Are the theories of Jon Lester returning to the Red Sox when his contract expires at the end of this season really so far-fetched?

This guy thinks so, but for those looking for signs of optimism that the lefty could come back to Boston in free agency, here’s an interesting note from social media on Thursday.

After the Red Sox dealt Lester and Jonny Gomes to the A’s, ESPN analyst and Grantland founder Bill Simmons took to Twitter, thanking Lester and wishing him the best in Oakland, but also expressing his belief that the lefthander won’t be out West for long:

Good luck in Oakland for 3 months, @jlester31 - thanks for 2007 + 2013, was fun watching you grow into an ace. See you on the 2015 Sox.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 31, 2014

Among the thousands of retweets and favorites the Tweet from Simmons received, one was interesting in particular: the official account of Jon Lester himself.

Now when looking at the other Tweets Lester favorited, it is clear he selected a number of Tweets that were thanking him for his years in Boston and wishing him “good luck,” so that may have been the reason he favorite Simmons’ Tweet, not because of the “Sox 2015” remark.

But there may still be reason for Sox fans to hope, as shown by this news from ESPNBoston.com’s Gordon Edes Thursday evening.

I'm having a tough time believing this, but I'm told Red Sox plan to make huge effort to re-sign Lester

— Gordon Edes (@GordonEdes) July 31, 2014

So as Jim Carrey famously said in “Dumb and Dumber”...