If aliens landed on Earth and asked some random folks about Chicago Cubs southpaw Jon Lester, the odds are they'd quickly learn that Lester has issues throwing to first base.
Lester's well-known mental block impacts his ability to control the running game and field his position alike, putting more pressure on Chicago's other fielders. As such, new Cubs third-base coach Brian Butterfield has been working with Lester on a potential fix for his issues -- a Michael Jordan-to-Scottie Pippen-inspired bounce throw, per ESPN:
"In [Butterfield's] words, just eliminate all tension and bounce it over there," Lester told reporters. "We've been working on it early in the morning. ... I don't really care what it looks like. I don't care if it bounces 72 times over there. An out's an out."
Lester broke out the bounce pass during his start on Sunday, yet it caught reserve first baseman Efren Navarro by surprise, skipping by and costing the Cubs. Lester, for his part, seems committed to giving it a go once the regular season starts.
Obviously Lester isn't going to win any style points for this, even if he does manage to get an extra out here and there. Still, give him credit for trying to fix one of his biggest flaws -- and doing so in a way that could lead to some entertaining baseball.
