A Mike Scott Situation

In the 1986 NLCS the Mets won games 2, 3 and 5 by beating Nolan Ryan and Bob Knepper. They lost Games 1 and 4 against Mike Scott. So in Game 6 when the Mets were losing 3-0, their thoughts must have turned to this: if we lose hear, we have to face Mike Scott in Game 6. Perhaps motivated by that fear the Mets scored 3 in the 9th to tie and eventually won in the 16th, making Mike Scott a helpless bystander as the Mets moved on to the World Series.

The Yankees now face a similar quandary for 3 straight games. If the Yankees lose even one more game they guarantee themselves a date with Cliff Lee in Game 7.



Through 8 postseason starts Lee is building the best postseason resume of any starting pitcher ever (the Lee-Rivera debate is unsolvable).

Cliff Lee: 8 GS 3 CG 7 W 0 L 1.26 ERA 67 Ks 64 1/3 innings
Sandy Koufax: 8 GS 4 CG 2 SHO 4 W 3 L 0.95 ERA 61 Ks 57 innings
Bob Gibson: 9 GS 8 CG 2 SHO 7 W 2 L 1.89 ERA 92 Ks 81 innings

A couple of caveats. All of Gibson and Koufax's starts were World Series games. But Lee is playing in an era much more weighted towards the hitter. So I think that even things out pretty well.

Lee can pad his postseason resume in a Game 7 against the Yankees, but I know the Yankees are hoping they can win before it comes to that.