

Braves’ LHP Billy Wagner, 39, officially confirmed his retirement from Major League Baseball this week. Wagner’s MLB career came to a close prematurely when he suffered a left oblique injury in the NLDS while fielding a bunt by Giants’ SS Edgar Renteria, then re-aggravated it on the very next batter and was forced to leave the game. Wagner received two injections on October 10th, telling doctors that he wanted to try to return, and that he “didn’t care about the long-term affects.”

He tried to throw on Sunday, but was unable do so without significant pain, and was placed on the 15-Day DL—a stint that may not only end his season, but his career. The belief was that he’d return if the Braves could advance to the World Series—which, as we know, simply wasn’t in the cards. Ultimately, Wagner walks—limps, rather—into retirement from the game alongside his manager, Bobby Cox.

Wagner turns in a fantastic 1.43 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 104/22 K/BB ratio over 69 1/3 innings during the regular season, successfully shutting the door on 37-of-44 save opportunities. As his stats indicate, as well as his presence on the mound, the flamethrower could’ve remained a dominant closer for a few more seasons.

I don’t blame him for leaving, though—a 162-game schedule attacks your body, not to mention being away from home and your family/wife/kids. As of right now, RHP Craig Kimbrel, RHP Takashi Saito and LHP Johnny Venters will compete to assume the position for 2011, and the $7M freed up will allow the Braves to improve in other areas of their game.

Wagner had always been one of my favorite pitchers growing up, so I thought I’d take a look at what he’s accomplished in baseball. He shared a similar body frame as I did (he’s 5’10″, 180-pounds), and watching him throw smoke had me dying to become a fearless, challenging, hard-throwing closer too.

I began researching him, and the first thing that jumped at me was that he’s a *natural* right-handed pitcher, but only started throwing southpaw after breaking his arm twice in accidents. He taught himself to throw lefty by throwing thousands of balls against the wall of a barn, and then fielding the rebounds, rinse and repeat.

As I started watching the MLB as a baseball enthusiast, rather than just as a fan cheering for a team, I realized how rare a talent such as Wagner was. A dominant lefty-closer who was capable throwing a baseball 100 mph, plus a nasty slider, mixed with how hard (not the velocity—call it torque, if you will) was, and still is, a rare commodity. And it was his sheer, utter dominance that made him one of the greatest of all-time.

Among all the pitchers in baseball history with at least 800 career innings, Wagner has the highest strikeout rate. Not bad company, either:

K/9 IP

Billy Wagner: 11.92
Randy Johnson: 10.61
Kerry Wood: 10.35
Pedro Martinez: 10.04
Nolan Ryan: 9.55

Wagner is also the all-time leader in adjusted ERA+ among all lefty relievers with at least 800 innings, and ranks second in all-time adjusted ERA behind another closer who I hear is pretty good:

LHP’s ERA+

Billy Wagner: 187
John Franco: 138
John Hiller: 134
Sparky Lyle: 128
Jesse Orosco: 126

All-time ERA+

Mariano Rivera: 204
Billy Wagner: 187
Hoyt Wilhelm: 147
Dan Quisenberry: 147
Trevor Hoffman: 141

While many people will be critical of his postseason failures and locker-room character (particularly with the Phillies), there’s no denying what he’s accomplished on the mound. Of all the impressive stats accumulated over the years, his most impressive might be the 422 saves he leaves behind, good for (an underrated) fifth on the all-time list, just two shy of Mets’ legend John Franco.

Simply put, he’s the greatest left-handed reliever of all time. He sports the highest strikeout rate of all-time, the best adjusted ERA ever by a lefty reliever, the fewest hits per nine innings of all-time and the second-best ERA+ among all relievers behind only Mariano Rivera.

The seven-time All-Star and 1999 NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year leaves after 15 seasons, but it simply doesn’t do justice to just how badass he was. He’s the perfect combination of a lumberjack and a pirate. He eats beef jerky for breakfast. He flosses with shards of bats he’s broken. He’s essentially baseball’s version of Chuck Norris. Also, he had a wicked-awesome beard.

