The heart of the matter

Lester's achievement an inspiration to all

The story - Jon Lester's no-hitter, and everything that happened before it - has touched baseball people from all corners.

You hear archrival Hank Steinbrenner, whose young Yankees pitchers aren't quite performing up to par, say, "Anybody would be touched by what that kid has gone through. Great performance. You tip your cap to that. I got to watch some of the highlights, and he was outstanding. That's what you hope for from a kid you've developed."

You hear Twins general manager Bill Smith, who reportedly was talking to the Red Sox about a package involving Lester in the offseason, say, "It was a great thing for Jon Lester, a great thing for the Red Sox, and a great thing for major league baseball."

And you realize what Lester's accomplishment meant to cancer patients and everyone else battling a life-threatening illness.

"The thing that stood out for me," said Smith, "was the incredible emotion that he had and that his teammates had for him. Those weren't just pats on the back and 'Good job.' There were guys who I think had tears in their eyes.

"It was so emotional watching Terry Francona hugging him and saying whatever it was he said to him. This is a kid who obviously people really love. It was a neat thing to see."

Steinbrenner did not use the occasion to blast Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy, two of his young pitchers. Nor did he lament, at least not publicly, that Boston's young guys are better than New York's. At least they are now.

He did mention that he feels Joba Chamberlain will emerge as an extraordinary starting pitcher once he's been released from the bullpen.

"I think what it shows is that Boston and the Yankees have the best young pitching in baseball," said Steinbrenner. "I think this AL East is going to be tough in the future. There are a lot of good young arms in the division.

"The Red Sox have done a great job with [Clay] Buchholz and Lester, but I think we're going to be good with Chamberlain and when Hughes gets back and Ian Kennedy as well."

Smith said the Red Sox organization should be beaming over producing such an excellent pitcher from its farm system. While Smith wouldn't confirm or deny anything about his winter talks with the Red Sox, he seems content with the deal he made for Johan Santana with the Mets in which he obtained the exciting Carlos Gomez.

"They deserve to feel pride in what this kid has accomplished because it reflects on every minor league manager, every minor league pitching coach, every strength and conditioning coach, everybody who had a hand in Jon Lester's development throughout the organization.

"They have done such a great job with their organization from top to bottom. Terrific for the Red Sox," said Smith, who grew up outside Portsmouth, N.H.

Lester said he received too many text and voice messages to count, though the conversation that meant the most to him was the one with his parents. Winning the clinching game in the World Series and hurling the no-hitter have reinforced his desire to remain with the Red Sox.

"I'm really happy here," Lester said. "I've always wanted to be a Red Sox since the day I was drafted, and I want to stay a Red Sox."

As for the Santana trade talks, Lester said, "I'm glad it didn't happen, but if it did happen, you're part of a trade for the best pitcher in baseball. It's not a bad thing to be in.

"It's one of those things where you'd like to stay here, but at the same time, you're part of that trade, you're part of going somewhere to get the best pitcher in the game right now."

Since Lester returned from his illness, he has tried to be as "normal" as possible. He rarely talks about the cancer, preferring to keep it in his past and just concentrate on being the best pitcher he can. The no-hitter, however, has helped him understand that he is an inspiration to those battling disease.

"It's something that I'm trying to learn how to deal with," he said. "When you get people coming up to you on the street that you don't know and telling you that you're an inspiration to them, you don't know what to say to them. You don't know how to act. You don't know what to do.

"It's something that I'm learning to cope with and interact with people on that level."

Lester recently phoned Anthony Rizzo, the young Sox prospect who was diagnosed with cancer recently.

"I just told him to be normal," said Lester. "Be as normal as you can be. And I know that can be hard to do with chemo and the different drugs and the way you feel day to day.

"On the days I felt good, I got up and went fishing. I went to the gym. I did stuff."

Lester has really loosened up in his demeanor. He jokes around more. He told a funny story of how his father can't bear to watch him pitch; he likely watched the no-hitter only on replay.

There are many things Lester has learned and will learn along the way. He's certainly learning a lot about his ever-strengthening body, how on a night like Monday he was able to throw 95 and sometimes 96 miles per hour. How he could throw 130 pitches and still claim to have just the normal soreness. How he's changed his tempo on the mound, which has improved his overall performance.

"It's helped me take a lot of bad thoughts out of my head in between pitches," Lester said. "Before, I was taking a lot of time, really trying to analyze each pitch and figure out what I'm going to throw next, and it just slowed down the game. It takes a lot of out of the fielders, too."

He's as surprised with his velocity as anyone.

"No, usually I'm going to be the same - it's going to be 89 to 93, maybe," he said. "Sometimes you feel stronger than others. Sometimes you feel weak, like you've got nothing. Sometimes later in the game, too, you get that adrenaline going and you can reach back and throw a little bit harder. But you can't really tell."

Is he thinking of back-to-back no-hitters, with his next start coming up Sunday vs. Oakland?

"Oh, I'm not even worried about that," said Lester. "I just hope I pitch well.

"It's hard. The first one was hard, let alone trying to throw them back to back.

"Like I said, I'm just going out there, hopefully I get a good start, keep them in the game, and hopefully we get a win."

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com