Getting to Cliff Lee
November 2, 2009, 5:45 pm by iYankees · 14 Comments
The Yankees will try to end their season tonight against Philly’s left-handed ace, Cliff Lee. In Game 1 of the World Series, Lee brilliantly baffled the Yankees offense, pitching 9 frames—a complete game with 1 unearned run—while striking out 10. Obviously, defeating Lee appears to be a difficult task and, cliff jokes aside, based on his last outing, it will probably be an uphill battle. However, there are a few things the Yankees can do to counter the calm southpaw, tonight, in Game 5—things that they didn’t do or didn’t do well when they faced him last week (I’ll try to be brief).
1. Swing at strikes — This year, the Yankees had faced Lee prior to Game 1 of the World Series. They did so on April 16th while Lee was still a Cleveland Indian. In that game, they forced him to throw 115 pitches over 6 innings (he threw 122 in Game 1) and did not expand their strike zone. Lee is generally a strike-thrower, yet the Yankees helped him a lot in his previous outing, chasing a few borderline pitches that could have certainly been balls if they had exercised proper plate patience. Grinding out each at-bat and waiting for a good pitch will be paramount this evening. Lee puts a lot of pitches in the zone. The Yankees just have to take advantage of those pitches rather than the bad ones.
2. Knowing Lee’s repertoire — Lee will throw a fastball that ranges from 91-94 mph. According to pitchFX data via FanGraphs, Lee throws his fastball just over 60% of the time. This is something of note, however, since Lee is using his fastball less frequently than he has in the past. For instance, last year, Lee threw the fastball 70.1% of the time, signaling a change of 10% in its use (a decrease). In his April start against the Yankees, Lee stuck to that 60% mark, using his fastball about 70 times (out of 115 pitches). Lee deviated from that plan on Wednesday though, using his fastball only about 50% of the time. He went to his breaking ball a lot more, particularly the slider, changing speeds and moving the ball around. Lee is pretty much a fastball-changeup pitcher, but the Yankees will have to be aware of the slider and the cutter (with an occasional curveball for good measure). He seems willing to go to those pitches a lot more now than he has in the past (against the Yankees, anyway).
3. Make him uncomfortable — Lee works quickly on the mound. Joe Buck actually pointed it out in Game 1. It allows him to get into a rhythm which could be a problem for the Yankees. After each pitch, they need to step out of the box and disrupt his pitching pace (Johnny Damon, in particular, would benefit from doing this). This will allow them—not Lee—to dictate the ballgame. Allowing Lee to get into a rhythmic groove will ultimately hurt their chances against him.
4. Don’t be a afraid to bunt — Johnny Damon, who is 2-for-22 against Lee, should not hesitate to bunt down the third base line. Lee, like any pitcher, isn’t nearly as good as when there’s a runner on base. He’s a lefty, as well, which should make it difficult for him to field and throw to first on a well placed bunt. Try to steal a single via the bunt, if possible. Derek Jeter, as long as there aren’t 2 strikes, feel free to bunt as well. Brett Gardner is also in the lineup tonight thanks to Melky Cabrera’s hamstring strain. He could be a bunt candidate but I expect Pedro Feliz, a good defensive player, to play him in and make Gardner second guess the bunt.
These are my thoughts on tonight’s matchup. If the Yankees follow an approach that is based upon these 4 precepts, I think they will have success against Lee. He’s not impervious to a bad outing and if you attack him the right way, you can definitely get to him. That’s my take, though.. What do you think might help the Yankees against Cliff Lee?
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
I expect a steady diet of his knucklecurve which is actually a very good and underrated pitch for Lee!
I think you think he just throws fastballs in the zone that our hitters just missed, when in reality his cutter is so hard to pickup for some reason that once it gets to the plate you are either taking a strike or trying to emergency swing and foul off the ball. Lee is a deceptive and tough pitcher who should be a tough battle for the Yankees tonight and if we win it won’t be because we blow up Lee it will be because we made him work and got him out after the 6th or 7th.
