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A little late, but who do you want to see in the ALCS?

Really should take out all those options with the Rays in it - down 5-0 in the 5th of game 2, the Rays will need to win both in Texas just to get it back for a 5th game. Heck, Cliff Lee may not even need to pitch again at this rate, freeing him up for up to 3 starts against the Twins/Yankees winner (seriously, does anyone think the Twins can beat the Yankees?). Tampa may not even make the flight to Arlington.

GannonFan wrote:Really should take out all those options with the Rays in it - down 5-0 in the 5th of game 2, the Rays will need to win both in Texas just to get it back for a 5th game. Heck, Cliff Lee may not even need to pitch again at this rate, freeing him up for up to 3 starts against the Twins/Yankees winner (seriously, does anyone think the Twins can beat the Yankees?). Tampa may not even make the flight to Arlington.

Twins can beat the Yankees, just not Sabathia.

Again, I WANT Rangers-Twins, just for some new blood. I THINK it will be Rangers-Yanks, though.

Wow. Two days into the postseason and the ALCS is all but set already.

So, AL fans, how do the Rangers stack up against the Evil Empire?

The Rangers' Wilson looked as good as Lee today. The Rangers look like a very solid team.

blukeys wrote:The Rangers' Wilson looked as good as Lee today. The Rangers look like a very solid team.

Rangers are looking solid. Lee and Wilson are great pitcher, but after that its a little bit of a wild card. Colby Lewis can be very good, but for some reason he hasn't received great run support lately. Tommy Hunter had an amazing stretch (think he won 8 in a row at one point), but when he has an off night, it seems he gets absolutely shelled. The bats are hot now, they will need to stay that way.

I hope its Rangers v. Yanks. I have already purchased ALCS tickets.

The Rangers start the series 2-0 against the Yanks as Lee gets two starts. However, they'll need to win 2 of the other 5 games - it's certainly possible as they won't have that deer in headlights look that the Twins have when they play the Yanks. I say it's even money who wins that ALCS.

GannonFan wrote:The Rangers start the series 2-0 against the Yanks as Lee gets two starts. However, they'll need to win 2 of the other 5 games - it's certainly possible as they won't have that deer in headlights look that the Twins have when they play the Yanks. I say it's even money who wins that ALCS.

Assuming Texas wins tonight, Lee's first start in the ALCS won't come until Game 3, which means unless the series goes 7 games, Lee will pitch once in the series. I suppose Lee could go on short rest in Game 2, but he's never pitched on short rest in his career, so that move would be a crap shoot. Also note that Lee's chief weapon is his command, not velocity, and the track record of command pitchers on short rest isn't great.

JoltinJoe wrote:

GannonFan wrote:The Rangers start the series 2-0 against the Yanks as Lee gets two starts. However, they'll need to win 2 of the other 5 games - it's certainly possible as they won't have that deer in headlights look that the Twins have when they play the Yanks. I say it's even money who wins that ALCS.

Assuming Texas wins tonight, Lee's first start in the ALCS won't come until Game 3, which means unless the series goes 7 games, Lee will pitch once in the series. I suppose Lee could go on short rest in Game 2, but he's never pitched on short rest in his career, so that move would be a crap shoot. Also note that Lee's chief weapon is his command, not velocity, and the track record of command pitchers on short rest isn't great.

It all depends on how much Lee has to throw tonight, and of course, if Texas wins. With the Yanks having to throw Burnett in Game 4, it's likely the series isn't going to be over too quickly. If they throw Lee on Saturday in Game 2 he only needs to pitch once on short rest. Obviously he hasn't done it before, but it's not as if he's been asked to do it either - I don't see any reason to think he'd be a crap shoot throwing once on short rest. This isn't an average pitcher we're talking about.

Regardless of who wins I still think it's even money for the Yanks - I don't think either one of these teams rolls over like the Twins did (and always have done for the Yanks).

I had to turn down box seats to the game tonight.

GannonFan wrote:

JoltinJoe wrote:
Assuming Texas wins tonight, Lee's first start in the ALCS won't come until Game 3, which means unless the series goes 7 games, Lee will pitch once in the series. I suppose Lee could go on short rest in Game 2, but he's never pitched on short rest in his career, so that move would be a crap shoot. Also note that Lee's chief weapon is his command, not velocity, and the track record of command pitchers on short rest isn't great.

It all depends on how much Lee has to throw tonight, and of course, if Texas wins. With the Yanks having to throw Burnett in Game 4, it's likely the series isn't going to be over too quickly. If they throw Lee on Saturday in Game 2 he only needs to pitch once on short rest. Obviously he hasn't done it before, but it's not as if he's been asked to do it either - I don't see any reason to think he'd be a crap shoot throwing once on short rest. This isn't an average pitcher we're talking about.

