Ex-Teammates Lee, Sabathia Looking for Cy Young Form

NEW YORK -- The main star of Thursday's game in the Bronx was Yankee Stadium itself, the latest testament to the Yankees' ability to spend money.

The sideshow was a matchup of the past two AL Cy Young Award winners, which on any other day would have been the compelling storyline.

On the surface, the duel between Cleveland's Cliff Lee (2008) and ex-Indian CC Sabathia (2007) lived up to the billing; after six innings, with both pitchers out of the game, it was a 1-1 tie.

"Both Cliff and CC were up to the task," said Indians manager Eric Wedge, who a year ago was managing both players.

But digging beyond the runs allowed, it looks as if Lee has rediscovered last year's form, at least for a day, while Sabathia is struggling for his.

Sabathia walked five for the second time this season; he did that only twice all last season. He threw 122 pitches, most in the majors this year, in just 5 2/3 innings.

"He threw a lot of pitches," Lee said. "He still got into the sixth inning giving up only one run. That's pretty good. But I wouldn't say it's a good start for him. I'm sure he expects more out of himself."

So does New York, even just three games into a seven-year, $161 million contract that will cause every outing to be scrutinuzed.

"I think if I'd just thrown the ball in the zone, they wouldn't have hit it," Sabathia said. "I just couldn't get ahead."

But he's had that problem twice in three starts.

Sabathia's 3.57 ERA isn't as ugly as his 31 baserunners allowed in 17 2/3 innings (19 hits, 10 walks, two hit batters).

The Indians' approach was to wait out Sabathia, and the way it worked, the rest of the league is going to try it too.

"They put some long at-bats on him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "They're a very patient club. They made him work and we were only able to get 5 2/3 [innings] out of him, and you look back and that probably cost us."

Lee's start to the year -- 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA after a rough spring training -- made many wonder if his out-of-nowhere 22-3 season in '08 was a fluke.

But on Thursday he showed signs of what worked last year -- and had been absent this year: pounding the inner and outer edges of the strike zone, not missing just off the plate or over the middle.

"That was the Cliff that we saw last year, the Cy Young winner," said Grady Sizemore, who hit the first grand slam in stadium history, off Damaso Marte to break open the game in a nine-run seventh, and then donated that bat to the Hall of Fame.

"He mixed it up, hit his spots. He just looked like he had more confidence. That was the guy I was playing behind last year."

Lee may be more important to the Indians than Sabathia is to the Yankees, considering the makeup of the back end of Cleveland's rotation (Carl Pavano, Anthony Reyes and Aaron Laffey, who combined for 13 big-league wins last year).

During 2008, Lee attributed his success to "slowing down the game" – taking a deep breath when in a tight spot and focusing on making the next pitch. It worked.

But this year, his attention wavered.

"I think his focus from pitch-to-pitch is what led to consistent delivery and command," Wedge said. "I think that's what he's got to get back to."

On Thursday, Lee walked three and had men on base every inning except one, but he held the Yankees 0-for-7 with men in scoring position and dotted the catcher's mitt when he had to, stranding 10 runners.

He didn't paint a masterpiece, but now at least he has the outline back.

"I guess after the fact it's neat to say I started the first game at the new Yankee Stadium and got the win," Lee said.

"You could feel that it was not just a normal game."

Sabathia, too, was able to appreciate the significance.

"It was a big moment," he said, "coming out in the new stadium, looking back and seeing [Derek] Jeter behind me and [Jorge] Posada behind the plate. That's going to be a lasting memory for me."