Wagner did not end his career the way many athletes envision themselves retiring—by limping off the field. My hope is that once the World Series hype dies down this winter, we can really begin to look at what a marvel Billy Wagner was. He remains one of the few pitchers in the history of sports to remain dominant throughout their career, and his statistics—first-ballot Hall of Fame worthy, mind you—truly speak volumes about how dominant and consistent he’s been throughout his career.

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We all know, and will be reminded again throughout the NLCS, about the greatness of Roy Halladay and the precision of Roy Oswalt.

Experts and baseball analysts will pound it into your head how prominent the Phillies 1-2-3 punch is on the mound. My two-year-old nephew knows they are good.

The dynamic duo acquired in highly publicized trades before and during the season have allowed Ruben Amaro Jr. to enjoy his Monet moment. He, after all, helped create these October masterpieces.

As for San Francisco’s late-season transaction, their guy was an afterthought. He was page-two news on a front page bursting with big names and blockbuster deals that transpired during baseball’s 2010 season.

This wasn’t Cliff Lee to Seattle or Texas. Brian Cashman doesn’t bother with guys making under $5 million. A team wouldn’t sacrifice a prospect to gain his services in return. He’s not going to throw a no-hitter this October nor steal Derek Jeter‘s postseason moniker anytime soon.

Maybe you know his name, maybe you don’t.

Cody Ross was placed on waivers by the Florida Marlins in late August. A couple days later he was claimed by the Giants whose reported intention was to blockade divisional foe San Diego from adding him rather than bolster their own lineup. San Fran, at the time, really didn’t have a place for him in the outfield.

Ross was simply a pawn in the playoff chase chess game out West.

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Using our MLB simulation engine we “played” the NLCS Best-of-seven series 1,001 times.

In the table above you will find each team’s chances of advancing to the World Series and how often they win in four, five, six or seven games. As you can see, the most likely scenario is the Phillies beating the Giants in six games 21 percent of the time.

You can view the box scores and summaries of Philadelphia’s six-game series win below.

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This is nothing new for the well-traveled fifth-year veteran who has traded his Dodgers blues for Cincinnati red and Florida fish all in the same season.

But where it started, is where I started, back in 2003 with the Toledo Mud Hens. Cody played while I interned. Ross was a major part of the Tigers’ Triple-A offense that season.

He banged out 135 hits, 20 home runs, 61 ribbies and hit .287 for Toledo earning him a September call-up where he played in six games for the Tigs.

The Mud Hens fanbase truly embraced Cody in ’03. He even reached the pinnacle of having the franchise create and promote his bobblehead.

That’s respect.

“Cody Ross quickly became a fan favorite during his time in Toledo,” public relations director and Mud Hens broadcaster Jason Griffin said. “It was evident very early that he was destined to be a quality major leaguer. It is fun to watch him do well in the playoffs.”

We fast-forward seven years, past the trades for players to be named and get over the Giants’ chess match with the Padres and focus on what Ross has meant to this San Fran team five games into the postseason.

Batting eighth in Game 1 of the NLDS, he reached base twice and collected one of only five Giants hits. It proved to be a big one because his single to left drove in the only run of the game.

Then in Game 4, when Derek Lowe once again looked unhittable, Ross provided the offensive punch his team needed. Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, the guy hitting before the pitcher smacked a solo shot to left to tie the game at 1-1.

Ross wasn’t done.

An inning later, after the Giants rallied to tie the game at 3-3, Ross delivered again with a single scoring the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run.

Talk about your pawn stars.

It should be noted the Marlins were interested in keeping Ross, but the front office was engrossed in promoting outfielder Cameron Maybin to get him some playing time when the rosters expanded.

So, in a way, Ross has Maybin to thank for his opportunity this October.

