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All cheers for Cliff

E-mail|Link|Comments () Posted by Tony Massarotti, Globe Staff September 23, 2008 04:51 PM

There is always the possibility that the New York Yankees will lose, but if the Red Sox are going to get into the playoffs on their own tonight, they’ll have to beat a man who has been the best pitcher in baseball this year.

And it’s really not even close.

As recently as a few days ago, after all, Cliff Lee was the only pitcher in major league history to be at least 20 games over .500 (22-2) for a team with a losing record. The Indians are now 79-77 thanks to a seven-game winning streak entering tonight’s meeting with Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox, but the general principle holds true: Lee has pitched for a relatively poor (or mediocre) team this year, and yet he has continued to win.

When Lee does not get a decision this year, the Indians are 57-75, a winning percentage of .432 that places Cleveland in the roughly same class as, say, the Baltimore Orioles or Pittsburgh Pirates.

A few things about Lee that are worth noting:

A lefthander with a great arsenal that includes a fastball, cut fastball, curveball and changeup, Lee actually has been tougher on righthanded batters (a .242 average) than lefties (.272). That explains why righthanded-hitting Jeff Bailey is on the bench in favor of the lefthanded-hitting Sean Casey, who is 6 for 13 (a .462 average) against Lee in his career. Lee's cut fastball allows him to tie up right-handers, which allows him to open up the other side of the plate for his changeup. Generally speaking, he is better pitching on the side of the plate closer to the right-handed batter's box.

Lee is 10-0 with a 2.45 ERA at home and 12-2 with a 2.38 ERA on the road. He was 12-2 with a 2.31 in the first half and is 10-0 with a 2.55 ERA since the All-Star break. By month, Lee has gone 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA, 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA, 3-0 with a 3.41 ERA, 3-1 with a 3.14 ERA, 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA and 3-0 with a 2.32 ERA (current). Counting tonight, he has two starts remaining.

Lee has pitched at least five innings in each of his 30 starts this year, averaging roughly 7 1/3 innings pitched. He has pitched at least seven innings on 19 occasions. Cleveland’s other starters are 38-51; the starters’ ERA goes from 4.08 to 4.57 when Lee's numbers are removed from the equation.

Looks like the Red Sox are going to have their hands full, eh?

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Tony Massarotti

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Tony Massarotti is a Globe sportswriter and has been writing about sports in Boston for the last 19 years. A lifelong Bostonian, Massarotti graduated from Waltham High School and Tufts University. He was voted the Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by his peers in 2000 and 2008 and has been a finalist for the award on several other occasions. This blog won a 2008 EPpy award for "Best Sports Blog".

Tony's Top 5

NFL power rankings

Broncos. OK, we’re convinced. Kyle Orton is now 26-12 in his career as a starter. Josh McDaniels looks like a real coach. And the defense is much improved.

Saints. Went into Philly and beat the Eagles, went into New York and beat the Jets. Better defense than we thought. Right?

Vikings. If you’re a Vikes fan, Brett Favre should scare you come playoff time. But in the regular season? So far, so good.

Colts. Don’t look now, but only three teams in the NFL have allowed fewer points than Indy. And have we mentioned the quarterback?

Giants. They can run, pass and play defense. And did we mention they’re well-coached? Who needs Plaxico?

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Updated: Oct 14, 05:02 PM

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