Lowell Feels Better After Injection

[BoSox21]

or maybe a deal with the Tigers for Carlos Guillen' date=' although he's not the best 3B in the history of ever.[/quote']

 

Guillen would play 1B if they acquired him

[Dojji]

Fair point but Guillen's slumping so bad I'm pretty sure the point is moot.

[Dutchy]

What about Ryan Garko (.260/.355/.444)? The Guardians are obviously sellers and he can play 1B, and the outfield.

[Spudboy]

Do you guys really think the Sox pull the trigger on a trade right now? I see them waiting until after the 15 day dl at least. They want to see how Lowell is then. Just my opinion, though. And, Lowrie will be back. They will have some more flexibility (assuming Lowrie is "back").

[TheKilo]

So glad we put all our eggs in the Mike Lowell basket.

[Dutchy]

Do you guys really think the Sox pull the trigger on a trade right now? I see them waiting until after the 15 day dl at least. They want to see how Lowell is then. Just my opinion' date=' though. And, Lowrie will be back. They will have some more flexibility (assuming Lowrie is "back").[/quote']

 

I agree, when Lowrie returns, he could play 3B.

[WhiskeyBreath]

I agree' date=' when Lowrie returns, he could play 3B.[/quote']

 

True. But it's really tough to trust Lowrie and Lowell to stay healthy. They have a month to figure it out.

[Dutchy]

I doubt the Padres would trade him in-season, but my dream acquisition would be Adrian Gonzalez. The Red Sox showed interest in him in the past when they were trying to trade Manny Ramirez. I wonder what kind of a deal it would take though. He's signed for '10 and has an option for '11, both under $6 million.

 

Lars Anderson, Michael Bowden, Daniel Bard?

 

Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, Casey Kelly?

 

Wonder if packages like that would be enough.

[Cocos Disciples]

Lowrie and Green/Lugo on the left side of the infield is an offensive nightmare. I'm in favor of a trade.

[Spudboy]

Lowrie and Green/Lugo on the left side of the infield is an offensive nightmare. I'm in favor of a trade.

 

Hmm... I'm sure you'll post a response to affirm your opinion. But what makes Lowrie an offensive liability? Granted, he has not shown that he can play this year, but he is a decent switch hitting young bat. I say give him a shot. My real problem is I don't want to trade away young stud-type pitching prospects. Including Masterson.

[Cocos Disciples]

I like the kid, but last year he had a below average offensive year, and it's hard to imagine him coming back strong as soon as he comes back.

[jacksonianmarch]

Lowrie never showed he could play with the big boys on a consistent basis. Last yr, he put up a .258/.339/.400 line, which isnt great and if he's expected to play 3rd, it is terrible. Now, after a serious wrist injury, he's expected to do better? How bout his track record in the minors. Good, but not the best in the world in terms of OPS (.825) and he never had much in the way of power. He is what he is. A switch hitter with good patience and not much past that. He'd fit at the SS position offensively. But pairing him with Nick Green on the left will be awful

[Cocos Disciples]

Positional value is another good point. A 6-9 of Varitek, Ellsbury, Lowrie and Green is...not good.

[VA Sox Fan]

So glad we put all our eggs in the Mike Lowell basket.

 

Yeah, because his season is over, clearly. dammit.

[jacksonianmarch]

Positional value is another good point. A 6-9 of Varitek' date=' Ellsbury, Lowrie and Green is...not good.[/quote']

 

That might be time to move Ells back to the leadoff spot to break them up for one turn in the order. If they didnt, Papi and Bay wouldnt see any pitches.

[TheKilo]

Yeah' date=' because his season is over, clearly. dammit.[/quote']

 

Not what I said.

[Spudboy]

Allow me to belabor the issue. I like Lowrie. He is very solid defensively. The question is his offense.

And that is a legitimate concern, I agree.

