Jon Lester

[jsinger121]

Its no secret that Theo is very high on Lester. The 3 pitcher you named are all overrated. Prior cannot stay healthy and has s***** mechanics. Zito is a soft tossing lefty who is a free agent and Willis is a guy that seems he can be hit now after hitters have seemed to figure him out. There is no chance in hell Theo ever trades Lester for either Zito or Prior and I would bet that he doesn't even move him for Willis as well.

[monty]

Willis has been lights out in his last 3 starts. CHeck the splits. People go through funks. He is a lights out pitcher and i cant help but laugh after reading "hitters have figured him out". Ever pitcher can be figured out, its the good ones that continue to get them out... And for a while now, Willis is getting them out. your HOPING Lester turns INTO a Willis.

[jsinger121]

I have the belief that Lester can be better than Willis in time because frankly I believe Willis is a bit overrated. The Red Sox have no pressure to sell the farm to win it all this year and one of the main reasons Theo did return was that he wanted to build this team for the future with his guys in the minors. (ie Hansen, Lester and others). He did not come back in order to go all out for 2006.

[monty]

Dont you think any year in Boston there is pressure to win it all? Theo wants to build the farm yes, but he wants to build his farm into geat major leaguers... thats the end product and in the end Theo wants his young pitchers to turn into a Dontrelle Willis...overated or not(which he isnt imo) If he can trade a minor league pitcher for a 25 year old alreadyestablished MLB stud, he will. Its shown this already in dealing Hanley Ramirez who people also said untouchable.

 

He may not be traded, or he may be traded. No knows and thats the point of fans having opinons. =)

[a700hitter]

Lester for Willis in a heartbeat.

[ksushi]

Doubt it. I've argued it to death already, I just think that the FO is committed to Jon Lester being a Red Sox at this point.

 

I read the last ten or so posts but didn't pay attention to who said it, and I'm not going back to look, but christ, who suggested Lester for Prior? Are you retarded? Yeah, lets trade our best prospect for the Cubs biggest problem. Thats exactly what we need, another guy who can come here and be on the DL. Man, some of you guys are too trigger happy on these trades.

 

You know who a guy is who I would trade? Pedroia. I would trade Pedroia.

[monty]

I never said i Would want that trade to happen. I do not want Prior, atleast not for Lester. I am saying that Prior will be on the market and Theo might look into it. The Cubs have already talked about Lester last season who i threw it out there. No i am not retarded.

[CrespoBlows]

Willis won't be coming to Boston. Even if we offered them Lester.

 

The word I hear from Gammons is that the Marlins would want two postional prospects, and a pitcher. The Red Sox do not have those players in their arsenal to temp the Marlins. Maybe Hansen, Lester, and Pedroia would work, but c'mon that's vastly overpaying for any starting pitcher.

 

The Red Sox should stay committed to their prospects. Lester K/BB ratio is just a tad under three, he strikes a batter per inning, and he allows fewer hits than innings pitched. Those numbers tell you, that Lester will probably be a frontline starting pitcher.

[monty]

I like Lester. I wouldnt be mad at all if he was on this staff. I think he will be a great pitcher. Maybe we could package Pedoria/Hanson to get Zito. That could work.

[jsinger121]

Theo is not going to trade any top prospects for a pitcher that is going to go to free agency after the season. It just will not happen plus Zito is not the type of pitcher who I would even consider trading Hansen for.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

When I think of Barry Zito and Dontrelle Willis I think of a pitcher like David Wells or Derek Lowe in Boston. Neither are big strikeout pitchers and don't overpower hitters. I'm more interested in the pitchers like Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, etc....power pitchers....guys who have a cannon.

 

On that note I'd be more interested talking about Jason Schmidt or Mark Prior. I don't know to a great extent on Prior's injury problems but I do know if there was ever a time to inquire and take a chance on him its now. Two years ago Mark Prior was on his way to being the best pitcher in baseball. He put up 245 K, 18 wins, and 211 innings.

 

I wouldn't trade Jon Lester for him but there is a chance we could make a deal for Mark Prior. A couple years ago I could never imagine having Josh Beckett and Mark Prior on the Red Sox rotation.

 

What was most impressive was his pitching line in the 2003 postseason.

