Levine: Jon Lester Glad To Have Hype On Cubs, Not Himself

By Bruce Levine--

ANAHEIM, Calif. (CBS) -- Cubs left-hander Jon Lester's a man who takes a lot of pride in everything he does. After signing the most lucrative contract in Cubs history in December 2014, Lester's on a mission this season to show that his 11-12 record in 2015 was just a blip on the radar. While

Pitching in a park Tuesday night that he had career 4.76 career ERA in, Lester took the mound for the Cubs in the second game of the season and led them to a 6-1 win against the Angels at Angel Stadium. He was awarded an early lead after the Cubs put four runs in the fourth inning, which included a Matt Szczur solo home run and a two-run blast from Anthony Rizzo.

Lester threw seven running of one-run ball, allowing four hits and striking out four.

"My fastball was pretty good," Lester said. "My cutter wasn't. I got away with some, and I made some decent pitches when we had to with the cutter. The change-up was good. We were able to keep them off balance with the change."

Playing his last season in the major leagues, David Ross has been Lester's personal catcher both in Boston and Chicago.

"Jon has a five-day plan," Ross said. "After his start, it's day one of his next start. Some guys rest a day or two before throwing a side session. That is not Jon's way. He has it mapped out when he long tosses, looks at video when he gets his workouts in. For Jon, it's a whole process in between the four days he is not pitching. When he steps on the mound, he knows for sure what he wants to do. He knows better than most what the consequences are if he doesn't execute his pitches. Tonight he kept the ball down and had a real good change-up."

Outside observers see a Lester who's all business and shows little emotion. Teammates see a different guy on a daily basis.

"Since spring training last year, we have all got to know him a little more," third baseman Kris Bryant said. "He is one of the sneaky funny guys on the team. He is really fun to be around. I think Jon and everyone are just coming out of their shell, myself included. Jon is just a part of our fun team."

After a strong spring in which he went 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA, Lester hopes to put his mark on the team and league this year. Despite a slow start in 2015 after incurring a forearm injury in spring training, Lester became just the third left-handed Cubs starter since 1971 to reach 21 quality starts in a season (Ted Lily and Travis Wood). Lester also set the franchise record for strikeouts in one season by a left-handed starter with 207.

Former teammate Ryan Dempster was in awe of the preparation and work ethic he saw in Lester as a fellow pitcher in Boston during the 2013 Red Sox's World Series championship run.

"Jon taught me some things in my work between starts that helped me be better prepared to pitch," said Dempster, a special advisor in the Cubs organization now. "Remember, I had pitched 17 years as a pro before I met him. I was really struck how organized he was in his four-day plan between starts."

Lester has impressed manager Joe Maddon this spring with his tenacity and work.

"His delivery was what I noticed the most in camp," Maddon said. "I don't think there was a moment last year that I thought his delivery was as smooth as I saw it in this past camp. It seemed to have a lot to do with his front leg and how that worked. The bottom half and the arm slot followed the leg placement. He also had a really good cutter."

Maddon also pointed out the obvious for the once tightly wound Lester, who in the second season of a six-year, $155-million deal.

"He is more comfortable not having the weight of the world on his shoulders," Maddon said. "He has other guys to deflect for him now, which I think will make him even better."

Lester admitted he's more relaxed and in the best mechanical place he has been as a Cub.

"I am in a better place than I was last year," he said. "There was no limitation as far as pitch counts or anything like that. You take each individual year for what it is. Last year was so different and had so much hype involved in it, too many expectations for myself. You try to go out the first start and live up to those expectations all at once. Physically and mentally, I am light years ahead of where I was last year."

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