“You try to balance different factors. You wake up one day like ‘We’ve got to sign Lester,’ you wake up another day, ‘We’re never signing a pitcher in his thirties,’ and it’s an internal struggle. Jed and I had the back-and-forth with each other. We changed each other’s minds. It’s the process of getting the […]
Tag: Jon Lester
With Ross Retiring, to Whom Will Lester Turn?
Few, if any, of us will forget Jon Lester’s “gutsy” performance in Game Seven of the World Series. Just three days after helping win an air-tight Game Five at Wrigley Field with six solid innings, Lester threw three innings of one-run ball in the biggest game of even his postseason-studded career. Although a few miscues […]
Now Comes the Weird Upon Us: The July 31 Walk-Off
“Always I had in mind some giant, armed in giant force, would come against me here. But this, but you—small, pitiful and twiggy—you put me down…” – Polyphemus (The Odyssey, Book 9, lines 427-430) Seattle Mariners reliever Cody Martin had to have wondered at the situation he found himself in late into the night of […]
Player Profile: Jon Lester
Position: Starting pitcher 2016 Stats: 202.7 IP, 24.8 K%, 6.5 BB%, 2.44 ERA, 3.10 DRA, 90 cFIP, 5.3 WARP Year in Review: What more could you ask of Jon Lester in 2016? One more literal glove flip? Another walk-off squeeze bunt? A less nerve-wracking Game 7 relief appearance, ideally not featuring a wild pitch that […]
Turns Out There’s One Thing These Cubs Aren’t Good At
I have to stop hanging out with Joel Reese. In case you’re not familiar with our little podcast, it’s called BP Wrigleycast and it features Ryan Davis, Isaac Bennett, Joel Reese, and myself. Ryan makes solid arguments that run counter to many popular opinions. Isaac has strong views on developing players and is right more […]
The 2016 Starting Rotation is Historically Good
When the Cubs picked up John Lackey during the offseason, the starting rotation finally felt like that of a team vying for a championship. The top two were never a question—Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester were always going to be the 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. But following those two up with […]
Jon Lester and the Evolution of DIPS
It’s been thirteen years since Moneyball was published and the term “sabermetrics” was added to the public vernacular. While Moneyball itself was not the cause of the modern baseball analytical revolution that began in the late 1990’s and continues today, it’s undeniable that it’s popularity and platform allowed for the ideas of the sabermetric community […]
Game 108 Recap: Cubs 7 Athletics 2
In the beginning of his career, a practically teenage Mike Tyson made a practice of dispensing with his opponents so quickly that the ringside luminaries could barely settle into their seats before the fight was already over. Tonight, it was a first inning lead-off home run, pair of singles, and a Jorge Soler three-run shot that ended […]
Game 102 Recap: Cubs 12 Mariners 1
Over an hour of rain delay didn’t dampen the day at all for the Cubs, who scored so prodigiously that the Mariners turned to using second baseman Luis Sardinas in the eighth inning. And, to his credit, Sardinas got through the inning unscathed. The Cubs pushed through the Mariners bullpen by driving Hisashi Iwakuma from […]
Game 92 Recap: Cubs 5 Mets 1
It’s easy to get lost in the hyperbole of a rough stretch of games, especially ones against so-called “playoff preview” opponents, so the recent four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets during said stretch has left a stinger in the palm of many Cubs fans, though maybe not the players themselves. All of this […]