Jon Lester

I’ve said this many times, but today I need to say it again: What a time to be a Sox fan!  The Sox played a great game of baseball yesterday, beating Seattle 8-4.  Although Lester had a rough fourth inning, the Sox bounced back scoring five runs in the seventh inning which gave us the lead for good. 

Continue reading "Monday Night Baseball at Fenway: Very Exciting"

We all know that our offense hasn’t been much of a concern in 2009.  Bay is hitting homers left and right, Youk is back off the DL (4-8, 2 R, RBI since his return) and Papi finally ended his drought.  There are others contributing to the Red Sox offense, but I want to take a look at the guys who perform in the other half of the inning – the pitchers.

Continue reading "Sox Thoughts - Some Positives About Our Pitching"

I just read Lester’s comments as to why he didn’t throw to second in the 6th inning that could have potentially lead to a double play.  Apparently Lester was expecting to see Lugo covering second, not Pedroia.  When he saw Lugo at shortstop, that must have thrown him off.  Although he could clearly see Pedroia there at second, the split-second decision he had to make forced him to throw the ball to first.  Sure it seemed like an easy decision for us, because, it was.  But for Lester in the heat of the moment, he got confused and threw to first. 

Continue reading "Sox Thoughts - Blanking in the Ballpark"

As I watched Jacoby Ellsbury steal home against the Yankees Sunday night, I thought to myself: "This pretty much sums it up." An aging Andy Pettitte forgets to deliver from the stretch, letting a youthful Ellsbury elude another future Bingo regular, Jorge Posada's, tag at the plate. Would Justin Masterson have made the same error? The two ballclubs could not be headed in more opposite directions. Every year, the Red Sox seem to call up another hyped prospect, while the Yanks continue to overpay for limited talent, and shun their farm system.

Continue reading "Red Sox continue to steal away Yanks' future"

om the second game against the Rays.  It’s lefty versus lefty tonight at the Fens!  Jon Lester will take the mound and challenge Scott Kazmir to an old fashioned pitchers duel - hopefully.  Rocco will get the start in right and let Drew take the night off from facing the lefty.  I am psyched to see Rocco!  

Continue reading "Play Ball!!!"

A starting rotation of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Dice-K and Smoltz possesses a career 27-9 postseason record. It’s an understatement to say the group delivers when it counts. The Twins and Angels do not have the lineups, and New York will undoubtedly choke. Don’t think CC Sabathia (2-3, 7.92 ERA career in the playoffs) will change that recent trend. AL Wild Card: New York Yankees; AL Champion: Boston Red Sox

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4. 

2-Boston Red Sox: Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, and Brad Penny. Wild cards: John Smoltz, Clay Buccholz, and Justin Masterson. 

Theo Epstein's starting pitching depth is pretty incredible. Beckett is arguably the premier playoff pitcher in the bigs, and the other's probably John Smoltz -- yup, they have him too. It'll be awhile before Smoltz works his way into the fold, but Wakefield, Buccholz, and/or Masterson should be more than adequate in the veteran's absence. 

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Starting Rotations"

Dear Readers (all five of you):

I've been active on my other blog at www.fannation.com, under the username JFro, but I continually forget to publish those posts here. That said, the next five posts should be considered my belated MLB preseason predictions -- a preview, of sorts. There's the top five infields, outfields, bullpens, and starting rotations, and of course The Big Kahuna:

Continue reading "Note about forthcoming posts"

be interesting as we find out more. 

Lester here for another five – It seems as though Jon Lester will be pitching, here in Boston, for a few more years anyway.  Yahoo! Sports had reported that Lester and the Red Sox had agreed to a 5-year contract extension worth $30 million and a $13 million team option for 2014.  An announcement is expected to be made on Sunday.  Another great move by Theo!! 

