Jon Lester emerged as the ace of the staff in 2008, and he's looking for a repeat performance in 2009. It's a role he easily accepts.

Journal file photo / Gretchen Ertl

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- There was a time when Jon Lester wanted to be known as a successful big-league pitcher, not a cancer survivor.

But now he realizes he can be both.

"I think so," he said. "To go along with that, I've also grown up a little bit and I understand that's going to be with me for the rest of my life, regardless of what happens in my baseball career. I had to, more or less, swallow it and suck it up and realize that's something that will be asked no matter what."

As much as he tried to put his successful battle with cancer in the past, he said he still thinks about it every so often, usually when a checkup draws near. The rest of the time he's only concerned with being a pitcher for the Red Sox.

Lester emerged as the ace of the staff in 2008, and he's looking for a repeat performance in 2009. It's a role he easily accepts.

"It's nice," he said. "[As] a young guy, you hope to step in and contribute. Now, hopefully, I can assume the role of a guy who is counted on. That's something I like and I want to be counted on every five days to go out and put up a good start and compete my butt off. That's all I have ever tried to do and hopefully put my team in a position to win every game I pitch."

Since pitchers and catchers reported to camp last week, Lester has been working out and playing catch with good friend Josh Beckett. Lester said he's tried to learn from Beckett's routine and incorporate it into his own program. But, according to Beckett, Lester is his own man.

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink," said Beckett. "He's done everything himself."

What he did last year was work 210 1/3 innings and post a 16-6 record with a 3.21 ERA. He struck out 152 and walked only 66.
"Hopefully I can get back up to those numbers again this year," he said. "I learned how important it is to be consistent."

That consistency last season included a streak in which he won a career-best seven straight decisions, from June 5 to August 2.

"Once I got on that roll, it seemed like I wasn't working on things anymore," he said. "I wasn't worried about mechanics. I wasn't about release point or throwing strikes. I just got in a rhythm and pitched."

He was masterful in the ALDS against the Angels. In two starts he allowed only one unearned run in 14 innings of work. In the ALCS against the Rays, he started two games and surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on 14 hits in 12 2/3 innings.

"It wasn't good enough, because we didn't get to the World Series," he said. "I got on a good roll last year and put some good starts together. I wasn't worried about the little things. I just wanted to execute my pitches. Hopefully I can carry that over into this year."

This offseason he wanted to get bigger and stronger in order to carry a similar work load in 2009.

"It's going to be a fun year if everybody stays healthy," said Lester. "We proved last year if someone does go down, we have guys who can come in and step up and perform. We can afford to skip starts if we need to, or baby an injury if we need to because we've got the guys to come in and pick up that extra slack. It's going to be a fun year with [John] Smoltz and [Brad] Penny, guys with a lot of knowledge who you can learn a lot from."

jmcdonal@projo.com