What Have You Done For Me Lately?

I hate how sports in particular, and the world in general, are so focused on the present, without a real context for anything. This is often wrapped up in the title of this entry, "What have you done for me lately?" The jist is that it doesn't matter how good you have been before, if you're not doing it now, it doesn't matter.

This has most recently manifested itself in comments on ESPN Radio that Jon Lester is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Really? He's good, but calling someone the "best" at what they do is partly a function of their performance over time - sustained success. How many games has he won? 27. How many of those were before this year? NINE. And that's over two seasons. Sure, he was great this year, pitching over 200 innings, with 152 strikeouts, and a 3.21 ERA. That's stout. But before this year, he wasn't even a blip on the radar stat-wise.

His story is impressive. He was diagnosed with cancer (lymphoma) and it stole roughly a year of his career. He has fought back, which is commendable. He has reached the potential that the Sox saw when they called him up in 2006, which makes him a good pitcher. The fact that he's playing on a major league team is evidence enough of that. He's done very well in the postseason, winning Game 4 of last year's World Series, and turning out a great performance this year against the Angels. He's had a no-hitter. All that makes him a good pitcher, and someone worth drafting in a fantasy league next year.

However, it is quite possible for a pitcher to have one great season, or a "coming out party" of a season and then fade away. It has happened many times over. For one reason or another, pitchers and players in general will have one great game/season and we annoint them as the next big thing. Then they crumble under the pressure.

I'm not saying that he's not going to be good, but Ryan Leaf was the next big thing and was laughed out of the NFL. All I'm saying is lets wait until he has a few years of sustained success before he's referred to as one of the best in baseball.