The No-No
In the wake of Jon Lester’s no hitter I have to wonder at what point his story becomes too good for even Disney to pick up. In the past two years he has had his pro-debut, been a rookie phenom (remember if it hadn’t been for an unprecedented 2006 rookie class which included Justin Verlander, Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Liriano and Jered Weaver, Lester could have been a rookie of the year candidate), been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, overcome the disease, won a deciding World Series Game and has thrown a No-Hitter. Seriously, would you enjoy a movie based on this story line, or you would it be as ridiculous as Rocky boxing in his 60s?
The more practical implication from Lester’s no-hitter is that, combined with his past six starts, he is starting to look like a quality Major League starter. Over his past seven starts he has a 2:1 K:BB ratio and five quality starts. Before this stretch significant questions existed regarding his ability to consistently throw strikes, to keep his pitch count down and base runners off the base path. Lately he has been throwing his fastball for strikes, and his secondary pitches, which include a tantalizing curveball and a filthy cutter, are starting to resemble the quality that his scouting reports always boasted off.
This is not say that Lester is going to be better than Johan Santana. I personally see him as Andy Petite without the steroids. But his success raises some interesting questions about the rumored Johan Santana trades from this off-season. The two options that were discussed centered around Lester or Centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. The Lester trade would have also involved Coco Crisp, and both trades would have included pitching prospect Justin Masterson and infield prospect Jed Lowrie. So far, all five of these players have played significant contributions to the Red Sox this season and all five will cost almost $13 million less than Santana this year. What the Sox are saying with this roster decision is that quality depth and cost-controlled players coming in to their prime are worth as much as an all-star pitcher.
When the trade did not go through a number of writers stated that they were pleased to see Lester and Ellsbury stay because they were our guys, we drafted them, developed them and cheered for them. For many Red Sox fans, myself included, this subjective inclination for the homegrown talent forced them to overlook Johan’s talent and almost certain success in Fenway. Yankees fans did the same thing; the only difference is that their prospects are not as good. The non-trade for Santana displays a constant issue facing fans: we want to win, but we want to do it on our own terms with the players that we come to love.
For better or for worse, this irrational fondness for the hometown team’s prospects has in this case been vindicated. Ellsbury has been solid, Bowden has been dominant in the minors and thrown two gems in the majors, while Lowrie displayed the ability to hit major league pitching. The biggest name going the other way though was and will continue to be Lester. As his performances continue to improve, Boston fans will continuously be reminded of this great story, one that we can both empirically and illogically enjoy. Even if Disney wouldn’t believe it.
2 Comments
David on June 4th, 2008
i cant wait for his next start either
Derek on May 22nd, 2008
I can’t wait for Joba to start.