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July 5, 2009
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Heading into the season, we all suspected this might be a problem. After the 2008 post-season, how could we not?
At the plate, Lowell swung the bat like he had three arrows in his back; in the field he looked like he needed a walker. He was a was a shadow of himself, and as heroic as it was that he was even trying to play, it was clear that this hip injury was a serious one.
Literally the morning after Boston’s Game 7 loss to the Rays, Lowell had surgery on the torn right labrum, and doctors deemed it "a complete success." Later that day, Theo told reporters that "we expect Mike to be able to contribute right from the start" and we had no choice but to be optimistic…
Maybe the surgery was all he needed?
Maybe the hip won’t be an issue?
But next thing you know, the Sox are making a run at Mark Teixiera (a move that would have pushed Lowell out of town). Of course, Teixiera signed with the Yankees because he’s scared of his wife. But you had to wonder—is there more to this Lowell injury?
Then Spring Training starts, and Lowell still isn’t ready.
February turns to March and the he’s still saying things like "I’m hoping to be ready for Opening Day," as opposed to more affirmative, "I can’t wait to get out there on Opening Day!"
This weekend’s The Baseball Show featured Michael Felger and Lou Merloni in the studio and Sean McAdam and Steve Buckley sitting on the field of a sultry Turner Field (although at least it was sunny for them).
A main topic was Mike Lowell’s suddenly stiff hip and his need for a break. Did he play too much in April? Lou Merloni wants less of him now and more of him in October.
Also, the post- start John Smoltz dialogue featured talk of where he is after his surgery and what to expect from him in his next start. Can the fans handle having to wait for him to come around? Do they want Dice-K back already? The consensus is, obviously, that it is way too soon to start the second guessing.
The Baseball Show airs live from 9 AM until Noon and is simulcast on WEEI.
Mike Lowell’s Hip:
John Smoltz’s Start:
The Trouble with Fleger:
Back in my All-Star baseball days (early 1980s, Little League), my coach had two cardinal rules sure to ruin any kid’s summer: no swimming before games or practices, because the chlorine would allegedly affect your eyesight, and no Wiffle ball period, because swinging at a plastic ball thrown slower than a hardball would allegedly screw up your baseball swing.
Like most kids, I didn’t listen to my coach and spent many days playing Wiffle ball in the pool, thereby doubling tweaking his advice. Mike Lowell isn’t quite taking it to that far, but the Red Sox third baseman is playing Wiffle ball tomorrow morning on Boston Common in association with the Life is Good festival, competing against local media personalities for the title of Wiffle Ball Home Run Champion.
The Life is Good Festival, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., is a free event featuring live music, a fundraising walk and assorted games for adults and children and will be held rain or shine. The Wiffle ball event will take place at 11:30 a.m. on the Charles Street side of the Common.
Proceeds from the walk and on-site donations will benefit Project Joy, an organization that helps children recover from personal trauma
Other links of note today:
* Bob Ryan says brown people are cheaters (The Bostonist)
Here’s a heartwarming little nugget from Amalie Benjamin’s Red Sox notebook:
DETROIT - It took Mark Kotsay to figure out the milestone. No one in the press box knew. Mike Lowell didn’t know. The mark might just have gone unnoticed had Kotsay not figured out that Lowell had come into last night’s game one hit shy of 1,500.
"Kotsay was the one after my second at-bat, he told me, ‘It took me a while, I was stuck on 1,499,’ " Lowell said. "I said, ‘Is that what I’m at?’ I said, ‘No wonder, I’ve probably been pressing subconsciously.’ It was nice.
"Halfway there. Another 11 years. I’ll be 46. I think I’m going to fall short of 3,000. I really do."
He might not be headed for 3,000, but he did manage to make the night of his 1,500th notable. Not the hit itself - a single to left in the sixth inning - but later. As he said, "Am I the first person in history to get thrown out when he gets his 1,500th hit? I’ve got to be. That’s got to be an accomplishment."
That’s Mark Kotsay, all right. Always there when you need to be reminded of an upcoming obscure personal milestone…
But seriously, I’d love to know exactly how Kotsay went about "figuring this out." Clearly, the information wasn’t readily available, otherwise someone in the press box would have been onto it, right? (Err, maybe don’t answer that). But really, is Kotsay a closet sabremetricist?
You may not know it, but that Sox jersey you wore to the game last night—or that you’ll wear to the bar tomorrow—says a lot about who you are.
It says a lot about your lifestyle. A lot about what makes you tick.
What follows is a breakdown of Sox fans by their jersey of choice. It’s important to note that not every fan has every characteristic. It’s just that if you own said jersey, there’s a good chance you fall into one of the categories below it.
Here we go—
• You played high school football
• You will never dance at a club, but have no problem standing in the corner and staring down your girlfriend while she does.
• Drinks of choice: Bud Heavy on draft and shots of Jaeger.
• You own a Tedy Bruschi jersey.
• You REALLY like yelling "Yooooouuk!"
• You’re less than six feet tall
• You own a Wes Welker jersey.
• You think guys with long hair are hippies
• You loving doing stupid and dangerous things in the name of proving that you can.
• You had a rat-tail in the fourth grade.
Julio Lugo
• You’re Latin American
• Your last name is Green
Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell will call The Baseball Show tomorrow and talk with Mike Felger, Lou Merloni, Sean McAdam and Steve Buckley.
Lowell is batting .303 with 56 hits, 33 RBI, and 8 homers through 48 games.
The Baseball Show runs from 9 a.m to noon on CSN and is simulcast on Sports Radio WEEI. The show will rerun from noon to 3 p.m. on CSN.
Remember when Mike Lowell was the unwelcome baggage in the Josh Beckett acquisition? When the Marlins insisted the Red Sox take the third baseman — coming off season in which he hit .236 with eight home runs and 58 RBIs in 500 at-bats — or else they wouldn’t make the deal for Hanley Ramirez?
Yeah, that seems like eons ago.
Lowell, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be finished as a hitter after that dreadful 2005 season. He was still a Gold Glove-caliber fielder, but his years of hitting 20-plus home runs and driving in respectable numbers seemed like a thing of the past.
Well, Lowell came to Boston at age 31 and turned things around, which is surprising, since hitters are supposed to head to the National League to have career resurgences. Anyway, that’s been the conventional wisdom of recent years.
But the Sox third baseman turned in these splits the last three-plus seasons
2006: .284/.339/.475 with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs
2007: .324/.378./501 with 21 home runs and 120 RBIs
2008: .274/.338/.461 with 12 home runs and 73 RBIs in 113 games
2009: .289/.321./.500 with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs through 38 games.
So, can Ortiz pull the same turnaround?
Lowell thinks so, according to the Inside Pitch in USA Today:
