Lester Gets The Start

Yeah...if you aren't a Sox fan then this means next to nothing to you. But for the rest of us, it's a well-deserved honor:

Manager Terry Francona said today that Jon Lester would be the Opening Day starter for the Red Sox.

The season starts April 1 in Texas. Lester will oppose C.J. Wilson in the 4:05 p.m. game.

The announcement, which came as no surprise, was made before Lester's start against the Braves today.

The 27-year-old lefthander was 19-9 with a 3.25 earned run average last season and finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award voting. He struck out 225 in 208 innings.

Not only did he earn it with last year's performance, but he's been earning it the last three years. Here is Lester's line for the 2008-2010 seasons:

97 Games Started | 621.2 IP | 50-23 | .685% | 3.29 ERA | 602 K | 213 W | 1.235 WHIP

Yeah...pretty good. Lester's closest comparables are Cole Hamels, Tim Hudson and Johan Santana. He has, hands down, been Boston's best pitcher over the last three years and is one of the best pitchers in the game today.

Boston's rotation has some question marks. But Lester is definitely not one of them.