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| JON LESTER |
Lester was interviewed on Thursday on WEEI's 'Hot Stove Show'.
"Everybody,kind of deep down, thought Jacoby was going to come back. Just being a homegrown guy, I thought the Red Sox were going to get him back. Obviously, they were far off on a lot of different things. He had to do what was best for him. The numbers were crazy. That's a huge deal. I'm happy for him. I would've liked to have seen him maybe go to a different team. But it is what it is. That's where they decided to go. I'm happy for him. I wish him all the best, except when they play us, and we'll go from there."
Ellsbury's departure has hit home for Lester. He will be in the same position as Jacoby next offseason, as he is eligible for 'free agency'.
Lester though, made it quite clear in this interview that he wants to stay in Boston.
"Obviously it's crossed my mind. But it's not something that's really set in for me yet. I feel like I've got one more year here and we'll go from there. I'm sure there will be some form of communication (about a new contract) I would imagine probably in spring training, hopefully in spring training and hopefully during the season sometime, if not in spring training. Obviously Boston's my home. This is all I've known. This is all I've become accustomed to, and all I want to know. My family enjoys it up there. I enjoy playing up there. There's a lot of factors in it. At the same time, kind of like Jacoby, there's a business side of everything and you've got to look at it that way. Same thing with the Red Sox. Sometimes you have to part ways. Hopefully that's not the case when it comes down to us here in the future".
Lester's record over the last six seasons is impressive, he is ranked fourth in the majors with 89 wins. His record is 89-54 with a 3.65 ERA. He has averaged 206 innings pitched a year since 2008. His strikeout to walk ratio is 8.2/3.1.
This type of record could entitle Lester to a 'Big Payday' next year.
But Lester has already passed up a big payday to remain in Boston. After his breakout 2008 season he agreed to a five-year $ 30 million deal prior to the start of the 2009 season. This deal bought out a year of his 'free agency' and gave the Red Sox the team option under which Lester will play this year.
Jon Lester sounds like he's willing to do this again.
"Obviously there are guys who have the ability to go year to year and trust themselves, trust the fact they're going to be healthy or they're going to put up big numbers or whatever. I trust those things, but at the same time I like security. I like knowing that I have this in case something unforeseen or something career-ending -- that hopefully doesn't happen -- you have that to fall back on. I think that was a big weight off my shoulders for me. You sit down with your agent, sit down with your family and realize, yeah, there's possibly millions of dollars that you left on the table. But at the same time, you're secure. Your family is secure. You're with the team and you don't have to worry about anything. And the same thing will go here in the next couple months or the next however many months. If you sign a deal before you become a 'free agent', your probably most likely leaving money on the table. Like Dustin, he left a ton of money on the table, but this is where he wants to be the rest of his career. He sacrificed that to be here, to be a Red Sox. I think when you get down to that point, you have to weigh those options. You have to sit down and decide. We'll obviously hopefully have those talks here the next couple months".
Lester's concern now are the changes that are coming to the 2014 Red Sox. What type of team will show up in Fort Myers. "Obviously, there's a little bit of shock there, especially with two of your very important, major guys leaving, and you've kind of only filled one spot. It's a little bit kind of nerve-wracking, because it's like, who's going to be our shortstop ? Who's here ? Who's there ? Who's going to hit leadoff for us ? There's a million questions going through our minds. I'm however many miles away from Ben Cherington right now and those guys who are making those baseball decisions. But as a player it's tough somtimes to sit back and let those guys have control. We just have to trust them. We have to realize that these guys are going to put the best team out there they possibly can for us to succeed. You just have to buy into that. Hopefully, the remaining 'free agent' comes back, but we all know it's a business. They have to do what's best for their families and themselves and sometimes it doesn't work out for us, but hopefully Stephen Drew will be back in a Red Sox uniform and we can go forward from there".
Lester, in this interview is sending Ben Cherington a message.
We suggest he listen.
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