Cliff Lee: Why He'll Regain His Star Stuff and Lead Rangers to World Series
Cliff Lee is about to make his first postseason start for the Texas Rangers in less than an hour.
Toward the end of the regular season he seemed to lose his way, with only four quality starts out of his last 10.
But with that said, there is hope. 10 ‘Rays’ of hope, that will ‘Yank’ the Rangers past the ALDS and ALCS, making a ‘Twin’ killing on their way to an American League pennant.
That was just a lesson in why puns are dumb. Now on to the analysis.
No. 10 Well-Rested
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The advantage of clinching a division early is so aces like Cliff Lee can pitch on more than five-days rest. The last time he pitched was Sept. 30, in a meaningless game against the Angels.
For hitters, timing can be thrown by extended periods of time off. Pitchers get stronger.
And Cliff Lee isn’t going to lose the grip on his curveball in six days. Going into the playoffs with a little vacation built in is a huge plus for Lee.
He'll be healthy, on track, and ready to go if need be on three-days rest later on in this series and the next.
No. 9 Pin-Point Control
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Even when Cliff Lee is off, he won’t put you on for free.
On the season, he gave up three walks in a game once. He gave up two walks in a game three times.
He gave up only one walk in a game nine times. He gave up zero walks 15 times on the year.
28 starts. 18 walks.
If anyone is going to beat him, they’re going to have to swing the bats, and it’s better to give your defense a chance to make a play than taking the glove out of their hands.
Which leads to our next point.
No. 8 Defense Behind Him
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Cliff Lee makes people swing the bats against him.
He goes deep into games by keeping his pitch count low and forcing batters to make contact. As a result, he needs a good defense behind him so he can have confidence to go in the zone, and if he makes a mistake, he knows his defense can bail him out.
With Michael Young and Elvis Andrus on the left side of the infield, that’s as good as it gets. The outfield has a lot of big play capability as well with Josh Hamilton, Julio Borbon and Nelson Cruz.
These playmakers will help keep Cliff Lee in the game and give him a chance at pitching eight or nine innings every night.
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No. 7 Lefty Matchups
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The reason left-handed pitchers are so sought after is because of their ability to neutralize left-handed bats.
And Cliff Lee has plenty of opportunities to do that in his opening series. The Rays have a lot of left-handed and switch-hitting players that are very important to their lineup.
Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist. Three hitters that are worse against left-handed pitching.
A big advantage to Lee getting off to a good start in the playoffs. And potentially down the line facing Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau or Mark Teixiera and Robinson Cano.
No. 6 Offense Behind Him
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When a pitcher gets a lead, it gives him enough confidence to go after hitters.
The Rangers offense is chock full of talent. Knowing that, you have Vlad Guerrero, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, and Michael Young going up to slug for you, which will make it easier to pitch.
If you give up one or two or even four runs, you have enough confidence to know that they can get it back for you. That security blanket makes it easier to pitch in the zone and be aggressive, rather than being afraid to make a mistake if you don’t believe your offense can make a comeback.
No. 5 Playoff Attitude
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Last year, Lee tumbled a little bit toward the home stretch, but was able to turn it on when the playoffs hit.
He is a gamer and plays up to his best when he’s facing the best. He’ll be doing that again this year, as he has to face the Tampa Bay Rays and either the New York Yankees or the Minnesota Twins.
No. 4 Experience
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He’s been there before, and didn’t crack under the pressure.
He faced the Rockies, the Dodgers, and the Yankees, all teams that had potent offenses. It’s not as if he was facing the Giants or Braves offense of this year (a luxury which the Phillies or Reds will be fortunate enough to have).
He showed last year what he had when he was inexperienced in the postseason. Imagine what he’s learned, and what he can use from that.
Which leads us into our next point.
No. 3 Maturity
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It’s one thing to be experienced like David Price and James Shields.
Yes, they’ve been there as well, but they’re still young, and still probably prone to letting things get to them.
Cliff Lee is 32 years old. He’s calm, cool and collected, hence his playoff attitude.
But that playoff attitude comes from playing the game and not letting one mistake pitch, one bad call, get in your head and lead to a big inning.
No. 2 'First World Series Title' Motivation
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If he had won last year with the Phillies, there’d be the potential for a collapse that some players have mentally.
"We won it last year, we can do it again this year." Or "We won it last year, I’ve already accomplished it."
Even though every year everyone wants to win, there are championship hangovers that happen and make you think that either it’s going to be easier this time out or that it’s not that big a deal anymore now that you’ve won it.
Well, there’s no fear of that with Cliff Lee since he’s still after that first elusive title. He’ll pitch his heart out to get that chance again.
No. 1 'Stick It To The Phillies' Motivation
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The Phillies traded for Roy Oswalt midseason.
An interesting decision considering they had an ace in Cliff Lee before the season began.
Yet the Phillies decided that Halladay and Hamels would be enough. Then, when it didn’t look like those two were going to be enough after all, they got Oswalt.
Oswalt has been phenomenal. But the fact still remains that Philadelphia gave up on Cliff Lee.
He didn’t want to be traded. They sent him away.
You think he doesn’t want a chance to get to that World Series and beat the team that thought they could do it without him? That’s what drives players just as much as a title.
Ask Roger Clemens and why he would choose to wear a Yankee hat into the Hall Of Fame (not that he’s getting in, but this is still when we were all living in fantasy land.) instead of a Red Sox cap.
Giving it to the old team. What more motivation do you need?
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