Given the night to ponder Game 1, there’s little to really analyze and debate:

1. Cliff Lee was flat-out awesome
2. The Yanks bullpen has more cracks than the Yankee Stadium ramps

So if we can all agree that Points #1 and #2 above are indeed true, then we just have simply put Game 1 behind us and stop sweating it. The Yanks were beaten by a great team with a pitcher who couldn’t be any hotter if he were sitting in a chaise lounge on the surface of the sun. It happens.

I don’t know about you, but I woke up a heckuvalot less angry and bitter than I did following some of the losses to the Angels in the ALDS. In those games, the Yanks had a chance –more than one chance in most cases– to win and failed. The Yanks had no chance last night. Great pitching should beat great hitting. I’m trying to follow my own advice and simply wipe the slate clean.

So where do we go from here? I’ll tell ya one thing: Now’s not the time to panic.

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Hard to find the words to adequately describe this game, from a Yanks fan’s perspective. However, this nonchalant catch by Cliff Lee on Damon’s pop-up (to the right*) might have been the most emblematic of the night for the Yanks:

It was too easy.

Let’s get to some of the points quickly, with a full game recap to follow:

• Cliff Lee was better than impressive. Flat out dominant. If I wasn’t rooting for the Yanks, I’d be giving him a standing ovation from my living room.
• Lee made seemingly every hitter look foolish.
• A virtual no-look basket catch and a behind-the-back stab. What’s next? Between the legs? Pitching right-handed?
• Sabathia wasn’t bad, but he served up two longballs to Utley. His control seemed “off” but he was able to keep it to just 2 runs through 6 innings.
• Good to see the umpiring crew huddle up to get that wacky double-play called right.

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Was there clause in a standard contract back-in-the-day that prohibited you from a) having fun while playing it or b) enjoying the game once you left it? Jim Bouton’s the latest crusty, cranky old former ballplayer who thinks players should just keep their head down and not have any fun or celebrate, unless it involves “real men” putting live reptiles in others underwear:

In my day, they had more creative ways to sort of celebrate,” said Mr. Bouton, 70. “Pieing would have been silly, kids’ stuff. We would put a live snake in a guy’s underwear. That is something that real men would do. This is silly stuff, you know what I mean? it’s kid stuff. The guys today, they’re inexperienced.

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