Bob Ford: On cusp of victory, Lee savors moment

October 08, 2009|By Bob Ford, Inquirer Columnist
  • Cliff Lee gets a hand from the home crowd as he comes off the field after setting down the Rockies in order in the third inning.

The game hadn't ended yet, not officially, but the Rockies were getting blown out of Citizens Bank Park like just another wayward hot dog wrapper when Cliff Lee finally allowed himself to look around.

There were two outs in the ninth, he had gotten two quick strikes on Troy Tulowitzki, and the sellout crowd rose in a loud, towel-waving frenzy. Lee, who has waited through 10 professional seasons for just such a moment, recognized it when it arrived.

"I took a little second to look around and soak it all in," Lee said, laughing as he added, "but then I threw three straight balls and one down the middle that went in the gap. So, whatever. It was a five-run lead right there."

He could be forgiven the momentary lapse, even as Tulowitzki drove in Carlos Gonzalez, turning Lee's shutout masterpiece into merely a 5-1, complete-game win. He nailed it shut by striking out Garrett Atkins to end the game and answer forever the question of how he would respond to his first playoff appearance.

"I wanted to give myself a chance to really absorb it and take it all in," Lee said. "Maybe it cost me a run, but we still won, so that's the bottom line."

Lee did more than just reach the bottom line yesterday. By pitching to the end, he also solved the problem of how to deal with the Phillies' inconsistent bullpen - keep the gate closed out there.

Three complete games would be a nice way to go through the series, but that's not likely. Cole Hamels gets the chance to make it two in a row today, though. If the Rockies, who struggled all year against lefthanders, are as hasty as they were yesterday, Hamels will benefit as well.

"Today, I was more staying away from 2-0 and 3-1 counts . . . and staying out of the heart of the plate," Lee said. "That's as simple as I look at it, and that's what you've got to do to be successful - not miss out over the plate much, and if you do consistently, bad things are going to happen. If you're locating and keeping the ball down and out of the heart of the plate, good things are going to happen."

In the last month, as Lee went 2-4 in his final seven starts of the regular season, his pitches were drifting to the outer half of the plate or he found himself falling behind in the count and needed to throw down the middle to avoid walks. In the starts when he did well, it was the reverse, but there was no way to know which Cliff Lee would take the mound. Yesterday, in merely the biggest start of his career, it was Good Cliff.

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