Cliff Lee's Catch: Proof He Had Everything Working Wednesday Night

You can look at Cliff Lee's pitching line from Wednesday night's Game 1 win against the Yankees and know that he pitched well. During the game, though, you didn't need to do anything more than catch a closeup of Lee's face to know that he was in a serious groove. All game he wore the look of the guy who knew that he had his best stuff working and that he wasn't afraid who knew it.

If the look on the face or the darts he was throwing didn't convince you, there was always this play:


Or there was the nonchalant, waist high grab of Johnny Damon's pop-up. Or the way he tagged Jorge Posada on the rear with a light slap that said, "Thanks for coming out but there's really nothing for you to do here tonight."

From the first pitch to the last, Lee defined cool on the mound in a way that you aren't used to seeing from a pitcher in their first World Series start. It was almost as impressive as the way he pitched. After the game, Lee admitted that he was showing some attitude out on the mound.

"To be successful at this level, you've got to be confident. You've got to go out there and believe you're going to get everybody out. I try not to go over the edge and rub things in and be cocky."

He did a pretty good job of walking that line. He was definitely letting the whole world know how good his stuff was that night and how little the Yankee hitters were affecting him, but he did it without histrionics or bells and whistles that could have upset anyone.