12/21/24
October 18, 2010
Cliff Lee Strikes Again as Rangers Defeat Yankees: Cliff Lee continued his postseason mastery, striking out 13 New York Yankees in 8 innings as the Texas Rangers won 8-0 at Yankee Stadium. Texas now leads the American League Championship Series two games to one. Lee becomes the first pitcher to strike out 10 or more batters in three games in one playoffs.
Just unreal. Is he totally in the Yankees head by now or what?
posted by brainofdtrain at 11:46 PM on October 18, 2010
He's got to be in their heads now if he wasn't already. They now have to win the next three games to avoid seeing him in game 7.
It's weird how the entire game turned on a first inning Josh Hamilton end-of-bat home run he somehow poked into the seats. Those two runs were as huge as two goals in soccer.
posted by rcade at 11:51 PM on October 18, 2010
Amazing performance. Completely dominating. He made Jeter look as bad as I've seen him.
I hope the Rangers are ready to score more runs than 2 in game 4.
posted by justgary at 11:54 PM on October 18, 2010
With this year's A.J. Burnett on the mound, I like their chances of doing that.
posted by rcade at 12:04 AM on October 19, 2010
Does Brett Gardner always wind up his right arm before he steals? That move is great.
posted by rcade at 12:25 AM on October 19, 2010
I'm still mad the Rangers aren't up 3-0.
And I sure hope Gardner has a chance to dive for first once again in game 4. Hearing about his hustle never gets old.
posted by justgary at 12:29 AM on October 19, 2010
There are very few predictable moments in sports, especially when it comes to playoff time, but anyone who didn't see this coming has been living under a rock. This moment was assured on July 9 when Lee went to Texas, not New York. I knew it was coming and that's also why I was glad the Yankees went the wild card route so they could at least make it to the American League Championship Series and not face Texas (and Lee) in the divisional series. Basically, the Yankees need to now win the next three games or they're finished anyways. And while Lee is definitely in the heads of the Yankee hitters, don't take away the fact he's a tremendous pitcher regardless.
posted by dyams at 06:19 AM on October 19, 2010
I see there is no mention of an amazing call by the umpire at 1st base on Gardner's (ill-advised) slide. It looked like he was safe by a mile, but the umpire got the call right as Gardner completely missed the bag when he stretched his arm out.
This is another example of "selection bias" when it comes to complaining about the umpires. One of the umpires is going to make a mistake at some point in these playoffs, and someone will rant about how terrible they are. I hope someone (other than me) will remember at least two great calls have been made in this series.
posted by grum@work at 08:32 AM on October 19, 2010
That was a great call at first base.
Two other thoughts:
1. I hope the Yanks and their fans realize that Petite is their best starting pitcher and has been for years in big games no matter how much more money they pay their hired gun du jour.
2. The play by play folks banter about the shutout earning Lee a 6 year Yankee contract ... I couldn't determine (nor could some of the announcers) whether that was meant as a joke or simply a matter of fact statement.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:11 AM on October 19, 2010
This is another example of "selection bias" when it comes to complaining about the umpires. One of the umpires is going to make a mistake at some point in these playoffs, and someone will rant about how terrible they are. I hope someone (other than me) will remember at least two great calls have been made in this series
It's not going completely unnoticed. I think the bigger surprise is that it was Angel Hernandez who got the call right.
posted by Demophon at 10:12 AM on October 19, 2010
The six-year Yankee contract talk was a joke. They said he had a three-year contract waiting for him last night that turned to six years if he pitched a complete-game shutout.
posted by rcade at 10:15 AM on October 19, 2010
This is another example of "selection bias" when it comes to complaining about the umpires
I'm not going to go all crazy regarding calls umpires got right. That's their job. A air traffic controller who lands plane after plane, year after year, without incident, then watches as a mistake he makes results in a accident hopefully won't say, "Well look at all the planes I landed without incident." That's the job he's paid for, to do things correctly. While baseball is light-years away from the seriousness of public safety, it doesn't change the idea that professional, major league umpires need to get the close calls right, and the volume of wrong calls in games is still unacceptable.
