Pitcher Jon Lester eyeing readiness before Opening Day role against the Texas Rangers – MLB Update
The Boston Red Sox are fixed on taking down the 2010 American League Champions, the Texas Rangers, on Opening Day of the 2011 Major League Baseball season. While players are looking to reach fitness levels for the testing first outing in the year, Jon Lester
has a hard task to absorb the pressure seeping through the cracks in the realism of making the first outing on top of the rotation pyramid.
The ace pitcher is getting ready for his role on the mound and in a recent game against the club’s Minor Leaguers, he did not do as well as he expected to. He pitched 77 times, availing five strikeouts and conceding five runs from nine hits. The encounter
on the mound however was a stint in a spring training tenure.
In catcher Jason Varitek’s eyes, he did well for the club and said, "He was good," added Varitek. "We got through all of his pitches, most importantly. Right away, he got put in a situation where he had to work, so that was good. He got to do some [situational
pitching]."
The honour of going first in the line-up does have its draw-backs but Lester is looking on dismantling most of his fears and handling himself well on the mound. The player is looking to shake off the jitters and is hoping his mindset on the mound will be
different from his encounter, recently.
"I'll just go out there and just try to do what I know how to do," Lester said. "That's what I can control. The rest of the stuff will take care of itself. That's stuff for [the media] to do. I don't worry about that stuff. Just go out and pitch and have
fun. If I do that, if I focus on that, then like I've said in years past, everything else will fall into place."
Whatever the case may be, Lester’s stay in Fort Myers, Florida, will be short lived and there is going to be a lot of commotion when he takes his role on the field on Friday in Arlington.
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