Cliff Lee’s Two-Month Season
Cliff Lee is an assuredly compelling character. For a guy from Arkansas, he reeks of Philly – tough, cocksure and happy to deal against any opponent.
A nonchalant catch with his head tilted in the middle of Yankee Stadium? “No problem,” says the southpaw. Yankee Stadium in October is about as imposing to this guy as a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Many elements have made Lee one of the most popular characters in baseball, and definitely one of the most celebrated and beloved athletes in all of Philadelphia. The main ingredient in the love affair is that he reciprocated the admiration from the base publicly; so much so that he returned to South Philly last winter in a swift signing that broke Twitter and the hearts of executives and fans in Dallas and, most enjoyably for Phillies loyalists, in New York.
Lee pulled off a mirage of Keyser Söze grandure; signing the richest per-annum deal for a pitcher in baseball while also coming off as taking a discount to go where he truly wanted. It was the rare time in sports when someone was paid $120 million and came out looking more everyman than millionaire mercenary. His return to the Philadelphia sports scene earned him indelible street cred in a town that holds such credibility and credit high on the checklist. He doesn’t need the key to the city – everyone would just let Lee come in and drink their beer.
One thing about this special 2011 season that jumps out the most, past the accolades and adoration for Lee, is the varying success he’s found in varying months this season. Dare to say it; Lee has been somewhat inconsistent this season, with two historic months of dominance surrounded by some fairly modest months of performance.
He is at times the best pitcher in the world, and during others he’s just another pitcher. If you look at his monthly splits this season, Lee has put in two months of ridiculous, epic and historic work. Choose the superlative and run with it, because what he accomplished in June and August makes the pedestrian production in April, May and July seemingly fade into the background. As we all know, these two months of work are among the best of all-time in the history of the game’s long history.
| Month | Starts | W | L | IP | Earned runs | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | Avg. against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 5 | 2 | 2 | 32.1 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 4.18 | 1.05 | .238 |
| May | 7 | 2 | 3 | 47.2 | 20 | 4 | 15 | 51 | 3.78 | 1.41 | .281 |
| June | 5 | 5 | 0 | 42.0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 29 | 0.21 | 0.69 | .151 |
| July | 5 | 1 | 2 | 33.0 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 40 | 4.91 | 1.33 | .287 |
| August | 4 | 5 | 0 | 39.2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 0.45 | 0.78 | .173 |
This ESPN graphic speaks to the historic months
An advance scout who spoke with Philly Sports Daily discussed the mediocre and meteoric months we’ve seen from Lee this season.
“What have we’ve witnessed in his ‘off’ months is often his cutter and fastball sitting too close and into the heart of the zone, too often,” said the scout, “Lee has never claimed a mid-to-high 90s fastball; it’s his ability to work the zone and move the ball around that defines his success.”
The scout also detailed how Lee is without a wicked out pitch like Cole Hamels’ changeup. Instead, he’s a practitioner of precision; darts that live on the edge of the zone. When he’s in command of the ball, and in historic command as he’s showing in June an August and for much of last season, opponents can do little to find success against him.
“When Lee is on, he puts the ball wherever he wants whenever he wants in the count, for a batter that’s maddening, and it why we’ve seen so many strikeouts this season. There are many at-bats where the batters aren’t even guessing, because they don’t even have something to guess about,” the scout continued. “I didn’t see every start in June, but I’ve seen him in August and predicting his pitch choice and location is not an easy task. He pitches like the best in the game when he’s at his best, and the hope for the Phillies has to be that he’s the June and August Lee come October.”
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