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Throughout out a disappointing 2008 season, Cliff Lee has given Cleveland Indians fans something to smile about.  Winning his 22^nd game, and his 11^th decision in a row, Lee continued his torrid season against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.  He is now 5-0 against the Royals this season.  The Royals might not feel too much shame for letting Lee shut them down though.

The Indians ace has lost only two decisions in 29 starts this year while dominating the American League.  His 22-2 record makes him the first pitcher to be 20 games over .500 since 1990 when Bob Welch won the AL Cy Young Award going 27-6 for Oakland.  He has been consistently excellent from the moment the 2008 season began, winning his first six games and holding down a 2.36 ERA into September.  Lee is making himself a lock for the Cy Young Award this year.  If he does win the award, he will be the second consecutive Indian to do so, following CC Sabathia.

After being demoted to the minor leagues at one point in 2007, the turnaround made by Lee is staggering.   The ace pitcher was 5-8 with 6.29 ERA and was left off of Cleveland’s postseason roster in 2007.  At one point he was booed off of the field by Cleveland fans after allowing 7 runs in 4 innings. 

2008 has been a different story though.  With a WHIP of only 1.06 through 29 starts, Lee has been one of the few reasons for Indians fans to cheer this season.  One of the most noticeable differences in Lee has been his control.  He has walked only 28 batters in 210 innings pitched after walking 36 in only 97.1 innings pitched last year.  The last season that Cliff Lee pitched at least 200 innings in, 2006, he walked 58.  In winning his 22^nd game of the year he never once went to a three ball count.

The left handed hurler has also been going deeper into games in 2008.  He has already set a new career high for innings pitched and could still get three more starts before the season ends.  Lee also recorded the first two shutouts of his career this season, and has tossed four complete games.  He was two outs away from his fifth complete game of 2008 on Friday when the Royals finally drove him out of the game.  Lee had never thrown more than a single complete game in a season before.

He was rewarded for his stellar performance in the first half on 2008 by being named the AL All-Star starter by manager Terry Francona.  In the game, Lee pitched two scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out three.  The American League would go on to win 4-3 in extra innings.

Adding more merit to Lee’s impressive season is the disappointing team he’s been pitching for.  Coming into the year with very high expectations, the Indians had abandoned their season by July.  A lack of offense plagued the team early on and they were never able to right the ship for the season.  Even with arguably the best pitcher of 2008 pitching for them, the Indians dropped all the way to last place in the AL Central, and began to cut loose most of their veteran talent.

CC Sabathia was traded to Milwaukee for prospects, and closer Joe Borowski was released outright.  The Indians also sent versatile veteran Casey Blake to the Dodgers for two minor leaguers.  Cleveland hardly seemed like a team capable of producing a pitcher with such gaudy statistics, but even with his team failing Lee continued to pick up steam.

He was named the AL pitcher of the month for a second time this season in August, going 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA for the month.  Lee has not taken a loss since July 6 and his 11 game winning streak is the longest by an Indians pitcher since Gaylord Perry in 1974.  On September 1, he did something else no Indians pitcher had done since Gaylord Perry in 1974, becoming the first Cleveland Indian to win 20 games in a season this century, by throwing a complete game shutout against the Chicago White Sox.  With one more win Lee will become only the second lefty in Indians history to win 23 games, and the first to do so since Vean Gregg in 1911.

It’s hard to deny him as the front runner for this year’s Cy Young Award, but Lee is trying not look ahead as the season winds down.  “It’s not over yet,” the ace said after Friday’s game.  “So far, it’s going pretty good,” he added.  “But I’m not going to start patting myself on the back yet.”  Lee’s next start will likely be against the Minnesota Twins, the last team to beat him.

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Tags:   award · baseball · Cliff Lee · cy youngNo Comments.

Nine year veteran Daunte Culpepper has retired from the NFL.  The former Pro-Bowl quarterback had been a free agent, and was unable to find a fitting job with any NFL team.  At only 31, Culpepper’s retirement is sudden and unexpected.

