Lee goes 3-0 for the Phils

Lee's latest gem prompting lofty thoughts


CHICAGO -- The postseason possibilities have entered Cliff Lee's mind, if only temporarily.

The Phillies brought Lee here, not necessarily because they couldn't make the playoffs without him, but because they felt they needed him to get through the playoffs to win their second consecutive World Series.
He can help.

"Obviously, I want to be there," Lee said following Thursday's 6-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. "Everybody should. If you don't, why are you even playing? There are a lot of games between now and then, and there are a lot of things that can happen. The way to get there is to take care of business today, and tomorrow prepare for the next start."

Lee has handled that task with aplomb since the Phillies acquired him July 29 in a trade with the Indians. In eight strong innings Thursday, he allowed six hits, one run and three walks and struck out eight. He is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in three starts with the Phillies. He has allowed 16 hits, three runs and six walks in 24 innings. He has struck out 24. Opponents have hit just .193 against him.

Impressive?

Oh, absolutely.

CC Sabathia went 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in his first three starts last season after the Indians traded him to the Brewers. He allowed 17 hits, six runs, five earned runs, one home run and six walks in 24 innings. He hit two batters and struck out 24. Opponents hit .205 against him.

"It's been fun," Ryan Howard said. "It's been fun to go out there and watch him. He has a great tempo."

Howard helped Lee on Thursday. He hit a three-run homer to left field in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. It snapped a career-high 57 at-bat homerless streak for Howard, who has hit .444 (8-for-18) with six RBIs in his last five games. Pedro Feliz also homered in the inning.

Feliz went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Howard each had two hits.

Howard, Feliz and Lee helped the Phillies sweep the Cubs at Wrigley for the first time since June 14-17, 1984. They also helped the Phillies recover from a dreadful weekend at Citizens Bank Park, where the Marlins swept them.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was plenty steamed after Sunday's loss against Florida. He called a team meeting afterward with him doing all the talking.



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I think it's safe to say that there is no way that Halladay could've been better than Lee's been thus far.

And at half the price.

He's been so good for us, he could go out there and get shelled his next 2 starts, and it wouldn't be too big a deal. He's shown us what he's capable of.

What a tremendous, tremendous move by Amaro.

We get Cole back to form, and we are seriously gonna be cooking with gas.