The Yankees went with C.C. Sabathia in Game 4 on only three days of rest and will do the same with Burnett in Game 5. In Game 2, Burnett pitched seven innings and allowed only four hits and one earned run while striking out nine batters.

While most major league pitchers struggle on only three days of rest, Burnett actually has a good history in this situation. In four starts on short rest, he has a 2.33 ERA and earned a win in each of the four contests.

The Phillies will counter with Cliff Lee. Lee, who won Game 1, has been amazing in the playoffs so far. He has a 0.54 ERA in four starts in the playoffs. In Game 1, he went nine innings and didn’t allow an earned run.

AJ Burnett will start Game 5 (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

A.J. Burnett to Start in Game 5

In five starts with the Phillies, Lee is now 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA. In his latest start, he helped the Phillies beat the New York Mets by a final score of 6-2 on Monday. In seven innings, Lee gave up six hits and no earned runs while he struck out five batters.

Offensively, Ryan Howard carried the Phillies. In the first inning, he hit a three-run homer. In the third inning, he blasted a two-run dinger. Howard is now hitting .268 with 34 homers and 104 RBIs.

The win was the third in the row for Philadelphia. In their attempt to win back-to-back World Series championships, the Phillies have a 7-game lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves. At 72-50, the Phillies have the least number of losses in the National League.

Cliff Lee - Philadelphia Phillies (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Cliff Lee Once Again Fantastic for Phillies

As much as everyone wanted Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers to be the feel good story of the year, but my vote goes to Fernando Tatis of the New York Mets. Until Tatis got hurt near the end of the season, I thought he had a great chance at Comeback Player of the Year in the National League. However, Tatis finished fifth in the voting as Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge took the honors.

But it was a nice comeback for Tatis, no matter where he finished in the voting. To be honest, it was shocking to hear that Tatis was back in Major League Baseball. Yet, not only was he back in the big leagues, but he was a main contributor for a few months when the Mets were on a roll.

Tatis actually came back into baseball in order to raise money to buy land in order to build a church in the Dominican Republic. After a two year absence from the game, this was his motivation for returning.

In his injury-shortened season with the Mets, Tatis batted .297 with 11 home runs and 47 runs batted in. It was a surprise season for Tatis and in my opinion the feel good story of the year. I just wish he would have received more votes for the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Why no more love for Fernando Tatis?

If the season ended today, is there a chance that Cliff Lee, ace of one of the worst teams in the American League, could win the Cy Young Award? Not only could this happen, but it should.

Lee, if you remember, had a horrible blow-up season with the Cleveland Indians in 2007. There was a time when Lee couldn’t find the strike zone and left games early enough to tire out the Indians bullpen with regularity. He was sent down to the minors and eventually left off Cleveland’s playoff roster. Yet, in 2008, Lee is totally different pitcher.

This season, Lee has been dominant. He started the year off with a 6-0 mark and a minuscule earned run average usually seen only in video games. By the time the All-Star break rolled around, Lee was 12-2 and named the starter for the American League in Yankee Stadium. Since then, Lee hasn’t lost. Sitting at 17-2, Lee is tops in the AL in wins and ERA (2.93). He’s also ninth in the AL with 134 strikeouts.

He could, and as of right now, should win AL Comeback Player of the Year, along with the Cy Young. You’ve seen several other teams taking the same approach with some of their pitchers as the Indians did with Lee, by sending them to the minors in order to regain what they once had.

Lee has yet to win a Cy Young award, although he did finish fourth in the voting following the 2005 season. By the end of this season, Lee should set career bests in wins, ERA, WHIP, innings pitched and runs allowed. It’s also possible that the former Arkansas Razorback could set a new career high in strikeouts (current career high is 161, set in 2004).

It’s an amazing story, but the only thing that could potentially hinder his chances at receiving some hardware very soon is the final standings of his club.

Post from: EveryJoe

Cliff Lee for Cy Young?

The deal is just about ready to be announced. With the acquisition of Sabathia, the Brewers could possibly have the best 1-2 punch in the National League, in Ben Sheets and C.C.

And lucky for Cleveland that they signed Jeff ‘Dream’ Weaver to a minor league deal! I can’t wait until he’s back in the bigs taking over for Sabathia! Hopefully the Indians’ General Manager Mark Shapiro will understand that he could have held out another week or so and picked up a huge package that could have kept his team in contention. Maybe next week the Indians will send Cliff Lee off to the Cardinals for some beer to go with the bratwursts they just received from Milwaukee.

Post from: EveryJoe

Cleveland robbed by Milwaukee