Lee Masterful in Debut

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Cliff Lee has arrived, ladies and gentleman. Lee's first start as a Phillie came last night against the Giants. He pitched his third complete game in four starts last night, giving up only 1 run in a 5-1 Phillies victory.

Lee didn't even allow a hit until the 6th inning, by which time Lee himself had already recorded a hit. Lee later said that he was happy he didn't throw a no-hitter in his first start as a Phillie, "I'm kinda glad I didn't throw a no-hitter. If I did that the first time, I'd have to live up to some high expectations." Yeah, but a no-hitter would be pretty sweet way to introduce yourself to the fans.

Cliff later hit a double off the centerfield wall that was this close to a homer: "I got the first hit and I was pretty pumped about that but you get a double off the wall in the opposite-field gap, I totally never expected that."

"I felt comfortable. It's a loose clubhouse, everybody's nice. It was an easy transition for me," Lee said. "When I get on the field, I can just throw to the mitt and everything else is kind of irrelevant. I wasn't ever nervous or anything. I felt good about getting that first inning out of the way, getting that first guy out and putting up a zero." Great first impression, Cliff.

Poor Pirate Fans

        The Pittsburgh Pirates made two big deadline moves yesterday and one move today.  First, they traded away shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to Seattle for Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement and four prospects.  The Pirates also traded away three-time all-star second basemen Freddy Sanchez to the Giants for pitching prospect Tim Alderson.  Today, the Pirates traded John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Cubs for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, and Josh Anderson.

        So, in one day, the Pirates traded away both their starting middle infielders for prospects.  The 31-year old Wilson was batting .267 with 4 homers and 31 RBIs.  Wilson is a solid hitter and a good defender.  

        The Mariners also received 27-year old pitcher Ian Snell, who was pitching in Triple A for the Pirates.  Seattle hopes that Snell can restart his career after winning 14 games in 2006.

        Cedeno will probably start at shortstop for the last-place Pirates.  Cedeno is batting average is only .167 but he does have 5 homers.  Cedeno is no where close to the hitter Wilson was for the Pirates.

        In the other deal yesterday, the Giants will receive second basemen Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates.  Sanchez should help the Giants struggling offense a lot.  He is batting .296 with 6 homers and 34 RBIs.  Sanchez must be happy to go from a last-place team to a team (the Giants) who are contending for the NL Wild card.  Sanchez will most likely play in tonight's game against the Phillies.

        The 20-year old pitcher Tim Alderson was the fourth ranked prospect in the Giants system.  He is a good prospect but he will not help the Pirates win this season or next.

         The Cubs have been looking for a lefty out of the pen and Grabow should fill that void.  Grabow has a 3.42 ERA pitching this season for the Pirates.

         If I'm a Pirates fan, I'm disgusted.  The Pirates are in last place and basically trading away any quality player on their team.  The last time the Pirates had a winning record for a season was in 1992.  That's 16 years and they are still trying to rebuild their team... poor Pirates fans!  

           

Johnson Cements Legacy with 300th Win

Randy Johnson won his 300th game on Thursday against our friends the Nationals. A pitcher's 300th win is quite a milestone. It is more of a milestone than 500 home runs for a hitter nowadays. Before, it used to be easier to win 300 games than to hit 500 dingers because pitchers pitched every other night and hitters were hitting the dead ball or simply just didn't have enough power. Today, maybe because of the juice, 500 homers are much more common.

Congratulate the Big Unit, because we may not see a 300 game-winner for a long time. Jamie Moyer is the closest with 250-some wins but everyone knows he is not going to win 50 more games at the age of 46. Younger pitchers like C.C. Sabathia would have to win close to 20 games for the rest of their careers.

Randy Johnson is an excellent pitcher. Most call him intimidating because of his 6-10 frame and his close to 100 mile-per-hour heater. I'd half to agree with that. If I was up there against him, I'd swing like John Kruk and get the heck out of the way. After all, I don;t want to end up like the bird.

Johnson is an eight-time all-star and has won over 20 games three times. He kept an ERA under 3 for seven individual seasons. He is a clear hall of famer who will be remembered for many moments, mostly intimidating.