If Jon Lester continues to pitch like has over his last 11 appearances, then he's going to push himself right into the American League All-Star mix with a couple more starts. Quite simply, he's been everything that Sox management hoped he would be coming into this season and much of his improvement can be traced back to improved confidence and mound maturity.  Just think about where the Sox might be right now in their starting rotation with the 103 innings that he's contributed from that distant trip to Japan until right now.
There are some people on Yawkey Way that look pretty smart right now for refusing to deal the 24-year-old lefty when everyone was clamoring for Johan Santana this winter.

Here's some of Sox pitching coach John Farrell's thoughts on Lester in the midst of his best stretch in the big leagues thus far, including some upcoming rest that will be required to knock him off a current pace that has him finishing out the season with 211 innings pitched.

In other news, old friend Bronson Arroyo had some interesting comments in comparing Red Sox ownership [John Henry] with Yankees ownership [George Steinbrenner] when an enterprising member of the fourth estate inquired about trade rumors sending the grunge-rocking righty to the Big Apple for an extra-slim Pinstriped uni. It would be very strange to see Goldilocks tossing curveballs and strumming Pearl Jam covers in the Bronx, but maybe then A-Rod would remember his name.

It's going to be a good long stretch before I have a Hall of Fame vote, but Curt Schilling would get the nod if/when I had the chance to vote in the Big Schill. On many occasions he could be the 'Big Mouth that Roared without Really Knowing What He Was Talking About' or prove that former Phillies GM Ed Wade's description of him was right on, but the guy had, as David Wells would say, "brass ones." The combination of his postseason performances, his heavy involvement in some pretty significant moments in baseball history and the ever-lowering criteria for HOF starting pitchers will aid him greatly. He may not be the first ballot Hall guy that I'm sure he's always dreamed of being, but it's seemingly inevitable that bloody-socked immortality awaits.

What’s been the difference for Jon Lester over the last two months?
JF: I think what’s happening is his confidence is continuing to grow and he continues to trust all of his pitches as the execution of them becomes that much more consistent. I think he has really begun to realize what types of weapons he has and what kinds of hitters he can use those weapons against. Part of it is he is in full understanding of himself better than he was back in April, but you can’t argue what good confidence will do for any pitcher.
He’s working quicker and he’s not thinking about the negative aspects that might take place.

Does it seem like his mechanics are better?
JF: He’s worked long and hard over the last year plus to not only get to the point where his delivery is more consistent, but when he comes out of his delivery, [he knows] what his checkpoints are so he can get back on it in the delivery of the next pitch. I think as we’ve seen Lester and a guy like Aardsma that can self-correct on the mound, the game isn’t speeding up on them and they understand what their needs are.

How much of everything come under the umbrella of Lester just simply maturing as a pitcher, and maturing into his stuff?
JF: It’s maturity. It’s an element of confidence. It’s keeping the pace of the game in his mind at an even one, and when that happens you’re able to read the reaction of a previous pitch to make a selection for the next one and continue to execute. I think he’s doing a much better job of finishing hitters off, and I go back to that Detroit game earlier in the year when guys were fouling a lot of balls off and he was having trouble putting hitters away. That hasn’t been the case, really, over the last four or five weeks.

Lester has been a horse for you guys and hasn’t missed a start yet this season. Is there concern about getting up around the 200 innings pitched mark for him this season?
JF: It’s something that we’re well aware of and there’s already been some internal discussions regarding that. When do we pick some spots to potentially control that a little bit more? It’s a fine line there because he’s pitching so well that you don’t want to do something to interrupt that. But at the same time there’s a certain amount of increase over last year that we’re comfortable with, and if he continues to pitch six or seven innings every time out he’s going to eclipse 200 innings if we don’t take a break at some point. We’re in the midst of five consecutive days off on Thursdays here, so I think all of our pitchers will benefit from an extra day off here and it will help us control innings.

What was the preseason limit discussed for Lester?
JF: I think going into the start of the year we had a target mark of 185-190 innings and he’s well within range of that with where he is right now. We’re going to pick some spots and we’ve got a little bit of a luxury here with what Masterson has come in here and done. And as Clay continues to get his work in down there [in Pawtucket] then he’ll become an option as these needs come up. We’re aware of it and we’ll pick a spot when the need comes up.