In the first Cubs game, the world first learned of Jon Lester's "issue" with throwing the ball to first base. He had not done so in almost two seasons. Why? Some say he has a mental block or "the yips," which the dictionary has no origin but credits it to golfers who miss hit putts.
This is a major cause of concern for an "ace" pitcher. Even though baser unners did not have a marked historical advantage against Lester, we don't know if that was their leads were cut down because Lester is left handed (and looking in their direction which equates to a quicker throw to first) or if the teams did not really appreciate Lester's fear of throwing to first.
The last Cub pitcher who had defensive issues was Matt Garza. He could not field his position. At all. When a team bunted on him, he would field the ball and most likely it would land in the bullpen beyond first base or in the opponent's dugout. Garza had the command to throw strikes in and out of the zone to home, but on flat ground he was a throwing trainwreck.
In the opener with the Reds, Lester soft tossed a throw to Rizzo who had to leap to his right to catch the lob. Then, Lester quickened his toss and the ball landed beyond the RF bullpen. But for Soler gunning down the runner at third, it would have been a complete disaster.
Scouts and teams create "books" on opposing players showing their strengths and weaknesses. Teams are supposed to exploit a player's weakness. In Lester's case, his inability to keep runners close at first is a huge advantage to an opponent. Some runners have a lead beyond the infield cut circle, almost a third of the way to second base before Lester would pitch home. There is no way a catcher can overcome that kind of lead in a steal situation.
We should expect teams facing Lester will continue to make him throw to the bases. I would not be surprised if a team comes into the game and bunts like crazy to Lester in order to get infield base hits. If nothing else, it gets Lester's mindset out of whack. Frustrating a pitcher is also a means of altering a game in one's favor. There is nothing wrong with playing mind games when your opponent has a mental block in one part of his game.
