Whether you're a Yankees fan, Rangers fan, or just a neutral viewer, nobody can deny how huge last night's game was, nor how incredible Cliff Lee's effort was. Lee went 8 innings, gave up 2 hits, and tallied 13 K's. He did allow a walk though, which made his night even more rare of an occurrence, since it was only his 19th walk in now 236 1/3 innings. His control was unbelievable, throughout his 122 pitches, there were really only about 4 which weren't close. Now, I know I'm used to watching (or seeing images of him sitting in the bullpen) Oliver Perez, and he makes Lee's numbers seem out of this planet, but even looking at them objectively, they really are out of this planet. No numbers can amount to how huge Lee's outing was last night, not only in an utter dominance sort of way, but it was exactly what the Rangers needed. By winning that game, the Rangers went up 2-1 in the series, with A.J. Burnett pitching for the Yankees tonight, and still 2 games left with C.J. Wilson and Cliff Lee pitching. All the Rangers need to do is win two of those games, and they have the series. Another glaringly obvious thing from last night is that the Yankees offense is struggling mightily at the moment. It's only a matter of time until they pick it up, but for know they're not hitting at all. Aside from their 5 run inning in Game 1, they have done nothing, and I fully expect them to break out tonight against Tommy Hunter. I don't think it was Cliff Lee being dominant, nor the Yankees offense being terrible, but some sort of combination of the two.
Any Yankees fan probably questioned Joe Girardi's decision (No, fortunately, it wasn't televised on ESPN with it's own SportsCenter segment. Man, that was just too easy.) of pitching A.J. Burnett at all as opposed to having C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and Andy Pettitte start on 3 days rest. I don't really have a problem with it. Objectively, I think it's the right move. I was listening to WFAN in the car yesterday and Mike Francesa brought it up that although it's the right move, he'd consider having C.C. pitch tonight, and push Burnett to Game 5. This makes sense because if C.C. wins, then you go to Burnett when the series is 2-2 as opposed to 2-1. The series, at worst case, is down 3-2 going in to Hughes and Pettitte, and you never know, he could actually pitch well! With the way everyone talks about him, you'd think Burnett actually is the aforementioned Ollie Perez! Calm down everyone, the guy actually has a little talent, you need to to be making 82 million dollars. Then, if C.C. were to lose, they could go to Hughes and Pettitte in an attempt to salvage their season, but at least they would go down with guns blazing.
The key for Texas is to strike early tonight. They're a young team that feeds off emotion, and having a lead just changes their entire game. They've scored first in every game so far in this ALCS, and quite frankly they should've won them all too. They need to stay aggressive on the base paths, especially with BurNott pitching, because when he's not on he walks a lot of people, and the more people on base the more pressure they can put on the defense with their speed. They've stolen 5 bases, granted 4 were in Game 2, but they have the ability to make things happen, and this aggressiveness only fuels their energy as a team.
I'm sticking with the Rangers in 7 games. The Yankees will win Games 4 and 6. BurNott will throw a gem tonight, since everyone and their brother thinks he'll get lit up. No, that'll be Tommy Hunter, and the Yankees bats will finally wake up. Then, in Game 5, C.J. Wilson will clinch the Rangers taking 2 of 3 in Yankee Stadium as he continues what he started in Game 1, totally befuddling Yankees hitters. C.C. won't be atrocious like in Game 1, but he's not going to be even comparable to Wilson. In Game 6, Colby Lewis will pitch well, but the Rangers bullpen will let the Yankees back into not only the game, but the series, as they'll give up the lead once again. And then in Game 7, Cliff Lee will once again get the better of Andy Pettitte, as Pettitte passes the torch to the new best postseason pitcher in the game. Even if Pettitte throws 9 shutout innings, Lee will throw 10. It's no lock by any means especially with Pettitte being as good as he is, but just like Gambling Rule #1 (Never bet against Peyton Manning at night) , Gambling Rule #2 is never bet against Cliff Lee in the playoffs. I'll never count the Yankees out, they've come back from deficits too many times, and A.J. BurNott is just the type of scrub that they always seem to get a clutch performance out of when they need it most. I'm never comfortable until the Yankees are completely dead and eliminated.
On a side note, hear me out, the Rangers pitching is like a John Mayer concert. For those who haven't been to one, Mayer plays all his songs, but in between he goes off on crazy guitar jams and just says screw it I'm going to go out there and have fun doing whatever I want. These guitar jams are what separates him from other artists, and they're the reason why his live music is so much better than his studio works. In the metaphor, Cliff Lee is the guitar jams. He's the reason why the Rangers are so great, he brings an unparalleled excitement to the stadium every time he pitches, just as Mayer's jams make the crowd go absolutely nuts. Now, the rest of his songs can be very unpredictable. He can bust out an absolute hit that everyone loves, or he can play a more obscure song in which people like, but don't appreciate as much because they don't know it as well. These represent all of the other starters in the rotation because they're very inconsistent, and although they're all capable of producing a gem, they're all capable of producing an absolute dud. Cliff Lee is the excitement and the pure artistic genius that pulls the entire rotation together, just as John Mayer's jams weave together his entire setlist.
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