Lester’s Here

I’ve been hard on Jon Lester, I’ll admit that.  I felt like everyone took it easy on him and never said anything negative about his game because of his medical condition, which may have been a cynical point of view, but I won’t apologize for that.  I just looked at the kid as a baseball player without paying any attention to his off the field issues, which is the same thing I try to do with everyone.  Until tonight, outside of his World Series performance last season, he didn’t impress me.

He’s been solid this season, I’ve seen glimmers of a great pitcher but he didn’t do anything that got me excited.  He’s got solid stuff, the kid can hit the mid-nineties in the ninth inning, but he’s often too wild.  It took a no-hitter for me to come around, which is a little drastic, but tonight I finally got all the hype.  I’ll apologize for that, for doubting his brilliance, for not seeing why the Red Sox refused to deal him for Johan Santana,  I was wrong.  If he falls off,  I’ll also be the first one to say he needs to step it up, but I think this is the first giant step in what’s destined to be a brilliant career.

Don’t get me wrong, what Lester did tonight was nothing short of heroic.  It’s amazing.  Most people in his position would have gotten discouraged and succumbed to the disease.  To make it all the way back from a hospital bed to the major leagues must be a daunting task, especially when you haven’t accomplished anything yet.  He could have easily looked in the mirror one morning and decided that it was too much and that he was going to crumble.  He didn’t.  He fought back and now he’s established himself as a solid major league pitcher.

 This is a great story.  It gives everyone hope.  It shows what can be accomplished through hard work and perseverance, especially for those trying to recover from cancer.  But it’s more than that.  This is a great baseball story regardless of the circumstances surrounding Lester’s previous condition.  You got a guy that was the deal breaker in the Johan Santana sweepstakes, the pressure on him was immense, and he’s accepted that challenge and persevered.  You got a 24-year-old pitcher that just tossed a no-hitter. 

This couldn’t have happened to better person, either.  The kid needs it.  Everyone, no matter their alliance, was pulling for him Monday night.  If you weren’t, you need to take a serious look at yourself and find out what’s wrong with your life.  This is undoubtedly the feel good story of the year.  Enough about this stuff, back to baseball. One things is certain now, without a doubt.  Boston has completely demolished the Yankee’s in the arms race. 

Congratulations Jon, you deserve it, and enjoy it.  Welcome to the bigs, your here now.