ON BASEBALL: Kevin Thomas

Lester is no throw-in

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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EL ALL-STAR GAME WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday WHERE: Hadlock Field TICKETS: Sold out TELEVISION: NESN To top of story

Manny Ramirez for Alex Rodriguez. It may go down as the biggest non-trade in baseball history.

What would have happened if the Red Sox were able to trade Ramirez to Texas before the 2004 season?

Instead of being the World Series MVP, Ramirez would be languishing in Arlington. Nomar Garciaparra would have been gone from Boston sooner, and every kid at Fenway would be wearing A-Rod T-shirts, instead of booing his name.

And one more thing - the Red Sox would not be grooming a left-handed pitching prospect in Portland.

Jon Lester was to be included in the Boston-Texas trade, a throw-in to help the Rangers accept Manny and his salary.

Instead, Lester may join Ramirez as a Red Sox teammate by 2007, if not earlier.

For now, Lester is wowing them in Portland, and will be the lone Sea Dogs pitcher in the Eastern League All-Star Game, Wednesday at Hadlock Field.

Lester (6-2), who gets a start today in Manchester, N.H., is second in the league in strikeouts (101 in 91 1/3 innings) and third in ERA (2.56).

Other Boston pitching prospects get more publicity these days, notably the three former Sea Dogs who have already been promoted to Pawtucket this season - Cla Meredith, Jon Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen. Meredith has already made a Fenway appearance, and both Papelbon and Delcarmen could be up in the bigs this season.

But what about Lester? Baseball America ranks him as the organization's No. 4 prospect. When is he going to Pawtucket?

"I don't know," Lester said with a laugh. "I'm not worried about it."

Lester, 21, has learned not to worry. He was not so relaxed when he heard the Rodriguez-Ramirez trade rumors, with his name involved. The Red Sox did not let him know of the possible deal. He heard about it through a friend, who was surfing the Internet.

"I was pretty mad," Lester said. "I had just had a good season in (lower Class A) Augusta."

Lester had a 3.65 ERA in Augusta in 2003, his first full pro season. He seemed on his way to being something special after the Red Sox selected him with their first draft pick (second round) in 2002.

Suddenly, he was trade bait. Eventually, Lester was able to step back and look at the reality of being a minor leaguer with a big market team.

"It's a business and I had to realize this deal involved Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez," Lester said.

In that company, Lester may seem like small potatoes. But not any more. As the major-league trade deadline nears, Lester appears to be one of the untouchables - one of those prospects that the Red Sox envision at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox already have one top left-handed prospect in Abe Alvarez, the former Sea Dogs starter, now in Pawtucket. But Alvarez is the prototypical "crafty" left-hander who relies on location and change of speed.

Lester brings power. His fastball sits in the low- to mid-90s. This year, he has been able to set up the fastball with a cut fastball and improved curve and change-up.

"His command is better. His pitches are crisper," said Sea Dogs hitting coach Russ Morman, who was Lester's manager in Augusta.

When Lester is on, he is actually tougher on right-handed batters, running his fastball in and breaking a lot of bats. Left-handed batters are hitting .262 against Lester. Right-handers are hitting .210.

Because he is young, Lester may not follow Papelbon and company to Pawtucket quickly. This is only his third year out of high school in Puyallup, Wash., near Tacoma.

When Lester was drafted, he already had a scholarship in hand, from Arizona State University. But he preferred baseball to books, and the $1 million signing bonus didn't hurt. He has advanced through both Class A levels and continues to improve his strikeout/walk ratio, which is 101/33 this season.

"I've always had command of my fastball," Lester said. "This year, I'm commanding everything else, using the other pitches when I'm behind in the count."

Whether or not he is promoted to Pawtucket this season, Lester should figure in the Red Sox plans. And when the big non-trade between Boston and Texas is brought up years from now, maybe Red Sox fans will be happy the team held onto Manny AND Jon Lester.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:

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