Speaking of dreams: Lester throws a no-hitter

Jon Lester, former Sea Dog and Paw Sox pitcher, threw a no-hitter at Fenway Park tonight against the Kansas City Royals. It's the first no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox since Sept. 1, 2007 when Clay Buchholz -- another former member of the Sea Dogs and Paw Sox -- threw his own no-no.

And who made the catch of the night to save Lester's no-hitter? Jacoby Ellsbury. Check out Jimmy Golen's story for the Associated Press here. At right, check out the AP photo of Lester in action.

Yes, it was a night to remember as fans of these players going back to their days when they were just starting their professional baseball careers. Some players do their thing, you enjoy the show and that's it. Since we first saw him pitch in Double-A with the Sea Dogs, Lester has always come across as a quiet, classy guy whose earnest, innocent love of baseball was evident, even from the stands. When he got the call from the Red Sox in 2006, we were thrilled. When we got the word later that season that he had cancer, we were saddened.

That Lester beat cancer and made it back to pitch in the majors is something of a miracle. That he helped the Sox clinch the World Series last year in his first season back after cancer is a story that was like watching a TV movie with a happy ending too good to be true. That he could surpass that to become the first lefty to pitch a no-hitter at Fenway since 1956 seems almost unimaginable.

Lester started this season out a little shaky, with some high pitch counts and a lot of walks. But despite that, the difference in how he looked from the start of this season seemed to signal that something about Lester as a pitcher is different, too. He's looked bigger, stronger, a little more Lester than he was last year when he was still rebuilding his body and his pitching after finishing his cancer treatments. Watching him pitch this season, he's looked as strong and healthy as any young talented lefty and it's been a joy to see him perform so well that we can forget he ever battled a life-threatening disease.

Tonight, Lester seemed to take his final step away from that shadow. Last season, when he helped the Sox win the World Series, it was a miracle comeback from illness. Tonight, Lester was seemed to take his final step away from the shadow of cancer, a young talent throwing his way into the record books on great pitching and good fielding -- a miracle unto itself.