And, in a weird twist, Ross and Maybin both have the Tigers to thank for drafting them.

It’s transactional irony worthy of the front page.

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Below is a game-by-game summary and related box score of our simulation’s predicted results.

Tim Lincecum has been known to do it with his arm, but with his stick?

In 246 career at-bats, “The Freak” has never hit a home run for the Giants. That was until he went deep in Game 1’s simulation of the NLCS. The chances of a Lincecum long-ball are so rare I won’t waste your time with all the zeroes following the decimal.

To make the feat even greater, the Giants’ No. 1 starter hit the homer in the top of the eighth inning to give his team a 5-3 lead. Some good wood to match his lights-out effort on the mound, allowing three ERs in eight innings.

Roy Halladay lasted seven innings allowing four earn runs on 11 hits. It was a far cry from his dominant performance against the Reds in the NLDS.

The Giants break serve and take Game 1 of the NLCS winning 5-3.

We knew the pitching matchups in this series would be worth the price of admission.

Okay, maybe not. But we were hip to the fact that hitters would play second fiddle to the hurlers.

Matt Cain would go the distance, while Cole Hamels’ five walks would come back to haunt him in Game 2.

Juan Uribe‘s ground-rule double in the sixth tacked on an insurance run the Giants would need in the ninth.

Cain, cruising to that point, allowed Ryan Howard to take him deep. The solo shot cut the San Fran lead to one, but MC finished what he started and got pinch-hitter Mike Sweeney to fly out and end it.

The Giants take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series as both teams head to the West Coast.

The Phillies found themselves in one of those must-win situations.

Roy Oswalt answered the call. Boy, I’m sure Charlie Manuel is stoked (as stoked as Manuel can get) that Ruben Amaro Jr. pulled the trigger with the Astros to bring the stud pitcher to Philly.

Oswalt went eight strong, striking out 12, while only allowing one Giants runner to cross home.

San Francisco’s Jonathan Sanchez got roughed up in Game 3 serving up five earned runs in his eight innings on the hill.

Chase Utley was the main dude at the plate for the Phillies going 3-5 with two RBI.

Philadelphia has life in the NLCS winning Game 3, 5-1.

The Giants elected to start the rookie in Game 4 against Roy Halladay. Now, they may be regretting it.

Bumgarner couldn’t get out of the fifth inning before he allowed six runs on nine hits.

That’s all Roy Halladay would need to bounce back from a rough outing in Game 1. Though he did allow five hits, the Phillies ace did not give up a run in his eight innings of work.

Jose Contreras came on in the ninth to seal up the 6-0 victory.

Jimmy Rollins provided the offense with his 2-4, three RBI and HR effort at the dish.

The Phillies break back to even the series at two all heading into Game 5.

Except for a turbulent bottom of the third, Cole Hamels was a San Francisco treat to watch.

The Phillies took a commanding 3-2 series lead behind the southpaw’s eight innings of work. Although he did allow nine hits on the evening, Hamels controlled the bleeding by holding the Giants to two runs.

Tim Lincecum and the Giants fell behind 4-0 in the first and could never recover. Sergio Romo allowed three more runs in relief to hand the away team a 7-2 win.

The Phillies now return to Philly up 3-2 and in prime position to close out the NLCS in front of a home crowd.

The guy with the best batting average in the series picked the right time to collect his first hit of the night.

Placido Polanco’s bottom-of-the-ninth single to right off Giants closer Brian Wilson sent Carlos Ruiz home as the Phillies win the NLCS in dramatic fashion.

The Phillies head to the World Series with a 4-3 win over the Giants.

Moments prior to Polanco’s game-winner, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was ejected from the game for arguing a ball four call to Shane Victorino. The walk sent Ruiz to third.

The Giants did own a 3-2 lead in the eighth, but Jimmy Rollins connected off of reliever Ramon Ramirez sending a single to right and knocking in Chase Utley to tie the game.