[ksushi]

Trading for Barry Zito would be going against the organizational philosophy of building for the future and hanging on to prospects that was so important to Theo that he resigned. Trading for Zito goes against everything Theo believes in as a GM. Not so much Willis, but mostly Zito as he would be a 3 month rental.

[ahhchon]

Its no secret that Theo is very high on Lester. The 3 pitcher you named are all overrated. Prior cannot stay healthy and has s***** mechanics. Zito is a soft tossing lefty who is a free agent and Willis is a guy that seems he can be hit now after hitters have seemed to figure him out. There is no chance in hell Theo ever trades Lester for either Zito or Prior and I would bet that he doesn't even move him for Willis as well.

 

most of that is incorrect.

 

in his past 3 starts zito has pitched 20.2 innings, given up 2er and has k'ed 14 while only giving up 12 hits and 12 walks. zito for lester in a heartbeat. lester is still a prospect, zito is a proven horse, a guy who will go out there for 34+ games every season, give you 200 innings and an era from 3-4. granted at this point such a trade would be questionable since zito's contract will be up (not sure it would be worth losing a top prospect).

 

the reason i don't see theo trading lester is because he is expected to be up next year and we wouldn't get enough years out of the 3 pitchers in return.

 

john

[monty]

most of that is incorrect.

 

in his past 3 starts zito has pitched 20.2 innings, given up 2er and has k'ed 14 while only giving up 12 hits and 12 walks. zito for lester in a heartbeat. lester is still a prospect, zito is a proven horse, a guy who will go out there for 34+ games every season, give you 200 innings and an era from 3-4. granted at this point such a trade would be questionable since zito's contract will be up (not sure it would be worth losing a top prospect).

 

the reason i don't see theo trading lester is because he is expected to be up next year and we wouldn't get enough years out of the 3 pitchers in return.

 

john

 

 

Thanks you.. I was going to make this post but i figured if i couldnt convince him with 3 different post, i wouldnt ever. So i stopped. Thanks.

[example1]

Lester is here to stay for awhile. The sox will need the SP, they will be on the hunt for a big name free agent after this season (hopefully) and will add Lester, Hansen and/or Papelbon to the rotation too.

 

Papelbon

Beckett

Schilling

Lester

Clement

 

that's a nice rotation.

[ahhchon]

i hope that's not your starting rotation order. how could you put papelbon in front of becket and schilling?

 

as of right now schilling is still your #1 guy, 2 would be becket, 3 would be clement, 4 would be wake and 5 would be papelbon.

 

people forget that wakefield is a solid 4 or 5 and clement is a solid pitcher. you don't just throw a guy who's still a prospect into the rotation and start him ahead of a vet like clement.

 

john

[ksushi]

You do when he hits a batter with the bases loaded and has a 6 ERA. We're in a tight division, tito.

[Cocos Disciples]

i hope that's not your starting rotation order. how could you put papelbon in front of becket and schilling?

 

as of right now schilling is still your #1 guy, 2 would be becket, 3 would be clement, 4 would be wake and 5 would be papelbon.

 

people forget that wakefield is a solid 4 or 5 and clement is a solid pitcher. you don't just throw a guy who's still a prospect into the rotation and start him ahead of a vet like clement.

 

john

 

switch.

[riverside sluggers]

most of that is incorrect.

 

in his past 3 starts zito has pitched 20.2 innings, given up 2er and has k'ed 14 while only giving up 12 hits and 12 walks. zito for lester in a heartbeat. lester is still a prospect, zito is a proven horse, a guy who will go out there for 34+ games every season, give you 200 innings and an era from 3-4. granted at this point such a trade would be questionable since zito's contract will be up (not sure it would be worth losing a top prospect).

 

the reason i don't see theo trading lester is because he is expected to be up next year and we wouldn't get enough years out of the 3 pitchers in return.

 

john

 

With Oakland being a currently contending team, I dont see them trading away one of their strengths (starting pitching). Oakland will know that we need starting pitching, so it would take more than Lester.

 

IMO, not worth talking about because my money says he will stay with Oakland for the 2006 season. In 2007, he will don pinstripes

[riverside sluggers]

Lester is here to stay for awhile. The sox will need the SP, they will be on the hunt for a big name free agent after this season (hopefully) and will add Lester, Hansen and/or Papelbon to the rotation too.

