Derek Lowe

(As Compared to big market teams.) They went out to get two reliable pitchers in Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami. Lowe has age as an issue. Kawakami has the issue of whether or not he can adapt to the MLB. However, both should prove to be reliable pitchers. Add in Javier Vaszquez, a Jair Jurrjens and a possible Tom Glavine, the Braves have pitchers that can eat up innings and provide protection to their relief pitchers. The Atlanta Braves pitchers if able to sustain their durability can be the trigger for an explosive offense.

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 But Jason Varitek has caught four, starting in 2001 with Hideo Nomo, followed by Derek Lowe in 2002, Clay Buchholz in 2007, and most recently Jon Lester in 2008.  None of those guys are slouches by any measure, however they aren't the most elite pitchers of their era yet either (can't pass judgement on Buchholz or Lester especially as of yet).  And yet, all of these guys have done what some astonishingly elite names such as Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling (who came within one strike of a perfect game with Varitek behind the plate in 2007), Pedro Martinez have never been able to do in some the most illustrious and impressive pitching careers that Major League baseball has ever seen.  With Varitek behind the plate and calling the game, good pitchers become great, and great pitchers can become legendary.  This is not to say that the Red Sox Captain deserves all the credit for his pitchers' success, but it is undeniable that he has a huge impact on the game and the way his pitchers perform.

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03, and I fought sleepiness and ruined any chance of being productive the following day only to see Derek Lowe give up a walk-off bunt single in extras. I'm not sure I can take that again.

In truth, though, those of us on the East Coast shouldn't complain (that doesn't mean we won't). I mean think about it - those on the left coast get screwed almost every day when it comes to sports television. All the important games start when the average person is still at work, and football starts before you finish your first bowl of Cheerios on Sunday. Football at 10 a.m.? No thanks. So if we have to watch one late baseball game, so be it. After all, the Angels have homefield advantage for a reason - they earned it. It's not their fault that the home field of which we speak is in Los Angeles of Anaheim.

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med the Red Sox lives of fan favorites Trot Nixon, Johnny Damon, Pedro Martinez, Doug Mirabelli and Derek Lowe, any of whom would have been retained if sentiment and sentiment alone drove personnel decisions.

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