Lowrie: Long-Term Solution At Short?

July 23rd, 2008 by Zach Hayes

The Red Sox signed Julio Lugo prior to the 2007 season mostly out of necessity. Sure, Theo Epstein long favored Lugo at an eventual replacement at shortstop when he hit free agency following decent years in a Rays uniform, and since the complete black hole of a bat Alex Gonzalez provided would not be sufficient in the long term, Epstein needed a shortstop and handed Lugo a contract Theo and Red Sox fans deeply regret. While his defense improved in 2007, it has greatly depreciated this season, and while the hitting aspect of Lugo

Filed under Jed Lowrie

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309010 Comments2008-07-23+05%3A39%3A27Zach+Hayes to “Lowrie: Long-Term Solution At Short?”

Evan Brunell says:

July 23, 2008 at 2:17 AM

And Tito likens him to Bill Mueller. That’s pretty sweet.

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Tim Daloisio says:

July 23, 2008 at 7:19 AM

If you look at the Red Sox lineup, .275+ with solid but not spectacular defense and the ability to work counts from the bottom of the batting order is more than enough out of your SS. I think Lowrie has to get the shot to win the job full time for the remainder of this and then next season. I just don’t know what you do with Lugo. You’ll have to pay someone else to pay his salary next year. At least they’ve shown that they are willing to do that in the past.
And who knows, Lowrie/Pedroia is a nice up the middle tandem to grow together for the next few years.

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Gerry says:

July 23, 2008 at 9:14 AM

So far so good. I admit to holding my breath with every at bat and every ball hit to him, each time reallizing this guy is really solid; he really is a Pedroia clone. He has been central to breaking the road curse these last two games, with superior hitting and fielding.
Consistent with his MiLB play, Lowrie in the Majors shined at the start of the season and is shining again. His bat, always a plus, is helping win games. He could realistically hit .290+ with, as he matures, some doubles turning into HR . . . in other words, easily surpassing Julio’s best Tampa performances.
Any lingering negative perceptions about his defense, range, arm are routinely dissipated with each well-executed opportunity; and this reality has been consistent in AAA and Fenway. Where did this perception come from? Has he been saddled with a dubious label by some unkown opinion maker? If so, the comparisons to Mueller and Pedroia are appropriate, as they were panned in the same way by the same cogniscenti. Keep up the good work, Jed.

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Bottom Line Rob says:

July 23, 2008 at 10:30 AM

Lugo’s contract is the key here, but as Tim said, the Sox have been willing to eat the money in the past… it just looks really bad for them to do it AGAIN for a SS…
Bottom Line: If Lowrie can keep it up through 2008, I say make it his job to lose in 2009.

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Bob says:

July 23, 2008 at 11:31 AM

The bat .300/.338/.417 is better than most of the shortstops in the league, there’s not doubt in my mind that he can hit at the major league level. I don’t think he’s a Pedroia-clone, he’s got a little more homerun power and doesn’t hit for as much contact. Also, personality wise he seems a bit calmer.He should be the primary shortstop for the rest of the year. Give Cora a coaching job or something and bench Lugo. Of course, this would all be earier if Theo didn’t have the man-crush on Lugo which compelled him to shell out a ridiculous above-market contract.

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Sean O says:

July 23, 2008 at 1:24 PM

Well, if anyone was doubting Lowrie’s talent, it wasn’t the Sox or stat geeks. BP has pretty positive things to say about him, and he’s hitting eerily close to his PECOTA projection (.300/.338/.417 real vs. .261/.336/.413 PECOTA), and he’s obviously been promoted pretty quickly.
Welcome to Boston Jed. I wish I’d been wrong about Lugo, but you’ll make us forget about all that.

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Jed Lowrie's Mom says:

July 23, 2008 at 10:29 PM

I think his bad projects to be very solid. He hit about .300/.400/.500 last year between AA and AAA which is spectacular for a middle infielder. And I’ve yet to see anything wrong with his defense. I think scouts harped on his defense more than anything because they couldn’t really criticize anything else in his game.

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Gerry says:

July 23, 2008 at 11:35 PM

Good point, Mom. Comments about your kid always include some negative about his arm or defense or range, but these comments are never sourced, except to “some scouts” or “some guru”. Perhaps these are shards of old statements of potential concern as he rose through the system, which have become gospel despite little or no foundation. He may not be Gonzales, but who is? He is showing good range, good glove, an accurate arm, is a difference maker with the bat, has a good presence, and he clearly helped us with this sweep, stopping the bleeding on the road. Not bad for a 23 year old rookie.

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Jed's Cousin says:

July 24, 2008 at 12:44 AM

It’s pretty easy to get excited about Jed, and I fully expect him to eventually reward the Red Sox for their faith in him. But we have to remember he is still at the improvement stage of his career, has limited experience, and will go thru some periods where the bat won’t connect quite as solidly, he will miss a grounder here or there, and we have to live thru that, have patience, and know that he is learning from all of this. Go Jed. Go Sox.

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Lyndsay says:

July 24, 2008 at 11:15 AM

Gerry – I wouldn’t necessarily compare him to Pedroia – I don’t see him having the same kind of speed defensively and ability to flip to Youk the way Pedey does. I still think we have to take this time to see what he can do instead of jumping to making him the everyday SS. Remember when Ellsbury was “the future”? now he’s in a major slump and can’t get on base at all. I hesitate to count the rookies before they hatch!s

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