Series starters have ties to Willis

The starting pitchers in tonight's Game 1 of the World Series are New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia and Philadelphia Phillies ace Cliff Lee.

The lefties were teammates in Cleveland, where both won American League Cy Young awards - Sabathia in 2007 and Lee in 2008. Both were coached by Durham's Carl Willis, who was the Indians' pitching coach from 2003 until this season.

"The Yankees are probably a little bit more familiar with Cliff than the Phillies are with CC." Willis said Tuesday.

Willis first coached Sabathia in Burlington and developed a close relationship with the talented prospect.

"I'll never forget," said Willis earlier this year. "I asked him if he threw a two-seamer and a four-seamer, and he said, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'Your fastball. You throw a two-seamer and a four-seamer? He said, 'Man, I just grab it.' The thing is, he's standing on the mound throwing the baseball 97 mph. He's 10 days away from turning 18 years old."

After a rough year in 2007, Lee sought Willis' advice in the offseason. Lee went on to win the Cy Young Award.

"I'm very anxious about it ... I'll probably be nervous for both of them," Willis said. "... I really want for both of them to pitch well.

"... I'd like to see them both go nine [innings], both have a hit off of each other and both strike each other out."

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