Lee coolly handcuffs Yankees as Phillies take Game 1

NEW YORK - What was the look? Was it disgust? Nonchalance? Patronization? You can start any of a number of places when breaking down the brilliance that took the mound wearing road gray last night. But if you really want to capture the essence that was Clifton Phifer Lee, if you really want to pinpoint the reason the Phillies walked into Yankee Stadium and grabbed a 1-0 World Series lead over Team October, then find a way to describe the look that crossed the ace lefthander's face after he casually fielded a Johnny Damon popup in the sixth inning.

As the ball rose against a backdrop of black night sky and began its descent toward the mound, Lee casually held his glove out to the side and made what might go down as the most unenthusiastic catch in postseason history.

But it wasn't the catch that told the story. No, it was the look that crossed his face after the play had been made - a slow roll of the eyes as he retrieved the ball from his glove and went back to his business.

Boredom. That's it. Cliff Lee looked bored. Bored with all of it - the six scoreless innings he had pitched to that point, the four strikeouts he had recorded against the two highest-paid hitters in the American League, the 83 pitches he had thrown to that point. After all of the buildup, the hype, the 7 days of anticipation leading up to his first World Series, this was it?

"You've got to go out there and think you're going to get everybody out, and think you can," Lee said after dominating the Yankees in a 6-1, complete-game victory that gave the Phillies their second straight win in a World Series opener. "I definitely do that. I try not to go over the edge and rub things in and be cocky, but I definitely have confidence, there's no doubt about that."

That mentality is one of the big reasons Lee looks so at home with this Phillies team. Throughout the last 2 years, as the Phillies have accumulated a 19-5 postseason record, they have acted like a team that is supposed to be where they are. And last night, against a Yankees team that entered the night as a heavy favorite to win its 27th World Series, the Phillies again played like it.