The Yankees: "Cliff Lee Is Our Daddy..."

Seen here is Cliff Lee taking a break from dominating the Yankees on the mound when Brett Gardner challenged him to a rodeo contest. Cliff Lee won that too.

Last night, Cliff Lee looked like Christy Mathewson, or Walter Johnson, or some other mythical pitcher whom we never saw play, but have heard about how great they are from grandparent and great-grandparents. At some distant point in the future (around when the Yankees Payroll reaches 1 Trillion Dollars), I'll have a little niece or nephew on my lap, and I'll tell him I saw the great Cliff Lee shut down the Mighty Yankees.

Cliff Lee's performance last night all but solidified the Yankees desire to have him in pinstripes, and the rest of the leagues desire to keep him out of the Empire State. With every dominating postseason start against an Eastern Division foe, Cliff Lee must hear the cash registers in the back of his head. If he doesn't sign the biggest contract in the history of baseball in the winter, the owners are doing it wrong. Its been pretty clear, at least since he joined Texas, that Cliff Lee is the most dominant pitcher in the game right now. Not only is he making opponents look silly, they are the Rays and Yankees, the two best teams in the American League.

I have nothing but respect for what Roy Halladay has been able to do in Philadelphia, but lets be fair, its been against the Reds and the rest of the paltry National League, where he gets to face a pitcher 3 times a game. I know he showed his dominance against he AL East for the first decade of his career, but what Cliff Lee has been able to do has out-shined all of that. However, should the Phillies meet the Rangers in the Series, Roy Halladay vs. Cliff Lee in Game 1 would be absolute must-watch TV.

If Cliff Lee can do the unthinkable, and carry Texas to a World Series Title, anything less than making Cliff Lee the most wealthy man in the world wouldn't be enough.