Continue reading "A Few Sox Saturday Updates"

g in 2001 with Hideo Nomo, followed by Derek Lowe in 2002, Clay Buchholz in 2007, and most recently Jon Lester in 2008.  None of those guys are slouches by any measure, however they aren't the most elite pitchers of their era yet either (can't pass judgement on Buchholz or Lester especially as of yet).  And yet, all of these guys have done what some astonishingly elite names such as Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling (who came within one strike of a perfect game with Varitek behind the plate in 2007), Pedro Martinez have never been able to do in some the most illustrious and impressive pitching careers that Major League baseball has ever seen.  With Varitek behind the plate and calling the game, good pitchers become great, and great pitchers can become legendary.  This is not to say that the Red Sox Captain deserves all the credit for his pitchers' success, but it is undeniable that he has a huge impact on the game and the way his pitchers perform.

Continue reading "Rightful Place"

Adding on to my hopes was Josh Beckett's performance in Game 6. With ace Jon Lester pitching Game 7 i was 90% positive it was over, Sox in 7.


Well, the Rays had one thing

Continue reading "2008 Red Sox"

d the Red Sox to a win to even the series.  It set up a match of young flamethrowers, Garza vs Jon Lester.  Both pitchers threw well, but in the year of the Wonderdogs, is it any surprise that for seven innings, Garza, the former Fresno State Bulldog, would be almost perfect as the Rays took a 3-1 decision and earned a trip to the World Series.

Continue reading "Year of the Underdog"

Tonight is Jon Lester's turn to show the nation what type of clutch pitcher he is.  These are the types of games that legends are made from.  Lester and Matt Garza will get their opportunity tonight.

Continue reading "Sunday Morning"

Classic moment.

Two other quick points:
1) Jon Lester is officially one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball. Period. Honestly, he may be Top 5, but I don't feel like thinking up a list right now. In reference to the fact that the Sox may have tossed him into a deal for Johan Santana in the off-season, Tom Caron noted in the postgame that you wouldn't trade Lester straight-up for Santana right now. And he's right. There's not a human on the planet that can hit Lester the way he's throwing right now. He climbed from feel-good story to emerging star during the regular season, but in two games against the Angels he became an ace. And that's final. As someone who completely underestimated the young lefty, I'll be the first to admit it. If I had to pick someone to pitch Game 7 of the World Series right now, it'd be

Continue reading "Feeling Fenway"

of dominance on a baseball diamond.

Squarely in the center of tonight’s game was Jon Lester.  The lefty from Tacoma (something I like came from Tacoma?) was dominating, pitching seven strong while striking out seven and surrendering only an unearned run in the third.  Seemingly getting better as the game went on, Lester was working both sides of home plate with all of his pitches, showing great command in addition to overpowering velocity and movement on his fastball. 

Continue reading "Same as it Ever Was"

an oblique’ during a bullpen session and as a result, the opening series ball gets handed to Jon Lester, who was arguably the squad’s best pitcher this year (16-6 with a 3.21 ERA).

Continue reading "OK. . here we go. . Boston Red Sox ..."

Now, instead, they get Jon Lester.

Don't get me wrong, I love Lester. In fact, based solely on the merits of his performance this season, he was probably the best pitcher in the rotation. But he's still an unproven commodity in the playoffs, and that brings me to my real second thought: His performance in Game 4 of the World Series last year is hugely overrated.

Continue reading "After my bedtime"

However, they got more than they bargained for when they send Jon Lester to the mound to face Toronto Blue Jay ace Roy Halladay. The Jays got to Jon Lester, who has been the Red Sox most consistent starter in his first full season, for 5 in the first two innings, including a 4 run 2nd.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/21 (2nd time's the ..."

Paul Byrd, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka will go in that order for the Sox. After that it's 4 at home against Cleveland and 3 at home against the Yankees and that's it before the playoffs,

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/18"

Thanks to a spectacular outing from Jon Lester and some timely hits against the Jays' ace, Halladay, the Sox managed to squeak out four runs and take the lead against the Toronto team. The score was 4-1 going into the 9th and that's what it should have stayed. Unfortunately, Papelbon took the mound and he hasn't been lights out recently. He blew the save against the Rays on Tuesday and came dangerously close to repeating that effort last night.

Continue reading "Sox Take the Series from the Jays"

beating Brett Favre in the most hyped Week 2 game in years around these parts on Sunday afternoon, Jon Lester continued his march toward becoming a truly elite pitcher by outdueling a man largely respected as perhaps the best hurler in the AL, in a game the Sox needed to have. Any question marks that surrounded Lester at the All-Star break have been officially converted into exclamation points. In fact, pencil him in for Game 2 right now - it doesn't matter who we are playing or what Daisuke's record ends up being ... Lester's earned the spot right behind Beckett in the playoff rotation.

