As the Red Sox look poised to make it three straight Octobers without playoff baseball and four years without a postseason win, a thought crossed all of our collective minds yesterday. Starting pitcher Derek Lowe was designated for assignment by the Indians, meaning they have 10 days to trade him or release him.
Without sounding too much like Kevin Costner green-lighting another cheesy baseball movie, Boston should honestly consider bringing him back. At this point, what do they have to lose? He’s already publicly said he’d welcome the chance so come on, let’s make it happen.
Might Bring Some Excitement Back To The Team
When you spend an afternoon or evening watching a Red Sox game this season, it is tough to look at yourself in the mirror the next day. They are completely unlikable and quite average. Maybe injecting a 39-year-old guy in the twilight of his solid MLB career will give him and the team a dose of energy. What’s the worst thing that can happen? They are 9-19 since last September when Jon Lester starts and everybody knows how badly Josh Beckett has struggled in 2012.
He Can Handle The Pressure Here, That Much We Know
After playing for the Red Sox from1997-2004, it’s safe to say that Lowe knows how to achieve success here. He helped Boston win a World Series in 2004 then signed as a free agent with the Dodgers. This is a guy that won 21games in 2002 and threw a no-hitter; he was also a successful closer for a few years which included 42 saves in 2000. He might be washed up, but Lowe is not afraid of the spotlight in a big market.
Lowe Can’t Be Any Worse Than Aaron Cook
While it is true that Boston already has one mediocre right-handed sinkerballer – Aaron Cook – currently in the rotation, they still are in desperate need of a leader in the clubhouse and dugout. Most importantly, Lowe is very dependable on the field since he rarely misses an outing and is never one to leave a start prematurely or go on the DL with a made-up injury (cough Dice-K, Beckett).
There were rumors of Johnny Damon returning two years ago, so I’d be shocked if the one-track thought processes of the Red Sox front office passed up on another chance to wring some nostalgia money out of its dwindling fan-base that just wants things to go back to the old days (minus the painful World Series drought). By reuniting with Lowe, a big piece of the past, maybe the Red Sox could finally start forging a new identity moving forward.
