From Newsday

Remarkable turnaround for Indians' Lee continues

BY BARBARA BARKER | barbara.barker@newsday.com

May 8, 2008

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How did this happen? How did a guy coming off a crummy year, a guy fighting for the final spot in the Indians starting rotation this spring, become the hottest pitcher in baseball?

How did Cliff Lee, a guy with a 6.20 ERA last season, outduel Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang and throw seven shutout innings last night en route to a 3-0 win at Yankees Stadium?

"Sometimes when guys go through tough times, they find out a lot about themselves," Indian manager Eric Wedge said before yesterday's win.

Whatever Lee found out through his tough times he should try to bottle and sell. After a season in which we pitched so badly that the Indians sent him to the minors, Lee has put together one of the best starts in decades for Cleveland. With last night's win, he became the first Indian to win his first six starts since Greg Swindell in 1988. Though technically the fifth player in the rotation, Lee has a major league best ERA of 0.81 and has allowed four earned runs in 44 2/3 innings.

"Obviously, I can't expect to put up zeros every night, but it's my job to get as deep as I can and give my team a chance to win," said Lee, who struck out seven and hasn't walked a batter in his last 28 innings.

Lee said he learned a lot about riding through the ups and downs in baseball with what he went through last year.

Lee's tough times began in the spring of 2007 when he pulled an abdominal muscle in spring training. He went on the disabled list until May, and never got back in a groove. After four straight losses dropped him to 3-8 with a 7.40 ERA, Lee was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.

It was a pretty big fall, considering that Lee had three solid seasons for the Indians, going 46-24 from 2004-2006. He decided, however, to work hard on his game. When he came back, he was pitching much better, but his team had moved on without him. He was made a reliever for the first time, and was left off the playoff roster after the Indians wrapped up the AL Central title.

"You see what you're made of when you are struggling," Lee said. "Things are really easy when it's going good. The really good players in this game are the ones who can ride the ups a little longer and figure out quickly how to get out of the downs. Last year I stayed in the downs too long."

Lee said the key has been locating his fastball. Wedge believes Lee returned this year as a more mature pitcher.

"He's doing a better job of staying in his delivery, being consistent with it and commanding the fastball, throwing it where he wants to," Wedge said. "If you're able to do that and your arm's working the way it's supposed to work, then your secondary stuff is going to be that much better as well."

Lee said that he believed he could have a great year this season, but when pressed admitted that he never imagined he would start like this.

"Hopefully," Lee said, " I can ride it out for a while."