“See, he’s throwing that spiked curve. It’s a spiked curve. See how the ball drops there, he’s got that spiked curve. If you’ll also notice, the ball is slower across the plate than when it’s released from the pitcher’s hand. Incredible! Spiked curve! The Yankees remind me of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot, but worse. For FOX, I’m Tim McCarver”
Photo courtesy of daylife.com
1. Cliff Lee currently strikes out about 6.5 batters per game. Assuming that rate stays consistent over his remaining 10 starts this season, he will need to walk a little over 8 batters per game in order to end with a league average K:BB ratio.
2. In 2004, he allowed 6 runs over 4.1 innings in Toronto. As he was walking to the dugout, he threw his glove twenty rows into the stands. On July 21, 2007, he hit Sammy Sosa in the head on a night when the Rangers were honoring Sosa for his 600th home run, sparking a fight between Lee and his then-catcher Victor Martinez. Martinez was upset that Lee didn’t come to the plate to find out how Sosa was, leading to a closed-door players-only meeting.
3. In his next outing in Cleveland, the Red Sox lit him up for seven earned runs and he was booed off the mound. While walking to the dugout, he mockingly tipped his cap to the fans. He was optioned to the minors the next day with a 6.29 ERA.
4. Despite Facts 2 and 3, and his suspension (later rescinded) for throwing at the head of Chris Snyder, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find articles discussing Cliff Lee’s attitude.
5. When Lee was optioned to the minors with a 6.29 ERA in 2007, his K/BB ratio was almost identical to AJ Burnett’s current K/BB ratio.
6. He was once traded from the Expos along with Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens to the Indians in exchange for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew.
7. His ERA (2.43) is nearly identical to his FIP (2.44). His xFIP and SIERA are both about a half a point higher. In his career, he has shown no platoon split: righties have a .710 OPS against and lefties have a .713 OPS against. In 2010, he has been much harder on righties than lefties: righties have a .537 OPS against and lefties have a .703. In 2009 it was the exact opposite.
8. Lee has made 19 starts this season. In only one of those starts did he fail to go at least 7 innings. In three of his starts he pitched 7 innings, and in the remaining 15 starts Lee has pitched at least 8 innings. He has thrown 6 complete games and has averaged 8.5 innings per start since coming to Texas.
9. Despite his tendency to go deep into games, Lee hasn’t exactly been abused. When he pitched for the Mariners he averaged 109 pitches per game. Since coming to the Rangers, his average is 105. His season high is 118 pitches, and it came in his last outing against the Athletics. Despite that, Lee only ranks 28th on Baseball Prospectus’ Pitcher Abuse Points scoring system.
10. He has the third-lowest pitches per plate appearance of any qualified major league pitcher. He has the fifth-lowest OPS-against of any qualified major league pitcher. He has the lowest pitches per inning of any qualified major league pitcher.
Regarding fact #4, do you think it’s possible that more would be written about his attitude if his name were Deshawn or Julio? Esteban(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Absolutely. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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Stephen R. Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Just seeing this. Yes. Stephen R.(Quote)
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I had forgot about that beaning to Sosa, I guess when you pitch like he has been, alot of things will be overlooked Kareem(Quote)
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i know having a guy with a rep for throwing at guys, will protect our players finally.. arod ..jeter.. tex… giambi when he was around..like him even more now.. bornwithpinstripes(Quote)
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The Sosa hit was a curveball that got away. It’s obvious on the video that the ball slips out of his fingers and is released before he’s even brought his hand around. Maybe he should have gone to the plate, but it was clearly not an intentional thing. Later Martinez said he was sorry for doubting Lee.
The ball he threw in spring training that got him in trouble (later absolved) was the game he got hurt in. He had no control cause he had strained his stomach muscles.
He’s not a dirtly player and every clubhouse he’s been in has had nothing but glowing things to say about the guy. I’m not sure what the point of this article was, but to take those situations out of context like that is pretty low brow. Don(Quote)
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Stephen R. Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Listen, I don’t know if your his agent or his mom, but I’m not criticizing Lee. He’s probably one of my absolute favorite pitchers. Like I say below, I’m just talking about things that most people don’t talk about when they talk about him. I’m sorry you take that personally. Stephen R.(Quote)
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From the article you linked:
“I didn’t even realize I did it until a couple minutes afterwards when I was just sitting there,” Lee said. “It was my lucky glove for a while, but now I have to find another one. Hopefully I made a fan happy.”
Merloni said the ball hit him between the eyes, but was lucky he was wearing sunglasses to help protect him. After the game Merloni was complaining about having a headache, but said he would be fine.
“That’s what happens when you play on this [Astroturf],” Merloni said. “That’s why you see a lot of teams getting rid of it. Who knows what could have happened if I didn’t have the glasses on. I might have gotten a broken nose.”
Lee’s light-hearted look at his glove-launching incident underscored his manager’s feelings towards his starter’s performance, which he thought was more positive than negative.
“I thought he looked better today,” Wedge said. “They touched him up in the first inning, but he took a step in the right direction. I’m sure he’s frustrated, but he has to realize he did better.”
In Lee’s last outing against Detroit July 26, he lasted just 2/3 of an inning in allowing six runs on six hits.
“At least I made it to the second inning today,” Lee said.
Yep, sounds like a total douchebag to me. Has a horrible day, then comes into the clubhouse and jokes with the media while his manager goes out on the limb to try and pick him up… I guess at least he didn’t throw a broken bat at someone or deck and 85 year old, cause that would have made him…wait a minute. Don(Quote)
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Stephen R. Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Thanks. I never called him a total douchebag. I was just pointing out a few things about Lee that most people might not know, not drawing conclusions about what type of person he is. Stephen R.(Quote)
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i tell you about yesterday’s game nick swisher would be watching a couple of games from the bench if billy martin was alive for not taking out molina and after hamilton took out jeter let’s go boys killer instinct!!!!!!!!!! bronx tonee(Quote)
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