For those that don't see any evidence of Jon Lester's 235 plus innings workload (regular season and postseason) affecting him last season, Lester is sporting a 7.83 ERA and has given up 8 of his 11 home runs allowed this season after the 75th pitch of the game. Many have pointed to "concentration" or "one bad inning" being Lester's problem as he's stumbled out to a 3-5 record and a 6.07 ERA, but almost all of his "bad innings" are taking place in the fifth inning and beyond in his outings.

Going by Lester's velocity for signs of fatigue are a fool's errand. Losing his ability to locate in the latter innings of a game points to a stamina problem that clearly wasn't an issue for the big, strong 25-year-old last season. The most logical reason: a hangover following last season's huge innings jump from 2007 to 2008. It should be interesting to see how Lester responds Sunday afternoon against the Blue Jays, but watch closely when he crosses over that 75th pitch barrier in the game and look for potential signs of his pitch location leaving him.

 

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