As recently as 2004 he was able to put up elite numbers.  That season Culpepper had 39 touchdown passes and a league leading total of 4,717 yards passing.  Combined with his 406 yards rushing, Culpepper gained over 5,000 yards of total offense in 2004.  It was a season that quarterbacks, and coaches, dream of.

Since the 2004 season though, his fortune has turned downward.  He would go on to suffer a horrific injury in the 2005 season, damaging three of the four major ligaments in his right knee.  The injury marked the end of an already disappointing 2005 season, where Culpepper had struggled early.

The injury would also mark the last game of Culpepper’s career as a Minnesota Viking.  During his recovery, he and the Vikings drifted apart philosophically and Culpepper was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a second round draft pick.  Unfortunately a change of scenery did not bring a change of results for the quarterback.  His tenure in Miami was much a continuation of his 2005 season in Minnesota.  The Dolphins struggled early in 2006 before Culpepper himself ultimately succumbed to his knee again, needing a second surgery. 

In 2007 Culpepper once again found himself at odds with his employer.  While he continued to rehab his knee, the quarterback revealed that his second operation had been more serious than he had initially disclosed.  This started what would be a messy and public divorce for Miami and Culpepper. 

After trading for quarterback Trent Green, the Dolphins forbid Culpepper to participate in team drills.  This policy was both revealed and highlighted when Culpepper was escorted off of Miami’s practice field by a security guard.  While the team tried to trade him, Culpepper demanded his release and refused to restructure his contract to oblige any trade.  Eventually he would get his wish and be released outright.

His next and final stop in the NFL was with the Oakland Raiders.  Initially signed as a backup, Culpepper would eventually start when incumbent quarterback Josh McCown was injured.  With number one pick JaMarcus Russell unavailable after not signing until the season had began, the job opening could have been a re-launching for Culpepper’s career.  His play was inconsistent though, with five touchdowns and five interceptions in his six games started. 

Perhaps even more disappointing, for a third consecutive season, Culpepper would have his season ended by an injury in 2007.  During a practice, he challenged a teammate and former sprinter to a footrace.  Culpepper injured a hamstring during the race and missed the remainder of the 2007 season.  Oakland quickly named JaMarcus Russell their starter for the 2008 season after the last game of 2007, and Culpepper was let go as a free agent.

With many teams potentially in the market for a quarterback this off-season Culpepper had every reason to believe he would end up in somebody’s camp.  He is, after all, just three seasons removed from playing at a Pro-Bowl level.  Being only 31 and finally healthy, it seemed inevitable he would get another chance. 

Throughout the preseason Culpepper was linked to several different teams in the rumor mills.  It was reported that he turned down offers to serve a backup role with both Green Bay and Pittsburgh, believing the deals were no good.  And while quarterbacks with arguably less talent and undeniably worse track records have contracts, the right deal never did materialize for Culpepper, and the former star announced his retirement on the same day the 2008 NFL season opened.

Culpepper went so far as to say he was never offered a fair chance by any NFL team this off-season.  One of the few professional athletes to negotiate without an agent, he believes his unorthodox practice of representing himself was off-putting to NFL executives and coaches.

Part of the statement Culpepper released upon retiring chastised the NFL, declaring that, “I now understand why so many people with the NFL community are uncomfortable with a player really learning the business. The NFL has become more about power, money and control than passion, competition and the love of the game.”

His statement went on to pay homage to the late Gene Upshaw and Culpepper asserted that retiring would allow him to, “…focus on the enjoyment of watching some of the greatest athletes in the world play the game I love without the distraction of waiting for those elusive return phone calls.”

Assuming no team lures the three time Pro-Bowl quarterback out of his early retirement, he will finish his career with 142 touchdown passes, 92 interceptions and quarterback rating of 89.9.

