FanNation

OK, I have a stunning, and very hard to say admission: I have a man-crush on Cliff Lee. There is nothing wrong with this, as my therapist has told me. He is just amazing. He is playing out of his mind right now, and he is become more and more loved by me. I have a man-crush on Cliff Lee.

Now, first, let's look at why love him. Cliff Lee is current 6-0 with a .67 ERA. He has let up 4 RUNS in 53.2 innings pitched. In an average 9 inning game, he would allow about 6 hits and walks combined. And of his 7 starts, he has only allowed runs in 2 of them, the other 5 are shutouts. He has only had a 2-0 count on a batter 11 times this year. He has an 11:1 strikeout to walk ratio. He is just amazing.

Now, you may wonder, where has this guy come from? In 2002, in what may be the worst trade in the history of the Washington Nationals franchise, the then-Expos traded Cliff Lee, a certain 2B called Brandon Phillips, a little known, very young OF named Grady Sizemore, and a bag of beans, for Bartolo Colon, who would win 10 more games that year, but would leave for greener pastures in Chicago after half a season, and Tim Drew. 3 years ago, way back in 2005, Cliff Lee was 18-5 with a 3.47 ERA, finishing 4th in the Cy Young race. But he then went downhill, and after struggling with pitching and injuries in '07, he was sent down to AAA and wasn't on the Tribe's postseason roster. He wasn't even guranteed a roster spot until the end of spring training this year. And then what happened?

So know Cliff is back, and pitching less like Aaron Laffey and more like Bob Gibson, who was the last player to have a full season like how Cliff is pitching right now. I hope Cliff finishes at his current pace, with a 24-0 record, wih a .67 ERA, 176 Ks, 16 walks, and a definite Cy Young. With the way Cleveland is hitting right now, they'll need every bit of it.

And that is why I have a man crush on Cliff Lee. Sorry, Fausto.