Introduction The Cubs were in position for a series win against a hapless Phillies team. Sure, the Phillies were sending out bona fide ace Cole Hamels and polished pitching prospect Aaron Nola, but these Phillies had great difficulty scoring runs and the Cubs had Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, and Jason Hammel on the bump throughout […]
Tag: Jon Lester
DRA, cFIP, and the Cubs Rotation Going Forward
Would it surprise you to learn that Chicago Cubs starters have been among the best in baseball in 2015? If so, it shouldn’t. Their 3.38 staff ERA ranks fifth in the game. Their 3.22 FIP is second, as is their strikeout rate. They have walked fewer batters, as a percentage of the total they have […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 19
Date: July 18, 2015 Opponent: Atlanta Braves Location: Turner Field Introduction When Jon Lester recorded his fourth victory of the season, Mad Men was still on the air, the Chicago Blackhawks had yet to begin the Western Conference Finals, and the Women’s World Cup was three weeks from opening in Canada. It’s been awhile since […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 18
Date: July 11 Opponent: Chicago White Sox Location: Wrigley Field Introduction Typically, I open the Ballad with a remark so witty or a pop culture reference so inspired that it likely causes my reader to say, “I try to be a supportive dad, Andrew, but there’s limits.” In the final Ballad of the season’s first […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 17
Date: July 6 Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals Location: Wrigley Field Introduction Damn you, baseball. It was amazing. Then it was stomach-churning. And finally, you wanted to punch the nearest wall, table, or inanimate red object. Damn. You. Baseball. First the positive, because despite the stupid outcome, it should be acknowledged that Jon Lester’s 17th start […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 15
Date: July 1 Opponent: New York Mets Location: Citi Field Introduction NYC. New York, New York. The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleep. Beantown. The Land Before Time II. Regardless of your favorite nickname for the city, New York was exactly where Jon Lester needed to be for his first start of July. As […]
That’s So Cub: A Look at the Top June Contributors and Moments
Today is July 1st, which means that my favorite holiday of the year—the Fourth of July—is just around the corner, that I will be moving back to Chicago from London tomorrow, and that I, as I have since the beginning of time since the beginning of the season, will sit down and write about the top Cubs’ […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 15
Date: June 25 Opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers Location: Wrigley Field Introduction Who likes June, anyways? All that sunshine, ideal weather, and the sheer ecstasy of life’s limitless possibilities. No, thank you! Good riddance, I say, and I am pretty sure Jon Lester is with me. Over the course a decade-long career filled […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 14
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 […]
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 […]