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Tom Brady’s right foot is okay.  The problem now is his left knee.  And the outlook for Brady’s season is far worse after week one than it ever was this preseason, when the quarterback missed every game with a foot injury.

In the first quarter of New England’s season opener, the team watched as Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard hit and rolled Brady’s knee.  Brady immediately hit the ground, clutching his knee.  By all accounts, the injury left players on the field fairly sure the reigning NFL MVP was done for at least the day.  He needed help to get off of the field and was in very visible pain.  The hit left a sour taste in the mouth of some Patriots’ players, understandably, who felt the play was dirty.  No team likes to lose a player of Brady’s caliber for any amount of time.  But replays show Pollard going for Brady while he still had the ball, making it a legal and clean play.

While Brady’s exact condition is still unconfirmed, ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer was contacted by a Patriots player and told, “Cassel’s our quarterback for the rest of the year,” referring to back up quarterback Matt Cassel.  It is believed that Brady tore his ACL and will likely need season ending surgery.  Randy Moss specifically stated after the game, “I know the show must go on. Hopefully Matt Cassel is ready to step in. I know the team is ready to embrace him and let him lead us.” 

While coach Bill Belichick kept any information to himself in the post-game press conference, clearly the Patriots locker room is coming to grips with the idea that their star field general may not take another snap this season.

Even though New England was able to go on without Brady and win their season opener, the rest of the season looks suddenly daunting.  Already playing with a bull’s-eye on their backs, the team that outscored their opponents by an average of 19.7 points per game in 2007 now faces the challenge of getting back to a Super Bowl without their best player.

Watching the rest of their division on Sunday shouldn’t have eased the Patriots nerves any either.  While the New York Jets and Brett Favre didn’t disappoint, taking down the Miami Dolphins in Favre’s much anticipated first game for his new team, Buffalo came out firing to dismantle the Seahawks 30-10.

Already having tougher competition looming in their AFC East, it may be impossible to call New England favorites to win the division now.  It’s a devastating reality for a team that recorded a perfect 16-0 regular season in 2007.  They came into Sunday with high expectations, fully expected to at least return to the playoffs.  Halfway into their first quarter of football, the Patriots had to reevaluate their entire 2008 season.

The injury opens the door for the Jets and Favre to have a magical season.  It would be hard to pick New York over Brady and the Patriots.  Favre and the Jets over Cassel and the Pat’s, however, doesn’t sound as farfetched.  Although his statistics were not overwhelming in week one, Favre showed that he’s still the same gunslinger, just in another jersey.  Throwing two touchdowns, including a 56 yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery, Favre gave New England plenty or reason to start sweating.

Buffalo did a lot of the same, impressing with a strong week one.  Trent Edwards was 19/30 with 215 yards passing and a touchdown, with at least three completions to five different receivers.  As a team, Buffalo had 338 net yards, forced two turnovers, and only drew one penalty.  Even more impressively, they only let Seattle convert on third down 3 of 16 times and looked like a team ready to take a big step forward this year.

Obviously New England is going to have to improvise if they wish to stay ahead of the blossoming teams around them.  They are expected to have unemployed quarterback Chris Simms in for a workout and physical on Monday.  It’s unclear exactly how likely a deal is to get done.

One other rumor sure to be chatted up on at least a few internet message boards will be the Patriots trying to reunite recently retired quarterback Daunte Culpepper with Randy Moss.  So far though, there is no indication that New England would consider bringing in Culpepper.

What is for sure though is that Matt Cassel is the starting quarterback for the defending AFC champs right now. Tom Brady is definitely hurt.  And two teams within the Patriots division are 1-0 and off to exciting starts.

It’s not impossible, or unthinkable that the Patriots will go on and win out the AFC East anyway.  Belichick has proven time and time again that he is one of the best in the league when it comes to plugging guys into holes.  The Patriots have experience on their side and aren’t likely to wallow on the loss.  And whoever is throwing the ball for them, they do still have a dominating 6’4” receiver named Randy Moss who put up 116 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.  Without Tom Brady’s 50 touchdown arm though, the odds certainly have gone down.  Along with the Patriots expectations for 2008.

