Wells had pitched masterfully and is 3-0 with a 2.55 earned run average.

The fact Wells even pitched was something of a minor miracle.

Wells pitched a perfect game for the Yankees in 1998.

Wells is pitching well enough to get away with minor indiscretions.

Left unsaid, of course, is whether Wells has ever shown up in that state and pitched poorly.

But Wells could have been pitching on a back field at spring training, for all the fanfare he stirred up.

Wells was pitching well enough for local viewers to have been glued to the game from the early innings.

Clemens said he has been around too long to concern himself with the perception of the trade or how Wells was pitching.

Wells has pitched 62 games for the Yankees and 433 for other teams.

With the way Wells had been pitching, it seemed like a safe lead.