Brad Lidge, seeing his first action of the series, struck out the side in the top of the ninth before the drama unfolded in the ninth.

The 2010 Philadelphia Phillies are headed to the World Series with a 4-2 series win over the San Francisco Giants.

Check out the ALCS preview from WhatIfSports.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Just the other day, a buddy and I were lamenting the lack of hotness in sports.

Yeah, sure, there are cheerleaders and ball girls and stuff like that, but what the sports world needs is real hotness.

And while we probably can’t force all professional athletes to marry Playboy babes, like quarterback Jeff Garcia and Carmella DeCesare, we came up with a few ideas that might help the movement along nonetheless.

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Just when we all thought we were getting our postseason fill with the NLDS, the approaching NLCS is about to open up the flood gates with a good old fashion civil war between the East Coast and West Coast.

It’s time to put on the gloves, get out your rally towels, and show those Giants draped in orange what Philadelphia is all about.

Who cares about that old Willie Mays statue, when you have Ashburn Alley!

Who needs the California Cookout when you have Bull’s BBQ!

How can you enjoy the beautiful sun filled California beaches when you have the Jersey Shore????

*cough*…Ok, San Francisco, you win that one.

The postseason engine just switched into its high gear, and Game One of the NLCS has all the makings of a historical event waiting to happen.

At this rate, even the World Series is going to wind up paling in comparison to not only what has already happened in the NLDS and ALDS, but what is about to transpire in the NLCS.

I am, of course, talking about the reigning Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum, about to take on the pending 2010 Cy Young Award Winner Roy Halladay.

I’m talking about two of the best pitchers in not only the NL, but all of baseball.

The Freak vs. The Doctor.

It really doesn’t get any better than this, unless you’re sitting in Citizen’s Bank Park with a Hatfield hot dog and an ice cold Bud Light.

But I digress.

Even as good as Tim Lincecum is, he’s only one man, whereas the Phillies tandem of Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels (H₂0) is more than any team has really been able to handle since the beginning of September.

And that could wind up being all the Phillies need once again.

They already beat the best defensive team in the National league, and one of the best hitting teams in the National League (the Cincinnati Reds), now they get set to face one of the hottest teams in the National League.

No problem, right?

You wanted drama? You wanted excitement? You wanted a thrilling postseason drive?

If this doesn’t get you excited, you may want to check your pulse.

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On a few different fronts, it’s as easy as “1-2-3” for the Philadelphia Phillies this postseason. 

Last night, of course, the Phillies dispensed the upstart Cincinnati Reds 1-2-3 in the NLDS. The series sweep was of historic significance as it was the first ever in the postseason for the 127-year old organization— at least on the winning end. 

And the Phillies plan for the 2010 postseason revolves around the rock solid 1-2-3 foundation provided by “The Big Three” trio of ace starters. Cole Hamels fulfilled his part of the plan almost to perfection (a term that cannot be used gratuitously with Roy Halladay on the staff) by tossing a low-stress, high-gloss five-hit shutout in last evening’s clincher. 

Although Phillies players engaged in the customary series-clinching champagne celebration, they did so in a manner that suggested they had been there before, and still have places to go. 

Wrapping up the division series was but step one in their 1-2-3 postseason formula. Next on the agenda is achieving a similar outcome in the NLCS and then the World Series. 

From the outset of last night’s game until the final 95-mph heater that set Scott Rolen down swinging to end the game, Hamels displayed his unwavering determination to execute on those plans. 

In contrast to last season’s postseason, “Hollywood” brought a Halladay-like focus to wrap up the series last evening. When asked about his performance, Hamels made it abundantly clear that the NLDS victory was but one step towards the team’s goal of bringing another World Series Championship to Philly. 

That type of attitude and pitching performance has to be unnerving to the rest of the postseason field. 

After Shane Victorino made a terrific running catch of a Brandon Phillips liner in the first, Hamels never seemed to break a sweat as he suffocated the Reds’ high-powered offense. 

