hard knocks

The Philadelphia Phillies have played 37 games and won 18, none of the W’s going to Cliff Lee. The former Meridian Community College ace endured another hard-luck outing today, when he left after eight innings with a 3-1 lead on Houston only to see the Phils’ bullpen blow the save. (Mississippi State product Jonathan Papelbon had worked three straight days and was not available to close.) Philadelphia did win 4-3 in the 10th, but Lee was left with an 0-1 record and a 1.97 ERA through five starts. Included there is his epic battle with San Francisco’s Matt Cain on April 18 (see previous post), after which Lee spent time on the disabled list. Lee yielded five hits, struck out 10 and walked just one today, signaling that he is on form. He owns a Cy Young Award and was allmississippibaseball’s Cool Papa Bell Award winner in 2011 after going 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA and 238 K’s in 232 2/3 innings. He just needs a little more help from his Philly friends. P.S. Lee’s alma mater bowed out Sunday, playing at home, in the NJCAA Division I Region 23 Tournament. MCC finishes the season at 36-22.