By: Ryan Melson (@RyanMelson1)
Manager Joe Maddon named Jon Lester the Opening Day starter in Miami. Less than four weeks from today, Lester gets his third opening-day start with the Cubs and his seventh opening day start in his career. We know how instrumental Lester has been to this Cubs organization since signing before the 2015 season. Over his career, Lester has been dominant with the Cubs in the postseason. The Cubs have made the playoffs in every season Lester has been a Cub and it’s no coincidence the Cubs success is married to Lester’s success. Lester has pitched 64 playoff innings with the Cubs. Over the course of those innings, Lester has allowed 18 earned runs, giving him a 2.53 ERA in the playoffs in a Cubs uniform. Lester has truly been instrumental to the Cubs success in the playoffs. Up until last season, Lester had been spectacular for the Cubs in the regular season, too. However, Lester struggled in the regular season last year. In 2017, Lester had a 4.33 ERA over 180.2 innings, which was his worst season in the big leagues since 2012 when he posted a 4.82 ERA over 205.1 innings for the Boston Red Sox. Lester was disappointed in himself for not getting to the 200 inning mark, something he has done eight times in his career. Lester said, “The two things I pride myself on is making every start and throwing 200 innings. I didn’t do that last year, and in my mind, I let the team down.” On the Spiegel and Parkins Shows on 670 the Score this past Wednesday, Theo Epstein gave a different expectation of Jon Lester. Epstein said, “He doesn’t need to be a 200 inning, dominant ace for us to be successful. That would be asking a lot for him to do that all six years of his contract. I think there is a lot of really good pitching left.” Lester’s idea of really good pitching is to continue to be the workhorse entering his 34 year old season. Epstein has created so much depth in the Cubs starting rotation that he does not want Lester to stress about pitching 200 innings for the Cubs to be successful. Epstein believes Lester will continue to be successful for several reasons. “He has a lot of different ways to get guys out. He probably got into a couple bad habits with his usage last year, getting outside of his identity... He really repeats his delivery, he can command the baseball, he has now opened up both sides of the plate, he didn’t have early in his career.” If those bad habits have been corrected from last season, Lester is bound to have a major bounce back season. Lester has never put bad back-to-back regular seasons together, so there is a more than solid chance he will bounce back in a major way. Another person who thinks Lester is poised to have a big 2018 season is Cubs Manager Joe Maddon. Maddon said, “I wanted him to know how impressed I’ve been with him already this camp. Beyond what he’s done in the past, there’s this organic change in him now that I’m loving. He’s feeling this leadership thing, but he’s not forcing it.” Lester is now the elder statesmen in the clubhouse, and he is definitely relishing his role. While he has been comfortable in the clubhouse for a while, Lester’s newfound role is something he seems to enjoy. What does 2018 have in store for Jon Lester? Epstein said, “He prepares extremely well for the opposing team, can put together a good scouting report and execute. He is going to be a tough [pitcher to] beat most days.” Hearing Epstein and Maddon speak of Lester and pairing that with Lester’s determination to be great, expect Jon Lester to have a major 2018 season.
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Kyle MalzhanFounder who is an aspiring journalist who covers the Chicago Cubs daily. Archives
April 2020
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