It takes a very clever, very alert guy to pull one over on Cliff Lee.
Unlike most pitchers, Lee views himself as a complete bsuballplayer, one who takes each at-bat seriously and is cognizant of the game's every nuance. His antenna is always up.
So what occurred Monday in the second inning of the Phillies' 5-4 loss to San Diego at Citizens Bank Park was a bit stunning when you consider Lee's heightened awareness.
With Chris Denorfia on third and Jason Bartlett on first, Lee lollygagged on a pickoff throw to first. The ball had barely left Lee's hand when the swift Denorfia took off and easily stole home. It was the third run of a four-run inning for the Padres, who broke a 10-game losing streak against the Phillies since last season.
"I saw he wasn't running so I threw an easier throw to first," said Lee, who got a signal from catcher Carlos Ruiz to hold Bartlett close to first. "That's the first time that's ever happened to me. I didn't even consider that as a possibility right there. Obviously, the next time I'm in that situation, I'll make a firm throw to first and not allow that to happen. I need to be more aware of that in the future."
Denorfia's steal of home was the biggest indignity against Lee on a day when the lefthander simply didn't have it. He lasted four innings and got punched around for five runs and 10 hits, his shortest outing since April 8, when he was pulled after 31/3 innings of a 6-3 loss in Atlanta.
Lee's subpar performance was especially uncharacteristic at home. He had gone 6-0 with an 0.95 earned run average at Citizens Bank Park since a May 6 loss to Atlanta.
"It was just one of those days," manager Charlie Manuel said. "They were hitting him. He's human."
Lee wasn't happy that he was pulled for pinch-hitter Ben Francisco in the fourth, but Manuel saw the possibility of a big inning. Down, 5-1, the Phillies were within 5-3 after Carlos Ruiz singled home Domonic Brown with one out, running his hitting streak to 11 games. But Francisco grounded into a rally-killing double play.
Lee had thrown 82 pitches after four innings, but Manuel said he probably would have left him in the game for a chance to get the win if Ruiz had not gotten a hit.
"But once Ruiz got the hit and we had something going I figured we might keep the inning going," Manuel said. "He didn't want to come out of the game. He's competitive. I don't want him to want to come out of the game. He didn't like that, but at the time that's what we wanted to do."
