Levine: From The Start, Jon Lester Was Looking At 2015 As Cubs' Year

By Bruce Levine--

NEW YORK (CBS) The Jon Lester story is getting big play as he prepares to take the hill against the Mets and Matt Harvey on Saturday evening in Game 1 of the NLCS.

In his press conference Friday, Lester -- who signed for $155 million last December -- remembered how he talked about winning in 2015 before the franchise bosses were prepared to go there.

When Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was courting Lester in the offseason, the savvy baseball executive remembered Lester admonishing him about the importance of winning right away.

"We had a full day of presentations for him as to what his life would be like as a Cub," Epstein said. "That included family issues, travel and even who his teammates would be. We talked about the renovation, new clubhouse and how things would be on the field."

"He wanted most of all to play for a winner. We spent a lot of time talking about 2016. We even talked beyond that what we would look like. We thought by that time we would be consistent contenders. He kept bringing the conversation back to 2015.

"He said, 'I was just through a season in Boston where we broke in a lot of young players. That got me in last place and got me traded.' He said he was not looking to go through that again."

Lester was 11-12 with a 3.34 ERA this season, in which the run production didn't consistently blossom until late summer for the young Cubs. Lester's best outings, including his one start in the NLDS, have been more like the pitcher that he promised to be in Chicago.

"It did not take much to convince me about these young guys," Lester said of his talks with Epstein. "They gave me highlight after highlight and number after number. They told me what they projected them to do."

The $155 million payday was important but not the deciding factor. After all, the Giants were prepared to bid much higher for Lester.

"The biggest thing that sold me not only on these young guys but the whole organization was just how arrogant he was about it," Lester said of Epstein. "I mean that in a good way. He is very confident as to what he has done to this point to get his team to the next step. I thought that was the most impressive part of what he was selling.

"He was very confident these guys would not be failures," Lester continued. "Now getting to play with these guys, you really understand what he saw. They are not just baseball players. They are good kids. They compete and show up every day to play. The most impressive thing to me is how prepared they are. What they have been able to do on the field, and their numbers speak for themselves."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.