ARLINGTON, Texas — Seeing Cliff Lee on the mound in October is like seeing a Great White’s dorsal fin slowly circle your inflatable life raft.
It’s probably not going to turn out well.
Yet the Yankees will be very happy to see Lee tomorrow night in Game 7 of the ALCS, because it will mean their season stayed alive with a victory in tonight’s Game 6 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
“We will be happy to face anybody,” Derek Jeter said of the Rangers’ ace, who blanked them across eight innings in Game 3.
In order to take a shot at Lee, whose career postseason record is 7-0, the Yankees must win tonight and tie the best-of-seven series at 3-3.
Phil Hughes, putrid in a Game 2 loss, faces right-hander Colby Lewis, who won Game 2. Las Vegas has installed the Yankees as slight favorites tonight.
A Yankees win would deliver Andy Pettitte against Lee, a repeat of Game 3.
“We want Game 7,” Jorge Posada said yesterday. “We understand no matter what, it goes through him.”
The Yankees avoided being eliminated in five games Wednesday with a 7-2 victory that shifted the action to Texas, where the Rangers believe they will advance to the first World Series in franchise history.
“They are in a hole and we are in the catbird seat. We have the mo jo. We have the home-field advantage,” Game 5 loser C.J. Wilson said. “We have the white uniforms.”
And, of course, they have Lee.
Yet as great as he was in Game 3, seeing Lee tomorrow night means the Yankees have a chance.
“It will be awesome to [see Lee] because anything can happen,” said CC Sabathia, who said he will be ready to offer up to 50 pitches today in relief, two days after pitching six innings in Game 5.
Before the Yankees worry about Lee, they have to take care of business tonight.
“You have a shot every time you play and you try to win one game,” Jeter said. “We have a lot of confidence in ourselves.”
Though Alex Rodriguez refused to talk about how happy the Yankees will be to take their chances with Lee, he did say he would like the mindset of Game 5 to drip into tonight.
“I liked what I saw,” said Rodriguez, who could help the Yankees get to Lee with a couple of big hits after batting .176 (3-for-17) without a homer and two RBIs so far. “That’s something we did all year.”
According to Jeter, the finality that is staring the Yankees in the face doesn’t require a change in their approach.
“You look at every game as Game 5 and Game 7,” said Jeter, who is hitting .273 (6-for-22) with an RBI. “If you played Game 1 and Game 2 like it didn’t matter, then you would have to change your attitude.”
Lewis isn’t Lee. He allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings in Game 2, when the Yankees went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
But Lewis stands in the way of the Yankees seeing Lee, something not many teams look forward to. But consider the alternative to not seeing Lee.
george.king@nypost.com