John Lackey does not care about your opinion of him. He does not care what Joe Maddon thinks about pulling him from games in the 6th inning. Lackey just wants to go out every 5th day and win games.
And while the 38-year-old has drawn the ire of many Cubs fans since his arrival on the North-side, myself included, John Lackey has been the linchpin to this Cubs rotation during the 2nd half.
The hot-headed righty has not lost a game since June 28th for the Cubs, and has allowed only three runs or less in every start since the All-Star break, consistently pumping out quality starts as the team's 5th starter. Since July 5th, Lackey has registered a 3.62 ERA with a 7.2 K/9, which also includes a solid 4 mph up-tick in his velocity during that span. A large reason for Lackey's success has been Joe Maddon's ability to limit his usage late in games, out of Lackey's 32.1 IP only 2.1 innings have come past the 5th inning. And while Lackey has advocated to stay in games longer, it is hard to argue with the numbers. In the 2.1 innings pitched past the 5th inning, Lackey's ERA balloons to a destructive 15.43, with an opponent OPS of 1.682, as clearly teams start to figure out the savvy-vet the longer he stays in the game. Of course, Lackey is still flawed, even when his time is limited on the mound. He's still giving up a ton of homers, currently with the 3rd-highest Home Run/Fly Ball rate in all of baseball, and his walk rate is the highest it's been since 2011. But, while it seems unlikely, Lackey has been arguably the Cubs most consistent starter in the 2nd half. On a short leash, Lackey's stuff has been excellent, and with a lighter work load now the Cubs hope he can still be fresh later in the season. Say what you will about John Lackey, but even with all his flaws, the Cubs would be in a much worse spot without the goofy cowboy and his stellar pitching as of late.
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