Regardless of who wins I still think it's even money for the Yanks - I don't think either one of these teams rolls over like the Twins did (and always have done for the Yanks).

You may be right, but as I said, velocity pitchers seem to fare better on short rest than command pitchers. Perhaps hitting your spots depends on normal rest. It's a tough call for a manager. You absolutely know Lee is simply one of the best on normal rest, but you just don't have that assurance on short rest. I am surprised, given Texas' big lead in the West, that Washington didn't give Lee an outing on short rest let's say in early September, just to get a read on it.

Then again, Greg Maddux was a command pitcher and his record on short rest was stellar, so there are command pitchers out there who can do it.

SunCoastBlueHen wrote:I had to turn down box seats to the game tonight.

That's too bad, but you've got a lot on your plate right now.

JoltinJoe wrote:

SunCoastBlueHen wrote:I had to turn down box seats to the game tonight.

That's too bad, but you've got a lot on your plate right now.

Unfortunately, we sure do. Anyway, I promised my FIL I would watch the game with him tonight on the tube, so that will be nice.

BTW, they opened up the restricted view seating for tonight's game and still sold out. They are expecting 40K + (might be a record crowd for a Rays game).

JoltinJoe wrote:

GannonFan wrote:
It all depends on how much Lee has to throw tonight, and of course, if Texas wins. With the Yanks having to throw Burnett in Game 4, it's likely the series isn't going to be over too quickly. If they throw Lee on Saturday in Game 2 he only needs to pitch once on short rest. Obviously he hasn't done it before, but it's not as if he's been asked to do it either - I don't see any reason to think he'd be a crap shoot throwing once on short rest. This isn't an average pitcher we're talking about.

Regardless of who wins I still think it's even money for the Yanks - I don't think either one of these teams rolls over like the Twins did (and always have done for the Yanks).

You may be right, but as I said, velocity pitchers seem to fare better on short rest than command pitchers. Perhaps hitting your spots depends on normal rest. It's a tough call for a manager. You absolutely know Lee is simply one of the best on normal rest, but you just don't have that assurance on short rest. I am surprised, given Texas' big lead in the West, that Washington didn't give Lee an outing on short rest let's say in early September, just to get a read on it.

Then again, Greg Maddux was a command pitcher and his record on short rest was stellar, so there are command pitchers out there who can do it.

I think you're diminishing Lee's overall ability here by calling him a "command pitcher". He still throws with enough heat to make everything else effective. He's like Hamels. Of course neither is a power pitcher, per se, but they're still throwing fast balls in the mid 90's and that makes everything else they throw that much more effective. Maddux was never the post season pitcher that Lee is - that's a horrible comparison.

GannonFan wrote:

JoltinJoe wrote:
You may be right, but as I said, velocity pitchers seem to fare better on short rest than command pitchers. Perhaps hitting your spots depends on normal rest. It's a tough call for a manager. You absolutely know Lee is simply one of the best on normal rest, but you just don't have that assurance on short rest. I am surprised, given Texas' big lead in the West, that Washington didn't give Lee an outing on short rest let's say in early September, just to get a read on it.

Then again, Greg Maddux was a command pitcher and his record on short rest was stellar, so there are command pitchers out there who can do it.

I think you're diminishing Lee's overall ability here by calling him a "command pitcher". He still throws with enough heat to make everything else effective. He's like Hamels. Of course neither is a power pitcher, per se, but they're still throwing fast balls in the mid 90's and that makes everything else they throw that much more effective. Maddux was never the post season pitcher that Lee is - that's a horrible comparison.

Lee's fastball is in the low 90s -- a decent velocity but a fastball that most major league batters can handle with ease if it is in the wrong location. What makes Lee so effective is that he can spot his fastball on strike one, which then sets you up for his cutter.

Can he spot that fastball so effectively on short rest? Because a pitcher throwing 91 on strike one who misses his spot too often might have a long night.

Lee had a great post-season last year, but it's a little early to coronate him as an all-time great post-season pitcher. He's pitched in one post season prior to this year. Of course, I hope you're right and he does go down as a all-time great post-season pitcher, because he's going to be winning those future games for the Yankees.

The comparison to Maddux wasn't based on his post-season work. It was based on his ability to pitch on short rest as a command pitcher.

JoltinJoe wrote:

GannonFan wrote:
I think you're diminishing Lee's overall ability here by calling him a "command pitcher". He still throws with enough heat to make everything else effective. He's like Hamels. Of course neither is a power pitcher, per se, but they're still throwing fast balls in the mid 90's and that makes everything else they throw that much more effective. Maddux was never the post season pitcher that Lee is - that's a horrible comparison.

Lee's fastball is in the low 90s -- a decent velocity but a fastball that most major league batters can handle with ease if it is in the wrong location. What makes Lee so effective is that he can spot his fastball on strike one, which then sets you up for his cutter.

