2009 Postseason Pitching

It's coming as somewhat of an expectation, although the outcome of his team was not the same as last, but a Philadelphia Phillies pitcher had the best postseason of any pitcher. Unfortunately for Cliff Lee, nobody else on the staff even came close. The only other staff that had three pitchers in the top five of the 2009 playoffs in pitching prowess were the Yankees, and with Sabathia, Pettite, and Rivera, were too tough to overcome.

Cliff Lee, with a postseason PEVA rating of 4.171 (41.709 Full) jumps into the Top 25 of postseason pitching performances all-time with his stellar 2009 campaign that saw him dominant through almost all of his starts (the final start probably cost him a spot in the Top Ten), but with a 4-0 record over 40.3 innings and an ERA of 1.56, Lee pushed himself into rare territory, as one of a select few pitchers with both a season, 2008 #21, and postseason, 2009 #25, that rank in the Top 25 All-Time. Add in stats like a 5.50 SO/W Ratio and 7.37 WHIP9, and oh, boy. Now if only Cole had been able to come close to his 2008 postseason, but that just wasn't to be.

And the reason for that had a lot to do with C.C. Sabathia and his postseason, too. With a Post PEVA rating of 2.410 (Full 24.096) and an ERA of 1.98 during his 36.3 IP and 3-1 record, Sabathia may not have reached the rarified air of the All-Time Top 40, but he does rank amongst the Top 20 of the decade. Combine that with the performance of the master reliever, Mariano Rivera (1.848 POST PEVA, 18.479 Full), whose ERA of 0.56 over 16 IP just boggles the mind when you consider he does this every postseason, and Game 6 starter Andy Pettite (1.636 POST PEVA, 16.361 Full), and you have a trifecta that couldn't be beat.

Rounding out the Top Five pitchers in postseason 2009 and you have to drop way down the PEVA list to A.J. Burnett and his 0.660 Post (6.604 Full), but he was a Yankee, too.

Que lastima for us Philly fans.

Note: Post PEVA 2009 reflects preliminary values subject to change due to Final Park Factors.