The Other Fifteen

I think I covered all the cheesy puns that will appear on sports pages this morning.  News papers are predictable.  Maybe THAT’s why they’re going out of business, because they use puns as headlines.  Anyway, Cliff Lee pitched one of the great games in World Series History last night.  It would have been a shutout if not for Jimmy Rollins error in the 9th, but was still a complete game with no earned runs.  Here’s what his stat line looked like:

9 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 10 K, 0 ER

To further illustrate how on point Lee was last night, he threw 122 pitches, 80 for strikes.  9 of his 10 strikeouts were swinging.  That’s filthy stuff right there.  To be throwing strikes with that frequency, but making those strikes unhittable is about the best anyone can pitch in a game.  To have double-digit strikeouts without walking a single batter is about as good as anyone can do.  To only allow one extra base hit in 9 innings against one of the most relentless lineups in baseball history is more than you can ask from any pitcher.  But to do these things in game 1 of the World Series against one of the most dominant aces in baseball in the other team’s stadium is unheard of.  I could go on forever about just how good he was last night, but instead, I’ll just give you Cliff Lee’s dominance in picture montage form.

The first batter of the 4th inning, Mark Texiera, whiffing.

The second batter of the 4th inning, Alex Rodriguez, whiffing.

The third batter of the 4th inning, Jorge Posada, whiffing.