It started with a tease from his wife on Instagram this morning:
https://twitter.com/crawlyscubs/status/1232690050867044352
It was a pretty good guess that former Cubs starting pitcher/scary dude John Lackey was patrolling the Mesa grounds, looking for players to coach/devour.
Sure enough, the big righty is back with the Cubs to impart some wisdom and absorb some David Ross zingers:
John Lackey accepted Ross invitation and is in camp in uniform. “I think he’s here for a haircut,” Ross says.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) February 26, 2020
David Ross on John Lackey swinging by Cubs camp… pic.twitter.com/vJu4ahAcdm
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) February 26, 2020
Or never! https://t.co/VzCZdxCgWV
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) February 26, 2020
It really does do some good to have as many recent former players around, in my view, not only because Lackey knows a lot of these guys, but also because you just never know what he might notice, mention to someone, get bounced off him, etc. Sometimes a stray comment winds up helping out some young pitcher in a way you couldn’t possibly have predicted before the former player stopped by camp.
And, hey, otherwise, the Cubs can just use Lackey as the ultimate Boogeyman: GET YOUR REPS IN, KIDS, OR JOHN LACKEY WILL VISIT YOU IN YOUR NIGHTMARES.
UPDATE: Does a picture get any more perfect:
Former Cubs pitcher John Lackey is a guest in camp. Invited by manager David Ross.
Ross: "I jumped on the chance to see if he wanted to come. I'm happy to have him here. He got me my two rings, so I owe him at least that." pic.twitter.com/SVbvs16bZp
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) February 26, 2020