If you haven’t heard, Mike Lowell has been injected.
But the injection may or may not cure the problem. If it doesn’t work, no further problems will arise, but the current problem of course may still reside:
“The good news is if it doesn’t work, [it won't be a setback]. It’s just
a gel that can really coat that joint. We’ll get that done tomorrow and
see how he responds to that. He’ll probably need a day after that
before we can evaluate, but then we’ll see. If he’s good, that’s good.
If not, then we have to talk about the next step.“
If Lowell ends up, for some reason, on the DL. Then Mark Kotsay could play first, while Kevin Youkilis shifts to third. But the best solution if Lowell misses significant time would be–once Lowrie returns, and assuming Lowrie can play unbothered–would be to have Jed man third, and Green man short. Which would result in the Red Sox actually needing Julio Lugo.
Yes, they may actually need Lugo him for a short period of time.
But if Lowell comes back, Lugo may finally be rid of. Of course it is comforting having him right now, knowing that Lowell is not healthy.
Any other solutions?
Loading ...
Boy, I’d hate to have Kotsay as the regular first baseman for any length of time. He’s fine as an occasional fill-in, but he just doesn’t have the bat to carry the position.
I counsel, as I often do, patience. As long as the team is doing well, then hold onto your trading chips and see how Lowell’s hip responds. If he comes back, great. If he’s out for an extended period, or if his return is uncertain, then a first baseman or third baseman becomes the priority at the trade deadline.
By the way, in his blog today, Buster Olney reported that we may have a livelier-than-usual trade market AFTER the deadline, because teams will be reluctant to put in waiver claims high- or even mid-priced veterans. So the “trade deadline” may be more of an artificial barrier than an actual one.
I don’t want Kotsay in there for any extended period of time either…
The Lowrie at 3rd scenario was what I mentioned the other day as a very real possibility. Whether or not people want to hear it, Lugo might well see some more playing time in a Sox uni, and I don’t think the guy’s exactly useless. He’s getting paid one way or the other, so why not keep him around.
Having Lugo around is not any solution, his defense and singles at best bat is only going to cost games, with or without Lowrie back.
KC needs all sorts of help with it’s pitching, why not see what they would require for Teahen? He can play a serviceable 3B,2B,1B and corner OF and the Sox would not have to try and find a spare OF next year with him under club control for another 2 years. Get Magadan to work with his swing and shorten it up and maybe get a 20+ HR guy to replace Lowell even.
Teahen is a nice player, and it can’t hurt to ask, but they’d be able to get more for him than the Sox should be willing to give up for a guy they don’t need. With DeRosa traded, Teahen should be nearly as hot a commodity as anyone available, if he’s even available.
This can be a big problem. Everytime Lowell’s health is not 100%, his numbers suffers greatly. So, it’s not just about if he can return, but if he can return in good enough condition, because he tends to become completely unproductive when he is playing through injuries. This has happened before, and that’s one of the reasons why we have talked about trading him in more than one occasion.
If Lowell is not 100%, we will be probably in the need to make a trade, because Green is overperforming, we still don’t know what to expect of Lowrie, and Kotsay is a good bench player, but, like JVWALT, I’m not comfortable with him as the regular first baseman.
I understand what you are saying about Teahen Ted.. The Royals may indeed be asking for a fortune. I was thinking the Sox may be able to entice KC into a deal by offering up MDC to fix the BP that they have.
Teahen reminds me an awful lot of former Sox 3B Butch Hobson with his swing and power ability, just think that he could really help and at best be a replacement for Lowell after next and at worse, a decent utility guy.
No, just give the Royals a reliever or a low-OBP guy and they will be happy :)
Mike played 60 games with his usual solid defense and bat, far better than most expected, and he played too much. If he needs a couple of weeks off to heal up, that is our best course of action. Mike is better than any available replacement.
Assuming Mike comes back strong, Theo is aware he should only play a max of 4 out of 5 games through November. Under that scenario, a combination of Jed, Nick, Youk, Kots, Julio, Bailey would get the job done very well.
If Mike needs real rest, the Sox need to trade for equivalent talent, and equivalent difference makers (as in MVP of WS-capable) which is V-Mart or A. Gonzales. IMO don’t waste trade chips on another backup. Ours are well above average, and there are plenty more on the farm.
Obligatory “why did we sign him again?” post.
What did you have in mind that offseason, Sean O?
The cost for V-Mart and Adrian Gonzalez would be quite high. Gonzo, could really see the Sox going after, since he is young and has explosive “impact player” ability and is a GG caliber 1st baseman, but cannot see them over paying for the defensively challenged 1B/C V-Mart.
The reason the Sox resigned Lowell? That was pretty simple, several other teams offered him more than 3 years that the Sox did, at more than 12M per season and Lowell had just won the WS MVP, hit .324, 21HR 120 RBI. It was a steal of a contract after the 2007 season for a GG caliber 2007 season.
How about a wall with the name “Mike Lowell” painted on it? Would’ve cost, at most, $250 to make (compared to 13m), and i’m pretty sure the wall can be a below average hitter too.
This is exactly what I said was going to happen: we get an aging hitter who can’t walk and was signed after an outlier season. He’s a below-average third baseman, with the 16th (out of 22) highest OBP among 3b. I would’ve preferred to have Cora out there and spend $13m on international scouting.
The Lowell deal was idiocy, and considering how injury-prone and bad he’s been in ‘08 and ‘09, I expected people to finally see this fact.