The Rangers have taken the first two games of their ALDS with the Rays allowing just one run in the process. Starters Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson have pitched admirably for Texas, combining to allow just seven hits in 13.1 innings. Though Lee has won the Cy Young Award and is one of the best pitchers in baseball, he doesn’t have a very high public profile. The case is even more extreme for Wilson who went from being a bullpen pitcher to going 15-8 in his first year starting. Wilson recently talked with Jimmy Traina of SI and explained that he doesn’t get recognized very often in public. He then relayed a hilarious story about the way Cliff Lee has dealt with his fans:
If I do become famous, though, I’m going to adopt a technique from Cliff Lee. A couple of weeks ago, we were in San Francisco, and some guy at a restaurant went up to Cliff and was like, “Yo, you’re Cliff Lee.” And he said, “Who’s Cliff Lee? What are you talking about?” And the guy was like, “You’re Cliff Lee, you pitch for the Rangers.” And Lee goes, “Oh, that guy? He sucks.” The dude was all confused because he was 97 percent sure Cliff was Cliff. And the dude just walked away shaking his head.
Man, I feel badly for that guy — nobody likes being made to feel like an idiot. I’ve certainly been there before. Texas is looking good but let’s hope Wilson doesn’t adopt that strategy or become like Cole Hamels if he does win World Series MVP.
Another item from the interview (well worth a read) that was really interesting was Wilson’s explanation for why the transition from relieving to starting has worked for him. Generally we think that relievers won’t have much stamina as starters, but C.J. said that the regularity of starting was easier on his arm, adding that relievers throw with more intensity. Usually I look at it as relieving is easier than starting but looks like the converse was true for Wilson.
