Cubs don't expect Jon Lester to miss much time
Whew!
That had to be the collective response from Cubs Nation on Friday when it was announced that Jon Lester might miss just 2 starts with due to arm fatigue.
The Cubs placed Lester and Justin Grimm (infected index finger) on the 10-day disabled list before going out and beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 at Wrigley Field.
“It got to a point where you're doing a disservice to your team by going out and not being able to perform,” said Lester, who allowed 9 runs (7 earned) in 1⅔ innings in a 13-10 loss to the Reds on Thursday. “It sucks going on the DL. You feel like you can't help; but at the same time I wasn't helping out there.
“Let's get this right and get back to being myself.”
Lester, who has allowed 3 or more earned runs in 6 of his last 9 starts, said he's been fighting the fatigue for a while.
“It's not something I kept quiet,” he said. “But at the same time it's something I didn't think was a big deal. I mean, I've pitched through worse.
“But the overall performance is what's telling me I need to take a step back.”
Against the Reds, Joe Maddon noticed Lester's velocity on his cutters was consistently in the 84-85 mph range, which raised a big red flag for the Cubs' manager.
“I just didn't see any finish on the pitches,” Maddon said. “That's the difference between an 84-85 mph cutter and one that's 88-89-90 and the hitters just can't do anything with it.
“That's what you saw (Thursday). Those couple miles an hour difference make all the difference in the world when it comes to being an effective pitcher.”
Mike Montgomery, who threw 4.1 scoreless innings Thursday, will take Lester's spot in the rotation. Maddon said if Montgomery performs well, he might employ a six-man rotation to close out the season.
“Having a guy like (Montgomery) that's versatile, that can start on short notice and provide nice results is a boost for us,” Jake Arrieta said. “Obviously it's not ideal to have a guy as talented as Lester go down, but hopefully we just allow him a little bit of time to get himself back where he needs to be, and he'll help us down the stretch.”
The Cubs are certainly fortunate in that they can deal with an injury to a pitcher like Lester and still roll out a five-man rotation of Arrieta (13-8, 3.63 ERA), John Lackey (10-9, 4.67), Jose Quintana (7-10, 4.33), Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.45) and Montgomery (3-6, 3.64).
Of course, everyone will breathe a lot easier when Lester returns. Lester, who leads the Cubs with 148.1 innings pitched, has made at least 31 starts and thrown at least 191 innings for nine straight seasons.
He's a rock on the mound and in the clubhouse, and sorely needed on a team scratching tooth and nail to try to earn a playoff berth so they can defend their World Series title.
“There comes a time when all pitchers need a breather and this is his time,” GM Theo Epstein said. “He actually told us that he's been dealing with it for a good bit now.
“So this was probably inevitable. I'm glad that he's getting the break before anything serious happens.”
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