In case you were worried that Los Angeles was going to haul Jon Lester away in the same dumptruck that they were scheduled to deliver a vast fortune in, there has been a favorable development in the efforts of the San Francisco Giants to acquire the available southpaw. Buster Posey saddled up and paid a cordial call on the Atlanta resident, along with Bruce Bochy last Sunday night, in an effort to convince Lester to join the Giants.
In an article posted Monday, Grant Brisbee wrote, “The Giants have been the future third-place finishers according to most scuttlebutt merchants, trailing behind the Red Sox and Cubs, with the Dodgers and their wheelbarrow of doubloons always a threat to destroy everything. No one counted on Buster Posey, though, pure of heart is he. Suddenly the Giants might be the front runners.” (http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2014/12/8/7354393/jon-lester-rumors-giants-buster-posey)
Whereas Lester has connections in both Boston and Chicago, the type of offer that Buster Posey is offering his potential future battery mate, a chance at another world series ring, has a solid basis in recent past practices and could be the pitch that Lester listens to most carefully.
Given his choice, Jon Lester could do a lot worse in terms of bench-mates, over the next six years of his life, than the group of down-home boys already congregated in the San Francisco dugout.
Much has been made of the reason Lester might want to select Chicago, and Los Angeles is able to offer Lester far more rea$ons to join LA than any of the contenders. But though Lester has friends in high places in both Boston and Chicago, where will he spend the bulk of his time over the 162-game schedule? That’s right, in the dugout.
May 22, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson (17) prepares to deliver a pitch during the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
One of the poorest kept secrets about the Giants is their contingent of Southern players who know how to get the job done. They have done so three times with teams comprised of about ten guys and three different casts of fifteen others, mixed and matched to form championship teams.
Jon Lester has to be salivating at the prospect of joining fellow countrymen Buster Posey, Tim Hudson, Brandon Belt, Matt Cain, Hunter Pence, and Bruce Bochy in an all-out attempt to break the stranglehold on odd-numbered years as the only option for a championship. Brisbee believes that Posey carries a great deal of weight with Lester.
After all, if Buster Posey offered to sell you a used car without a pink slip, and assured you that all was on the up-and-up, wouldn’t you believe him?