John Lackey The Leader

I always thought in Double A when I first had John that he had the ability to become a big game pitcher in the major leagues. He's always been an aggressive pitcher but he had to work on channeling that aggression. He's done that really well, controlling his emotions. He has great command of both sides of the strike zone and he can throw a breaking ball on any count. He feels a lot more comfortable throwing the change up too so he's added that to his repertoire. I've really been impressed by his preparation for every game and his work ethic between starts. He has really been a leader since spring training. The way he works, he takes guys into the weight room, he does a great job between starts. He knows what it takes to win at this level and he does a great job teaching the young guys the little things that make you a champion and he's a great champion. We have a philosophy as a pitching staff to try to get the hitter out in three pitches or less and John takes that to another level. He'd rather have a ground ball for an out than working for the punch out, which will take you deeper in the count. That's why John will always be one of the leaders in innings pitched. He's up around 200 every year and is on pace for that again this year. I knew that he could become a front line pitcher and I really enjoy watching him pitch. I enjoy watching all of our guys. It's a great group. They pull for each other and they compete with one another. When John throws well one night, Bart wants to do the same thing the next. They all push each other. We're starting to come into our own but we're still maturing as a group. There are better games ahead of us. John's arm is a little sore but he's going to be fine. We're at a point right now where we can move some guys around. We can afford to give him a few extra days to rest, one two, whatever it takes. He's earned it.