John Lackey had one of the most impressive returns to form in years, having numbers that rivaled those of his Angels days. He took Adam Wainwright's absence and turned it into an audition piece to head up the rotation, which he did flawlessly.
And when THAT GUY...who is in the EXACT SAME CONDITION as last year...is your *THIRD* Starter...man, you are doing something right.
In the same rotation, you have Jake Arrieta, quite possibly the toughest pitcher in the majors not named Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester, who, while not at his early 2010's heights, is still doing pretty damn well for himself, Jason Hammel, who has surprisingly become even more dominant than he ever had any right to be, and Kyle Hendricks, who is probably the most impressive fifth starter in baseball. And people wonder why they're winning so many games.
Jason Hammel has a better record and ERA than John Lackey AND Jon Lester, and he's figured out how to take 5+ years of major league experience and make it all barely even matter. Yes, Chicago is essentially the Jake Arrieta show at this point, but if you have someone like Jason Hammel down the stretch, giving stuff that would probably be first-starter material anywhere else, you're in pretty good hands.
Coming Tomorrow- This time last year, he was pitching for my beloved Phillies. Now...he's one of the many impressive arms in Arlington.
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