Saturday, May 3, 2008

Cliff Lee? Really? Cliff Lee?

It was the last round of your draft, and you looked hard for a decent pitcher.

Any pitcher, really.

Finally, out of desperation - or fear of looking like you didn't know anything - you picked Indians SP Cliff Lee.

That pick was usually followed by a smart comment or someone laughing. "You'd be better off with Sarah Lee," is one of my favorite Cliff Lee draft lines, second only to "Did he just draft Cliff Claven." (Neither phrase, btw, usually gets a laugh).

Lee has been anything but a punchline this season.
Just named AL Pitcher of the Month, the lefty currently sports a 0.96 ERA and 0.56 WHIP with 33 Ks in 37 2/3 innings and his streak of 27 scoreless innings was recently snapped. These numbers would give you sticker shock, even from a Santana, Webb or Peavy.

But Lee? Cliff Lee?

This is the same guy who was demoted to AAA last year, going 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA, but that demotion really got Lee's attention.

"I wasn't happy going to the minors," he told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "That's the nature of the beast. If you don't produce at this level, someone else is going to. I was holding back the team the way I was pitching, so I can't be mad about what happened."

Lee was injured in 2007 with a strained right abdominal and spent all of April on the DL. But still, this is a guy with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.

And now?

To put into perspective Lee's dominance, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (baseball's bible of record keeping), Lee has held opposing batters to a .163 on-base percentage which is the lowest over a pitcher's first five start since 1909 when Frank Smith (.159) of the White Sox.
Now, that's some record keeping.

Fantasy Advice: If you're an owner or an Indians fan, feel free to celebrate this early-season gift like a kid out of school for the summer. But be warned, school will be coming back to session, it's just a matter of how soon. My guess is it'll be a slow creep, but he'll probably be ownable in most formats all season, as he should finish in the 3.50/1.25 neighborhood. Still, this might be the ultimate sell-high situation, if you can get someone to bite.

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