MESA, Ariz. — A reporter joked with Joe Maddon Tuesday morning that John Lackey would probably just come out in his first spring start and throw 25 fastballs, to which the Cubs manager laughed and agreed.
That's almost exactly how it played out at Sloan Park Tuesday afternoon in an exhibition against Team Italy (meaning the stats don't count toward official Cactus League stats, which also don't really "count").
Lackey tossed approximately 30 pitches in two innings in his spring debut, throwing only one breaking ball and the rest fastballs.
Since this game didn't count (not that other spring training games do, of course) and because Lackey is the king of one-liners and has been through this song-and-dance in spring training so many times before (15, to be exact), let's just hear the one-of-a-kind 38-year-old break down his own debut:
Feel
How did he feel his first time out?