Jon Lester was cruising towards a shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night when Joe Maddon took the ball from him after just 95 pitches.
Lester tossed eight scoreless innings against the Phillies when the Chicago Cubs manager took the ball from him.
"I told Joe I was fine (to go back out there). But I also told him that he's the manager," Lester said. "I've tried before with him, but I think I've won maybe once in two years. When he shakes my hand, I know it's pretty much done, so there's no point in arguing. Like I've always said, the manager makes those decisions. The players don't."
The bullpen made things interesting, but the Cubs ended up winning 6-4.
"There's two things you're looking at there," Maddon said. "Is the shutout that important? That would be a personal goal as opposed to a team goal. The team goal for me was to not have Jon throw many more pitches after 113 his last time out -- and have him spiffy the next time he goes out. It was really an easy decision there."