 

I seem to remember him as a pretty good bat that tailed off precipitously. My question is, when did the wrist start hurting his swing? Did his slide coincide with the wrist injury? If so, maybe we can reasonably expect him to swing a good bat again if he regains his strength.

 

Curiously, he had strong numbers against the Angels in the ALDS and then tanked against the Rays. Did he aggravate the wrist in the LCS? I don't recall.

[Cocos Disciples]

Curiously, he had strong numbers against the Angels in the ALDS and then tanked against the Rays. Did he aggravate the wrist in the LCS? I don't recall.

 

I'd attribute that more to the sample size.

[Dutchy]

Lowrie never showed he could play with the big boys on a consistent basis. Last yr' date=' he put up a .258/.339/.400 line, which isnt great and if he's expected to play 3rd, it is terrible. Now, after a serious wrist injury, he's expected to do better? How bout his track record in the minors. Good, but not the best in the world in terms of OPS (.825) and he never had much in the way of power. He is what he is. A switch hitter with good patience and not much past that. He'd fit at the SS position offensively. But pairing him with Nick Green on the left will be awful[/quote']

 

He hit /.323/.371/.419 before fracturing his wrist last year. I'd wait to see how he does when he's healthy before judging what kind of a major league hitter he is.

[jacksonianmarch]

Regardless, I think the FO got caught with their pants down and their pitching staff is bailing them out. If Lowell misses a big chunk of time, or plays but is rendered ineffective, then the bottom of that order becomes a massive sink. Varitek moves into the middle of the order and the bottom of the order becomes a sink with Ellsbury, Green and Lowrie. All guys who wont be on base more than 35% most of the time most likely and all guys who offer minimal to no power whatsoever. Lowrie as a 3b is just an awful option.

[jacksonianmarch]

He hit /.323/.371/.419 before fracturing his wrist last year. I'd wait to see how he does when he's healthy before judging what kind of a major league hitter he is.

 

you are enamored with small sample sizes, do you know this?

[Dutchy]

you are enamored with small sample sizes' date=' do you know this?[/quote']

 

And you're enamored with criticizing the Red Sox for ridiculous reasons, like them not hitting well with a fractured wrist. I didn't say the sample size meant anything, I just pointed out that he hit just fine before he fractured his wrist, which you made no mention of.

[Dutchy]

Regardless' date=' I think the FO got caught with their pants down and their pitching staff is bailing them out. If Lowell misses a big chunk of time, or plays but is rendered ineffective, then the bottom of that order becomes a massive sink. Varitek moves into the middle of the order and the bottom of the order becomes a sink with Ellsbury, Green and Lowrie. All guys who wont be on base more than 35% most of the time most likely and all guys who offer minimal to no power whatsoever. Lowrie as a 3b is just an awful option.[/quote']

 

Didn't the front office put the pitching staff together?

 

Not too worried about it, Lowell is supposed to be back the first day's he's illegible, and if not, well there's a reason we kept some flexibility in our payroll.

[Cocos Disciples]

Regardless' date=' I think the FO got caught with their pants down and their pitching staff is bailing them out. If Lowell misses a big chunk of time, or plays but is rendered ineffective, then the bottom of that order becomes a massive sink. Varitek moves into the middle of the order and the bottom of the order becomes a sink with Ellsbury, Green and Lowrie. All guys who wont be on base more than 35% most of the time most likely and all guys who offer minimal to no power whatsoever. Lowrie as a 3b is just an awful option.[/quote']

 

Offensively they were 'caught with their pants down' by not signing Tex. But I don't think the pitching staff is bailing them out--this was the design. Before the season they had six capable starters with a seventh available in June, and a bullpen projected to be excellent. The rotation sucked in the beginning of the year but is coming together, and the bullpen has been as advertised.

[VA Sox Fan]

Lowell feeling good

 

Posted by Adam Kilgore, Globe Staff June 30, 2009 06:11 PM

 

Mike Lowell’s stay on the disabled should not be any longer than the virtual minimum, which means he is scheduled to return the day after the All-Star break. He is eligible to come off July 12, the Sunday before the break, but coming off for one game wouldn’t make much sense. In all, Lowell will miss 14 games but received 19 days off, a pretty good trade off.

