Series Notebook | Cancer-free Lester gets the call
BOSTON - In the midst of Boston’s raucous on-field celebration Sunday after clinching the American League pennant, Curt Schilling sought out Jon Lester.
Schilling, at age 40, is the senior Red Sox member, while the 23-year-old Lester, in just his second major-league season, is one of their young pups. Yet the two have, by all accounts, developed a close bond.
“I said to him, ‘How awesome when you think about where you were a year ago, and where you are now, a chance to go to the World Series,’ ” Schilling recalled.
A year ago, Lester was in the midst of cancer treatments at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, having been diagnosed with lymphoma during a Red Sox series against the Mariners in late August 2006.
Now Lester, who went to Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, has a clean bill of health and a key role for the Red Sox in the World Series.
With Tim Wakefield (shoulder) left off the roster, Lester is slated to be their Game 4 starter against the Rockies at Coors Field. Manager Terry Francona confirmed as much Wednesday, although he was still hedging slightly.
“We fully intend for Lester to pitch Game 4, but there could be weather, there could be things that happen during games that change things,” Francona said. “He threw four innings [Tuesday, in a simulated game during the Red Sox workout]. Unless something crazy happens, he will pitch.”
The left-handed Lester spent much of the 2007 season in the minors, working his way back to strength. He came up to stay on July 23 and went 4-0 with a 4.57 earned-run average in 12 games (11 starts). Lester will oppose Aaron Cook in Denver.
“His situation had a profound effect on all of us,” Schilling said. “The beauty of it is that Game 4 is going to be a whole lot different than had he not gone through what he went through. There’s no mountain he can’t climb, no hurdle he can’t jump.”
Schilling gets
another shot
Schilling himself is a certified postseason legend, possessing the highest winning percentage in history (8-2, .800) for any pitcher with at least 10 decisions. And there’s that whole bloody-sock thing.
But against the Rockies, whom he will face tonight in Game 2, Schilling had a rough outing when the Red Sox faced Colorado at Fenway Park in an interleague game on June 13. He gave up nine hits and five runs in five innings in a 12-2 Boston loss.
“They were good,” Schilling said. “I’d like to think it was a combination of not throwing well, not executing well, but that’s a good team. I’ve been watching that game [on tape], and I certainly didn’t command the ball well at all. But it’s a pretty good offensive team.”
Schilling will be opposed by 23-year-old Ubaldo Jimenez, who has a mere 17 regular-season games under his belt. Jimenez was 4-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 15 starts, and has a 1.59 ERA in two postseason starts.
Asked if he was looking forward to facing David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, Jimenez laughed and said, “I mean, I know it has to come, so I just let it come. I’m not worried about it. I’ll just throw strikes and go after them.”
O’Neil honored
One of the game’s most beloved ambassadors, Buck O’Neil, was posthumously honored by the Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award named in his memory.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was on hand for the announcement at Fenway Park before the World Series opener.
O’Neil, a Negro Leagues star and the first black coach in the majors, fell two votes shy of induction into the Hall of Fame during a special election in February 2006. He died last October at age 94.
A statue of O’Neil will be erected inside the museum, and the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to a worthy recipient no more than every three years.
“His impact on the game has been enormous,” Selig said. “He’s now in Cooperstown where he belongs.”
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.