Lowe came to Boston in one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history back in 1997. The Red Sox got Lowe and Jason Varitek for ‘closer’ Heathcliff Slocumb. I say ‘closer’, as for those of you old enough to remember, poor old Heathcliff was really more of a ‘potential door opener’ than ‘closer’, blowing saves like it was going out of fashion. Let’s just say Seattle got the raw end of that deal.
Why all the fuss around Lowe these last 24 hours? Well, the Cleveland Indians have basically released him, or to use the technical term, they have designated him for assignment. He is still somewhat under their control, they can trade him for up to 10 days from when they let him go, however the feeling is he will be allowed drift off as a free agent to whoever wants him.
Right now, Lowe is openly saying he would love to come back to Boston, and that’s kind of cool.
Lowe could prove very valuable to the Red Sox. Where do you start, the list of positives is glowing. He knows how to pitch in the AL East. He knows Boston, and has proven to know how to win in Boston, something not a lot of pitchers can do. When he is ‘on’ he keeps the ball down, crucial in Fenway Park. He started out the 2012 season 6-2 with a tiny ERA and has historically been a streaky-good pitcher, perfectly capable of finding his sinkerball mojo again. Particularly in, for him, the comfortable confines of Fenway Park.
Lowe sounds very optimistic about joining up with his regular personal training and fixing the mechanical pitching issues which have him in his current ‘funk’. He said;
“I just need to go back with Chris and get my stuff right again, I know I will,’
The fact of the matter is the Fenway clubhouse could probably do with having a gregarious character like Lowe around. He would also be fantastic to have around Felix Dubront and other young Red Sox pitchers. The Cleveland Indians players and staff have to a man had nothing but glowing comments on Lowe, singling out his selfless, generous sharing of time and information with younger players.
The upside to having a proven winning, inning eating, experienced, friendly character like Lowe around is absolutely gigantic compared to very few potential drawbacks.
This 2012 Red Sox season hangs in the balance.
A gentle push like adding Lowe as starting pitching insurance, could be a small factor for the positive.
Vote Lowe! Bring the ‘Idiot’ back!
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