Spring Training Update: Lester Throws, Ross Catches, Lots of Pictures and Videos

arizona cactusThe forecast in Mesa is for rain at some point in each of the next five days, so hopefully the Cubs can work around it …

  • Joe Maddon isn’t committing to David Ross as a personal catcher for Jon Lester just yet, but after yesterday, it sounds like he’s very open to the idea (ESPN). I know we want to see Miguel Montero and Ross platooned, and if Ross is the personal catcher for Lester, that kinda throws a wrench in the plan. At the same time, you have to balance the potential increase in performance by Lester with Ross behind the plate (if it exists) against the potential loss in offensive production. Given that Lester has the ability to almost single-handedly win games for the Cubs with his pitching performance, I definitely lean toward doing whatever you can to maximize his performance. (And if the Cubs carry three catchers out of the gate, Maddon could always swap Montero back into the game against righty pitchers when Lester leaves. That’s not a reason to make any decisions on who you carry and who catches whom, of course. I’m just pointing it out.)
  • Lester’s first live BP was yesterday, and the Cubs he faced seemed to think he was looking pretty good (Tribune, ESPN). Included among the group to whom Lester threw 45 pitches: Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler, and Javier Baez. Wowsah.
  • On the health front, Carrie Muskat notes that Tsuyoshi Wada is scheduled to throw live BP today, so hopefully that means he’s over his hamstring tightness, and Zac Rosscup seemed to be OK after taking a Jorge Soler liner off of his non-pitching wrist. I’m not sure how Rosscup didn’t explode into dust, let alone not have a serious wrist injury, but I’m glad to hear it.
  • And some visuals, including a picture you MUST bookmark for in-season meme-ing (the one where all the Cubs players are watching something):
  • There’s a great series of pictures at the Cubs’ Facebook page, including this incredible shot:

    And some fun, with a h/t to Luis on finding this one:

    Late post. last nights infielders dinner. #readytogo #gocubs #cubsnation ⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️

    A photo posted by Starlin Castro (@starlincastro1324) on

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    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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