Deadspin
From Victor Conte and Barry Bonds to Brian McNamee and Roger Clemens, baseball has given us every reason in the world lately to be cynical, and yet we are not. The reason for that became evident once again on Monday night in Boston, when Jon Lester — who had beaten cancer just over a year ago — threw the 18th no-hitter in the history of the Red Sox, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-0. I won't say something preposterous like "Today, we are all Red Sox fans," but I'll go out on a limb and say that today most of us are Jon Lester fans. How could you not be? Especially since the celebration came complete with a live F-bomb! What a glorious evening.
"His story is a good story as it is," Boston third baseman Mike Lowell told the Boston Globe. "But to add a no-hitter to it, it adds something great to the story. I think people will now remember what he did tonight on the mound as something special, instead of he's a young kid who had cancer. It shows his ability has come full circle. Besides the no-hitter, he shows he can really shut down a team, because he has that kind of stuff."
Of course, Lester doesn't want to be known simply as the pitcher who beat cancer. As soon as he returned to his locker, he plopped the game ball into his cowboy boot and began talking of his next outing. “It was a long road back,” Lester said. “And when I did get back, I wanted to be at a certain level. And I wasn’t at that level. It took awhile. It was tough mentally and tough physically to go out and pitch every five days. It was a long road. I’m just glad that I’m here at this moment right now, and in five days I’ll go and pitch again.”
Lester (3-2) struck out nine, walked two and faced only two batters over the minimum. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury thwarted the Royals' best bid for a hit, making a diving, backhanded catch on Jose Guillen’s sinking liner in the fourth. It was the fourth no-hitter caught by Boston's Jason Varitek, a major league record. Varitek also homered Monday.
The last no-hitter against the Royals? Why, it seems like yesterday: May 15, 1973, by Nolan Ryan.
• Umpires Flip A Coin, Again Get It Wrong. Chicago's Geovany Soto was credited with an inside-the-park, three-run homer in the fourth inning despite replays showing that it should have been an automatic home run. Oh well, he could use the exercise. Cubs beat Astros, 7-2. Fun fact: It's been almost 49 years since a Cubs catcher hit an inside-the-park homer. Cal Neeman's did it on June 17, 1959 against Pittsburgh's Harvey Haddix. Lance Berkman was 0-for-4, breaking his hitting streak at 17 games.
• Tanned, Rested And Ready. The Rays kept pace a game behind the first-place Red Sox in the East with a 13-inning, 7-6 win over the Athletics. Reliever Jason Hammel, who had not pitched for 11 straight days, threw three scoreless innings as Tampa Bay won on Evan Longoria's two-run homer in the 13th.
• Alyssa Milano Has A New Boyfriend. Hope you saved that Blake DeWitt card. The rookie's second run-scoring single of the game lifted the Dodgers to a 6-5 win over the Reds, breaking Cincinnati's six-game winning streak. DeWitt is 6-for-6 with 12 RBI with the bases loaded this season.
• Wizard Cat Defensive Player Of The Day. Jim Edmonds, Chicago Cubs. Whoa, Willie Mays-like! Wizard Cat gives this catch: Five wands.
Contact Wizard Cat at Wizardcat@live.com
Comments
Little known fact, his first name is actually Moe. You can see why he goes with Jon.
See Dravecky? What was so hard about that?
So, I don't watch the Sox much, but I didn't no Lester was even that good, much less good enough to throw a no hitter.
*know
First of all, congrats to Jon Lester. Second of all, boo on the cameraman who gave us a close up of Jim Edmonds ankle. Nasty stuff.
@LeagueofShadows: on any given monday...
Kansas City Royals meet Radioactive Man = quality comic book.
Royals meet Radiation Treatment Man = no-hitter.
/Seriously, congrats to Lester from a Royals fan.
@LeagueofShadows: Against the Royals with Grudzielanek and TPJ batting in the 9th. This merits some sort of *.
Jon Lester is Nolan Fackin' Ryan, bay-beh!!
/Tommy from Quinzee
Great story...but to be fair, he was pitching against the Royals. I didn't realize they still had an MLB team in K.C.
No-hitter after beating cancer? That's nothing, Cone pitched a perfect game after beating off in front of fans in the bullpen.
@HIV 2 Elway: Grudzielanek on the bench that is
@SadJohnson: They got uniforms and everything, it's really great!
Edmonds makes a basket catch.....Willie Mays-style!
