Cleveland pitcher Cliff Lee is a safe bet to win the AL Cy Young Award, but he might miss a chance to become a unanimous selection — a la Johan Santana in 2006 — if he skips Sunday’s start against the White Sox.

I know because I have one of the 28 votes.

Lee is questionable for Sunday’s start because of a stiff neck. He played catch before Friday’s game in Chicago and told reporters the injury is still nagging him.

“I’m not putting myself in a position to get hurt any worse,” Lee told mlb.com.

He added, “It almost feels like I slept on it weird. It’s a little more sore now than before because I pitched the other night. Hopefully it’s one of those things that just fades away and isn’t serious.”

Call me cynical, but I believe Lee would be probable — not questionable — for Sunday’s start if Cleveland needed a win Sunday to reach the playoffs. I also believe he would make that start if he was trailing in the Cy Young race.

In that spirit, with the White Sox and Twins battling for a playoff spot, I believe Lee owes it to his sport to start. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he wished Lee would “start all three games [in Chicago],” but he wasn’t questioning Cleveland’s judgment.

“Goodness, he’s thrown a lot of innings this year,” Gardenhire said. “If he has a neck problem, and they are not going to pitch him, that’s a health reason. … That’s protecting your own guy for the next year.”

Obviously, I don’t think Lee should start if he could do long-term physical damage. But if this start makes his neck stiffer, he’ll be making his next start (Opening Day) on about 215 day’s rest.

I keep hearing what a competitor he is. Well, he was in the minors much of last year while Cleveland made its run to the ALCS. This year, injuries wiped out Cleveland’s playoff chances by May.

Since then, Lee has made several starts that have had zero impact on the pennant race — his five-hit shutout of the White Sox on Sept. 1 notwithstanding. Anyway, this is another chance.

I imagine if Lee doesn’t pitch, the story will be that Cleveland manager Eric Wedge made the decision for him.

“If he doesn’t want to pitch, then I don’t want him out there,” Twins right fielder Denard Span told mlb.com. “I want somebody that is going to go out there and win, Eric Wedge. … If Cliff Lee doesn’t want to win, sit on the bench.”

Listen, I’m not saying I won’t make Lee my No. 1 Cy Young choice if he doesn’t pitch Sunday, but it will factor into my decision. Roy Halladay has had a terrific season, too. On Thursday, he improved to 20-11 with his ninth complete game of the season.

CLIFF LEE
22-3, 2.54 ERA
223.1 IP, 4 CG, 2 SHO
170 K, 34 BB
1.11 WHIP, .633 opponents’ OPS
6.13 run support average
(Cleveland entered Friday 79-80)

ROY HALLADAY
20-11, 2.78 ERA
246 IP, 9 CG, 2 SHO
1.05 WHIP, .621 opponents’ OPS
4.72 run support average
(Toronto entered Friday 84-75)

Just sayin’.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 26th, 2008 at 10:07 pm and is filed under Around MLB. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.