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Tags:   football · injuries · knee · tom bradyNo Comments.

Tom Brady is expected to start for New England in their regular season opener.  That’s the latest from the usually secretive coach Bill Belichick.  Brady practiced Wednesday and both he and coach said afterwards the quarterback is considered ready for Sunday’s game against Kansas City.

            The NFL’s reigning MVP has been dogged by an injury to his right foot during the preseason, and it’s not the first time the foot has been an issue for Brady.  Going back to the playoffs of last season, Brady was seen wearing a protective boot in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.  In that game against the Giants, Brady appeared somewhat immobile, absorbing five sacks and the loss.  Whispers have continued that Brady’s foot may have been a major factor in the Patriot’s disappointing end to an otherwise perfect season.

            Even before the infamous boot though, the star quarterback has had a long history of playing hurt.  Brady has been listed as injured in some capacity by New England nearly every week over the last few seasons; including every week last year during the Patriots perfect regular season.  And that right foot isn’t the only sore part on Brady’s body.  This week, with his foot garnering all of the attention, Brady’s right shoulder is also listed as injured on the practice report.

            Knowing first hand Brady’s medical history, and his importance to the team, it may come as no surprise that Belichick has gone the way of caution in regards to his star quarterback and team leader. 

Without Brady, the Patriots would go from arguably the best team in the AFC, to struggling for a playoff spot.  Backing up Brady the Patriots have Matt Cassel, who was unable to lead the Patriots to a single touchdown this preseason.  Behind Cassel, there is rookie third round pick Kevin O’Connel and second year quarterback Matt Gutierrez.  So if Brady were to go down, even for a few games, New England would not have a proven backup they could turn to.  And with the much improved AFC looming around them, the Patriots will need Tom Brady’s expertise and experience to get back in the Super Bowl.

            That experience that Brady brings is also another excuse to let him sit during the preseason.  A truly elite NFL quarterback, the three time Super Bowl champion has been running the same system throughout his career.  We can rest assured that learning the playbook won’t be an issue for him.  Chemistry with his wide-outs shouldn’t be an issue for Brady either, as his two top receivers from last season are returning.  Playing this preseason would have only been about getting up to game speed for Brady.  And tempo should not be a big problem for a guy who threw a record setting fifty touchdown passes last season.

            Any lingering health concerns over Brady’s foot may be eased knowing that the quarterback himself insists he could have played every preseason game.  New England was predictably hushed on the subject, not easing anyone’s fears, or hopes, that the quarterback may actually miss a regular season game.  But consider that Tom Brady has currently played in 128 consecutive games.  That gives him the third longest streak in all of NFL history in that category, behind Brett Favre (275) and Peyton Manning (173).  Toughness is one of Brady’s more admirable, less mentioned traits as a player.

He lobbied for playing time every week this preseason, but Belichick and the coaches decided it wasn’t worth risking their franchise’s golden arm.  They spent their time evaluating three backup quarterbacks instead, choosing to keep their most important player out of harm’s way for the most meaningless games of the season.  They’re betting Brady is talented and tested enough to step right in and find his groove once the games count.

            The same good faith was used with Randy Moss last preseason, who missed all four games with an ankle injury in his first season with New England.  He opened the season with 189 receiving yards on nine catches, including a touchdown.  Brady and Moss went on to put up huge numbers together, along with Wes Welker during New England’s perfect regular season.

            So we shouldn’t be surprised that New England sees the potential upside to letting their star veterans use the preseason to get rested and healthy.  They would much rather have Tom Brady asking to play hurt in the preseason, than to have to ask Tom Brady to play hurt in the postseason.

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Tags:   football · injuries · sports · tom bradyNo Comments.