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Dragnet Referendum: Rangers at Soxby Cameron on April 19 at 5:52PM | comments (0)
[ comments (0) ] [ BallHype ] The latest step in the Jon Lester "Is he going to be great, or just usable?" tour hits Fenway tonight, starting in a few minutes, and there's plenty of intrigue heading into it. For starters, only four Rangers have ever faced the tall lefty before. For second thing, Julio Lugo is back in the lineup, as the Globe's Julian Benbow divulged here (incidentally, Benbow's been outstanding filling in for Amalie Benjamin the past couple of days). And for a third helping, there's always the suspension of Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth to talk about, he of the "throw the ball behind Manny Ramirez and try to act intimidating while wearing ridiculous glasses" fame.  That being said, we really ought to start with Lester, whose recent struggles have dimmed the optimism which emerged after a brilliant second start in Oakland and a relatively solid spring training. Quite frankly, 1-2 with a 5.31 ERA is just not going to get it done. And while the Sox seem committed to letting Lester establish himself, Clay Buchholz's progress in recent starts could make things interesting if Bartolo Colon returns in Pawtucket and impresses the way he did before his most recent minor injury setback/round of trips to the buffet table. So what can we expect from Lester tonight? Well, here's what he's facing. And while it would be easy to write off some concerns with the knowledge that he's facing off against an 0-3 Jason Jennings for the Rangers, that record for the Texas star is misleading, given the fact that he's 2-0 against the Sox in the past (though his last start against Boston was back in 2004). Nonetheless, Jennings' early scuffles - if you can call an 8.79 ERA merely scuffles - and the sudden hot streak from Boston's bats - they've earned A -es from Inside Edge the past two games - should have things trending in the right direction. You would think. That would be comforting if not for the old baseball truism that momentum is only as good as the next day's starting pitcher. And today's starting pitcher needs a good start. Badly. |
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