This just in: Cliff Lee is good. I mean really good.

Cliff Lee could pull a Ron Burgundy right now: "Hey everyone, come see how good I look!"

Sometimes when you are getting ready to stare fate in the face, you may not be ready for the outcome.  Especially if you've seen it before.

Enter the New York Yankees.

Sometimes when making an effort to rebuild a team, many general managers make the mistake of choosing the best player available on the market rather than addressing one particular area where the squad is weak.

Instead of paying millions for a superstar, then trying to find out how or where a certain player will mesh with the team, the good general managers will first break down the specific needs of the club and make a checklist, then when considering any new additions, they check to make sure that each prospective player meet the required criteria.

The star-studded staffs of the Giants and the Phillies have been largely dominant in the series so far, despite Roy Halladay's ho-hum performance in Game 1; but Game 3 has the potential to become an offensive shootout even though a pair of elite pitchers are involved. 

It has been a while since I last penned an article here on the great B/R, so I felt like I owed it to the readers here to break away from the old and bring in the new.

That included a completely new persona, which was to be named Tecumseh's Alcove (I am a history major after all), but it is a lot harder to create a profile here nowadays, so what was the point when I have old reliable sitting around?

Surprise, surprise.  A 2010 playoff game ended up being all about pitching.

Game 2 of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants ended up being a story of the two starting pitchers:  Roy Oswalt and Jonathan Sanchez.

Oswalt pitched an absolute gem, throwing eight innings of three-hit baseball, allowing only one run while striking out nine and walking three.

How many Major League Baseball pitchers can claim they own the New York Yankees?

Tonight, in Game 3 of the ALDS, the Bronx Bombers face crafty lefty Cliff Lee, who for the most part has shut them down over the last two seasons.

With the confidence that Andy Pettitte’s many successful postseason appearances afford, manager Joe Girardi is scheduled to start his wily southpaw in a bounce-back game.

Before the pennant races concluded, many people thought, and wrote, that the Yankees did not want to win the American League East because they did not want to to possibly face Cliff Lee twice in a five game series.

Once again, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

And the Yankees now have it.

They are in the same situation as the 2010 AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays were: Since they split the first two games in Arlington, they are now in a five game series against the Rangers.

The American League Championship Series moves to the Bronx tonight as the Yankees and Rangers are locked up at one game apiece. The pitching matchup of Andy Pettitte and Cliff Lee should be a great one.

However, there may be a matchup that is just as important.

Yankees starter Andy Pettitte must keep the Texas base runners from running wild. The Rangers got the Yankees in an early hole in Game 2 after stealing three bases, including a steal of home in the first inning.

Jonathan Sanchez looked good in the first inning.  He showed a lot of guts, and I think Bochey and Sanchez have the home plate umpire on their side.  Sanchez also showed a lot of guts getting out of the first inning how he did.

Cody Ross won his first battle after his two early home runs last game.  He wheeled out of the way of a pitch that could have got him up and in then worked out a walk.

It will be a great homecoming for Pat Listach on Tuesday.

The former Brewer and Astro was informed late last week that Doug Melvin asked the Washington Nationals for an interview for the managerial position, according to MLB.com and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Listach was currently beginning a managerial assignment for a Puerto Rican winter ball league, but had to change plans quickly to head back to Wisconsin. He will be meeting with Doug Melvin on Tuesday for an interview.