Cliff Lee - the comeback kid!!
Congratulations are definitely in order for Cliff Lee.
I have to admit that coming into this season I was skeptical about the impact he would have at all, let alone what ended up transpiring. Then again, who could have guessed? In 2007 he came out of spring training injured, was demoted to Buffalo in July, and was completely left off of the post season roster. It's safe to say that I wasn't alone in feeling less than confident about his potential to spring back in '08.
Needless to say that I and many others were proven very, VERY wrong.
Through April and his absolutely ridiculous start to this season, there was a surreal feeling that surrounded each of his performances. Here was Cliff Lee, utterly dominant, untouchable, fierce, coming straight at the opposition. This wasn't the man we saw in 2007, messing around the edges of the strike zone, throwing all kinds of off-speed pitches and generally picking at the count - this man was on the attack, on a mission. And it was working. I wondered if it was just out of shock that teams weren't getting to him, that they had to throw their scouting reports out the window (which no doubt they did) and start from scratch. There was a sense after April that it couldn't last, but he continued through May, June, July. And from July 28th on he didn't lose until his final start of the season.
It seems impossible as yet to really digest what he accomplished this season, as it truly was remarkable. In fact, remarkable seems like an understated word for the occasion. To consider where he was just one short season ago, or even the moderate success he'd achieved prior to his disastrous '07, only adds to the complexity and drama of his marvelous and enigmatic achievement. And for us Tribe fans, it gave us something positive to take from a season that was in many ways a firmly disappointing and disheartening experience.
Congratulations Cliff! Now dust off a spot on that shelf for Cy...
I have to admit that coming into this season I was skeptical about the impact he would have at all, let alone what ended up transpiring. Then again, who could have guessed? In 2007 he came out of spring training injured, was demoted to Buffalo in July, and was completely left off of the post season roster. It's safe to say that I wasn't alone in feeling less than confident about his potential to spring back in '08.
Needless to say that I and many others were proven very, VERY wrong.
Through April and his absolutely ridiculous start to this season, there was a surreal feeling that surrounded each of his performances. Here was Cliff Lee, utterly dominant, untouchable, fierce, coming straight at the opposition. This wasn't the man we saw in 2007, messing around the edges of the strike zone, throwing all kinds of off-speed pitches and generally picking at the count - this man was on the attack, on a mission. And it was working. I wondered if it was just out of shock that teams weren't getting to him, that they had to throw their scouting reports out the window (which no doubt they did) and start from scratch. There was a sense after April that it couldn't last, but he continued through May, June, July. And from July 28th on he didn't lose until his final start of the season.
It seems impossible as yet to really digest what he accomplished this season, as it truly was remarkable. In fact, remarkable seems like an understated word for the occasion. To consider where he was just one short season ago, or even the moderate success he'd achieved prior to his disastrous '07, only adds to the complexity and drama of his marvelous and enigmatic achievement. And for us Tribe fans, it gave us something positive to take from a season that was in many ways a firmly disappointing and disheartening experience.
Congratulations Cliff! Now dust off a spot on that shelf for Cy...
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