Should Lowe Be Sent Back To Bullpen?

[Ortiz34]

The past few games Lowe has pitched have been quite upsetting. He pitches 4 great innings, but then he just crumbles and gives up something like eight earned runs. Maybe he would be more comfortable in the bullpen, but then who whould fill his spot in the rotation? Williamson is a possibility, but he might not be ready. I just wanted to see what thoughts you guys had on this topic.

[elsrbueno]

Honestly, I don't know if Lowe's head could hande relief. Typically, you would put in your reliever in a crucial game situation, and he would need to get you through it. To me, it seems Lowe self-destructs when things start going badly. In relief, this is NOT a good thing.

(That's my two cents)

[YanksHater213]

not yet. until we can get a starter to take his place i say no. we cant afford to have a minor leaguer come in. we will have to either wait for BK to come back or a trade before we can do this. he should be sent back to the bullpen. he gets blisters from throwing too may pitches, and that kills us. it will keep him healthy with his pitches on the minimal side and hopefully get him back on his game. but, we would really need a solid replacement before this could happen

[Ortiz34]

yeah i agree. I think the best thing to do would be to wait after the all start break, and see if there are any signs of improvement. Then, if he still sux, the sox should start thinking about it.

[gosox613]

i think that if they are going to do that they had better start thinking now, if they put lowe in the bullpen then they would have great trouble finding a starter to replace him, williamson definetly couldnt start and we wouldnt want to put some mediocre guy in our rotation.
instead i think that the red sox should deal lowe before the trade deadline, which would mean they need to get thinking

[sarasoxfan]

I hate to be cynical but I'd love to see him in some else's bullpen.

I dont know enough about farm hands but isnt there a stud somewhere in the system to utilize in derek's place?

[elsrbueno]

Yankshater has a VERY good point. DLowe shouldn't be moved to the 'pen UNLESS there is a good replacement for him. There is a chance Pedro Astacio, or Kim may be good enough....

[Zenny]

Originally posted by sarasoxfan@Jul 7 2004, 09:44 AM
I hate to be cynical but I'd love to see him in some else's bullpen.

I dont know enough about farm hands but isnt there a stud somewhere in the system to utilize in derek's place?
Abe Alvarez (lefty for AA) is the closest thing, but there's no sense in rushing him when BK is on the way back.

[Ortiz34]

speaking of Kim, you know how long it is till hes ready?

[Zenny]

Originally posted by Ortiz34@Jul 7 2004, 02:49 PM
speaking of Kim, you know how long it is till hes ready?
Dunno. He is pitching for Pawtucket tonight, so we'll see.

[Ortiz34]

cool

[vaman61]

Lowe is tempermental to be sure. But there is no one to replace him. I don't have confidence in Kim. Sox management should make a deal for a starting pitcher. I'd love to the the Big Unit.

[Ortiz34]

with JoHnson, our pitching would be unstoppable. Take at look at the rotation.

Pedro

Randy

Curt

Wake

?

Those first 4 are enough to make me drool, and i dont care if our 5th pitcher is some unknown. That would be awesome.

[elsrbueno]

There's nobody debating that a rotation including Randy would be awesome.

The question is: At what price?

The Sox have already shown an unwillingness to give up the future for today....

[Zenny]

Well, I'm listening to the game now and there is no talk of Kim's velocity. These announders are awful and they both sound exactly the same.

[noonanberg]

I never want to see Kim in a Sox outfit again, first off. And secondly, I'd love to get rid of Lowe, but it could be too late now cuz now every team thinx he sux and we wouldn't get jack for him.

[Zenny]

Originally posted by noonanberg@Jul 7 2004, 07:34 PM
I never want to see Kim in a Sox outfit again, first off. And secondly, I'd love to get rid of Lowe, but it could be too late now cuz now every team thinx he sux and we wouldn't get jack for him.
Kevin Millwood and cash for Derek Lowe and Ramiro Mendoza could work. All three guys need a change of scenery.

[Ortiz34]

Anybody know how Kim pitched last night?

[sarasoxfan]

kim pitched a whopping 1 1/3 innnings gave up 2 hits 1 run 1 earned run walked one and struck out two.

I might add our good friend Mr. Mendoza pitched 1 2/3 and gave up 5 hits!!!!!And a run and struck out 1. and took the loss

[Ortiz34]

haha

[elsrbueno]

Is Kim on some kind of plan to build up the # of innings he throws? Or are the Red Sox grooming him for relief?

Did he throw a lot of pitches?

