Rolling the dice on Lester

One year ago, he was the most valuable prospect in the Red Sox organization. In Spring Training, there was much clamoring in the Hub for the lefty to break camp with the big club. Now, as the trade deadline looms, the young fireballer with the significantly diminished trade value is joining the club as the second lefty in the rotation and a stopgap replacement until Curt Schilling is able to rejoin the club.

And there couldn't be a more perfect situation for Jon Lester.


Jon Lester showed much promise last season before being shelved due to his cancer scare and subsequent recovery. Many longed for him to take the fifth slot in the rotation coming out of camp with the assumption that he would be able to capture the form we saw at the end of the 2006 campaign. I, along with many others, argued that recovering from cancer was a far cry from the tired arms or balky knees that affect many other rookie pitchers, and Lester would need much more time regaining his form in a low-pressure environment. Thanks to the pleasant suprise that was Julian Tavarez's first half, Lester was afforded that time.

However, the human sideshow that is Tavarez has turned back into a pumpkin, and Lester's call has come. Although I would have liked to see him spend an entire year in Pawtucket to insure the complete recovery of his mental and physical strength, the circumstances in Boston make his transition appropriate. If the Sox were seven games down and searching for someone to save a crumbling rotation, I would be vehemently opposed to the move; but with a relatively comfortable cushion in the East and a confident top-4 in the rotation, the time is ripe for Jon's return.

He has had over 70 innings in Pawtucket and 14 starts to get back in the groove that was stolen from him last fall. His numbers have not been as impressive as they were before his first callup (4-5 in 14 starts, 3.89 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 51 Ks and 31 walks), but many who have spent time with him in Rhode Island say he is chomping at the bit to get back to the bigs, and perhaps this trip will return him to the pitcher we saw last year.

The best case scenario here is that Lester provides a spark to the ballclub and stymies opponents who haven't yet faced him, earning wins for the club as they make the stretch run. The worst case scenario has a poor start or two before yielding his spot in the rotation to Schilling and heading back to Pawtucket. In any case, the lowered expectations have surely given Jon Lester the best possible opportunity to succeed.