Lester's no-no could be sign of special things

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BOSTON -- In the last 40 regular-season games at Fenway Park, two young Boston Red Sox pitchers have now thrown no-hitters. "I hope," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, "our fans don't come to think of this as a rite of passage for all of our young pitchers." Recent history to the contrary, no-hitters don't come along very often. Nor, it should be pointed out, do no-hitters guarantee greatness. Joe Cowley, after all, once threw a no-hitter; Roger Clemens never did. But you get the distinct impression that Lester, who no-hit the Kansas City Royals Monday night, and Clay Buchholz, who did the same to the Baltimore Orioles last Sept. 1, are headed for bigger things. If no-hitters can be flukes, promising careers aren't. "I hope that a night like this reflects well on our plan and reflects on our organization," said Epstein. "I think winning the World Series is better evidence that we're doing things the right way. But it's important, with young pitchers, to celebrate good nights because there are some rough nights along the way, too. "The development of young pitchers is not linear. It's not a straight line. There are times it's incredibly frustrating. A night like this shows the potential these guys have. Then, there are other nights when you see how hard it is (to develop young pitching). Every night, all over the games, there are incredibly talented pitchers struggling to get through their starts." Just ask the New York Yankees, who were counting on Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes to occupy 40 percent of their rotation. Seven weeks into the season, Hughes, following a brutal first few weeks, is on the DL with a broken rib and Kennedy was returned to the minors before being recalled. The Sox know this firsthand, and so do the two pitchers who have thrown the no-hitters. One start after dueling Chien-Ming Wang at Fenway, Buchholz couldn't get out of the fourth inning, shelled by the same Yankee lineup he had tamed the week before. As for Lester, his command struggles have been well documented. There have been times when he's come out of starts in the fourth or fifth inning; not because he's been hit hard, but because of his bloated pitch count, the result of an inability to find the strike zone. It's the same elsewhere, too. Never have teams asked more from young arms. Never in the game's history have they been so rushed into roles of prominence. Some prospects make their major-league debut within months of being drafted. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have been able to show more patience. "They take their time with young pitchers," said Buchholz. "They limit you to a certain number of innings in the minors. They take care of us. That says a lot about the organization. They take the time to select the right guys, then bring them along carefully." Buchholz knows of what he speaks. A month after he no-hit the Orioles last fall, he saw only spot duty for the rest of the season as the Sox fretted about his workload. Instead of putting on him their postseason roster, they sent him to strengthen his shoulder, which had weakened from use. Nights such as Monday validate that approach, to say nothing of the decision, made over the winter, not to sacrifice young arms and talent in order to obtain Johan Santana. Remember? The Red Sox had two packages on the table last fall for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. One featured Lester, the other was headed by Jacoby Ellsbury who made the game's defensive gem in the fourth inning to preserve the no-hitter and added a triple and two stolen bases. Ultimately, the Red Sox pulled back from the Santana talks and when the opportunity came in February to enhance their offers, they declined. Sure, they liked Santana, but they liked their own homegrown players, too. This night was a reminder why, a validation of sorts. Again, a one-night occurrence doesn't portend a Hall of Fame career. But dissect the night, and you'll see the ingredients for a solid major-league career. "A lot of luck goes into throwing a no-hitter," said catcher Jason Varitek. "But the big thing is what you see along the way -- late in the game, throwing his four-seamer at 94-95 mph. Stuff-wise, he was very special." "I was more excited about the stuff than the result," echoed Epstein. "For the first time since 2005, he had that good velocity, up in the zone. I'm sure the (battle with cancer) had something to do with that. "But a night like last night can be real useful to reinforce all the lessons he already knows -- the importance of throwing strike one, the ability to repeat his deliver, the importance of command. Those things are invaluable. As he continues his development, he can look back, when he's having a bad night and see this as a touchstone, no-hitter or not." So, too, can the organization, and remind itself that the kids -- the ones nurtured and carefully developed -- aren't just all right; they're pretty special. (Contact Sean McAdam at smcadam@projo.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)