Sox Drawer: Lester off DL, sent to AAA

The good news: Jon Lester has been removed from the disabled list, a huge sign that things are progressing as well as can be expected in his road to recovering from cancer.

The bad news is he was sent to AAA Pawtucket, a place where he had been pitching while on a pair of rehab assignments and not the place many Sox fans had expected him to land after being reactivated.

But evidently this decision was no surprise to the parties involved, and everyone from pitching coach John Farrell to Theo Epstein thought it be best if Lester make a couple more starts at AAA, completely healthy, before making the jump to the big club in the middle of a successful season.

Makes sense, I guess. I know Julian's happy.

Still, the encouraging thing is everything looks good for his return in the next couple of weeks, and the most important thing is that he have no setbacks once he makes the move back to a major league rotation.

Keep up the great work, Jon, and we in the Nation can't wait to cheer you on when you return to that Fenway mound again.

NOTES: Minor league catching prospect George Kottaras got a little slice of national fame last night when his 9th-inning three-run homer against Ottawa that won the game for the PawSox last night made the ESPN Top Plays reel. Way to go, Georgie!

**UPDATE: The Globe just reported that Julio Lugo has been dropped from the leadoff spot in favor of Dustin Pedroia, and Lugo will now occupy the 9th position in the lineup.

YES! THERE IS A GOD! IT"S ABOUT DAMN TIME, TITO! MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! YES! THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS! HOT DAMN!

I'm okay now**