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Chicago Cubs news: Jon Lester and Willson Contreras starting their work together

By Carlos Nazario

Oct 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) talks with catcher David Ross (3) in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians in game one of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) talks with catcher David Ross (3) in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians in game one of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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With David Ross‘ retirement, Jon Lester needs a new personal catcher. With camp opening up, he started working with Willson Contreras to see if he is that new catcher.

Pitchers and catchers reported this past week. That means the work on defending the World Series started for the Chicago Cubs. Now they see how difficult it is to defend. Things change when you wear the crown. The other teams hunt you now.

With the start of a new season, some old faces are gone. Aroldis Chapman, Travis Wood, and Dexter Fowler are just some of the faces that moved on from Chicago.

Then there is the case of David Ross.

Ross decided to walk off into the sunset. He made the most of his final days, helping the Cubs win that elusive title. Now he enjoys his days in front of the television watching his former teammates work to win another one.

With Ross’ retirement, pitcher Jon Lester needs to find a new personal catcher. Since his Boston Red Sox days, Ross caught nearly every one of Lester’s games. Lester felt like Ross was another piece of him out on the field.

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Now the work begins on finding that new catcher. The starter is Willson Contreras, so he gets the first shot at replacing Ross. Contreras doesn’t have the experience Ross had, but as Patrick Mooney from CSNChicago.com reports, that won’t stop him from gaining Lester’s confidence.

"Rossy and I just didn’t jump in and all of a sudden click. It took a few starts for us to kind of hammer some things out – and him get used to what I like to do and vice versa. That’s all it really comes down to – just pitching, time on the mound, time behind the plate.Willson’s a smart kid and he cares and he wants to get better. He’s eager to please, so I think he has all the attributes to be a really good catcher in this league for a long time. I don’t think there’s going to be much of a learning curve."

Ross is at camp working with Contreras, showing him what to look for in Lester and how to push and motivate him. There’s also the question of controlling the opposing running game. Lester famously has the yips throwing the ball over to first base. Therefore, Contreras needs to use his own pickoff throws to keep runners honest. He does have a better arm than Ross, so that helps in trying to cut down runners.

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This is something new for both Lester and Contreras, but the Chicago Cubs hope that this new combination helps keep Lester successful, and helps them wait a littler shorter time for their next title.

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