D-Lowe Looking Forward to Fenway

Derek Lowe has entered the blogosphere and in his first post he writes about coming back to Fenway:

I'm really looking forward to heading back to Boston to pitch this weekend. When I think of my career pretty much all my memories are in Boston. There were some good times in Los Angeles, especially last year when we were winning playoff games. But I think any time you win a World Series in any city, that's where your fondest memories are going to be.

Derek Lowe had his share of struggles in Boston but he also had some big time performances in the post-season. I hope Red Sox fans will give him a nice welcome when he takes the mound at Fenway.

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Derek Lowe Is Not Coming Back Through That Door

Derek Lowe will not be returning to the Boston Red Sox. The Mets have offered him a 3-year deal and with the Red Sox signing of Brad Penny there is very little chance they would want another middle of the road starter. The Daily News had this additional information:

Lowe recently told a friend that the Red Sox, who signed Brad Penny to a one-year deal this week, have never showed serious interest in him, and indicated that he thinks he'll wind up as a Met, telling the friend the two sides had exchanged contract proposals before Christmas.

The Red Sox could still go after a front of the rotation type player like Peavy or try to get a bargain on a guy like Sheets but they are not going to spend big money on a middle to back of the rotation pitcher right now. With the recent rumors about going after Hanley Ramirez it looks like the Red Sox are willing to make a big trade to gain some power not pitching.

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The Chips Begin to Fall

The Winter Meetings are heating up with some big news:

C.C. Sabathia is headed to the Bronx in a massive 7 year deal worth around $170 million.

The Yankees are also close to signing Derek Lowe and are still interested in A.J. Burnett.

The Red Sox are still the front runners in the Teixeira sweepstakes.

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Would D-Lowe Be a Good Fit for the Red Sox Rotation?

Derek Lowe wants back in; not because he loves the Red Sox so much, but because he wants to be on a winning franchise. You can't blame him for not having undying love for the team since they did not re-sign him after his last contract ran out. But much has changed since he left Boston:

"I think I'm a lot better pitcher now, teammate now, than I was four years ago," he said. "Sometimes you have to learn, and I think getting out of Boston was the best thing for me. I was able to sit back and analyze what's going on. What's good, what's bad. And I think hopefully that's what happened. Sometimes you need a dose of reality as to why a team didn't want to keep you around. You have to be honest with yourself, and once you do that, it's all right to say I may have made some mistakes in my time there, as long as you can change them and understand them. And I think that's what has happened the last four years."

Would Lowe be a good fit? The Sox have Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, Wake, and ? in the rotation. The 5th guy could be Buchholz but I would rather have Lowe in there. It could be Masterson but how nice would it be to afford to keep him in the pen? There are some that think you can't go home again, but I think Lowe would be a good fit. A sinkerball pitcher at Fenway is always nice and if the Red Sox could sign him for a 3 year deal he could be the key to getting another championship. With Lowe on the team the Red Sox can use Buchholz as a spot starter without the huge pressure that undermined him last season.

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D-Lowe Wants Back In

Derek Lowe wants to pitch for the Red Sox again.

"I want to be with an organization that's committed to winning and that can win, an organization that is going to be there year in and year out and do everything. That's what means the most to me at this stage of my career."

According to the Boston Globe, that organization is the Boston Red Sox. As we learn every year, you can never have too much pitching.

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D-Lowe to the Bronx?

The Yankees are looking for a starter for the second half and Derek Lowe's name is now in the rumor mill. Bronson Arroyo has also been mentioned in recent trade rumors for the Yankees.

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Arroyo & Lowe: Where are they today?

No, this is not 2004 all over again, nor deja vu, but when was the last time two former Red Sox teammates squared off against each other for other teams?

The LA Dodgers visit Cincinnati today (4:10 PDT) and the probables are Derek Lowe (4-6, 4.03) for LA and Bronson Arroyo (4-5, 5.31) for the Reds.

I wasn't particularly happy to see either of them leave when they did, especially Arroyo who took a home town discount to stay. But if he had stayed, he wouldn't have ever hit those 2 home runs. Although Arroyo's line for this season doesn't look too good at first glance, check out the scouting report for today's match-up.

From mlb.com:

Scouting Report:

Dodgers: Lowe, moved up a day in the rotation after Brad Penny's assignment to the disabled list, pitched well enough to win in his Michigan homecoming, but lost instead. In his six defeats, the Dodgers have scored a total of seven runs. He allowed the Tigers two earned runs in seven innings, struck out five without a walk and made 121 pitches. His sinker has been sharp in five consecutive quality starts, but he has only two victories to show for it.

Reds: Arroyo had expressed disappointment over some of his recent outings, but he had no reason to complain about his latest. If Reds fans were looking for vintage Arroyo, they saw him in full color against the Cardinals. He pitched a smart game, limiting the Cardinals to two hits and no runs over the first six innings. He turned a 2-0 lead over the bullpen, which couldn't hold it. Still, Arroyo gave the Reds the kind of performance that befits a pitcher whom they've expected to be one of the anchors of their rotation.

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Theo's "Red Sox Way"

Jeff Goldberg in today's Hartford Courant looks back at what brought the Sox to their winning ways.

His article reminds Sox fans of some of the tough decisions that Theo made, parting ways with Pedro, Derek Lowe, and Orlando Cabrera. How many Sox fans thought moving Nomar was a good idea? Goldberg makes a good point that many Sox fans and the media focused on the players that struggled to replace them, Clement and Renteria. Meanwhile, the Sox were drafting extremely well and developing young talent.

Theo told Goldberg, "the only way to appease the perception police is to think short term. That gets you nowhere. We never want to back away from a difficult decision or taking a chance. ... If you're a slave to perception, you'll be scared of your shadow around here."

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Sox-Dodgers Update

The Red Sox are facing D-Lowe today in Fort Myers. Ellsbury is on the board with his first hit of spring (double)...Pedroia is 2-2 with 2 RBI's...Wake is pitching well with 1 hit in 3 innings...Casey has another hit. Sox lead 3-0.
Items of note: Coco is getting a root canal today....Joe Torre faces the Sox without the rivalry.

Update: Timlin gives up 2 hits including a gopher ball in 1 inning...Casey and Moss get RBI's...Sox lead 5-1

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