Jon Lester, John Farrell Address Allegations About Pitcher Using Foreign Substance
BOSTON (CBS) -- Hours before the first pitch of Game 2 of the World Series would be thrown at Fenway Park, Red Sox manager John Farrell and Game 1 winner Jon Lester had to address a lingering issue.
Much of Thursday in the sports world was spent debating whether Lester used a foreign substance in his glove in Game 1. The claim came from a minor league pitcher in the St. Louis organization, but MLB announced that nothing conclusive could be drawn from any video and there would be no punishment.
"I understand, I saw the picture it looks bad," Lester said. "But I can honestly tell you that all I use is rosin."
Lester spoke with WBZ-TV's Dan Roche before Game 2 Thursday.
"It's obviously frustrating that after a night like last night we should be having fun and running around with some energy today, and I gotta stand here and answer questions about it," Lester said.
Farrell was asked about the allegations against his ace.
"From my perspective, if you know Jon Lester, he sweats like a pig and he needs rosin," Farrell said. "And you know what, he keeps it in his glove. Other guys will keep it on their arm, other guys will keep it on their pant leg. So that's my response to the allegations."
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny likewise downplayed any significance to the claims, saying the team itself did not complain about anything.
"Just to reiterate the fact, this was not instigated by us. And the way that we approach this is we just play the game," Matheny said. "We don't deny that some things have been acknowledged, and if that's what he claims [rosin], then that's what it is. That's all there is to it. And right now it's pretty much a dead issue. We move on with the fact that the league now has to take notice. But once again, this wasn't something that was instigated by us.
"You realize the ramifications of that, if we started going down that path, would just be trying to make excuses for a pitcher having a very good game against us and us not getting the job done," Matheny added. "And that's not the kind of team we are. So we see what happens, we make note of it and we just keep playing."
Dustin Pedroia seconded Farrell's assessment of Lester being a sweaty pitcher while working.
"He kind of sweats a lot, man," Pedroia said. "I know he loads up with rosin all over the place. I don't even like going out there and telling him 'good job' and patting him on the back because you get all wet and stuff."
