OK I guess you don't like him. I don't know what to tell ya. It seems like you kinda made up your mind already. He struck out ten, obviously he had something working.

I think he'll be the same guy he's always been for at least the first half of deal.

And Yes he's a second tier guy.

Felix, Kershaw, Harvey, Sale are tier one. Maybe one more guy.

Soriano was making top dollar(like top 5 in mlb)/
Lester is the 10th highest paid starter and guys will continue to pass him on that list.

Not sure where you got that from, but according to Forbes, Lester and Kershaw are at #1 in 2015 with $30m each and Verlander is next with $28m.

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From Cotts:
The highest-paid starting pitchers, by average annual value:
1. Clayton Kershaw, $30,714,286 (2014-20)
2. Max Scherzer, $30,000,000 (2015-21)
3. Jon Lester, $25,833,333 (2015-20)
4. Justin Verlander, $25,714,286 (2013-19)
5. Felix Hernandez, $25,000,000 (2013-19)
6. Zack Greinke, $24,500,000 (2013-18)
7. CC Sabathia, $24,400,000 (2012-16)
8. Cole Hamels, $24,000,000 (2013-18)
… Cliff Lee, $24,000,000 (2011-15)

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Lot of aces there (maybe Scherzer being the exception) when they signed those deals.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

can't wait to see the eminently draftable 2011 6th round draft pick anthony desclafani put in some work against the cubs. not just because he's been really nice this year, but because this is going to be his first real test against a quality lineup. let's see how he handles a lineup with 3-4 no doubt first ballot/ish HOFs...

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April 14, 2015

Chi Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Fowler, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .200
Rizzo, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .238
Soler, RF 3 0 1 0 1 2 1 .308
Coghlan, LF-2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .300
Castro, S, SS 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .286
Montero, M, C 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .067
Alcantara, 2B 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .053
a-Szczur, PH-LF 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 .143
Arrieta, P 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000
Rosscup, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Castillo, W, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .333
Strop, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
d-Ross, D, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .167
Herrera, J, 3B 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
c-Olt, PH-3B 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .133
Totals 31 2 5 2 5 9 13 .207



Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
DeSclafani(W, 1-0) 7.0 2 0 0 2 5 0 1.38
Gregg(H, 2) 0.2 1 2 2 1 1 1 17.18
Cingrani(H, 1) 0.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.70
Chapman(S, 3) 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00
Totals 9.0 5 2 2 5 9 1 3.66

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yes but that april 14th 2015 cubs lineup =/= the current cubs lineup. you've added in two no doubt HOFs in bryant and russell, and beyond that it's the second time he's facing the cubs so now those guys there on the 14th have another crack at him.

seriously dude, i know you have a mission to defend the honor of the cubs in the face of trolling and all that.... but are you really gonna tell me that descla is facing the same cubs lineup he faced on the 14th?

first real test today IMO.

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How about this outing against the Cubs June 27, 2014 if you're talking about a loaded HOF lineup

Chi Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Valbuena, 3B 5 0 2 1 0 1 2 .292
Ruggiano, LF 3 0 0 1 1 0 1 .253
Rizzo, 1B 4 0 0 0 1 3 2 .272
Castro, S, SS 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .285
Schierholtz, RF 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .211
Lake, CF 4 1 1 2 0 1 2 .236
Grimm, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Barney, 2B 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .192
Whiteside, C 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .091
b-Baker, Jo, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .159
Samardzija, P 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 .194
a-Coghlan, PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .194
Schlitter, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Sweeney, R, CF 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .183
Totals 34 5 9 5 2 8 13 .232


Miami IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
DeSclafani 6.1 6 4 4 1 5 1 5.60
Dyson, S(W, 1-0) 1.1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
Dunn, M(H, 10) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.90
Cishek(S, 16) 1.0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2.05
Totals 9.0 9 5 4 2 8 1 3.83

You are correct today's lineup is just a little but better.

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You're doing it wrong.
A slump buster should not look like that.
A slump buster should look like a stereotypical female from say Alsip or Bridgeport.

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Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

yeah whatever, i know the kid had at least a cup of coffee b4 but coming into this year it was like "hey there's real breakout potential here" and now he's out there doing his thing kicking ass and taking #s so i'm looking at this year like a new beginning for descla and i think out of his previous outings today's cubs lineup is his first real test because holy shit you or i could pitch to the brewers and we'd eek out a quality start if you're one of those 6IP 3ER people (i'm 7IP 3ER in my baseball universe cuz a 4.50 ERA aint quality, but thats just me)

and hey true to form one of the non-HOFers who's facing him for a 2nd time in ~12 days got a solo shot off of him. that's why this is a nice test today when you combine the familiarity factor and the ~3-4 HOFers in the lineup factor.

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Russell!!!

Looked overmatched the entire at bat except for that swing. I'll take it. 5-0 with Arietta looks pretty good.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

No sooner do I say it and he has a 30 pitch inning. Frazier took that ball off his shoe tops .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Big inning coming up for Arrieta here. I think if he gets through this one without giving up any runs we win this ballgame.

Lucky to get out of that with only 1 run. He kinda fell apart last couple innings for whatever reason.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Hopefully he gets through the 6th unscathed.

Castro with another nice play. The best thing for him defensively might be looking over at Russell everyday at 2nd base.

Solar really struggling at the plate these days. Might be time for a day off just to clear his head.

Agree. Good analysis by JD on Russell as well, how he just keeps missing hittable pitches in the zone. Bryant ( probably justifiably so) is being pitched much much, much tougher.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Solid victory today and another series win for the Cub. Arrieta, though not great, did get the job done. And how about some recognition for Rosscup? This guy has quietly gone about his business and is getting good results out there. It was also good too see Russell get a big hit, but like Rogue alluded to, he's seems to be caught in between and is swinging through some cookies up there.

Let's keep it going against the Pirates tomorrow night!

BUT YOUR ACE SUCKS!

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

This team is beastly.

With the Cardinals missing Waino all year the division is kind of doable. Before it was delusional optimism and now it's a little more realistic.

BUT LESTER SUCKS

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

When a Cardinals player get injured it's like a family member has died. They're weird like that. It's whatever.

we're gonna party like its 1989!!

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Still on this bit, huh?

I figure I can get 4 maybe 5 months out of this.
It's a great answer to everything...

Senator, can you tell us what happened to the 124 million dollars missing from your campaign fund?
NO BUT WHO CARES LESTER SUCKS!

My god, how long have you been cheating on me?
HOW LONG HAS LESTER SUCKED?

We found 5 bodies in your crawlspace so far... have anything to say for yourself?
YEAH. I DO. LESTER SUCKS.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Lovely...

...go Cubs.

NOT WHILE LESTER SUCKS!

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

It's cool they're worth watching after three weeks. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
They probably aren't going to win anything but they are going to be watchable, unlike the last few years.

Soler needs a day off. He looks completely lost at the plate.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

That Forbes site always has errors on it. Its weird, but Ive noticed that in the past.

He's making 20m this year, which makes him 10th

If you average it out over the life of the deal he's 3rd but like I said, people will continue to pass him. Its just not on the level of the Soriano deal and suggesting such is silly.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lestejo01.shtml#contracts