A Risky Call with Lee
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel announced today that Cliff Lee will start Game One of the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies tomorrow. Cole Hamels will start Game Two.
A Risky Call with Lee
Andy Martino
UPDATE: Here is the official NLDS roster
Catchers (2): Paul Bako and Carlos Ruiz
Infielders (6): Miguel Cairo, Greg Dobbs, Pedro Feliz, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Ben Francisco, Raul Ibanez, Matt Stairs, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth
Pitchers (12): left-handers Antonio Bastardo, Scott Eyre, Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ and Cliff Lee and right-handers Joe Blanton, Chad Durbin, Kyle Kendrick, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Pedro Martinez and Brett Myers
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel named former Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee as his Game One starter against the Colorado Rockies in Wednesday's Game One of the National League division series. He will face 25-year-old righthander Ubaldo Jimenez (15-12, 3.47 ERA).
Lee is 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA with the Phillies after coming over from Cleveland in a July trade.
Lefthander Cole Hamels will start Game Two on Thursday. He finished 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA. Last year's National League Championship Series and World Series MVP has struggled at times, but seems to have regained much of his confidence. "I understand now what a difference I can make, the tone I can set when I win a postseason game," Hamels said Sunday.
Last year, Lee went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA and won the American League Cy Young Award.
“I’m just going to try to do what I’ve done my whole career,” he said earlier this week.
Quick analysis: This is a risky move, given Lee's Sept. performace. Hamels would only be starting on short rest because the Phils sent him out there on Saturday. A better pitcher in Sept. than Lee, Hamels also has impressive postseason experience.
Lee pitched very well against Colorado in August, but that was before his innings total climbed to career-high levels, appearing to undermine his performance.
As for the bullpen, Manuel does not know, or would not say, who his closer would be in the first save opportunity. Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ will be in the bullpen for the first two games, an indication of how Manuel feels about his relief corps. Both are candidates to start Game 3 and Game 4.
Let's not forget that The Great Blantbino can be an offensive threat in the playoffs too!- HEY: I just hope that the Phillies play better against the Rockies than they did two years ago.— mungman
- Not a good feeling about the Phils in the playoffs.Lots of question marks the last few weeks.I dont think the Rockies are intimidated.I hope im wrong,but we re not playing good ball lately.— Bigmg171
- CAN YOU SAY COMPLETE-LEE DOMINANT... LOOK FOR A COMPLETE GAME EFFORT!— K_GORDON
- As long as the offense can get back on track, pitching shouldn't be our big worry. Break out the bats!— ahaldy
- Buntlette is O-U-T-T-A H-E-R-E! (it's about time!) Let's hope he gets the Randy Lerch/Adam Eaton treatment and is shown the door after the post-season. ... Good to see Kendrick made the squad. He went down to AAA and did what he had to do, and has had some success since returning. (Same for Cairo.) ... Bastardo was a surprise. I didn't think he saw much action since Sept 1st. Seems like Escalona has played much more recently.— jman
- Rockies in Three.— Jerome99RIP
- Dammit, where's Bruntlett!!!??? Sarcasm.— MrPhillie
- we need to get the "O" going...somebody along with #6...ecstatic that cairo got the call rather than mr. unassisted triple play...dobbs over tracy? hope that works out...dobbs doesn't look right— Mr Mel
Complete game would be a phenomenal start! No need for a shutout, but a complete game. Now... do it.- What? No Bruntlett?— paolibulldog
- Maybe one reason is that Hamels is 0-6 in day games. Maybe Charlie thinks it would be beter to have Lee win the first one rather than go down one at home.— mike l
- Oh yeah, what a huge risk to pitch Cliff Lee in Game 1 and Hamels in Game 2. They were both going to pitch the first two games anyway. The only difference is that we don't trot Hamels out on short rest and he's never been good on short rest. I knew there was no way that Walker would make the post-season roster. Called Bastardo making the roster too. Keeping both Cairo and Bruntlett never made sense either. Kendrick over Condrey is a mild surprise but Kendrick's pitched pretty well since he was recalled now that he can throw 3 pitches effectively.— JimG
- Pat Corrales is rolling over in his grave.— guyguy4
- Friendly reminder...don't forget to put the William Penn statue on top of the Comcast Tower.— pizano13
