Indians of the Decade: Colón and Cliff

This is the fifth entry in a series on the Indians of 2000-2009. The last entry, on Travis Hafner and Jim Thome, can be read here.

These two outstanding Indian pitchers were linked by one famous trade. Colón was a "stocky" right-handed flamethrower from the Dominican, while Lee was a thin left-hander from Arkansas, but both were at their peaks among the best pitchers in the game.

Bartolo Colón (1997-2002)

In 1997, both Jaret Wright and Bartolo Colón made their major-league debuts. After having good starting staffs in 1995 and 1996, the Indians were having major rotation problems, and it was hoped the two youngsters would help the beleaguered rotation. Wright received the attention that season (as he should have), but it was Colon who would go on to have a better Indians career.

The Indians signed Colón in 1993 as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He pitched first as a 21-year-old in Burlington of the Appalachian League, and then was jumped up to Kinston the following season. That season (1995), he dominated the Carolina League, posting a 1.96 ERA and striking out 152 in 128.2 innings. He battled an elbow injury in 1996, otherwise he probably would have been a full-time starter with the Indians in 1997.

It was in 1998 that Bartolo settled in as a major-league starter, allowing a 3.71 ERA and striking out 158 in 204.0 innings. Keep in mind that eight AL players had 40 or more home runs in 1998, and the average runs per game that year was 5.0; in 2009, for comparison's sake, the runs per game was 4.82, and no AL player hit 40 or more home runs. If the Indians had gotten to a seventh game in the ALCS, I believe they would have beaten the Yankees with Colón on the mound; in Game 3, he pitched a complete game, allowing the vaunted Yankee lineup just 1 earned run and 4 hits.

Bartolo's strength was his endurance. He could throw a 98-mph fastball with his 120th pitch, finishing games with just as much stuff as he started with. He stood 5'11", very short for a right-handed pitcher, but his lower body made up for not having the leverage a taller starter has. His short stature was probably the main reason that he wasn't signed until a relatively old age (20), unless I'm forgetting an birth date discrepancy.

1998 started a run of four straight seasons with 30-plus starts, a period during which he was unquestionably the Indians' best starter. In 2001, CC Sabathia arrived, and the Indians' offense was good enough to win the AL Central with only two starting pitchers worth a damn. But the offense was aging and there wasn't enough payroll to improve the rotation, so while Colón continued to pitch well the next season, the team crumbled around him. The Indians controlled Bartolo through the 2003, but as things fell apart, it didn't look like that season would be competitive either. It was time to rebuild, and the rebuilding started with the trade of their most valuable player.

On June 27, 2002, the Indians dealt Colón to the Montreal Expos for four players, one of which was a salary dump. The Expos seemed on the verge of contraction, and thus Montreal GM Omar Minaya had the advantage of not having to think for the long term. The Indians got three of the best prospects in the game, headlined by Brandon Phillips and a AA left-handed pitcher named Clifton Phifer Lee. 

Cliff Lee (2002-2009)

Part I: 2002-2007

Cliff Lee appeared in a couple of games at the end of the 2002 season, but spent most of the 2003 campaign in the minors. He made the rotation in August of that season, and had some nice outings down the stretch. He pitched very well at the beginning of the 2004 season, but ran out of gas in the second half.

It was his 2005 performance that got Lee his initial notoriety. He won 18 games, which was good enough to put him on the Cy Young leaderboard. Still, Lee's way of getting hitters out wasn't based on control or strikeouts or even groundouts, but flyballs and defense. Lee relied on a sneaky-fast high fastball for the most part, and in 2005, had good run support behind him.It didn't seem like a sustainable strategy.

His numbers eroded into mediocrity in 2006. He wasn't missing as many bats as he had the previous season, and he allowed 7 more home runs in virtually the same number of innings. In 2007, the bottom fell out. While CC Sabathia was pitching his way towards a Cy Young and his team was playing their way towards a division title, Lee was headed towards the minors. He started the season on the Disabled List, and didn't have any success after returning. In his final four starts before the demotion, he allowed 26 earned runs in 20 innings. He spent almost two months in Buffalo, and made four appearance for the Indians at the end of the season, all in relief.

Part II: 2008-2009

Between the 2007 and 2008 seasons, in the middle of his career, Cliff Lee became a completely different pitcher. He still had a low-90s fastball, and essentially the same delivery, but not only did he completely change his approach to pitching, he pulled it off like he'd been pitching that way his entire career.

When Lee arrived at camp in the spring of 2008, he was in the best shape of his life. No, really, he was. Lee had strengthened his core, and more importantly, had better control over his fastball. Instead of relying on his outfielders to make outs, he was now getting more grounders and missing bats. The home runs and walks plummeted, and a season after posting a 6.29 ERA, he lead the league with a 2.54 ERA. A season after giving up 17 home runs in 97.1 innings, he gave up just 12 in 223.1 innings (the lowest ratio in the league). His 22-3 record was not a facade; he was that dominant, and very impressive considering the poor team he pitched in front of. He easily won the 2008 AL Cy Young.

If only Lee had figured things out a season earlier. By the time he re-made his career, CC Sabathia was on his way out the door, and like the pitcher he was traded for, Lee was seen as a trade chip designed to shorten a rebuilding period. Like Bartolo Colón, Lee was dealt to an NL East club with about 1.5 seasons still under team control .