 

Papelbon

Beckett

Schilling

Lester

Clement

 

that's a nice rotation.

 

Take out Clement, then its a nice rotation. I just dont see him being here with the team through 2007 if he still continues to struggle.

[riverside sluggers]

About Lester... Today's Boston Globe

 

The count is in Lester's favor

By Chris Snow, Globe Staff | May 26, 2006

 

Jon Lester pitched four times in April with the following pitch counts: 59, 60, 65, 59. He was 0-4 with a 6.94 ERA (11 2/3 IP, 9 ER). Lester, with the training wheels off, has pitched five times in May with these pitch counts: 81, 69, 76, 92, 84. His results: 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA (25 2/3 IP, 5 ER). "It was hard at the beginning of the year, I couldn't really get in a rhythm," the 22-year-old Lester said by phone yesterday. "By the time I got ready to go, I got taken out of the game. It's hard for me to get through three innings on 60 pitches. I'd just throw a lot of fastballs. I had to pitch to contact a little more. I couldn't really pitch to set guys up."

 

The rationale behind the low pitch limits? Was it to keep his innings low in case he's called upon in July, August, or September to join the Red Sox rotation? "Yeah, that's what they told me," he said. "They didn't say for sure if it was going to happen. They said, we want you to have a fresh body and fresh arm for when that does happen. It's a light at the end of the tunnel."

 

That light should be shining a little brighter today than a couple months ago. Lester, in his first big league camp, went 0-2 with a 19.50 ERA, allowing 13 runs on 12 hits in six innings. When he was reassigned to minor league camp in mid-March, the Sox had seven starters: Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, Matt Clement, David Wells, Bronson Arroyo, and Jonathan Papelbon. But Arroyo's in Cincinnati and Papelbon's in the bullpen. Clement has a 6.01 ERA since last season's All-Star break. And Wells, who hasn't pitched since April 12, is no guarantee to stay healthy, even though he returns to the rotation tonight. So there could be an opportunity for Lester this summer.

 

The Eastern League Pitcher of the Year last year with Double A Portland, Lester led that league in ERA (2.61) and strikeouts (163). This year, he's found Triple A hitters more patient, though that hasn't meant they've been successful. Lefthanders are hitting just .120 (3 for 25) off him, righthanders .254 (30 for 118). Lester said he also continues to make adjustments with his approach. A self-acknowledged perfectionist, he's working on "not being so fine, getting ahead of guys early. I've got to get my percentage of strikes up a little more than it is now, going after guys."

 

Does he know his breakdown of balls and strikes? "Yesterday I would have been able to tell you," he said. ``I figured it out, I had it written down. I wanted to know where I was at just to see what I need to work on."

[riverside sluggers]

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2006_05_28_noraaa_pawaaa_1

 

The Paw Sox lost 7-5, but in that game saw Lester throw another good start to his credit

5.1 innings, 6 Hits, 1 Run, 3 Walks, 3 Ks

 

10 starts this season- 3-4 record with a 2.95 ERA-- In 42.2 innings he has struck out 40, while walking 20.

[example1]

Take out Clement, then its a nice rotation. I just dont see him being here with the team through 2007 if he still continues to struggle.

 

I suppose that next winter the sox will be willing to put down 4-5 million to get out from Clement's contract, like they did with E-teria.

[jsinger121]

Lester's performance tonight against Norfolk: 5.1 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER (on a HR), 3 BB, 3 K. He threw 89 pitches, 52 for strikes (58 percent).

 

ERA now down to 2.95

[ksushi]

A little late, jsinger. You're usually on the ball.

[jsinger121]

A little late, jsinger. You're usually on the ball.

 

I was out all night.....can't be on here all the time.

[Beckett95]

i cant wait to see this kid in the big leagues

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

I just have this feeling that once this kid is given a spot start down the road he will take full advantage and never look back. I can't wait to see him at Fenway Park.

[Beckett95]

anyone know his flyball to groundball ratio??

[CrespoBlows]

Last 7 Lester outings (excludes first two outings severely limited by pitch counts):

 

Pawtucket AAA 33 IP, 25 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 32/13 K/BB, 2 HRA

 

ERA - 1.91

 

WHIP - 1.15

 

K/9 - 8.7

 

K/BB - 2.5

 

(From SOSH)