There are no sure things, not even Lee

         Before we go any further in this game, everyone ought to acknowledge that nothing in a playoff series is preordained, as much as we'd like to think it is. Just as it is not a lock that Cliff Lee will win Game 3 of the ALCS.

           And if he does hang on to win it, it is not a certainty that A.J. Burnett will come out and send the series down the tubes. As bad as Burnett has been in the second half, there always is the possibility that the combination of adrenaline, sense of the moment and Dave Eiland's pitching therapy will allow him to have a creditable game tomorrow.

           It really will be interesting if the Yankees lose this game and announce afterward that CC Sabathia will go tomorrow on short rest. Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman have insisted in the past few days that that won't happen. Sabathia proved on Friday that he's not a sure thing.

            Bottom line, there's a long way to go in this game, as flawless as Lee is looking.