Jon Lester is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday when the Red Sox return home to face Seattle. Although he may be fine physically by then, Mother Nature has presented an obstacle.
Temperatures are expected to reach 96 during Friday afternoon. Lester, coming off a lat strain, has had some issues with cramping in hot conditions in the past. If the Red Sox glanced at the extended forecast, it might have prompted them to bring Lester back the following Monday, when the heat wave is expected to be good and gone.
The forecast is for showers and highs in the 70s on Monday in Boston.
Lester cramped up in a game against Cleveland last August at Fenway Park. He left after five innings. The temperature at first pitch was 86, far lower than it would be Friday in the Hub.
Of course, Lester dominated the Rangers two starts later on a day that featured triple-digit temperatures in Arlington. The big lefty can certainly take care of himself. But with so much riding on his success in the second half, why take a chance by bringing him back in stifling conditions?
Terry Francona indicated after Lester left his last start with the lat strain that "he's had trouble cramping when it gets hot."
The day the Red Sox announced Lester's return date (it was Monday, although Francona did have to correct himself the following afternoon) was the same day that Philadelphia's Roy Halladay left a start in Chicago because of heat exhaustion. The heat index at Wrigley Field that night was over 100, which is where it should sit when Boston returns to Fenway.
Fortunately for the Red Sox' star southpaw, he will be able to come back when things cool down a bit.
