Full Count
A Furiously Updated Red Sox Blog
WEEI.com Blog Network
RSS
Jon Lester on shouldering more of the load: ‘Bring it on’ 02.13.13 at 1:37 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jon Lester is out to prove he’s a better pitcher than the one that finished 2012. He’s also embracing the challenge of leading a starting rotation that has its doubters heading into 2013.

Lester knows how 2012 ended. He knows he went 9-14 with a 4.82 ERA in 33 starts. He knows he was 4-9 with a 4-plus ERA in 17 starts over the final three months of the season. He knows that people are going to be expecting him to turn it around big time if the 2013 Red Sox are going to come anywhere close to competing.

“I love it. It’s great. Bring it on because of what you guys expect of me is nothing what of I expect of myself,” Lester said when asked Wednesday about being called upon to lead the staff. “I expect a lot. That’s why as far as me being serious, that’s why I am the way I am. I try to live up to my own expectations before everybody else’s. Obviously, that’s never going to happen. But I take my job serious and I want to reach those. Just because I don’t doesn’t mean it’s a failed season.

“Every year my expectations have been higher than what I’ve done but that doesn’t mean it’s a failed season. There’s things that are involved in that season that are good and some that are bad. You try to take every offseason and learn from those and throw out the negatives and move on with the positives and hopefully, you just keep building on those, and your expectations keep getting higher and higher.”

Lester made it very clear, that even with the trade rumors this offseason, he still prefers Boston as a place to pitch more than anywhere in Boston. Even as bad as 2012 was, he still loves his job and still wants to call Fenway home.

“I love baseball. I love Boston,” Lester said. “People don’t see me other than the fifth day, and when I’m out there when I’m out there, I’m not out there to kid around, I’m not out there to joke around with hitters but at the same time, I’m having fun. It may not look like it. I may be cussing up a storm and yelling at somebody but I’m having fun. I love to pitch. I love everything that is pitching, I love everything that there is baseball.

“I also don’t want to also come across as lackadaisical and a loaf and don’t really care about working hard. I take everything I do very seriously. I want my workouts to be the way they should be, I want my bullpen to go the way they should be and I want my game to go the way it should be. If doesn’t, I’m going to be pissed, that’s just who I am. But at the same time, I can improve upon on those in-between days where you don’t take it as serious but I would rather be on the serious side and work my way down and not be the goof-off and work my way.”

Lester was asked if performing in Boston can simply be too much sometimes.

“Yeah, sometimes,” Lester admitted. “Sometimes I want to kind of strangle myself. It can be intimidating, especially when you have years like last year. It’s tough. You know you suck and your teammates are trying to pick you up and everybody else knows you suck and you’re just trying to break even on the whole deal. It’s tough but at the same time, it’s the greatest place to play. You just have to take it in stride. You have to live with it and move on. If you can pitch in Boston, if you can play in Boston and survive and do good, I think you can play anywhere. I think anywhere else would be easy, a cakewalk.”

Much of Wednesday’s 15-minute discussion with Lester had to do with his recognition, aided by those in the organization, of his demonstrative ways on the mound. He spent some of the offseason thinking about ways to improve it.

“Obviously, when you’re out there competing, you’re not really paying attention, you’re trying to compete, you’re trying to get outs,” Lester said. “So, they’re sometimes where somebody has to point it out to you and say, ‘Look, you look like a baby.’ I would rather somebody say that to me than pat me on the butt and try to make it seem like it’s OK. I would rather someone come up to me and say this is terrible, you need to change it. My dad has told me that since I was in fifth grade, when I started pitching. It’s always been a problem. It’s gotten better through the years and it’s something I can always improve on. I sit here and tell you that now, my first game, I might do something. I don’t know.

“It’s something I always I have to improve on and always try to be conscious of when I’m pitching but at the same time, it’s hard to, you’re trying to get big league hitters out, competing and doing all that and not really concerned about yelling at an umpire and not have a laser hit off your forehead while you’re doing it.”

Lester made it clear that while he loves pitching in Boston, he understands the trade speculation that has been associated with his name, especially this past offseason.

“It’s difficult. It is,” Lester said. “Especially, I’ve been here since ’02. It’s home, I love it. Obviously, you understand the circumstances and the business side of it. But it’s always tough, especially during the season when you start hearing that stuff. In the offseason, I didn’t really start hearing about it until it was almost over. When I did, Ned Yost is one of my good friends and he has some hunting land close to where I live. I rode over there one day and was just talking to him and it came up. It is what it is. It’s business. I understand. The Red Sox are trying to put the best team on the field and if that involves me going somewhere else, then no hard feelings. I’ll go play baseball and do my job there. But it is hard at first.”

For more, visit the Red Sox team page at weei.com/redsox.

Read More: 2013 spring training, Boston Red Sox, Jon Lester, Print  |  Email  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • Bubba

    Didn’t this guy have everything to prove going into 2012? We all know how that ended. 

  • Farrells problem

    The Pillsbury dough boy needs to get in shape as he starts to sweat after 5 pitches in the first inning which he has a tough time holding the opposition and holding the pitch count. Went from a power pitcher to a nibbler and strokes out when he does not get the call on a close pitch. The Umpires now call against him for his behavior the last three years on the mound. Rear back and throw until you run out of gas. With his size he should be what he was in the younger years. Just let your pitching do the talking.

  • Dewey24

    “I also don’t want to also come across as lackadaisical and a loaf and don’t really care about working hard. I take everything I do very seriously.

    He doesn’t want come across as a loaf? A loaf of bread?

