So, who else thinks Jon Lester has a legitimate chance to no-hit the Oakland A’s this weekend, and join Johnny Vander Meer as the only pitchers to throw back-to-back no-hitters? Yeah, I know we’re supposed to bask in the glory of one no-hitter and not get ahead of ourselves, but frankly the Lester story — his cancer, his cocked hat, his left-handedness — has already been smothered to death by the press-pass word monkeys. I’d rather be ahead of the curve, and the only way we’re going to keep challenging Lester is by presenting him with new goals. Given that, I think we need to start small — by having him no-hit the Oakland Athletics this weekend.

As a left-handed pitcher coming off a no-hitter (which Lester is), you really couldn’t ask for a better follow-up team than the Oakland A’s, who are hitting .242 versus southpaws (third-worst in the American League) with an anemic .314 slugging percentage (dead last). Mind you, if Lester was going for a perfect game, the A’s would be the LAST team he’d want to face, since the Moneyball-lovers lead the American League in free passes. But here’s the lineup the A’s can be expected to roll out versus the Red Sox’ lefty this weekend. This box score was taken from Oakland’s last American League game versus a left-hander, Cleveland’s Aaron Laffey.

Needless to say, this lineup scares no one but A’s fans. The only people you might have to worry about here are Mike Sweeney, Emil Brown, and Bobby Crosby, who are hitting .340, .333, and .292, respectively, versus left-handed pitchers this season. Simple solution: Walk them all, every time up. Frank Thomas too. After all, a walk doesn’t break up a no-hitter. Moreover, the A’s don’t steal bases and their slugging percentage versus lefties is terrible, so they won’t make you pay for it. Otherwise, Lester should be aggressive and go after every Oakland batter. I mean, this is the same team that almost got no-hit by Curt Schilling last year, and he never had to overcome cancer, so Lester should have no trouble.

Yup, I can see the headlines now: Johnny Vander Lester!

(Actually, that sounds like a sex offender.)

2 Responses to “Can Lester join Vander Meer with back-to-back no-hitters?”

1. matt Says:
   May 20th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

   It is a long shot but Schilling almost tossed a no-no in Oakland last year. My hope is to see Lester throw another no-hitter and Manny hit #500 in the same night…especially since I already have tickets to the game.

   http://www.fenwaywest.com

2. Loser Says:
   May 20th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

   Ha, typical arrogant Boston crap.

Leave a Comment