Friday, October 30, 2009

Maybe I spoke too soon...

Cliff Lee is putting up the best numbers in a postseason of any pitcher all-time. In just four games, Cliff has tallied three wins, 33.1 innings pitched, and 30 strikeouts. He has won entire baseball games for the Philadelphia Phillies with some of the most dominant pitching of all time. Without him, that pitching staff would look a lot more beatable than it does right now.

While I can't predict the rest of the postseason, it would be hard to bet against Cliff Lee in his next outing. It would also be hard to change the past, which is why I can't change my post from September 28th, "Top 5 Pitchers in the Major Leauges." Instead, I'll just make my case for Lee to be on that list.

After a string of rough seasons at the begining of his career, his past two years have been stellar. 2008 was a career year that put some serious hardware in Cliff's tropy case. After winning 88% of his games (12th best winning percentage of all time), Lee was awarded the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award, the Players' Choice Award for the AL Outstanding Player of the Year, and Cy Young Award, among others.

His 1.56 ERA is the best playoff mark of all time. Should the Phillies win the World Series, much of that title would be supported by the effort of Cliff Lee. While his resume is short, it is hard to argue with his recent success. And though he did not make the list during the regular season, I will seriously consider him for the postseason edition.

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