  • Brian

    Jon Lester has won a championship more recently than Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

  • kozlodoev

    Be careful not to strain a hamstring tying your shoelace, ace :)

  • Brian

    Lol the umpires don’t have a personal vendetta against Lester.  The reason why EVERY pitcher on the Red Sox complains about getting squeezed is Jarrod Saltalamacchia is literally one of the worst catchers in baseball at framing pitches.  He costs them several strikes with sloppy catch framing that makes the pitches appear to be balls.  The difference between a good pitch framer (a Molina brother) and a bad one (Salty, Lavarnway, etc.) is huge on a team.  The teams who stress good pitch framing (Rays, Cards, Yankees) seem to have their staffs overachieve every year, while the Red Sox have a had almost everyone underachieve since Salty has taken over.

  • BostonBaby

    That’s just plain and dumb to say that.

  • itsme!bobbyv!

    completely off topic but getting rid of ordway is a joke. really weei? absolute joke that ordway is out and a guy like kirk minihane is still on board. my radio dial will no longer be set to weei. 

  • Bubba

    Attention website moderators! 

    I would like to nominate this comment by Brian (comparing Lester to Brady) for the WEEI Most Insane Ridiculous Weird Irrational And Just Plain Dumb Athlete Comparison Award of 2013. Thank you.

  • Kenkarken

    Maybe he could be the ace of a Little League team providing he could find that small of a strike zone. Shut your fat face and produce!

  • Everyone

    Oh lord no, its’ baseball season already?  Why cant the NFL go 10 months a year?  Look at all these backslapping delusional yahoos like Lester, Farrell, and the like.  This is an 84 win team, max.  When’s training camp start????

  • Ty

    That doesn’t change the fact that several pitchers on the Red Sox need to be mentally tougher… much tougher.  The pitchers who complain about close calls need to just move on and keep their composure on the mound when they don’t get a call their way.  The moment they start complaining is the moment they lose focus on the at bat and lose that composure.  What makes a great pitcher is understanding that if you repeatedly hit your spots and show consistent pitch control, the ump is going to give you the call later in the game.  Whining about a call and then consequently walking the batter or giving up a hit just looks bad.  You can blame Salty all ya want, but it comes down to the pitchers keeping their cool and actually executing what they throw out there.  Salty was the main guy 2 years ago over Tek, and things seemed to be going pretty smoothly until the calendar flipped to September.  Did Saltalamacchia suddenly change his catching style then?  No, once again, it was the pitchers failing to execute on the mound and take command of games.

  • Bruinman86

    Red Sox fans to John Lester:  Prove that you aren’t overrated and show us you can grow up on the mound and be the “Ace” and leader we were sold you could be!

  • innovator1

    I truly think that you will see David Ross Catch over 100 games this year,with Salty being moved…This should help the staff…

  • i still belive

    love all these comments from guys who have probably never set foot on a major league field or a college field. 

  • Kenkarken

    At least we went to school to learn how to spell.

  • WTF

    He’s a loaf…that’s awesome…my boy’s wicked smahrt…

  • Anonymous

    From now on Lester is “the Loaf”.
    Let’s hope the Loaf does not get pinched this year.

  • Anonymous

    From now on Lester is “the Loaf”.
    Let’s hope the Loaf does not get pinched this year.

  • Anonymous

    From now on Lester is “the Loaf”.
    Let’s hope the Loaf does not get pinched this year.

  • Anonymous

    From now on Lester is “the Loaf”.
    Let’s hope the Loaf does not get pinched this year.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WW4SUGV5J6Y7R5MVPAWVIWAJFU Dennis

    You make a good point.Veratek was good at it,i had a feeling that Tek retiring would affect the staff.But then again Salty walked into a difficult situation when he took over the primary catching job.I say with Tek in camp and with Salty with his 1st year under his belt probably has learned alot about framing pitches.It won’t be long before we find out.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WW4SUGV5J6Y7R5MVPAWVIWAJFU Dennis

    He admitted as much.But Lester needs a little chip on his shoulder thats what made him successful.If you try to change his personality altogeather then he’s truly finished as a pitcher.I guess he has to get somewhere in the middle,not an easy task.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WW4SUGV5J6Y7R5MVPAWVIWAJFU Dennis

    The only other pitcher that needs a talking too is Dubront,umps don’t like rookie’s showing them up.I really think Farrel will be very affective in that area.I know they have a pitching coach,but you can bet that Farrel will be hands on.I used to stick up for BV but i don’t think he had a clue since i have listened to Farrel interviews.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WW4SUGV5J6Y7R5MVPAWVIWAJFU Dennis

    The biggest mistake they made was signing BV after that collapse.I wonder how it would have turned out if Cherington had his way in not signing Valentine.According to some Ben is the one who is making these moves.It can’t be any worse the LL hiring BV.Larry thought Bobby was going to come in and lower the boom.Well i guess he did in a sense.

  • bvbdan1

    I hope the rookies come in and play well and contribute. The issue for me is we ransacked the WR core of Tom this year and out of this crop we will have to find a threat receiver. When Randy and Welker came they had already proven to be ballers but their previous team did not see that. Our drafting of wide receivers has been dismal in years past. These veterans we have picked up are 40 catch recievers in their best years and with Gronk and Hernadez nursing injurys Brady better have some extra padding on this upcoming season because it could get rough.

Red Sox Box Score
Red Sox Schedule
Baseball Analytics Blog
Red Sox Headlines
Red Sox Minor League News
Red Sox Team Leaders
MLB Headlines
Tips & Feedback

Verify