I also felt it was a mistake for the Yanks to send Pettite out to pitch this game. He's still a much better pitcher than Burnett, and now they not only lose a great performance by him (Pettite) that could have possibly resulted in a win if any other pitcher was going for Texas, but now they have to pin their season on Burnett coming out and throwing a great game, something he has been unable to do for practically the entire season.
posted by dyams at 10:20 AM on October 19, 2010
Imagine if Angel Hernandez was landing airplanes.
Those were some great calls. Though, I'm not sure if they were good enough to sooth my anger if somebody blows a really easy or important call.
posted by tron7 at 11:28 AM on October 19, 2010
There are very few predictable moments in sports, especially when it comes to playoff time, but anyone who didn't see this coming has been living under a rock. This moment was assured on July 9 when Lee went to Texas, not New York.
Which was predictable? The Yankees losing to the Rangers in the series? Or Cliff Lee winning 2 games? Because that's exactly what happened last year in another 7 game series, and the Yankees won the series pretty easily.
The problem with the Yankees isn't so much cliff lee, but their pitching staff. burnett has been bad and hughes has been inconsistent in the second half (I was amused by the praise for hughes against the light hitting twins).
The Yankees still can win. They only face cliff lee one more game, and if you look on paper, burnett should be highly favored over hunter.
So sure, getting cliff lee was huge for the rangers, but if the yankees pitching staff was pitching well he'd end up a footnote, just like last year.
but the umpire got the call right as Gardner completely missed the bag when he stretched his arm out.
I wasn't sure if hernandez got the call right for the right reason. I was looking for a sign that he never thought gardner never touched the bag. Maybe I missed it. But since I haven't heard anything different, from gardner or anyone else, I'm assuming that hernandez indeed saw that gardner never touched the bag.
Maybe I shouldn't be so cynical, but hernandez is easily one of the worst umpires in the league, so I had reason for my doubt.
posted by justgary at 01:35 PM on October 19, 2010
I'm not going to go all crazy regarding calls umpires got right. That's their job.
We don't praise air traffic controllers when they routinely land planes, but if they talk a 12 year old kid down after his dad has had a heart attack while piloting a private plane, then they deserve praise.
Those calls (last night at 1st base and earlier in the series at home plate) were amazing and deserve praise for getting it right.
posted by grum@work at 01:35 PM on October 19, 2010
But since I haven't heard anything different, from gardner or anyone else, I'm assuming that hernandez indeed saw that gardner never touched the bag.
This is an umpire in position. He can see the foot, the hand, and the base all in one area.
hernandez is easily one of the worst umpires in the league, so I had reason for my doubt.
As did I, when he first made the call.
posted by grum@work at 01:43 PM on October 19, 2010
Which was predictable?
Lee facing the Yankees in the playoffs and making them look stupid.
posted by dyams at 02:07 PM on October 19, 2010
What if he pitches in game 7 and gets rocked? Would you think of yourself as being wrong? When Lee was picked up by the Rangers, the idea of meeting the Yankees in the playoffs is hardly what I would call an amazing call. Both teams were in playoff positions at the time. And then predicting that he'd do well? Well, his track record would indicate, yes - he would.
Lee was awesome and has a playoff record that puts his regular season record to shame. And with a game score of 90 - hope you had the over in the pool.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:08 PM on October 19, 2010
What if he pitches in game 7 and gets rocked? Would you think of yourself as being wrong?
Yes. And happy about it.
posted by dyams at 07:33 PM on October 19, 2010
Lee facing the Yankees in the playoffs and making them look stupid.
Eh, a great pitcher can shut down any lineup.
I'm rooting against the Yankees of course, but I think their demise is greatly exaggerated. If they pitch well, they've still got a good shot.
posted by justgary at 07:44 PM on October 19, 2010
Cliff Lee. That will be all.