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John Lackey: 'I'm Not Out There To Be Your Friend -- I'm Out There To Whoop Your ***'

(CBS) Before Cubs pitchers Jon Lester and John Lackey first became teammates in 2010 with the Red Sox, Lester had a distinct first impression of Lackey.

"I actually hated him when he was in L.A. We're just being honest right?" Lester said on the Spiegel and Goff Show on Wednesday, throwing in the "with all due respect" qualifier line.

"It was more of a competitive hate than hating him as a person."

That sports hate soon blossomed into a tight friendship during their four-plus years together in Boston, as the two had shared interests such as golfing and "cowboy stuff," as Lackey put it. So as the Cubs prepare to open the 2016 season as World Series favorites, it's Lester who knows better than anyone in the Cubs organization how Lackey goes about his business.

"I'm not out there to be your friend," Lackey said. "I'm out there to whoop your ***.

"When I'm competing in a game, I'm a different person than the other four days, for sure. The other four days, we're having fun, laughing, having a good time. On my day, I take it pretty serious."

Lackey's intensity and the production of both pitchers helped lead the Red Sox to the 2013 championship. Now on a Cubs team full of young talent, that's again the goal for Lackey and Lester.

"We're embracing it," Lackey said of the championship expectations. "We're going after it. We're not scared of it. We got a goal of winning the World Series, and that's about it."

Listen to the two friends' full interview below.

Jon Lester and John Lackey on the Spiegel & Goff Show

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