Will Cliff Lee be so dominate that his catcher will have to purposely call for a pitch out of the zone so the hitters are kept honest?
No, probably not.
Is this a fluke?
No, no it is not.
What made Cliff Lee successful is what so many pitchers get away from. He just throws the baseball. Lee didn't waste time on the mound in 2008, when he got the ball, he got set and he threw it. He kept himself in a rhythm and hit his spots. Will his control be impeccable from now on?
I'm not sure, as we've seen with Rafael Betancourt, it's probably unlikely that Lee has that kind of control two years in a row, but it won't be a drop-off. Lee's success comes from keeping the hitters off-balance and using his off-speed stuff effectively.
As long as he makes those adjustments that he made last year and continues to adapt, Lee will be fine.
Lee's life has been all about making adjustments and battling through the tough times. Just ask his son Jaxson, who is a leukemia survivor or his daughter, Maci who was born three months premature.
Getting sent down to Triple-A is nothing compared to hearing your child is very sick and has little chance to survive.
However, Lee and his wife Kristen adjusted, and today Jaxson is a healthy young boy.
Just like he did with his son, he did with his career.
He believed.
The Indians, as much as they might have not in November or December, believed in him. Carl Willis especially. Willis deserves credit himself for helping Lee realize he was still a good pitcher.
Willis, who is working on his next turnaround candidate in Anthony Reyes, has a way with words. The raw talent for Sabathia might have been there, but someone had to help turn him into the pitcher he is today.
The pitcher he is today is going to be earning quite the cash rather soon.
On Thursday, Cliff Lee is going to win the American League Cy Young Award. On Friday, CC Sabathia is going to cash in.
Cliff should take today as a time to do what he never did all season. Take it all in and bask in the praise and glory.
Lee may not be getting the big pay-day like his former teammate, but he has something more special than all of that.
He's got one hell of a story.
For more of Nino's Indians' coverage, visit his blog and this story at The Tribe Time Report.
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