Cliff_lee_october
Lost in the Rangers' calculated murdering of the Flyers and the sound of Evan Turner's balls dropping before our very eyes, was Cliff Lee's stellar performance against a bunch of triple-A Rays.

Lee threw four innings, allowed no runs, two hits and struck out five. There you are, Mr. October. I've missed that quirky, gum flappin', rhythmic dismemberment of the opposition and the way baffled batters leave the box as a called strike three is cut on to the edge of the strike zone.

Seems Cliff likes that reaction, too: [Delco Times]

“I like it when they’re baffled a little bit,” Lee said after his second start of the spring. “There’s no telling what they were saying. They could be telling him, ‘How’d your offseason go? How you doing? How’s the family?’ They could be saying, ‘I thought that was a ball, what do you got?’ There’s no telling. But it’s usually a good thing when they’re slamming the bat and arguing with the umpires. It’s usually a good thing for the pitcher.”

 

He was significantly better on Sunday than he was in his first outing. Most pitchers usually are. But Lee actually made an adjustment in the bullpen prior to taking the mound yesterday: [Phillies.com]

Lee's plant foot had twisted slightly as he moved toward the plate. It should remain square against the rubber. Lee said he figured it out between warming up in the bullpen and taking the mound in the top of the first inning. Did he see a vision? A bright light?

"I saw a light," Lee said. "It told me to do something and I did it. Bam! It's amazing. It's why I didn't want to tell you about it. I don't think you'd really believe it."

 

Boom. There goes another rubber (foot) plant– sorry, I had to.

Watch the highlights here.