When Phillips started the home ninth with a base hit to awaken the Great American Ballpark crowd and provide a sense of hope, Hollywood coolly induced soon-to-be-MVP Joey Votto to ground into a tailor-made double play. 

Suddenly, it was as if a huge wet blanket had been dropped from the gaudy orange “Conan” blimp hovering above the stadium. 

Hamels’ mid-90’s fastball, low-90’s cutter, nose-diving change-up, and occasional hook had Reds hitters flailing and guessing all night. Never did he allow a free pass or more than one baserunner in an inning, while racking up nine strikeouts.

The Phillies offense remained somewhat in hibernation as it managed but two runs of support for their ace lefty. One run was again donated by the unexpectedly generous Reds defense, and the other came by virtue of a Chase Utley bomb into the right-center field bleachers. 

Besides the superior pitching of Halladay, Hamels, and the bullpen, the Phillies’ edge in postseason experience proved to be a large difference in this series. Not to take anything away from an excellent Phillies team, but the Reds were perhaps a little tight. 

Similar to the Phillies in 2007, Cincinnati got a taste of the postseason and appears to have a very bright future. They have a young core of talent that should provide strong offense, defense and pitching over the next few seasons—much like this now-seasoned Philly team. 

In this series, though, the Phillies took care of business 1-2-3 to accomplish step one of their postseason plan. 

With the champagne cobwebs mostly cleared from their heads today, it’s now time for the Phillies to focus on step two. 

They will take the wise course of one step at a time, but the big celebration will wait until the postseason plan becomes a matter of 1-2-3.  

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The Phillies entered into Game 3 of the NLDS with one thing in mind: Win and go home.

And they did just that.

Behind a dominant Cole Hamels and a constructed hitting squad that showed the value of both the long ball and the short ball, the Phillies dominated nearly every aspect of this game.

Let’s take a look at how the Phillies fared against not only the best defensive teams in the NL this season, but also against one of the best teams, in one of the most hitter friendly parks in the majors.

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After two exhilarating games the Philadelphia Phillies have more than shown exactly why they are not only the number one team in the National League, but  why there are the NLDS’ top “student’.

Being down four to nothing, and dealing with a Reds team that’s not only pulled out all the stops, but also debuted their “secret weapon” only to have him (Chapman) retired faster than his own 100+ MPH fastball.

The Reds seemingly crumbled under the pressure of a Phillies team that is as methodical as it gets when it comes down to getting back into a game.

They chased away the best defensive team in the National League, they blew away the blow away pitcher  Chapman, and took a crucial two games to none lead, as the series heads back to Cincinnati for a game three showdown on Sunday night.

Let’s take a look at the Phillies NLDS Game 2 report card, and how this game translates into a final grade of B+.

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Cliff Lee is flat-out dominant in the postseason.

Lee had a historic 2009 postseason for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts. He was 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in his two World Series starts against the New York Yankees. He earned the win in game one of the World Series in Yankee Stadium, and in his two game one starts last season he threw two complete games with a 0.50 ERA.

He was only the second pitcher in history to throw a complete-game victory with double-digit strikeouts and zero walks. He also was the eighth starting pitcher in postseason history to win at least four games with a sub-2.00 ERA.

Lee made his sixth career postseason start today in his win against the Tampa Bay Rays and was phenomenal. He only gave up five hits and one earned run in the seven innings that he pitched. He also had 10 strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA.

Lee is just what the Yankees are missing.

New York is in desperate need of consistent pitching after CC Sabathia. They have pulled A.J. Burnett out of the starting rotation for the postseason, going instead with Andy Pettite and Phil Hughes. If Cliff Lee was in that rotation there isn’t a team in the American League that has the pitching to match.

The Yankees have been and continue to be the most likely destination for Cliff Lee’s talents next season. But the cost of his services continue to rise with every playoff pitch he delivers from the mound.

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