Great, great night for the Philadelphia Phillies all around as Cliff Lee pitched a huge complete game while allowing no earned runs, helping the Phils take game 1 and homefield advantage from the New York Yankees, 6-1 Wednesday night at the New Yankee Stadium . Lee was backed by 2 home runs from superstar 2B Chase Utley and the talented lefty allowed only 6 hits while K-ing 10 and walking 1. The Phillies added 4 runs in the final two frames vs the weak Yankees middle relief, led by OF Raul Ibanez(playing DH) 2 run single in the 8th.
General thoughts:
1- HUGE, HUGE win for the Phillies, who have now turned the pressure and burden of the Yankees season on … A.J. Burnett! Not a name that many Yankees fans have confidence in.
2- Pressure! The Yankees also will face a veteran pitcher who has been at war with them for years in Pedro Martinez, who faces zero pressure and expectations in this game. The last time an athlete played in a game like this involving NY? February 2008– His name? Eli Manning. How did that turn out? This is a proud veteran who can throw about 75 types of pitches and will have Yankees batters trying to hit 5 run homers early. WATCH FOR THIS!!!
3- Changes? Yankees RF Nick Swisher(4 for 35 in the postseason) looks awful right now and could not hit water if he fell out of a boat. Might Yankees Manager Joe Girardi insert a Brett Gardner or roster addition Eric Hinske?
4- Yankees weak middle. A Major problem for Girardi and it bit him in the ass in game 1. If Phil Hughes does not turn it around FAST, this series will be over. His recent struggles have caused his skipper to go to lesser pitchers and the results have not been promising.
5- World Champions for a reason. The Phillies are no joke, they beat an incredibly hot Colorado Rockies team in round 1 and that got my attention. This is well constructed team with variety and they do many things well. The front office,led by GM Ruben Amaro, JR, made two huge moves to solidify this team(free agent signing of Ibanez and trade for Lee). The Lee trade came out of no where as most had them giving up half the world for Toronto ace Roy Halladay. Just a solid club and unlike their opposition, very likeable. And this is coming from someone who is a 30 year plus Mets fan,who covers them for a living.
