Date: June 20 Opponent: Minnesota Twins Location: Target Field Introduction Last summer’s Fargo miniseries, set in the grim, icy Minnesota tundra, featured Lorne Malvo, a calculating, chameleon-like, few-steps-beyond psychotic killer-for-hire played by Billy Bob Thornton. In one attempt to track down a target, Thornton’s Malvo took on the persona of a personable Midwestern dentist whose […]
Author: Andrew Felper
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 12
Date: June 9 Opponent: Detroit Tigers Location: Comerica Park Introduction Jon Lester has picked up in June right where he left off in mid-April. After six very good-to-great starts in May, which came on the heels of two improved starts at the end of April, Lester has been roughed up twice in less than a […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 11
Date: June 3 Opponent: Florida Marlins Location: Marlins Park Introduction Jon Lester’s May (1.76 ERA, 1.171 WHIP, .667 opponent’s OPS) was May-gnificant. (Three second pause while a great silence envelopes the blogosphere) Good, now that I’ve driven away the rest of the reader(s) who are throwing their computer or iPhone through the nearest window or […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 10
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Date: May 27 Opponent: Washington Nationals Location: Wrigley Field Introduction First, the good, because as I write this, it is sunny and 80 degrees in beautiful, balmy Worcester, MA. In Jon Lester’s last two starts he has gone up against the two highest scoring offenses in the National […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 9
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Date: May 22 Opponent: Arizona Diamondbacks Location: Chase Field Introduction Baseball, as I wish a famous baseball figure had once said so I would have a decent lede quote, is a frustrating game. On Friday night at the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jon Lester pitched a solid, efficient game. It […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 8
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Date: May 16 Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates Location: Wrigley Field Introduction For frontline starting pitchers, some starts are memorable for taking place in either the first week of April (Lester’s Opening Night start vs. St. Louis) or the last week of October; some are memorable for their sheer dominance […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 7
Photo courtesy of Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports Date: May 11 Opponent: New York Mets Location: Wrigley Field Introduction Santa Claus/Hanukkah Harry A White Russian and waffle fries at Redmond’s The first three innings of Monday night’s game Oh, don’t mind me. I was just busy updating my list of life’s greatest things. Well, that was […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 6
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports Date: May 6 Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals Location: Busch Stadium Introduction WARNING: Cliched, one-sentence paragraph baseball speak coming up in 3…2…1… On a hazy, humid St. Louis night, Jon Lester strode to the mound for the first time in a Chicago Cubs uniform. It was for nights like […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 5
Photo courtesy of Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports Date: May 1 Opponent: Milwaukee Brewers Location: Wrigley Field Introduction “April showers bring May flowers bring Lester victories.” -Grandma Felper, May, 1961 Welcome to May on the North Side. As we noted after his last start, Jon Lester made it through April without a victory or pitching […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 4
Photo courtesy of David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports Date: April 24 Opponent: Cincinnati Reds Location: Great American Ballpark Introduction Jon Lester’s fourth start of the season offered us plenty of Good News/Bad News. So, what better way to break down the introduction than through this convenient and not-at-all lazy framing device? The Good News: It’s getting so […]