Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/18455
2B – Daily News – Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Ross, Giants ready for Lee in World Series opener World Series SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and the rest of the San Francisco Giants can study the scouting reports and videotape all they want, trying to find the secret to getting a hit against Cliff Lee. Or, they can just ask Cody Ross. Because many years ago, before he blossomed into the MVP of the NL champi- onship series, Ross was a struggling rookie with the Detroit Tigers. Who hap- pened to hit his first major league home run off Lee. A grand slam, at that. Of course, Lee was early in his career, too. He hardly had become Mr. Perfect in the postseason, the left-han- der who will pose a giant challenge for San Francisco when it faces the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night. ‘‘Cliff Lee, superhero,’’ summed up Sandoval. Watch Lee from the cen- ter-field camera and it’s dif- ficult to tell exactly what makes him so dominant. David Price brings more heat. Andy Pettitte brought more October experience. But Lee beat them in the playoffs. Maybe it’s the way he throws any of his pitches for strikes on any count. At any speed, too. A real-life ver- sion of a video game — try to duplicate that in ‘‘Major League Baseball 2K10.’’ ‘‘Confidence, relying on my routine,’’ Lee said Tues- day before the Rangers worked out. ‘‘Going out there and expecting to be successful.’’ Lee is 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight lifetime post- season starts heading into his matchup with two-time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum in the opener. Lee went 3-0 this year in the AL playoffs, striking out 34 and walking just one. Lincecum and Lee pose an intriguing matchup of opposite artisans. The Giants’ lanky ace’s pitches have dizzying movement, while Lee is able to adjust his pinpoint control for an umpire’s strike zone. Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux said Lee reminds him of someone he knows well — namely his brother, four-time Cy Young winner Greg Maddux. A left-handed version, natural- ly. ‘‘If you can command your fastball and change speeds, you’re going to have good results,’’ Maddux said. Lee’s severe strikeout-to- walk ratio has prompted many to suggest the best strategy is to hit the first strike he throws, rather than risk falling behind in the count. ‘‘People love to talk about Cliff throwing strikes but it’s not like he’s just gun- ning balls down the middle of the plate,’’ Texas third baseman Michael Young said. ‘‘There’s a big differ- ence between throwing strikes and throwing quality strike after quality strike.’’ A win over the Giants will tie Lee for the best start in postseason history — Orlando ‘‘El Duque’’ Her- nandez, with all his quirky gyrations and deliveries, won his first eight decisions. To Lee, it’s all rather rou- tine. In fact, there was a neat picture of him during the playoffs, yawning in the dugout at Yankee Stadium. Sure doesn’t look like someone pitching in huge games. ‘‘I don’t really look at it like that,’’ Lee said a few days ago. ‘‘Some people might, I don’t feel any more pressure.’’ Lee has been equally per- fect against the Giants — three starts, three wins and a SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants manager Bruce Bochy might have a better alternative than sim- ply walking Josh Hamilton in key spots during the World Series. Sidearming lefty Javier Lopez neutralized Philadel- phia’s left-handed sluggers in the NL championship series and looks to do the same this week against Hamilton and the Texas Rangers. Lopez’s unusual delivery and effective outings have caught a lot of eyes this postseason. Hamilton repli- cated the reliever’s motion with his left arm out to the side as he discussed facing the San Francisco specialist. ‘‘The left-hander, the guy who comes from the side? That’s what popped out at me, flipping around and catching some of the games,’’ Hamilton said. ‘‘He comes from the side. He looks tough.’’ Lopez will likely need to be as tough on Hamilton as he was on Jason Heyward, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the first two rounds of the playoffs if the Giants are going to win their first World Series since moving West in 1958. With bullpens often playing a deciding role in postseason games, Lopez knows he will need to be ready any time the lineup gets near Hamilton’s third spot in the order starting in the middle of the game. ‘‘These guys can bang it around the yard and Hamil- ton’s going to lead that charge,’’ Lopez said. ‘‘To have some experience of 1.13 ERA. He last faced them in 2009 in his first start after being traded from Cleveland to Philadelphia, and breezed at AT&T Park. ‘‘Weather and clubhouse and the bullpens’’ are differ- ent, he said. ‘‘Once you get on the mound, it’s 60 feet, 6 inches and you’ve still got a professional hitter in there trying to do damage off of you. To me, that doesn’t really matter that much.’’ Call it superstition or just being comfortable, Lee doesn’t like to change his hat, glove or cleats during the season. Sometimes he has to — he’s been traded four times in his career, most recently from Seattle to Texas before the All-Star break. Lee found himself with mixed emotions watching Philadelphia, where he won twice in the World Series last year, play San Francisco in the NLCS. Sure, he was friendly with many of his former Phillies teammates. But there was the other side of the baseball business. ‘‘I didn’t mind seeing them get beat because they got rid of me,’’ he said. Now, the Texas pitchers are the ones who benefit from Lee’s presence. ‘‘I’ve become more like Cliff in my preparation since he’s been here,’’ starter C.J. Wilson said. ‘‘I watch what he does through an order, and if they don’t adapt he doesn’t have to. Whereas I used to get into trouble before, where I would adapt maybe before the hitters showed me an adjustment, and I would basically turn into their strengths. But Cliff trusts his strengths to the degree that he doesn’t think he has to do anything differ- ent from game to game.’’ Several of the Giants have faced Lee many times. Juan Uribe is 11 for 37 (.297) with two homers against him. Jose Guillen is going in and facing some big-time lefties in those situ- ations, hopefully that’s something I can build off.’’ Lopez has appeared in seven of San Francisco’s 10 postseason games, allowing one hit, one walk and strik- ing out six in five innings. Despite his limited time on the field, he was one of the Giants’ most valuable play- ers in the NLCS against Philadelphia. He came in to face Utley and Howard five times in the series, giving up a double to Howard but posting four strikeouts in those 10 at-bats. The Phillies split up their lefty sluggers for part of the series but that didn’t deter Lopez, who retired right- handed Placido Polanco all three times he faced him. Lopez also struck out Heyward twice in his only appearances of the division series against Atlanta. None of those stars came into their series hitting near- ly as well as Hamilton right now. He batted .350 with four homers and seven RBIs to win the ALCS MVP award against the New York Yankees. He reached safely in 15 of 28 plate appear- ances, getting seven hits and eight walks. The Yankees were so scared of him that they issued him an ALCS- record five intentional walks, including three in the Game 6 clincher. ‘‘I don’t know how much I was surprised,’’ Lopez said of the intention- al walks. ‘‘The guy’s a tremendous player. He’s an MVP candidate every year. You obviously play percent- ages and matchups and 9 for 25 (.360) with two homers. Aaron Rowand is 7 for 25 (.280) with four dou- bles and a home run. Aubrey Huff is 5 for 19 (.263). Rowand is willing to give any advice he can. ‘‘You can watch video. You can talk to them about what his out pitches are, what he likes to do when he’s ahead, and with runners on,’’ he said. Then there’s Ross. Ross had played a hand- ful of games in the majors and had only two career hits when he faced Lee on Sept. 2, 2003. Ross struck out looking his first time up, but got more than even in his next at-bat, launching the first grand slam ever allowed by the young Cleve- land lefty. The game was memo- rable for Ross because of something else. In the late innings, he tripped over first base beating out a bunt, tore his knee, was carted off the field and done for the sea- son. Both Ross and Lee have come quite a way since then. Lopez vs. Hamilton could be key Series matchup that’s what (the Yankees) were doing.’’ The Giants will try to do the same by bringing in Lopez in key spots against Hamilton. With no other lefties in the middle of the Texas lineup, those appear- ances could be brief. Hamil- ton and Lopez have faced off four times in their careers. One of those meet- ings came this past June when Lopez retired Hamil- ton on a groundout with two runners on while he was still pitching for Pittsburgh. Hamilton hit an RBI double and walked once in three plate appearances against Lopez back in 2008. ‘‘I’ll be using some of that stuff, but you like to see what he’s been doing against lefties the last two or three weeks and see what his approach is,’’ Lopez ODDS Glantz-Culver Line For Oct.27 Major League Baseball Today Texas -125 atSanFrancisco +115 NCAAFootball Thursday Florida St. 3.5 (57) NFL Sunday San Francisco-x Pk (42) at Dallas at Detroit at N.Y.Jets at St.Louis at Cincinnati Denver 6.5 (42.5) Jacksonville 2.5 (44) Washington 6 (42.5) Green Bay 3 (37) 2.5 (43.5) at Kansas City 7.5(44 .5) 3 (39.5) Tampa Bay 2 (42) EASTERN CONFERENCE Carolina Miami Buffalo at San Diego 3 .5 (44) Tennessee at Arizona at Oakland Seattle at New England OFF(OFF) Minnesota at New Orleans Pk (44) Monday at Indianapolis 5.5(49.5) x-at London Off Key at New Jersey 4 Boston at Toronto Miami at Memphis Minnesota QB questionable NBA 3.5 2 8 2 at Minnesota 4 at New Orleans 3 at Oklahoma City 6 at Dallas 7 at San Antonio 9 at Denver at Golden State 3 Portland at N.Y.Rangers-155 Washington -140 at Montreal -160 Pittsburgh -115 at Chicago -155 at San Jose -155 3.5 2.5 NHL Atlanta +135 at Carolina+120 N.Y.Islanders+140 atTampaBay -105 LosAngeles +135 NewJersey +135 Pittsburgh Houston Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 5 3 1 11 27 20 N.Y. Islanders4 2 2 10 26 23 N.Y. Rangers 4 2 1 9 22 20 Philadelphia 4 4 1 9 25 24 New Jersey 2 6 1 5 15 30 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Montreal 5 2 1 11 20 18 Toronto 5 2 1 11 23 19 Boston Ottawa Buffalo 4 2 0 8 18 11 3 5 1 7 21 28 3 6 1 7 27 30 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Detroit atCleveland New York atPhiladelphia Atlanta Sacramento Milwaukee Chicago Charlotte Indiana Utah Houston at L.A.Clippers Tampa Bay 5 2 1 11 27 27 Washington 5 3 0 10 23 21 Carolina 4 3 0 8 21 21 Atlanta Florida ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Anaheim 5, Dallas 2 Calgary 5, Edmonton 4, SO Ottawa 5, Phoenix 2 Philadelphia 6, Buffalo 3 Toronto 3, Florida 1 Colorado at Vancouver, late Today’s games N.J. at San Jose,7:30 p.m.,CSNC Atlanta at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Washington at Carolina, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. 3 4 1 7 23 29 3 4 0 6 18 15 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. atN.C.State said. ‘‘You just try to stay with your strengths and hope that you can find something you might be able to use.’’ Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle, who managed Lopez in Colorado early in his career, sees a much more accomplished pitcher today. ‘‘He was a rookie who was trying to keep one stroke, the sidearm stroke,’’ Hurdle said. ‘‘Now he has a lot of confidence. You look at him as almost three dif- NCAAFOOTBALL Tuesday’s Top 25 result No.2 Boise State 49, Louisiana Tech 20 NBA NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Kings Dallas Ducks WL OT Pts GF GA 6 2 0 12 25 19 5 3 0 10 26 22 4 5 1 9 26 35 SHARKS 33 1 7 19 21 Phoenix 2 3 3 7 19 24 Central Division Nashville 5 0 3 13 21 17 Detroit WL OT Pts GF GA 5 1 1 11 23 18 Chicago 5 4 1 11 29 28 St. Louis 4 1 2 10 19 14 Columbus 5 3 0 10 20 22 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Calgary 6 3 0 12 26 21 Colorado 4 4 0 8 25 29 Minnesota 3 3 2 8 23 23 Vancouver 3 3 2 8 20 21 Edmonton 2 4 1 5 19 26 WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB WARRIORS 00 .000 — Clippers 0 0 .000 — Lakers 0 0 .000 — Phoenix 0 0 .000 — KINGS 00 .000 — Southwest Division WL Pct GB 0 0 .000 — Dallas Houston 0 0 .000 — Memphis 0 0 .000 — New Orleans 0 0 .000 — San Antonio 0 0 .000 — Northwest Division WL Pct GB 0 0 .000 — Denver Minnesota 0 0 .000 — Okla. City 0 0 .000 — Portland 0 0 .000 — Utah 0 0 .000 — EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB 1 0 1.000 — Boston New Jersey 0 0 .000 .5 New York 0 0 .000 .5 Philadelphia 0 0 .000 .5 Toronto 0 0 .000 .5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 0 0 .000 — Atlanta Charlotte 0 0 .000 — Orlando 0 0 .000 — Washington 0 0 .000 — Miami Central Division Chicago 0 0 .000 — Cleveland 0 0 .000 — Detroit FOOTBALL 0 1 .000 .5 WL Pct GB 0 0 .000 — Indiana 0 0 .000 — Milwaukee 0 0 .000 — ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Boston 88, Miami 80 Houston at L.A. Lakers, late Phoenix at Portland, late Today’s games Sacramento at Minnesota,5 p.m.,CSNC Houston at Golden State,7:30 p.m.,CSNB Boston at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Detroit at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. New York at Toronto, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Memphis, 5 p.m. Chicago at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ESPN Milwaukee at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Charlotte at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Indiana at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Utah at Denver, 6 p.m. Portland at L.A.Clippers, 7:30 p.m., ESPN California — North (8-man) League Overall WL W L Hayfork Dunsmuir 5 0 7 0 3 1 7 1 Butte Valley 3 1 6 1 Happy Camp 2 2 3 4 WARRIORS 13 3 3 Big Valley 1 3 4 4 Liberty Christian 0 5 1 6 ————————————————— Friday’s games Big Valley at Dunsmuir, 5 p.m. Happy Camp at Butte Valley, 6 p.m. Hayfork at Greenville, 7 p.m. Saturday’s game Liberty Christian at Mercy, Noon Oct. 23 result Butte Valley 49, Liberty Christian 12 Oct. 22 results Hayfork 72, Mercy 8 Dunsmuir 40, Westwood 38 Happy Camp 16, Big Valley 14 FOOTBALL Mountain Valley League Overall WL W L Maxwell Chester Biggs 4 0 7 1 2 2 5 3 2 2 2 6 BULLDOGS 04 2 6 ————————————————— Friday’s games Biggs at Los Molinos, 7:30 p.m. Chester at Maxwell, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 results Maxwell 55, Los Molinos 0 Chester 47, Biggs 21 ferent arm angles with the slider and the fastball. It’s a very diverse package.’’ Lopez had a 1.42 ERA in 27 regular-season appear- ances for the Giants. He allowed just five hits in 45 at-bats against lefties with two walks. WORLD SERIES Game 1 Today Texas (Lee 12-9) at San Fran.(Lincecum 16-10), 4:57 p.m., FOX Game 2:Thursday, at San Fran., 4:57 p.m. Game 3:Saturday, at Texas, 3:57 p.m. Game 4:Sunday, at Texas, 5:50 p.m. Game 5:Monday, Nov.1 at Texas, 4:57 p.m. Game 6:Wednesday, Nov.7 at S.F., 4:57 p.m. Game 7:Thursday, Nov.4 at S.F., 4:57 p.m. FOOTBALL Northern Athletic League Overall WL W L West Valley 2 0 5 3 CARDINALS 11 6 2 Anderson Central Valley 1 1 5 3 Yreka 1 1 3 5 0 3 3 5 ————————————————— Friday’s games Central Valley at Corning, 7:30 p.m. Anderson at West Valley, 7:30 p.m. Yreka at Orland, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 results Corning 38,Yreka 21 Anderson 30, Central Valley 8 Wheatland 53, West Valley 13 They haven’t faced each other since the slam, either. Ross promises his team will be ready for baseball’s No. 1 postseason ace, having already solved the suppos- edly unbeatable Roy Halla- day in the NLCS opener. ‘‘It was the Halladay show a week ago after he threw the no-hitter against the Reds,’’ Ross said. ‘‘We’re not surprising any- body, believe me. Every- body knows how good our pitching staff is. But I think we prefer for everyone to talk about everybody else.’’ FOOTBALL Eastern Athletic — South League Overall WL W L Paradise Lassen 3 0 7 1 2 1 6 2 Las Plumas 1 1 1 7 Oroville Red Bluff at Oroville, 7:30 p.m. Las Plumas at Lassen, 7:30 p.m. Shasta at Paradise, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 results Foothill 44, Red Bluff 12 Las Plumas 17, Oroville 14 Paradise 17, Lassen 0 0 2 0 8 SPARTANS 02 0 8 ————————————————— Friday’s games