Cubs would have "checked" Bryce Harper, but are still far away



[ad_1]

Count starting pitcher Jon Lester as someone who is not in favor of the new MLB clock.

After his debut in the spring when he launched two scoreless innings, Lester shared his thoughts on adding a MLB clock.

"Baseball is baseball, you are not going to accelerate it, you are not going to change it," Lester said. "You can put the stopwatch there and the game will run as it should.

"If you have a 6-5 game, it will take half past 3. If you have a 2-1 game, it will be two hours and 50 minutes.

Last week, the MLB announced the introduction of a throwing clock for all spring training matches this season. Although no decision has yet been made, it is highly likely that the clock will also be used in the regular season.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has suggested that the league focus more on the pace of play than on larger changes, such as adding a designated hitter to the National League.

Lester suggested that baseball would be better off trying to improve its product in the field rather than getting games through faster.

"I think we need to move beyond our goal of changing the pace of play, as opposed to the product on the ground," he said. "I think if you have a product on the field, the fans will show up and they will stay there for three hours."

Lester on projections for Cubs' pitching staff

It's no secret that PECOTA's Baseball Flyer system predicts the Cubs will have a hard time surviving in 2019. The system predicts that the Cubs' pitching staff will allow nearly 100 more races in 2019 than the Cubs. In the year 2018.

Lester alluded to Monday's unpleasant projection, jokingly that critics see the team's rotation in a negative way because of his age. Lester, Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels and Jose Quintana are all at least 30 years old, while Kyle Hendricks turns 30 in December.

"Apparently, we're just old and ready to be behind our career, so I'll let a computer program tell me if I'm going to be good this year," said Lester sarcastically.

"I think the key for us is just to be healthy. [Yu] Darvish for three quarters of the year is a blow to our rotation.

"It looks great, we have [Brandon] Morrow will come back to solidify this end of the pen. I love where we are. I love ourselves as a staff. It's just a matter of going out and launching now. I do not worry too much for our guys. "

Click here to download the new NBC Sports MyTeams app! Get complete coverage of your teams and easily broadcast Cubs on your device.

[ad_2]

Source link