WHO’S YOUR DADDY….JON LIEBER THAT’S WHO
Quiet Iowan out-duels Pedro and shuts down Sox offense




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
October 14, 2004

Hemingway couldn’t have written a better Ah Shucks story than this one. The boy from rural Council Bluffs, Iowa vs. the three-time CY Young winner from the Dominican Republic. It was another David vs. Goliath setting. For the past decade Pedro Martinez has dominated opposing batters. He has had his way with pretty much every team in the American League. All, that is, except for the New York Yankees. More on that later.

Lieber, on the other hand, was a promising pitcher originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs. He had his career placed in jeopardy when he blew out the tendon in his pitching elbow. He underwent “Tommy John” surgery to repair the damage in 2002. The Yankees took a chance on Lieber, snatching him off the shelf prior to the 2003 season knowing he wouldn’t be able to pitch the entire season.

Lieber rehabbed hard during 2003 and he made his pitching debut on May 1, 2004 against the Kansas City Royals. Lieber looked very impressive as he pitched seven strong innings, allowing only three runs in the process. However, in his next outing against a very mediocre Seattle Mariners club Jon was lit up for six runs in six innings of work. In fact his whole season was a mixed bag of results. Lieber ended the season 14-8 with an ERA 4.33. Not too shabby for a guy who hadn’t thrown a ball in a game situation for over a year and a half.

Pedro Martinez, who is in a contract year, has had a long history against the Yankees. He has been one of the players on the Red Sox Yankees’ fans love to hate. Last year, in a game at Fenway he plunked both Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano on the hands. Both left the game and went to the hospital for check ups. Both missed game time because of injuries caused by the pitches. Yankees’ bench coach Don Zimmer harbored a grudge against Pedro from that point on.

That grudge boiled over in Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS when the Yankees faced off against Pedro at Fenway. In the top of the 4th inning with the Yankees leading 3-2 right-fielder Karim Garcia came to the plate. Pedro, who has been long suspected of intentionally throwing at batters, threw a 90+ mph fastball directly at Garcia’s head. Garcia was able to duck the pitch which fortunately struck him on the upper shoulder. What followed was a very ugly scene. The Yankees yelled at Martinez from the bench. Pedro was pointing to the Yankee dugout, specifically Jorge Posada, and then pointing to his head. What he meant by those gestures is up to conjecture. The inning ended without further incident.

However, in the next half-inning with Roger Clemens on the mound and emotions at a fiery peak Clemens threw a high fastball past Manny Ramirez. Ramirez ducked thinking the pitch was closer than it actually was. Replays showed the ball was over the inside of the part of the plate. Had it been in the zone the pitch would’ve been called a strike. Ramirez charged the mound with a bat in his hand towards Clemens. Clemens, not one to back away from a confrontation, came off the mound towards Ramirez. Both players were held back by other players. In the meantime, Don Zimmer exited the Yankees’ dugout and circled the huge scrum developing around the pitcher’s mound. He was seeking out one guy and that was Pedro Martinez. He found him seconds later, in front of the Sox bench, only to be thrown on the ground by Martinez. Order was eventually restored but the bitter feelings still remained. The Yankees went on to win Game 3 and eventually the series, which turned out to be one of the most memorable playoff series ever played.

Fast forwarding to last night’s playoff game Pedro Martinez was once again on the hill. He came into the game with a season record of 1-2 with a 5.47 ERA against the Bombers. In his two losses, both of which came at the end of the season Martinez gave up 13 earned runs in 12-1/3 innings. In fact, Martinez lost his last four regular season starts, which boosted concern from Red Sox management about their star pitcher. During a news conference after his second loss Pedro called the Yankees “his daddy.” Memo to Pedro: Never give Yankees’ fans sound bytes they can later use against you.

Pedro seemed to turn aside concern in the ALDS as he pitched well against the Anaheim Angels in an 8-3 Sox victory. The Sox swept the pesky Angels in three straight games to move to the championship series against their storied rivals.

