Bill Conlin: Lee and Lefty bear a striking resemblance

WHEN I'M KING of the World . . .

Cliff Lee can keep that replica of Steve Carlton's Superman cape - despite getting hammered by the Braves Saturday night . . . It's not hard to find an analog for Lee's first six games here. Cliff is only the second lefthander in Phillies history acquired after a 20-victory season. Baseball economics have caused the shuffle of aces, but when owners held all the cards, 20-game winners were rarely moved. But Lefty shook Cardinals owner Gussie Busch's lager into a lather with his contract demand after a 20-9 season in 1971. At the same time, Phillies ace Rick Wise, author of a '71 two-homer no-hitter against the Reds, gave salary rigor mortis to GM John Quinn's starched collar after going 17-14 for a team that finished 67-95.

So the Cards and Phils swapped problems and, ironically, each pitcher got close to his number, underlining the element of, "Well, I'll show that bleep" involved, particularly at Busch's end. Let's see how the big weirdo likes pitching for that team in that town.

After his first six starts, the big weirdo was 5-1, despite the lineups that doomed manager Frank Lucchesi rolled out there behind Carlton. His second and third starts were shutouts, the first a 1-0, in-your-face blanking of the Cardinals, the second an epic one-hitter in San Francisco, where Chris Speier led off with a single. Lefty retired 27 of the next 28 and struck out 14. It was the best performance of his HOF career.

After six starts, Carlton was 5-1 with a 1.73 ERA. Sound familiar? Despite the Braves whipping, Lee is 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA - 37 years after the first instance of the Phillies trading for a 20-game winner. And Cliff, who wasn't exactly pitching in Yellowstone Park with the Indians, has been forcefully reminded that in Ranger Rick's snazzy playpen, location isn't everything - it's the only thing. Thanks, Vince.

When I'm King of the World . . .