 

And, manager Terry Francona said, Lowell showed up in Boston today feeling great, “to the point he’s thinking about he could play in a couple days,” Francona said. But if Lowell plays sporadically for a week and then feels hurt again, the Red Sox would be wasting an opportunity to maybe put the soreness behind Lowell for good and have him feeling good for the second half. That’s not a guarantee, but Francona says the Sox feel good about where he’ll be at after the DL time.

 

“Sure, it could reoccur,” Francona said. “The guy had surgery. That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. There’s nothing structurally that went wrong or crept up.”

 

The man replacing Lowell is familiar face Jeff Bailey, who’s sort of jumped on that Lou Merloni Memorial Pawtucket-Boston Shuttle. This is Bailey’s sixth time called up since 2007. “That’s the way it is,” Bailey said. “That’s fine by me.”

 

Bailey is at first, which Mark Kotsay a night off against Baltimore lefty Rich Hill. (Shortstop Julio Lugo, in for Nick Green and leading off, is batting .400 against lefties with a 1.043 OPS this year.) Bailey is hitting ninth, but Francona and bench coach Brad Mills actually considered batting him leadoff. Bailey typically bats leadoff for Ron Johnson in Pawtucket.

 

Bailey will also be the emergency catcher, taking the role from Dustin Pedroia. Still, “I’d love to send Pedey back there,” Francona saiud. “See what he looks like.”

 

(More Francona-Pedroia hilarity: Pedroia apparently messes with John Farrell often. When he wears on Farrell enough, Francona said, Farrell will literally pick him up by the by the back of his shirt with one hand. “Pedey’s little legs are just dangling,” Francona said, cracking up.)

 

While Green is got hit with a ball in the ankle, Francona said that’s not the reason he’s not playing tonight. He wanted to give him a breather with a day game coming tomorrow. Also, Green took some grounders at third tonight with infield coach Tim Bogar.

[Dutchy]

Offensively they were 'caught with their pants down' by not signing Tex. But I don't think the pitching staff is bailing them out--this was the design. Before the season they had six capable starters with a seventh available in June' date=' and a bullpen projected to be excellent. The rotation sucked in the beginning of the year but is coming together, and the bullpen has been as advertised.[/quote']

 

Yeah, I think the Sox are playing just how they were designed. People are making a big deal about how we're going to replace Lowell's production, but he's been hitting .206/.286/.309 this month and his defense has left a lot to be desired all year and we still rolled on to the best record in the AL. With our rotation and bullpen, we don't need a patient power hitter at every position. Pedroia, Youkilis, Bay, Ortiz and Drew provide plenty of offense.

[a700hitter]

Bailey suck again? Damn! His fielding is worse than Ortiz's. His hitting is worse than Lugo, and he has Varitek's speed. What a player!

[VA Sox Fan]

Not what I said.

 

I realize that. Maybe we can put a Statute of Limitations on bitching/whining about the Sox not getting Texeira and trading Lowell etc. Let's say, after the All Star break or the trade deadline?

 

It's history. We will all remember that you disagreed with the Sox on this one. Promise.

[das11209]

I realize that. Maybe we can put a Statute of Limitations on bitching/whining about the Sox not getting Texeira and trading Lowell etc. Let's say, after the All Star break or the trade deadline?

 

It's history. We will all remember that you disagreed with the Sox on this one. Promise.

 

Tex is water under the bridge - but I doubt Lowell will contribute this year. We should geta 1st/3rd baseman by trading deadlines.

[VA Sox Fan]

Tex is water under the bridge - but I doubt Lowell will contribute this year. We should geta 1st/3rd baseman by trading deadlines.

 

I hope/beg to differ. Time will tell, as always. I imagine that the FO has a plan.