Thursday, June 22, 2006

At Long Last


Jon Lester has arrived. With a swift pump of his fist, Jon Lester showed Red Sox fans what all the hype was about on Wednesday night. His final pitch of the night was a 92 mph fastball fanned on by Matthew LeCroy of the Washington Nationals. That pitch (his 107th), marked his tenth strikeout of the evening. The most by any Red Sox pitcher in a single game this season.

Now it might be a bit too early to think of him as a lock as a top of the rotation starter, but if tonight was a sign of things to come, I like what I saw. Four plus pitches, and a fist pump filled with emotion. As he left to a standing ovation in front of 36,464 screaming fans at Fenway, Lester said things "started to slow down a little bit," which has allowed him to "appreciate things more."

Sox fans have been dying for the chance to see all the young guns that the team has collected over the last few years. Manny Delcarmen, Jonathan Papelbon, Craig Hansen, and now Jon Lester. Red Sox nation can finally see why as soon as trade talks with other teams mentioned Lester as part of the deal, the trade talks came to a screeching halt.

Besides that little World Series ring, perhaps the best thing Theo Epstein has brought to the Red Sox is youth. A team that was clearly aging quickly last season, has suddenly become a lot younger this season. With the additions of Coco Crisp and Wily Mo Pena in the outfield, and Josh Beckett in the rotation, the Sox instantly added some competetive years to the team. Now with the influx of their own young guys like: Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen, and now, Jon Lester, the Sox seem to have a good mix of veterans and youngsters.

Curt Schilling, generally regarded as one of the best prepared pitchers in baseball, certainly liked what he saw as shown when he joined the stading O for Lester. If that performance was good enough for a guy who can pitch 8 innings against the Yankees, allow only 3 runs, walk nobody, strike out 4, get the win, and still not be satisfied with his performance, then it's good enough for me.

Hopefully it's the time for the young guns to light up the summer months. Papelbon is locking down saves like it's his job (get it? Keith Foulke!). Delcarmen is starting to throw some first pitch strikes. And now Lester is getting into the action. If Beckett can get himself off his schneid, Schilling can keep being Schilling, and the offense can give Wake more than zero runs in support, this might be as close to a rebuilding year as we'll have to get for a while.