In the meantime, Lieber started Game 2 of the Yankees’ LDS match up against the Minnesota Twins. Jon wasn’t great, but he kept the Yankees in the game as he gave up three runs in 6.2 innings of work. The Yankees repeated the series outcome by besting the Twins three games to one. The stage was set for another classic confrontation between the Red Sox and the Bombers.

Game 1, which started out to be a laugher for the Yankees, turned out to be a thrill ride where the wheels came off the roller coaster. The Yankees, which led the game going into the seventh inning 8-0 held on for dear life to beat a very determined Sox team 10-7.

In last night’s Game 2 skirmish it was blue collar Jon Lieber vs. the masterful artist Pedro Martinez. With the most potent line up in the regular season the Red Sox were poised to leave Yankee Stadium with a 1-1 split. Once again, the unsung heroes came to the fore.

Jon Lieber was absolutely masterful against Boston’s offense. He completely shut down Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. With a nasty slider and precision fastballs Lieber kept the Sox’ lineup off-balance all night long. In fact, Boston waited until the eighth inning to get their hardest hit of the night off Lieber. It was a laser shot by Ortiz to Gary Sheffield in right field. That signaled the end of Lieber’s night. With Ortiz standing on first base Lieber handed manager Joe Torre the ball and quickly walked off the mound toward the Yankees’ dugout. The 55,000+ crowd knows how to acknowledge a great performance. Lieber was given a standing ovation. It must be Lieber’s rural upbringing, because he didn’t doff his cap and he didn’t come out for a curtain call. He calmly and quietly went to the bench to become a spectator like the rest of us. He turned over a 3-0 lead to Tom Gordon. He only allowed three hits while throwing 82 pitches. Fifty-seven of those pitches were for strikes. Gordon surrendered a run (charged to Lieber), but he handed the game to Mariano Rivera who closed out the Sox without any further damage.

Pedro Martinez didn’t exactly pitch poorly. Unfortunately for him the Yankees’ line up took patient at bats making the right-hander throw pitch after pitch. He gave up six free passes to first base and gave up a two-run home run to Jon Olerud in the sixth inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. The expression on Martinez’ face after Olerud’s ball left the park was one of “well I’m not surprised.” The pitch Olerud hit was up and over the plate. It was one of the few poor pitches Pedro made.

While the rest of the game unfolded the FOX Sports camera crews kept taking shots of Lieber sitting on the bench. Lieber just stared out at the field with his near crew cut and boyish face peering out without expression. The only show of emotion was a slight shaking of his legs as he as we awaited the outcome.

On a night where Pedro Martinez was good, Jon Lieber was better. He accepted the challenge of getting the Yanks a quality start and he responded admirably. The guy who worked hard for nearly a season and a half to get himself back to the professional arena rewarded himself and the Yankees’ with his best outing of the year.

Now the Yankees have beaten the Sox number one and two starters and head to Fenway Park with a commanding 2-0 series lead. The Yankees’ starting rotation, which was supposed to be the big Achilles’ heel, has been better than the Sox rotation. Kevin Brown gets the ball for Game 3 as does Bronson Arroyo for Boston. Brown overpowered the Twins in his only ALDS start and it is hoped he can continue in that trend. For the Sox it appears Curt Schilling’s ankle problems may keep him from starting Game 5 at Yankee Stadium. Pedro’s next start is slated for Game 6 at Fenway. Neither is scheduled to start Game 7 if the series gets that far. Things are looking very good for the Yankees to clinch their MLB record 40th American League Championship. Nevertheless, no one should be dumb enough to predict anything in an unpredictable game. The Yankees are half way there, but they have two more wins to gather in. The Boston Red Sox will have something to say about that. In the often, overused words of Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over until it’s over.” But for now, enjoy your victory Jon Lieber, you’ve earned it.


PLAY BALL!


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