Continue reading "Q & A ... well, at least some Qs"

Both the Jays and the Red Sox sent their most consistent pitchers to the mound today, Jon Lester for Boston and Roy Halladay for the Jays.

Both gave the type of performances you'd expect from pitchers of this caliber. Every each gave up a run in the first, both calmed down. All told, Halladay went 7 strong, 3 runs, 2 earned and Lester went 8 innings of 1 run ball, with that lone run being surrendered in the first inning.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/14"

expect between two teams like this, as the Red Sox sent their most consistent starter to the mound, Jon Lester, against the Rays' Edwin Jackson, who had an ERA in the low 4s coming into to tonight. The Red Sox got to Edwin Jackson early, scoring 3 in the first off of a David Ortiz RBI double, a Kevin Youkilis RBI single, and a Jason Bay RBI solo homerun out into the sellout crowd. That would literally be all

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/8"

he first pitching matchup definetely favors the Red Sox as they send their most consistent pitcher, Jon Lester, to the mound against the man who has been the Rays' worst, Edwin Jackson. Although Jackson has had a fine season, he is the #5 starter in that rotation and Lester has probably been the #2 or #3 starter for the Red Sox this season. Game 2 features Daisuke Matsuzaka (16-2) against Scott Kazmir (11-6), while game 3 has Josh Beckett (12-9) scheduled for the Sox against the Rays' Andy Sonnanstine (13-7).

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/7"

Red Sox - Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester (and you could throw in Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson) - a list, by the way, that includes two MVP candidates (Youk and Pedroia), the best closer in baseball (sorry Mariano "Skeleton Face" Rivera) and a potential future Cy Young winner (Lester).

Continue reading "The Tables Have Turned"

If you told me the following facts before the season began - that Jon Lester would be the Red Sox' best pitcher, that the starting staff would receive critical contributions from Bartolo Colon and Paul Byrd (potentially two of the ugliest pitchers ever to don a Sox uniform, as an aside), that Jed Lowrie would have more RBI than Julio Lugo, that Manny would take his Manny show to the left coast, that Jason Varitek would be struggling to hit .220, that Kevin Youkilis would be the team's most feared power hitter, and that David Ortiz would miss the bulk of the first half with an injury - I'd probably have predicted that the Sox would finish fourth in the American League East.

Continue reading "Not Exactly How They Drew It Up - ..."

So who was the hero last night?  Was it Jason Bay and his two homers?  Was it Jon Lester, who pitched through seven innings (giving up 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and striking out five)?  Or maybe it was David Ortiz who doubled twice, driving in a run while scoring two. 

Continue reading "Game 1 - Sox win"

Jon Lester proved once again why he is our ace this season, as he improved to 12-4 on the season hurling 7 strong innings and only giving up 1 run, a homerun to Aubrey Huff.

The Sox had some timely hits and Jason Bay easily had his best game thus far with the Sox, belting two homeruns in the 6-3 win. Even Varitek got into the act, belting his 9th homer of the season.

Continue reading "Lester, our ace"

Jon Lester can add this to all of the accolades he has already achieved:  he is a definitive stopper on the Boston Red Sox.  He has overcome Cancer, won the deciding game of the World Series, pitched a no-hitter and, oh yeah, is right now the most effective starting pitcher the Red Sox have.

Continue reading "Lester: The New Stopper"

We've got the team ace (what?) pitching tonight in Jon Lester. Remember when there were times that we didn't want him to pitch because it was very current Clay Buchholz-ish? So glad those days are gone. RELIEVE US FROM THIS MISERY, MR. LESTER! Thank you in advance. Seriously. Unfortunately, the team is facing Jeremy Guthrie who has been ON FIRE as of late. I'm just going to pretend for my own self esteem that he's really bad, and the Sox will have no problem because Jon "The Man" Lester is on the mound.

Continue reading "THE BLUE JAYS AREN'T GOOD."