Can he spot that fastball so effectively on short rest? Because a pitcher throwing 91 on strike one who misses his spot too often might have a long night.

Lee had a great post-season last year, but it's a little early to coronate him as an all-time great post-season pitcher. He's pitched in one post season prior to this year. Of course, I hope you're right and he does go down as a all-time great post-season pitcher, because he's going to be winning those future games for the Yankees.

The comparison to Maddux wasn't based on his post-season work. It was based on his ability to pitch on short rest as a command pitcher.

Well, he's 6-0 now in 7 postseason starts with a sub 1.50 ERA and 3 complete games. Granted, he's no Halladay or Hamels, but I'd say he's pretty good. After the Yanks don't win it this year, I'm sure he'll be worth the $25M for 6 years the Yanks give him in the offseason. That is, of course, unless Texas just resigns him anyway, since Cashman not getting a deal done during the year has let Texas fix their ownership problems and pull in a TV deal. Wouldn't that be a hoot - Lee knocks the Yanks out this year and then spurns them in the offseason to boot.

GannonFan wrote:

JoltinJoe wrote:
Lee's fastball is in the low 90s -- a decent velocity but a fastball that most major league batters can handle with ease if it is in the wrong location. What makes Lee so effective is that he can spot his fastball on strike one, which then sets you up for his cutter.

Can he spot that fastball so effectively on short rest? Because a pitcher throwing 91 on strike one who misses his spot too often might have a long night.

Lee had a great post-season last year, but it's a little early to coronate him as an all-time great post-season pitcher. He's pitched in one post season prior to this year. Of course, I hope you're right and he does go down as a all-time great post-season pitcher, because he's going to be winning those future games for the Yankees.

The comparison to Maddux wasn't based on his post-season work. It was based on his ability to pitch on short rest as a command pitcher.

Well, he's 6-0 now in 7 postseason starts with a sub 1.50 ERA and 3 complete games. Granted, he's no Halladay or Hamels, but I'd say he's pretty good. After the Yanks don't win it this year, I'm sure he'll be worth the $25M for 6 years the Yanks give him in the offseason. That is, of course, unless Texas just resigns him anyway, since Cashman not getting a deal done during the year has let Texas fix their ownership problems and pull in a TV deal. Wouldn't that be a hoot - Lee knocks the Yanks out this year and then spurns them in the offseason to boot.

Cliff Lee is already looking at real estate in Northern NJ and Westchester County.

JoltinJoe wrote: Cliff Lee is already looking at real estate in Northern NJ and Westchester County.

So you're saying Lee is going to own the Yankees in the ALCS.

Not a bad pitcher to have going in a possible game 7.

Gil Dobie wrote:

JoltinJoe wrote: Cliff Lee is already looking at real estate in Northern NJ and Westchester County.

So you're saying Lee is going to own the Yankees in the ALCS.

Not a bad pitcher to have going in a possible game 7.

There will be no game 7. Yankees in 5 or 6.

JoltinJoe wrote:

Gil Dobie wrote:
So you're saying Lee is going to own the Yankees in the ALCS.

Not a bad pitcher to have going in a possible game 7.

There will be no game 7. Yankees in 5 or 6.

I''m a little concerned about the Yankees having too many days off.

JoltinJoe wrote:

Gil Dobie wrote:
So you're saying Lee is going to own the Yankees in the ALCS.

Not a bad pitcher to have going in a possible game 7.

There will be no game 7. Yankees in 5 or 6.

It's hard to argue with this. I mean, they are the Yankees. I am going to hope that CJ Wilson wins game one. Cliff Lee wins games 3 and 7. For this to happen we need one win from either Cobra Lewis, Tommy Hunter, or a second win from CJ.

Not Likely, but not impossible considering how good Lee and Wilson looked in the DS.

Y'all think this is possible?

why don't they just pitch Lee on Friday....it's his normal bullpen session day.

I don't know enough to answer that question AZ. during a bullpen session would he throw with the ame intensity he would during a game? I am sure your arm is still feeling a sore 3 days after a 120 pitch outing though.


If you a just jacking around then I say, yeah, throw that limp noodle of an arm out there on Friday. Hell, its only the Yankees. I mean they SUCK compared to Cliff Lee!

FWJack wrote:I don't know enough to answer that question AZ. during a bullpen session would he throw with the ame intensity he would during a game? I am sure your arm is still feeling a sore 3 days after a 120 pitch outing though.


If you a just jacking around then I say, yeah, throw that limp noodle of an arm out there on Friday. Hell, its only the Yankees. I mean they SUCK compared to Cliff Lee!

You don't throw enough pitches on your throw day to be a starter.

Coming in relief is not out of the question on your throw day.