THE YANKEES, THE DODGERS & BIG FISH LESTER

The Dodgers are the club that will make the late push for Jon Lester.  They have Magic Johnson money and they are the ones who plan on making the big push.  The Yankees might be in on Lester, but we really don't know.  Couple that with the offers and meetings Jon has had with the Red Sox, the Cubs and the Giants and the big fish is about to make a final decision, possibly by the end of the week.

Here's what I think.  In the end, I think Lester is a gamer and his true home would be Boston. It makes sense to me. They signed Kung Fu Panda and Hanley and they don't want to be embarrassed and end up in last place again in 2015.  They will make a solid offer, and it may not be the highest, but it will be more than fair and they'll bank on their relationship with Lester to try and bring him home. And they should, because it's my belief that Lester belongs there. He IS the Red Sox.

The Cubs will make a big push. Theo Epstein and Lester know each other well and there is no question he can help the club win in Chicago.  Truth be told, he'd look like a bad ass in Chicago, and while he's never pitched in the NL, I see him being quite successful.

The Giants are winners.  They will do their best the snag him coming off a big win to become World Series champions again.  Wow... Madison Bumgarner and Jon Lester in the same rotation? That's like Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan or something.  I like that a lot and San Francisco should be rooting for it.

I would love the Yankees to get Jon Lester.  I think having a few lefties in a starting rotation is a great thing.  I think if the Yankees have Masahiro Tanaka leading us off, Lester becomes our number 2 easily.  Three could be Michael Pineda.  CC Sabathia could be 4th.  Then, after reviewing that rotation, I'd even offer to pitch in the 5th spot.  It wouldn't matter, the top 4 are quite capable.

But the Dodgers are the wild card, merely because they could dump a suitcase of money on the table and say, "We almost made it last year, but you weren't here.  Sign in LA and we win the whole damn thing."  Clayton Kershaw and Jon Lester in the same rotation? That's Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale shit right there.

Jon Lester will make a decision soon.  We will sit back and wait. One thing is for sure though, once Lester signs, the market will move rapidly because the market will set. It's all very, very interesting... it's also quite exciting to watch.

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