On the Right Track

OK, that’s a little more like it.

I know, I know. It’s only one game. I also know that as a young pitcher, Lester is defined by inconsistency. That being said, last night was a great game. It wasn’t long ago that I said I only need six, maybe seven, out of Lester. Then he goes out and throws eight inning of one (barely) hit ball. He kept his walks under control, and attacked the strike zone. In reality, most of Lester’s outings go ok. He doesn’t give up a lot of runs per start. His ERA gets inflated because he doesn’t usually get to throw many innings. He’s so busy falling behind and walking hitters that his pitch count skyrockets. What he needs to do is take an outing like last night and learn from it. He was able to throw strikes, and the batters made contact. But, even against a line-up as powerful as Toronto’s, most balls put in play were outs. He doesn’t need to strike people out to retire them. If he can remember that, it will help control his pitches, and let him stay in games longer. He’s still young. Heck, it took Pedro a few years to transform into the most dominant pitcher of my lifetime.

Random thought. How many more times will Phil Hughes be able to blow up on the same night that Santana pitches well before Yankee fans start to question not making the trade?