Jon Lester, I have two words to say to you: Thank you.  Despite Buchholz's struggle and Tim Wakefield's injury, you give our starting rotation hope.  Yes, Dice-K and Beckett are great too, and it would be rude for us to forget that.  What makes you stand out from the two of them is that you do not have as much pitching experience, and yet you continue to dominate on the mound.

Continue reading "Sox offense continues to heat up!"

As I sit here watching the Futures at Fenway game on NESN, it’s nice to see the minor leaguers get a taste of the big leagues – especially after our own big leaguers lost 5-3 last night.

Continue reading "Frustrating loss for (Red) Sox in series opener"

Not right now. That honor, my friends, goes to Jon Lester, a 24-year old kid who hasn't had to buy his first razor yet.

ESPN gets the award for most tantalizing graphic (though they admittedly stole all the info from some Boston blog) about Lester's life thus far during Sunday's broadcast. It detailed how, at the ripe old age of 24, he'd already defeated cancer, thrown a no-hitter and pitched the clinching game of the World Series.

Continue reading "Ladies and Gentlemen, Jon Lester ..."

A Fenway experience wouldn't be a Fenway experience if it weren't for certain things: There's the smell of the sausage vendors outside, the cloud of traffic from the Kenmore T stop to the park, all those friendly and amiable scalpers, and, of course, the abundance of easy-to-find, affordable parking. OK, so I made that last part up.

Continue reading "Nuts and bolts and a day-late granny"

Two nights, two wins at Yankee Stadium ... that's more like it. We've also found two ways to prevent our bullpen from blowing a game - either take a seven-run lead into the ninth, or have your starter pitch the first nine innings (that's all of them, if you're scoring at home).

Continue reading "Keeping the bull in the pen"

Last night’s game was even more unsettling, as Jon Lester tossed a complete-game, 7-0 shutout. It wasn’t just the shutout—after all, Lester had a no-hitter earlier this year, so his stuff is clearly good—as the way they were shut out. Andy Pettitte, who had been doing better of late and always dependable at home, was chased after four-and-two-thirds innings, having given up five runs on nine hits, with three walks and two strikeouts. Boston jumped on him early, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings, and the Yankees seemed to have given up the game after that.

Continue reading "More Bad Yankee Luck"

OK, show of hands - who hasn't enjoyed the Kevin-Youkilis-in-goggles era? Manning first behind those fancy specs while sporting a monster shiner, he looks like he's getting ready to play Laser Tag. Since it gives him something of a tough appearance, we don't have to tell anyone it's all because he couldn't handle a warm-up throw. Maybe he can make the goggles a signature thing, like Rip Hamilton of the Pistons and his goofy plastic mask. Hey, if Youk can make the Chia pet goatee work, he can certainly pull off a pair of glasses. It made me start thinking of former players who wore the glasses. Chris Sabo was the first that came to mind. But how about Luis Rivera, former light-hitting shortstop in Beantown, he of the tiny, whispy mustache and glasses complete with that thing that connects around your neck to keep them on. Classic.

Continue reading "Channeling Chris Sabo"

Upon seeing Justin Masterson pick up his first Major League victory the day after Jon Lester pitched his no hitter, it got me thinking about the Red Sox’ non-trade for Johan Santana. Both Lester and Masterson were prominent names in the trade talks, along with Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie (Clay Buchholz was deemed completely off limits). There was much debate over whether or not Boston would be better off going with the proven All-World pitcher in Santana, or sticking with the young prospects on the belief that they would develop into the prominent pieces of a championship franchise that they were projected to be. So often both front offices as well as fans fall in love with prospects who have never even played a Major League game based solely on their advertised potential. Almost as often, this ends up being an irrational love affair that falls short just as it has in the past with the likes of Brian Rose, Dernell Stenson and Steve Lomasney (anyone remember these guys?). In this case, Boston’s decision to hang on to its young talent has so far worked out very well to start the season.

Continue reading "Looking In On The Players Involved ..."

day's big story, and to contemplate what the Real Lead should be on the story.

Obviously, there's Jon Lester, two years removed from cancer, pitching not only the clinching Game 4 of last year's World Series sweep, but tossing a no-no, the first of this season. Lester struggled early this season and struggled in the bullpen before this start. He acknowledged feeling during warmups that he'd be lucky to get out of the first inning. Clearly, he got stronger as the game went along. Amazingly, it was the first complete game of his career.

