Mike Lowell

Mikey is back and looks good – Mike Lowell was in the lineup last night against the Yankees, holding down the four spot in between Ortiz and Drew.  That is a pretty solid 3-4-5 if you ask me.  Mikey had his first fielding opportunity of the spring in the first inning which turned into an inning-ending double play.  He then led off in the second inning and took a high fastball from Chien-Ming Wang deep over the left field fence for a solo shot.  Lowell hit a single later in the same inning as the Sox batted through the lineup and tallied 7 runs. 

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be interesting to see whether or not Ortiz will be the one we saw last season or the 2007 version. Mike Lowell is also returning from injury, a true warrior, whopushed himself beyond limits during last year's playoffs. Both men have much to prove as the Fenway Faithful wait with baited breath. (Note: I'd write on Tek here but read my previous article for more information.)

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It is time for the Boston Red Sox to move on from Mike Lowell. The 2004 World Series MVP has performed greatly for the Sox in his three seasons with the team amassing 58 HRs, 273 RBI and a batting average of .297 in that time. He has played gold glove caliber third base, as was expected when he was acquired as a throw in as a part of the trade that brought Josh Beckett to Boston. His offense has been much better than expected considering his poor showing in 2005 (.236 AVG., 8 HRs, 58 RBI) the season before he was shipped off to Boston. He was an all-star and was the MVP of the World Series in 2007. With all of these recent accomplishments, why should the Red Sox move on? The answer is Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis. With Teixeira available on the free agent market, the Red Sox need to look at their corner infielders and decide if it is worth signing Teixeira. If you compare Youkilis and Lowell, Youkilis wins because of his versatility and youth. Their offensive numbers over the past three seasons are extremely close. Lowell hit .297 with 58 HRs and 273 RBI while Youkilis hit .293 with 58 HRs and 270 RBI. With the offense being a toss up with Lowell receiving a slight edge, we must look at the defensive side of the game. I believe the edge goes to Youkilis here. They have both played tremendous defense, but Youkilis has been better. Over the past three seasons, Youkilis has committed 18 errors at first base and third base combined and he won a gold glove in 2007 while Lowell has committed 31 errors at third base. 2007 and 2008 were the worst defensive seasons of Lowell’s career with 15 errors and 10 errors respectively. Lowell’s numbers at third base are better than Youkilis’ numbers at the hot corner, but the difference is not great enough to overcome the age difference (Lowell is 34, Youkilis is 29) or the versatility difference (Lowell can only play third at this point of his career while Youkilis can play first, third, left field, and right field if necessary). Taking all of this into consideration, if you have to move on from one of these guys, it seems quite obvious that you keep Youkilis and move Lowell. What about Teixeira? Is he really going to be an upgrade over Lowell? The short answer is yes. Mark Teixeira is only 28 years old and the offensive numbers aren’t even close. Over the past three seasons Teixeira has hit .298 with 96 HRs and 336 RBI. These offensive numbers far out way the production of Lowell over the same time span. Teixeira has been superior to Lowell defensively as well. Remember Lowell’s 31 errors since 2006? Teixeira has only committed 14 in that time span and he won a gold glove in 2006. Another reason the Red Sox will explore this avenue is the fact that

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- even though you'll probably have to eat a huge chunk of his contract, a la Renteria, or as in the Mike Lowell scenario, for that matter - and sign a legit slugger to play right.

Here's the funny thing: This idea is immediately rejected as unfathomable. Why? I honestly don't get it. Trading Lowell seems a choice everyone in the media can wrap their brains around, but trading Drew isn't an option. How come? If they sign Teixeria and dump Lowell, they're trading away a well-paid veteran to create space for someone else. Getting rid of Drew seems the exact same move, to me.

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I don't know if it's just me, but the playoffs never seem to officially start until the Sox play a game at Friendly Fenway. I mean, I watched the games in LA - or LA of Anaheim, or Anaheim in LA, or Anaheim in LA of California, United States - and came away psyched that the Sox were up 2-0, but it didn't have that playoff feel. It just felt like a road trip to the west coast. Maybe it was the fact that the glamorous LA fans were eating sushi off of asian-influenced rectangle plates instead of toting a steamed dog in one hand and a $7 Coors Light in the other. I don't know.

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out to enter the postseason with JD Drew having four more at-bats than me since mid-August and with Mike Lowell looking like he needs a walker to get around, not to mention with Josh Beckett battling what can become one of the most nagging and lingering injuries in sports (the dreaded oblique). And yet my feelings of doom are assuaged slightly by the fact that the big man has been tearing the cover off the ball lately.

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- Jacoby Ellsbury
2B - Dustin Pedroia
DH - David Ortiz
LF - Manny Ramirez
3B - Mike Lowell
RF - JD Drew
1B - Kevin Youkilis
C - Jason Varitek
SS - Julio Lugo

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Bradford wrote a biography about Mike Lowell, Buckley wrote some sort of memoir of classic stories around the park, and Massarotti, Shaughnessy and Holley "chronicled" seasons after their completion. Forgive me for being cynical, but isn't their job to chronical the season. Seems like some cheap double-dipping to me. And the fact that all these books hit the shelves less than eight months after the Sox wrapped up a championship says plenty about the thorough effort put into each one.

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nding him argument holds less water than a sieve.  As good as Ortiz, Trot Nixon, Johnny Damon, Mike Lowell and Manny's other Red Sox teammates are or have been, the group of guys surrounding A-Rod (Jeter, Matsui, Giambi, Damon, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Bobby Abreu) is just as good if not better than Manny's supporting cast.

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He plucked David Ortiz from the Twins, filled third base with Bill Mueller and Mike Lowell (two of the classiest dudes ever to wear a Sox uniform), and stocked the pitching staff with young arms. He also traded for Curt Schilling and built two World Series winners. But for whatever reason Epstein keeps coming up with an E-6.

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So can we please talk about Jason Giambi's mustache for a second? First the guy admits to wearing a gold thong when he needs to break out of a slump (it's hard to imagine that's all he's "breaking out of" in that kind of attire). And now he goes ahead and grows a full-out, mid-80s, Magnum PI mustache. Add these two nuggets to the fact that he's one of the 3 sweatiest humans on the planet, and that he's a New York Yankee, and you have the grossest person in America. Ever. Period.

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Sox just went off for four runs against Houston, highlighted by back-to-back doubles from Manny and Mike Lowell. Good to see for Manny, he's been struggling mightily lately. I find Manny to be a confusing player sometimes - when he gets hot, it's absolutely rediculous - he hits everything, and he hits it to any part of the park. But when he gets cold sometimes he looks like a little leaguer. I mean there are times when he just flails. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's pretty puzzling. Still, there's no doubt he's one of the best right-handed hitters of his generation. Maybe tonight's rocket of a double is a sign of good things to come.

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a losing streak. It is still April and the Sox have been the walking wounded with David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Daisuke Matsuzaka out with injuries. These injuries will pass just like the Old Towne Team's losing streak. Let's be patient and not worry just yet

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