Jon Lester Quotations

Usually during the regular season, if you're starting pitcher, you're kind of walking back and forth from the clubhouse to the dugout and not really paying attention to what's going on.

The Red Sox believe what's written. If it's written that I should be traded, more times than not, that's what ends up happening. Look at the people who've gotten traded around here. It's not their doing.

My dad has ingrained that in me: 'Be accountable.'

One thing I know in baseball is you should never be comfortable where you are. It doesn't matter who you are. It's a business. If I got traded tomorrow, no hard feelings; it's a business.

Growing up, it was mainly just players I followed more than teams, with the exception of the Mariners. I never really had time to follow a team throughout a season.

Just as I'm fortunate to pitch in the big leagues, I'm also fortunate for the time I get to spend outdoors.

Pitchers really don't deal with the managers a whole lot. When we come in the clubhouse, we see him, we say, 'Hey.' That's really it.

My wife's family lives up in South Carolina, so we go back and forth quite a bit up there.

You can learn a lot from him. He's a vocal guy anyway. Whenever we're talking about drills and certain things, he's going to tell you what he thinks. Just watching him go about his business, he does it the right way. He does it professionally and gets his work in.

Don't get me wrong: I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Even the word 'cancer' brings back the nausea and pain, the fear I felt, and the heartbreak I saw in my parents' faces. The smells that fill hospitals and the constant tired feeling that comes with treatment are also permanently stuck in my memory.

There's only certain things you can control. I know how hard I work, I know how I take care of myself, and those are the two things I can control. As far as injuries and wear and tear and stuff like that, it's going to happen.

Once you make the majors, it's never a great feeling to go back to the minors - no matter what the circumstances.

As I travel the country for away games, I meet kids fighting cancer in almost every city. They visit the ballpark, and I invite them onto the field so we can chat and then watch the game.

That game. The bad one. But you know, all around us, people were talking baseball. What to throw (Hideki) Matsui. Things like that.

You still have to pitch the same game, execute your pitches as best you can. If the shadows end up helping you out, then great, but you can't really worry about that stuff.

You never know when you're going to throw a no-hitter or if you're ever going to get the chance to do it. It's one of those deals where the ninth inning comes around; it's either going to be your night or just a complete game.

It's getting better. I'm starting to feel a little more consistent with everything. It's coming around, slowly but surely.

It was nice to get the first one out of the way. I've thrown off that mound and I felt pretty comfortable.

No matter what you do in the offseason, you can't simulate putting spikes on and standing in the grass and being around your teammates. When you're around your teammates, you step it up a notch. It's just kind of instinctive you do that.

The two biggest things that translate from the pitching mound to hunting and fishing are patience and perseverance. When you're on the mound, you have to take the game one pitch at a time, regardless of the score, and that approach helps when I'm in the woods or on the water as well.

Once I got settled in, I started throwing the ball a lot better.

Anytime you can see a hitter and face a hitter, you gain knowledge, and you gain that experience. Whether they hit a homerun off you, or you strike them out or whatever it is, it's information.

That's all right, too. What was important was me learning how to pitch. What each of us accomplishes helps the team.

These guys are hitting right now like they did at the beginning of the season (during a 10-0 start). They're feeding off each other. One guy hits the ball hard and the next guy wants to hit the ball hard.

Describing the Internet as the Network of Networks is like calling the Space Shuttle, a thing that flies.

I'm cancer-free right now. That's it.

It's almost embarrassing to be out in public and someone comes up to you and says, 'My mother had the same thing you did.' What do you say? I don't know what to say to make them feel better about their situation.

I thought I'd be back in baseball, but I didn't know when.

Im pretty fair-skinned, so I need to get in the sun for a little while.

The two biggest things that translate from a pitching mound to hunting and fishing are patience and perseverance. When you're on the mound, you have to take the game one pitch at a time, regardless of the score, and that approach helps when I'm in the woods or out on the water as well.

I hate losing. I hate getting beat. Im not used to it.

It might be hard to believe, but as difficult as cancer was, in some ways it was good for me.