pining for game 7

Unless you are a New York Yankees fan, you're rooting for a Game 7 in the World Series. A winner-take-all game at Yankee Stadium ... does it get any better than that? One of the most intriguing angles if there is a Game 7 is the possibility that Meridian Community College alumnus Cliff Lee will start for Philadelphia. The left-hander, who won Games 1 and 5, pronounced himself "available" to go Thursday night on short rest. He's 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in the postseason. He's pitched 40 1/3 innings. He could be good for a few more, especially with a world championship and perhaps a Series MVP award on the line. Southern Miss coach Scott Berry remarked in 2008, when Lee was with Cleveland and en route to the Cy Young Award in the American League, that his former pupil at MCC had developed such command of his fastball and cutter that he was moving from a good pitcher to a great one. That has been so evident in this postseason. Here's hoping he gets a chance in a Game 7.
P.S. On the Mississippi connection watch: Pedro Martinez, the Phillies' starter in Game 6 tonight, pitched at Smith-Wills Stadium for San Antonio. Yankees left fielder Johnny Damon played there, too, with Wichita, as did Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz, who came through with Shreveport. Of course, Philly third-base coach Sam Perlozzo won two Texas League pennants as the Jackson Mets manager. But how about this: New York's Nick Swisher is the son of Steve Swisher, another former JaxMets manager. And here's a far-fetched Magnolia State tie of note: The Yankees' Jerry Hairston Jr. is the grandson of Sam Hairston, a Crawford native and one of the first black Mississippians to play in the majors. ... Does anyone else out there think about connections like these?