The Batterymates
Joe Maddon's choice to start Game 1 of the NLDS was a no-brainer, even though Kyle Hendricks won the major-league ERA title. With two World Series championships under his belt with the Red Sox, Jon Lester is time-tested in October, and he's coming off a Cy Young-caliber season that re-established him as the team's ace.
“Jon has been on a really significant roll since August,” Maddon said. “There's almost a component of meritocracy involved, I think, the fact he has earned the right to be this guy.”
Lester's 19 victories were second in the National League, and his 2.44 ERA was second to Hendricks'. All in all, he had the kind of season the Cubs were looking for when they brought him in.
“This one was pretty special on a personal level,” Lester said. “It'll probably go down as one of the better, if not the best, years of my career, and hopefully there is more to come.”
In the book “The Arm,” Theo Epstein told author Jeff Passan he wrote a series of notes to Lester during the free-agent process, trying to entice him to take the plunge. The Giants were offering more money, but Epstein knew money wouldn't be the deciding factor.
In his final message before the winter meetings, Epstein wrote: “If you do decide to join us in Chicago, we look forward to taking care of your family, to great fun to be had together, and to the biggest celebration in the history of sports!”
The pitch worked. Lester signed with the Cubs, accelerating The Plan.
“The biggest thing that made me believe in the Cubs was (GM Jed Hoyer) and Theo,” Lester told Passan. “They made me believe in what they believe in.”
Now Lester is on the doorstep of something special, something historic. Dozens of free agents have come to the Cubs believing they could make a difference and be on the team that ended the drought, from Andre Dawson to Greg Maddux to Alfonso Soriano.
Will Lester be the one finally to make it happen?
He knows how to pitch in October, knows how to attack hitters. And he's ready for Game 1, the start of the next chapter of his long and winding journey.
“We'll have a game plan,” he said. “I have strengths that have gotten me to this point in my career ... and we'll probably start there and make adjustments.”
The day the Cubs have been waiting for since opening day is here, and Lester is ready to take the wheel and drive this bus.
Enjoy the ride.
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Joe Maddon was cruising down Henderson Boulevard in Tampa, Fla., in his 1967 Ford Galaxie when he got word from President Theo Epstein that the Cubs had signed veteran catcher David Ross to a two-year free-agent deal.
Maddon pulled into a parking lot and called Ross, and it was during that Dec. 23, 2014, phone conversation that Maddon got a good idea of what was in store from Ross from that day forward.
“Fun, passionate, aggressively wanted to win, great teammate,” Maddon said. “All that stuff came through in that phone conversation. We talked about a lot of different things, and then when you get to meet him and match that all up, it's true.”
That was the beginning of Ross' journey with the Cubs.
After 14-plus seasons in the major leagues, Ross will call it quits after the final out of the Cubs' postseason ride. Win or lose, he is walking away from the game.
“I don't know if that has set in yet,” Ross said. “I'm trying to take advantage of every moment, enjoy myself. I just try to take it all in and not take any of it for granted.”
Ross will move on with his life and attempt to make up for moments lost with his family while crouching behind home plates across the United States.
“It's time to go home,” Ross said. “It's time to start a different chapter in my life and enjoy my kids and family. I love baseball, don't get me wrong. I love playing, I love competing (and) I love these guys. There's a perfect atmosphere here of what Theo and Jed (Hoyer) and Joe have created here in Chicago. I love it here and I'm enjoying it, but I think it's that time.”
Until then, he's soaking in every moment in what has morphed into a fairly epic farewell tour.
Going out on his terms is a luxury not afforded to many players who carry a .229 career batting average and hadn't reached double figures in home runs in nearly a decade before this season.
“I look back on my life and what I bring and my skill set and how I even got this much time in the major leagues, and it blows my mind,” Ross said. “I just tried to keep my head down ... and I look up and I'm able to go out on my own terms and have had a very long career.”
The final days are filled more with joy than sadness — buoyed by playing on a Cubs team that is looking to rewrite franchise history. After announcing in the winter that his would be his last season, “it's almost like a weight is off your shoulders, like this is it,” he said.
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