Saving Lee easy call for Manuel

PHILADELPHIA - Cliff Lee might be considered the king of this sports-mad city right now, given his performances as the Phillies' ace this postseason.

But even royalty has to answer to someone, as Lee said before Sunday night's Game 4 of the World Series.

Lee will start for Philadelphia in tonight's pivotal Game 5 on his usual rest. It was the fervent wish of Phillies Nation that he drew Sunday night's assignment instead of Joe Blanton against the New York Yankees.

The fans didn't get their wish, thanks to the final arbiter of these matters, manager Charlie Manuel, who decided the risk of starting Lee on short rest for the first time in his career wasn't worth taking.

"It was a pretty quick conversation, him asking me if I had ever done it and me telling him no and saying I thought I could do it," Lee said.

"My job is to pitch when Charlie wants me to pitch, and that's what I'm going to do."

Manuel's counterpart, Yankees manager Joe Girardi, doesn't have any problem with running his starters out on three days' rest instead of the usual four. Girardi ran his No. 1 gun, lefty CC Sabathia, out to the hill on short rest and will do the same with tonight's starter, right-hander A.J. Burnett.

"When you're talking about being at this level and being at this time of year, the competitiveness in these guys is tremendous. They want the ball," Girardi said.

"As far as the mentality of it, to me that's usually not a concern. It's the physical part that's a concern."

Lee was brilliant in the Phillies' 6-1 victory in Game 1, outdueling Sabathia, who allowed only two solo home runs to Chase Utley before the Yankees' bullpen generously allotted four runs.

Burnett responded in New York's 3-1 win in Game 2. When Cole Hamels self-destructed in the Phils' 8-5 loss in Game 3, he not only put Philadelphia in a 2-1 Series deficit, he increased the need for Lee to deliver again.

If there's any concern on Lee's mind, he didn't show it. He credited his routine for keeping him in a regular frame of mind.

"To me it's the same game," Lee said.

Well, to his loyal Philadelphia subjects, tonight's Game 5 might hold a bit more meaning than that.