Tagged: Jon Lester
10 Things I’m Watching In 2015: Lester, Shields, Scherzer
As we count down to Spring Training, here’s the eighth installment of my ’10 Things I’m Watching In 2015′ series. Today’s topic: Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields.
How will Scherzer Lester and Shields fare in the National League?
Generally speaking the American League is known for offense and the National League is known for pitching. The DH contributes a lot to this fact and it is likely a reason that big name free agent pitchers often opt to pitch in the National League.
When the 2014 season ended there were three big-name, free agent pitchers on the market and all three of them – Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields – opted to make the transition from the AL to the NL.
While Scherzer spent the first two seasons of his career in the NL, Lester and Shields have never pitched for a NL team. Each of them have spent nine seasons in the American League.
The trio of pitchers have combined for six All Star games and a Cy Young Award (Scherzer) and considering they all have strong stuff, it’s likely they will do just fine in the NL. However, it may be interesting to watch their transitions, especially over the first couple months as they get used to new parks, lineups and catchers.
Also, I wonder which one of them is the best hitter? And how long will it take Lester to collect his first hit?
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10 Things I’m Watching In 2015: Chicago Cubs
Baseball is finally here. To some it may feel like the season just ended, but to those that live and breathe baseball, it may feel like it’s been gone for an eternity. Either way, there are 10 days left until the first official team workouts here in Arizona and to help pass the time I will be releasing a daily blog post about 10 things I’m excited to watch in 2015.
These posts are in no particular order, so if I list your team or favorite player 10th, fifth or first, there’s no reason to read too much into it. I’m anxious for the upcoming baseball season and these are 10 reasons why:
Things I’m watching in 2015:
Cubs
It’s hard not to be excited and/or curious about the Cubs in 2015. After a tremendous off season there will certainly be a lot of eyes not only on Opening Night, but throughout the entire season.
While the Cubs made plenty of moves over the past few months, the biggest were the additions of Joe Maddon and Jon Lester.
It’s hard to argue with Maddon’s resume. Maddon had a winning record in six of his last seven seasons with the Rays and his team won 90 or more games in five of those seasons. Meanwhile, the Cubs have won 90 or more games just once (2008) since the year 2000.
While hiring Maddon would have constituted a solid off-season, the Cubs weren’t done as they then added Jon Lester via a six year deal worth $155 million.
Lester is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.46 ERA, but will have to adjust to the National League – although it’s hard to imagine that being any sort of drastic adjustment for someone who has been as successful as Lester.
The Cubs also upgraded their rotation when the brought back Jason Hamel. Although Hamel struggled with the A’s, he was 8-5 with a 2.98 ERA as a Cub last season.
Lester and Maddon were clearly the Cubs two biggest moves of the off season, but they aren’t the only reason, I’ll be watching the Cubs this season. Dexter Fowler was a solid addition to the Cubs outfield and the progress of Javier Baez will be interesting to monitor as well.
Jake Arrieta is also coming off of his best ever season as he posted a career high in wins (10) and a career low in ERA (2.53)
Kris Bryant has generated a ton of hype and whenever the Cubs top prospect makes his Major League debut, it will undoubtedly be a major story surrounding the team.
The Cubs are littered with players to watch this season and although it may take them a while to learn to win and completely change the culture in Chicago, the Cubs are going to be one of the most fascinating teams to watch next season.
Boor on Baseball 