Rest might be just what Rangers’ struggling Cliff Lee needs

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Texas Rangers lefthander Cliff Lee(notes) already was scheduled to have an extra day off before his next scheduled start. Good for him. He needs the rest.
Since making his first start April 30, Lee has cheap nfl jerseys
been busier than the Boston Red Sox's team trainer. He has worked more innings (184 1/3) and completed more games (seven) than any pitcher in the majors over the past four months. Only Seattle's Felix Hernandez(notes) has thrown more pitches.

The workload is showing.
Lee was roughed up for the fourth consecutive start Tuesday night at Kansas City, and then complained of lower back stiffness. He returned to Texas for treatment Wednesday.
Tuesday’s start was the worst yet: 4 2/3 innings, 10 hits, seven runs (four earned). It marked the first time this season he failed to last five innings, and the 108 pitches he needed to get 14 outs were more than he threw in two of his complete games this season.
Tuesday's start was the worst yet: 4 2/3 innings, 10 hits, seven runs (four earned). It marked the first time this season he failed to last five innings, and the 108 pitches he needed to get 14 outs were more than he threw in two of his complete games this season.
Three times Tuesday, the Rangers' rangy lefty started a half-inning with a lead, and three times Lee gave it up. The Royals are not a bad-hitting bunch, but they aren't the Yankees and this definitely was not last October. Kansas City started three players with batting averages at or below .200, and no one in its lineup had more than 13 home runs entering the game.
"When your horse goes out there and is ineffective a few times, everybody has concerns," Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux said following the 10-9 loss. "Those are games you expect to win."
The problem was not Lee's stuff. His fastball consistently reached 94 mph, and other than a couple of St. Louis Rams jersey
shots by Billy Butler(notes), most of the Royals' hits went to the opposite field. Lee induced a decent number of swings and misses (seven) and didn't walk anyone, while remaining on a record pace for strikeout-to-walk ratio.
But for someone who walks so few, Lee's command was lacking. When at his best, he works low in the strike zone. That didn't happen against the Royals.
"He got the ball up," manager Ron Washington said. "We tried to get him through the fifth inning but he left one ball up to (Alex) Gordon. He hit a double and that was it. He just couldn't hit his spots like he wanted to."
A scout in attendance remembered that Lee went through a rough stretch about this time last year. "He wasn't missing by much (Tuesday), just a couple of inches. And give the Royals credit for not changing their approach against him," the scout said.
Instead of his pitching or an ailing back, Lee preferred to focus on a lack of control he had on a play in the field. When trying for a force at second, he threw wildly into center and the Royals ended up scoring three runs in the inning.
"I wasn't locating the ball as well but really, for me, it boiled down to the ball I threw in center field," Lee said. "That was a huge difference-maker in us winning and losing the game."
However, the 10 minutes his pitching coach spent talking with him after the game was not about fielding but about why he was leaving his pitches high. "He's not getting over on the front side the way we need to get over," Maddux said.
Sounds like a good time for extra Seattle Seahawks jersey
rest, doesn't it? "Yes," Maddux agreed. "Late in the year, everybody has been grinding and we welcome the day off."