Just a note Ramiro Pena replaces Melky on the world series roster…
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Lee actually threw that pitch—the curve—only 16 times in his last start (13 cutters). He’s using a lot of sliders and changeups. He’s mixing it up quite a bit against them.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
HE didn’t use it as much in the first game which is why I assume we will see a steady diet of curves, if he doesn’t mix up his game plan the Yankees are to good not to pick up on that and hit him. His curve is a pitch he really likes and thus far in the playoffs he used more than he did against us, I don’t think he needed to go to it because the Yankees weren’t hitting. This time I think you will see a little different version of Lee who uses the cutter and curve.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I think Lee’s curveball will get lit up if he uses it too much. It’s a sloooow, circus curve, which can get hit after repeated use. If he had a sharp curve, too, to help change speeds, then maybe he could do that and be effective, but I don’t think he does.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Have you seen him pitch a lot?
He has a Burnett spike curve, he can throw it for a strike in a looping fashion but his killer curve is the down and in hit the dirt curve which is a strike out pitch… Lee dominated other teams with his curve and I can see that tonight.
You really don’t give Lee any credit haha
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I just wrote an entire post on how the Yankees can try and beat Lee. I think that’s saying something on how good he is. Also, look at all the curves he threw to the Yankees, most of them were in the zone (9 of the 16 were strikes). He doesn’t use the curve that often and it generally falls in the 75-79 mph range. It’s a looping curve, not a hard curve. And a spike curve is the exact same thing as knuckle and knucklecurves aren’t hard pitches (thus the “knuckle”).
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I get you respect him as a pitcher but the way you write about him you make it seem like he was lucky to beat the Yankees and the Yankees just didn’t take advantage of bad pitches, the guy is an ace in the NL and can hold his own as a number 2 in the AL he can and has dominated our team and this time it will be with a 4 man lineup.
I said it was a knucklecurve… By your own logic AJ Burnett’s Curve sucks yet he has the best curve in baseball and guess what kind it is… a spike knucklecurve ball. Are you saying that AJ’s curve is a lopper that gets hit hard? Because he only has 2 pitches…
I have personally watched all Lee’s games this postseason and his curve his to be respected, looping curves are strike out pitches and they just have to be setup with some pitches in the zone thus he threw roughly half for strikes and today he will bury the curve.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Burnett has a hard curve. Lee doesn’t have a curve like Burnett’s. I’m not sure how Burnett throws his, either (it’s one of the best in the game). It’s a completely different pitch than what Lee has, though. Lee has a solid curve, but if he uses it too often it will get hit. He knows this, which is why he uses it sparingly.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
You are completely wrong! I have seen both of their curve grips and they both grip the curve the way I do… It’s called a kncklecurve because the knuckle sticks up because of the placement of the finger and both place their knuckled in the exact same place.
Burnett has a better curve but if you are saying that Lee doesn’t have games where he features his curve you’ve never seen him pitch consistently.
Believe me or not I don’t care but it’s the exact same pitch, you can’t say it’s different because you don’t know how it’s thrown because someone else IE me will.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Well, not sure if you saw it, but you’re wrong about their grips. FOX showed their two grips and both of them throw the curve differently. Not sure how much more proof you need. Lee does not have a curve similar to Burnett’s.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
My biggest concern on this game is that we have to face Lee and Nick Swisher is the one who has to provide protection for Alex… If the Phillies chose they never have to pitch Alex because Swisher isn’t going to beat them most of the time.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I think Swisher will get it done. I’m feeling extremely positive today, ha.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
He is back on the right side where he feels more comfortable with his new stance but I think it’s asking a lot for him to be the one who makes the Phillies pay and if he doesn’t this series goes back to NY.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
You do think that back foot is a slider huh? That is not a slider it’s a knucklecurve.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0