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MLB 2015 - JUNE


Dolfan in NYC

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I really don't like Jon Lester. What the fuck is it with Theo and high priced free agents that suck. He's been shit in half of his starts. What's worse is that when he does suck, it means that he and David Ross are both in the lineup. Lester is setting a record for being hitless and Ross, the guy signed to be Lester's caddie because apparently no one else can catch for Lester, fucking sucks at hitting. So Lester is the worst guy in the rotation, he can't hit, he can't throw a fucking baseball to 1B, Ross has no impact on making Lester a better pitcher and Ross can't hit either. God damn this is such a bummer.

 

I also reserve the right to change this opinion if Lester stops sucking, but Montero needs to start catching for him. 

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Ross is far and away the best in the league at pitch framing, and he's been just as good if not better than Montero when it comes to gunning down runners. You can hate on Ross' hitting all you want, but he has tons of defensive value, there's really no way to refute that; unless you don't put any stock in statistics or facts.

 

As for Lester, I'd say you're reacting with a bit of hyperbole. He has been a disappointment, mainly because he's not pitching at an Ace level. However, outside of three or four truly awful starts he's had a slew of good to really good starts. He's not playing up to his contract, he's not playing at the level he's capable of; but he's far removed from the worst starter on the team.

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In his last 11 starts, Jon Lester has 9 quality starts, allowing 0 or 1 ER six times.

And I would say that Lester IS pitching to his level - his last four ERA - 3.47, 4.82, 3.75, 2.46. This year? 3.80. If the Cubs paid Lester a gazillion dollars expecting to get 2.46 ERA Lester, they were dumb.

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Dude, I don't give a shit that Ross does what a catcher is supposed to do. And fine, he's good at pitch framing, but he helps with Lester in no way and there's no reason to continue pairing those two together when one provides no benefit to the other.

 

And a slew of good to really good starts? Really? In 15 games he's had 7 starts that I would describe as good. In the 8 games he's pitched that were on the opposite end of the spectrum, his xFIP was primarily horrible. If you want to compare seasons, he gave up 16 home runs last year and 10 so far this year. Last year only in three games did he have less than 6 innings pitched. He's already at 4 this year.

 

The issue is this: Lester is the supposed ace of the team and pitches as a #3 pitcher or worse. To compound that issue, every time he starts, David Ross has to start. So you have a pitcher who is mostly responsible for putting the team behind in over half of his starts and any time he does start, both he and Ross have to hit, which just handicaps the offense and hampers them from being able to mount any kind of a comeback.

 

I couldn't care less if Ross catches for any other pitcher, but having him as Lester's personal caddy is doing more harm than good.

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And actually, that's the main reason I don't like Lester. Fine, he's going to pitch more like a MOR pitcher. And in no way do I expect a backup catcher to rake. However, given the Cubs complete lack of a bench, seeing Lester and Ross in the lineup is really frustrating, all things considered.

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Lester's ERA since May 1 - 2.97.

Again, anybody expecting Lester to pitch like a superstar given his past history - exactly one superstar season in a career spanning 7 full seasons and 2 half-seasons - is deluding himself. Sure, he MIGHT do it but the law of averages says it ain't likely.

Your point about the ineptness of the lineup when both Lester & Ross are in it is absolutely valid. It turns 8-1/2 vs 8-1/2 (counting pitchers as half a hitter) into 7 vs 8-1/2. That's a tough hurdle to overcome.

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I have no idea, LAD only reached against him in the first two innings, he had 1-2-3's in his next two innings of work. They didn't really do much to try to draw a throw. Rollins tried to steal 3rd and Ross got him in the 2nd.

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Stephen Vogt hit on the hand by a pitch in the bottom of the 9th with the Royals well ahead (i.e. non save situation and thus a non closer pitching).

 

Bad blood might re-boil over the weekend after all.

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I hope not. I really doubt that was intentional.

 

It probably wasn't, but given the context of the rest of the season it may not end up mattering whether it was intentional or not.

 

Vogt's X-Ray post game did come back negative though, apparently, so at least there won't be the emotional charge of the starting catcher/best offensive player going on the DL because of it.

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I still enjoy that 5 Royals are in the lead for starting now.

 

Yet the two that you can make the best case for for starting - neither is leading at their position

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From the Grantland article by Michael Baumann: 

 

Six years after winning back-to-back pennants, and four years after winning 102 games on the back of one of the best starting rotations ever assembled, the Phillies have gone through rock bottom, struck natural gas, polluted the water table, made your tap water unsafe to drink, and set your kitchen on fire.

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From the Grantland article by Michael Baumann: 

 

Six years after winning back-to-back pennants, and four years after winning 102 games on the back of one of the best starting rotations ever assembled, the Phillies have gone through rock bottom, struck natural gas, polluted the water table, made your tap water unsafe to drink, and set your kitchen on fire.

 

I suppose that's appropriate for a baseball franchise in Pennsylvania.

 

Very curious to see how much longer Ruben keeps his job. Maybe he stays throughout this year and is "evaluated" at the end of the year, but quits before then. I feel like I've seen that play out before.

 

It is a remarkably similar situation to the Cubs that the Phillies find themselves in.

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