Both Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke took the mound for the Phillies and Brewers, respectively, and for at least one night, the Red Sox and Yankees got a look at what could have been.
On one hand, Red Sox fans got an up-close-and-personal look at how good Lee really is right now. The left-hander tossed his third straight complete-game shutout, running his career-high scoreless streak to 32 innings. It capped a June in which the lefty went 5-0 with a 0.21 ERA.
It likely served as a reminder of how incredibly different the AL East race could be right now. After all, it was a foregone conclusion just several months ago that the Yankees would land baseball's most prized offseason prize in Lee. Had the Yankees landed the lefty, there's no telling how different the AL East would look right now, but it's safe to assume that Boston's 2-10 start would hurt a little bit more if Lee were in the New York rotation.
And while there must be those out there that say Lee's numbers are a byproduct of Lee now residing in an NL city, consider these numbers, courtesy of ESPN's Jayson Stark.
Stark tweeted on Tuesday night that in five starts against AL teams since since last October, Lee has gone 40 innings and has allowed just two runs on 20 hits. Not bad to say the least.
The Red Sox should thank their lucky stars that they don't have to face him a handful of times every year for the next decade, and just as importantly, Lee won't be racking up wins against the rest of baseball in pinstripes for that time.
Lee wasn't the only "what if" scenario that had some light shined upon it on Tuesday night.
Just up the road from Philly in the Bronx, right-hander Zack Greinke toed the slab for the Milwaukee Brewers against the Yankees.
Rumors floated through the winter that the Yankees had interest in acquiring Greinke when he was still a member of the Royals, but it was going to take a hefty package of prospects.
There were questions about Greinke's mental makeup, as his struggles in New York — not to mention his anxiety issues — that were both well-documented through the hot stove season.
Long story short, Greinke ended up in Milwaukee. And on Tuesday, he returned to the Yankee Stadium mound as a member of the Brewers and struggled to say the very least. Greinke lasted just two innings as he was shelled for seven runs on five hits and three walks.
Of course, it's unfair to Greinke to say that one forgettable night under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium would have been how every start would have unfolded for Greinke, but it was certainly an interesting glimpse down a road that the Yankees decided not to take.
And who knows? Maybe Lee, someone who chose Philadelphia because of how comfortable he felt there during his first tenure in the City of Brotherly Love, would have struggled mightily in the Bronx. And maybe, just maybe, Greinke would have actually thrived in New York.
At the very least, though, Tuesday gave us some indication of how radically different things could be in the AL East right now had a couple of offseason decisions gone very differently.
