Lee Misses Chance at 23rd

To any Tribe fans in Boston on Tuesday night, I feel your pain. I am in the rare position of having witnessed one of Cliff Lee's losses this year.

It was Sunday May 18th in Cincinnati, a beautiful day for baseball, however the Indians were right in the middle of a seven game skid and a pretty forgettable season on the whole.

Cliff Lee was facing Edinson Volquez, the reigning AL and NL ERA leaders meeting in what would hopefully be an epic match up. It was not to be.

Instead, I, the estranged Indians fan who gets so few opportunities to see his team play, watched our newly minted ace give up 6 runs (5 earned) in 5 and 2/3rds innings before being relieved of his duties. To make matters worse, it completed the sweep for the Reds and their eventual dominance of the intrastate rivalry.

Not too different than his outing against the Red Sox on Tuesday, except this came with the added disappointment of the Sox clinching their playoff berth.

At the time I could have no idea that what I had witnessed was to be such a rare occurrence. It was Lee's second loss on the year, and while I recognized that he was certainly playing well, I just assumed that this was the return of the Cliff Lee of old. Those in attendance Tuesday knew exactly what to expect from Lee, and instead received a little less than they had hoped for.

In May, I could have never imagined that the man who was in the minors last year would end up as the front-runner for the AL Cy Young award.

My words of advice, to those of you who witnessed this rare occurrence, is to view this as a historical moment. How many other people can say they were at a game that Lee lost this year? Not many.

That's how I think of it anyway, as a rare moment that I share with my friends and a few thousand other people in Cincinnati that beautiful Sunday.

However, I get the chance for redemption, unlike most fans. For, I will be in attendance for the last game of the year in Chicago, where, as you may have guessed, Cliff Lee is slated as the probable pitcher.

I stated my position about the White Sox previously, but for those of you who aren't avid readers I'll restate: I would love nothing more than to see them lose.

I feel beyond lucky to be able to see my favorite team one last time this season, but to also witness the league's best pitcher in action again is truly surreal. There is really only one thing I could ask for: a win.

I know that Cliff probably isn't an avid reader of Bleacher Report (though he should be), I will throw my plea out there, just in case.

Mr. Lee, if you could get that win that for me, I would appreciate nothing more. It sure would be nice to see you win one this year.