I don’t know how much emotional meandering people are into before Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber make their return to Wrigley Field tonight, but for me, I was curious about all of it. I wanted to hear what they were saying, to know what the Cubs were thinking, and – to be honest – to see how I’ll feel when they actually take the field.
I gotta wait for tonight on that last part, but in the meantime, some of the comments flying before the game, and some of the fun:
Kyle Schwarber on playing against the Cubs tonight: “There’s going to be some smack talk out there but it’s going to be fun.”
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 17, 2021
Anthony Rizzo on facing good friend Jon Lester tonight: "I'll probably just go through my routine as I always do and give him a head nod. Thinking about it now, I should have asked Ross to leadoff just try to hit the first pitch as far as I can off him."
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 17, 2021
Lester wants a perfect game with 27 strikeouts, naturally:
Jon Lester on facing @Cubs lineup.
More: https://t.co/qTUtLgSBTu pic.twitter.com/3qFKNvteh4
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 17, 2021
Take him down, Dave:
"It's extremely awkward," Cubs manager David Ross said with a laugh, on game-planning to face Jon Lester.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 17, 2021
Ross on facing Lester tonight at Wrigley:
"Today, we’re out to beat him. I’ll have a beer with him at some point for sure but today we’ll try to keep him at 193 [career wins] and wish him the best after today.”
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) May 17, 2021
In all seriousness, if there are any little secret, subtle tricks that have heretofore remained undiscovered, Ross and the Cubs are gonna know how to exploit them …
A couple of former teammates honored Lester before the game in their own fun way:
Dressed for the occasion. pic.twitter.com/ZCahQFToKd
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 17, 2021
Pre-game hugs:
Big Schwarb hugs. pic.twitter.com/5ciI03Vy0O
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 17, 2021
The Cubs will pay tribute to Lester and Schwarber on the video board, I expect, and in the meantime, you can remember this moment:
Kyle Schwarber's video to Jon Lester from last season is priceless! pic.twitter.com/V643q3Lr32
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 17, 2021
Pod hit on this stuff today, too:
The latest from 'Onto Waveland' from me, @sahadevsharma, and @PJ_Mooney over at @TheAthleticCHI. Feelings talk.
Listen/Subscribe:
Apple: https://t.co/2GtIOQu9y7
Spotify:https://t.co/iewDpV9pls pic.twitter.com/yG0wokUlyc
— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) May 17, 2021