Tito congratulates Lester on his complete game shut out. (AP Photo)
Now that was exactly what the doctor ordered. If anything could ease the heart palpitations of Red Sox Nation it would have to be Jon Lester. Watching Lester this year is something truly special. His confidence is rising with every start he makes, as he, along with J.D. Drew, have kept the Red Sox ship from gaining too much water. Watching Jon on the mound is like watching a hungry caged tiger pace. He seems semi-irritated however in complete focus with the task at hand. It's brilliant.
His stat line yesterday looks like this:
9.0 IP, 8 K's, 2 BB's, 5 Hits.
A start of this magnitude, after the complete and utter implosion of the bullpen the previous night, is
something an ace would do. Is there any doubt who our number two starter is anymore? Yeah Dice-K's stats are great this year, but he's not eating those all important innings that really help a ballclub. Heck, the only reason why C.C. Sabathia won the Cy Young over Beckett last year was because he threw more innings (something I still think is wrong in that aspect).
Again you have to tip your cap to the front office for not biting on Johan Santana by trading Lester and Jacoby, they're going to be good fro the Sox for many years to come. And as an added bonus, this loss really seemed to get under the Yankees skin, which to truthful, is always great to see.
Let's hope we can give Steinbrenner a nice birthday loss today. Happy 4th of July Red Sox Nation, your team may be ready for a pennant push finally.
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