Continue reading "No-no? Yes Yes!"

Jon Lester has completely validated, for one night at least, Red Sox management’s decision to back off their pursuit of Johan Santana this past off-season and keep him in the fold for 2008. In reality, it will most likely take a couple of years to say for certain whether or not Boston made the right move to hang on to the young lefty, but after Lester blew his 130th and final pitch, a 96 mph fastball, past Royals batter Alberto Callaspo to complete his no hitter, it has to make Theo Epstein very hopeful for the future.

Continue reading "Lester's No Hitter Validates Decision ..."

Watching Jon Lester on Sunday night throwing his first no-hitter of his career makes you feel safe and secure over the future of the Boston Red Sox.  In just two years, two rookie pitchers,

Continue reading "Lester's Performance is a sign"

I was hoping to get this up yesterday with the Yankees-Red Sox series fresh in everyone’s mind but I didn’t have the time.  After a few weeks of the baseball season and watching almost every Red Sox and Yankee game I have a few observations on these two teams so far.  You may not agree with them all, this is just what I have noticed this season.

Continue reading "Early Season Observations of Yanks and Sox"

The key to the rotation at this point seems to be whether or not Jon Lester will be able to step up and become the top tier pitcher Boston expects him to be.

The problems Boston needs to fix

Continue reading "Red Sox Should Feel Good About The Season So Far"

If yesterday’s game had gone the other way, the Sox would be 2-2, Jon Lester would have an 0-2 in his W-L and there might be lingering questions about effects of the Japan trip.

           The final score (5-0) was not indicative of the game; scoreless through 6 complete innings, until Ortiz (off of ex-Sox pitcher Alan Embree) followed a Youkilis double with his first home run and RBI of the season in the top of the 7th. Lester pitched three-hit ball through the 7th inning, and didn’t allow a runner to get to second base past the first inning. He gave way to Bryan Corey, when Dustin Pedroia couldn’t quite hang on to a ‘bloop’ hit that went into and out of his glove in shallow right field. Six Sox had two hits apiece (Pedroia, Youkilis, Ortiz, Varitek, Crisp & Cora), with J.D. Drew entering the lineup and adding a hit. Varitek hit his first home run of the season. Without the services of Okajima or Papelbon, Francona turned to Corey for an inning-plus and Manny Delcarmen sealed the deal.

Continue reading "Don't get too excited. . .but the ..."

the fans some hope that this rebuilding project has a bright future ahead.

Boston Red Sox

Will Jon Lester have a breakout year?

Lester has two partial Major League seasons under his belt in which he has had some bright moments as well as his share of struggles. Now that he more than a year removed from his cancer diagnosis, it is time for him to realize his potential. He is slated into the rotation as the number 3 started so unlike the past two seasons, he is expected to be a vital cog in the rotation.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: American Leauge East"

ue start, Jacoby Ellsbury stepped in when he was needed and became a vital part of the offense, and Jon Lester got the win in the World Series clincher. All are expected to be key contributors to the team this season. However, this influx of talent from the minors has not left this cupboard bare as Boston’s farm system still ranks in Baseball America’s top 5. Here are some of the next big prospects to keep an eye on in camp this spring and follow their progress this summer.

Continue reading "Boston Farm System Still Flush With Prospects"

ermine who gets to do what.

There'll be a struggle to determine the team's fifth starter (Jon Lester or Clay Buchholz), which I touched on previously and there'll be an even more striking struggle out at center field as management works at a decision between Coco Crisp and the new kid on the block, Jacoby Ellsbury.

Continue reading "Is Coco 'crisp' enough?"

e's about 65. There'll be a struggle for the fifth position in the rotation with lefty Jon Lester and right-hander Clay Buchholz leading the pack.

Remember Buchholz? I didn't, until I was reminded of his no-hitter against the Orioles last September. He went 3-1 last year with an ERA of 1.59, which is, as they say, not too shabby, although it remains to be seen whether he'll develop into the 'ace' that he has all the potential to be.

Continue reading "Getting closer"