Amazing!

If you don't follow sports you probably haven't noticed one of the great pitching performances in recent history. With a 5-0 shutout of the Chicago White Sox tonight, Cleveland Indians leftie Cliff Lee improved to 20-2 on the season. That is amazing in and of itself that he has 20 wins to only 2 losses with a sub-2.50 ERA. What makes it really incredible is that he has done it for such a bad ballclub. Coming into the season the Indians were supposed to contend for the AL Central and quite possibly the World Series. That notion is long gone. Tonight's Indians line up was missing stars like Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner. Instead we have a bunch of role players and one genuine star, Grady Sizemore. None of the batters are hitting .300. In fact the best average of the bunch is .284 from Shin Soo-Choo. The supposed closer for this team, Joe Borowski was released outright and is currently unemployed. Yet even with that "supporting cast", Lee has compiled a 20-2 record and should be a shoo-in for the Cy Young.

One year ago today, Lee was called up from the minors. Tonight he is the best pitcher in the American League. A year can make a big difference. Congrats to Cliff Lee!