Any word?

[sarasoxfan]

I';m not sure, but it sounds like a typical kim outing to me. He certainly shouldnt be a part of any plans for the future, unless of course someone needs help reading a korean menu.

Crespo apparently has set the international league ablaze, going 0 for 4 last nite against the mud hens.

[Zenny]

They've got Kim on a pitch-count so he doesn't reinjure whatever the hell he injured last time. I listened to pieces of his outing on the radio and not once did they comment on Kim's velocity.

[elsrbueno]

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...kim_finds_form/ (http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/07/08/down_on_farm_kim_finds_form/)

An article about Kim on Boston.com. No real new information...

[Ortiz34]

Maybe when kim gets back, he can take over the of blowing saves, and give Foulke a rest.

[vaman61]

I went to Richmond last night (1 hour south of where I live) and saw the Pawtucket Sox lose to the Richmond Braves. I was hoping to see Kim pitch but the starter was Kester who pitched and allowed six runs in six innings. Dubauch lost control of his bat and clocked a little old lady who was sitting behind the Braves dugout in the head. They took her out in a stretcher. Hyzdu hit a homer. Crespo hit a double.

The girls down there were pretty too, in a Down South kind of way. :)

[Ortiz34]

oh that is sad

[schillingouttheks]

going back to the zenny post about millwood and cash for lowe and mendoza...the scenery would be quite the favor for lowe. he would be seeing his old pitching coach, who could we forget?, joe kerrigan in philly. and if we correctly remember, lowe never pitched better than with kerrigan. personally, i feel bad for this guy, and i would like to see him do well with someone he can work with well. like im happy to see hatteberg doing well in oakland.

[Ortiz34]

yeah but if Lowe leaves, hes not gonna give up 6 runs and still get the win. The red sox have provided him with some of the greatest run support performances i have ever seen.

[schillingouttheks]

but thats just the thing, he wont be giving up 6 runs and only go 5 innings if hes with joe kerrigan

[elsrbueno]

Nomah,
That's the speculation (that Lowe would instantly turn it around under Kerrigan)...

Not sure why the Red Sox would swap Lowe for Millwood when Millwood has also struggled since leaving Atlanta.

[Ortiz34]

Yeah, Millwood is stuggling almost as much as Lowe.

[Ortiz34]

yea Millwood is struggling almost as much as Lowe.

[Ortiz34]

But maybe a change of teams could help both of them.

[elsrbueno]

Ortiz,
That's a decent argument, and I think at this point it may not be too risky a move for either team, considering what they're currently getting out of their starter in question.

Man, if the Red Sox could get the Kevin Millwood who dominated while in Atlanta....that would be HUGE.

[trot4mvp]

It would be huge to have the Millwood of the mid - late 90's, but I don't see it happening. Millwood makes approximately $7M more than DLowe, and I just don't see him as an upgrade. I'd rather see DLowe sent packing in a Randy Johnson trade or relegated to the bullpen upon his arrival.

[elsrbueno]

That's true. I think Millwood has a higher upside (if they both returned to form) but the bottom line is that Millwood didn't get any good offers on the market, so he accepted arbritration and stayed in Philly....I think if the Sox were interested in him they could pick him up as a FA next year (his value is way down)

Anyway, I would MUCH rather see Lowe go in a deal for Johnson...just don't know if it will happen

[trot4mvp]

I would MUCH rather see Lowe go in a deal for Johnson

Absolutely...if we can keep our offense intact and open up a spot in our rotation, I'd be all for it.

On another note, how stupid must Derek Lowe be feeling right now? The man was offered a 3-year contract valued at about $27M (i.e. ~$9M/year) and he turned it down thinking he could increase his value! Even the most casual Sox fan knows that the better part of DLowe's success can be attributed to his exorbitantly high run support. I genuinely feel bad for this guy (wait, no I don't).

[elsrbueno]

Derek definately shot himself in the foot after turning down a pretty decent contract offer then playing like crap.

Pedro's as good as people expected I think (not flat-out dominating, but a good pitcher nonetheless)

Nomar's been hot lately, certainly doing enough to justify a big contract next year

Varitek, despite the fact that he seems to struggle in key situations, is putting up decent numbers so far: 10 HR, .275 BA.

His runners on stats are interesting too. He&#39;s hitting .429 in 1st and 3rd situations, but .167 with a runner on 3rd and < 2 out. I&#39;m gunna post the link to the stats here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/spli...tting&year=2004 (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?statsId=5921&type=batting&year=2004)