Nice catch Edmonds, don't ever fucking do it again.
Alyssa Milano Has A New Boyfriend
Huh. I heard she was nailing Wizard Cat.
I'm sure some sort of steroids helped Jon Lester beat cancer.
/shows self out
In response, Hank is starting Joba Chamberlain tomorrow.
@Weed Against Speed: she likes pussy?
I wonder if Lance Armstrong "helped" him out during his recovery.
/unnecessarily mean
Mark Grudzielanek tried to throw Lester off his rhythm, so he asked the umpire for remission. It wasn't granted.
Tony LaRussa said Edmond's catch would be a 2 by anyone else. 2.5 maybe.
@Afino: Not until he beats up a man half his age in twenty years time.
Who will be 2028's Robin Ventura? Scott Rolen, Jr., maybe?
@crazyjoedavola: No, he's giving him cancer.
@Juancho: I'm right behind you.
Seriously, I'd want this kid on my team if we didn't have a glut of decent lefthanders.*
*subtracting Shaqbathia, sooner or later
To follow Boston's example, Alex Gordon buried his jersey somewhere underneath Fenway Park after the game.
@HIV 2 Elway: I felt sure TPJ would get one of his 12 yearly singles in the 9th to ruin the moment. Oh well, if they'd sent Gathright up there to pinch hit, he'd have bunted to break it up, drawing the wrath of Goose Gossage and Unwritten Rules Enforcers everywhere.
Where was the IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS! guy?
Beating cancer > Beating KC
kind of a shame that with Pierce's epic G7 performance and Lester's remarkable comeback-turned-no hitter... Simmons remains audibly silent.
@Doyle McPoyle: Not much of a stadium though, it looks like shit right now.
Oh god... I'm going to revert to ESPN Commenter mode and vomit up homerism all over this post in 5... 4... 3...
AHHH DOOD JON LESTAH IS FACKING INCREDIBLE AND DON'T YOU KNOW HE HAD CANSAH TOO JUST LIKE MY GRANDDAD AND NOW HE THREW A FACKING NO-HITTAH YANKEES SUCK DOOD
/wakes up on floor, drenched in sweat
I'm sorry... what?
@garbageday: Would have made my night. Didn't Sweeney pinch hit to beark up a no hitter last year?
This Just In:
Blake DeWitt diagnosed with clymidia. He should be so lucky.
@Juancho: I see that you, too, have watched "Poison Ivy 2" and "Embrace of the Vampire."
Of course, Lester doesn't want to be known simply as the pitcher who beat cancer.
He knows WHIP is much better at judging pitchers than wins.
@UkraineNotWeak: 4 pills, taken at once, followed by some awkward phone calls and he's in the clear.
@HIV 2 Elway: With what they're spending on the rebuild, couldn't they have just built a new one? I heard the figures, it's crazy.
@Juancho: Only the furry ones.
@HIV 2 Elway: Haha, yeah, he broke it up in the 9th with 2 outs, pinch-hitting for TPJ no less.
@garbageday: or *cough*, a Very Special Episode™ of The Outer Limits.
@Juancho: $425M to rennovate Kauffman and Arrowhead. You can't build two stadiums for that. Some people wanted a baseball stadium downtown but this town loves tailgating too much.
Jon Lester had cancer? i had no idea
So we found a threshold. All it takes for me to like the Red Sox is a guy who beat cancer tossing a no-hitter.
If they could do that every night I might even become a fan*
*probably not.
@Juancho: But the rebuild came with a scoreboard that contains "The biggest HD TV display in the world"* *=Someone in Texas already probably made a bigger one, just because.
I really wish more KC residents would have voted for the planned retractable roof, which would have covered both stadiums and been visible from space. (Seriously.)
Derek Jeter does not see what the big deal is, he's been playing every day with Herpes for years.
@Juancho: chemo as a banned substance going forward?
@HIV 2 Elway: I've wanted to come to town and see a game, if I do, we should hang.
@garbageday: This is like the plan to retroactively put a removable roof on Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Let him doing it shitgaced, then get back to me.
/Boomer'd
*do. Fuck.
**shitfaced. Double-Fuck.
@Juancho: Do it, how far away are you? I love hosting (thank you couchsurfing) and have multiple geust rooms.
@futuremrsrickankiel: DOOD! AH YOU FROM DAHT-MUTH TOO?! SOUTH SHOWA FOWA EVAH!!