Lowe makes the trip -- down memory lane

Derek Lowe put a Red Sox jersey over his powder blue sports shirt and stepped out of the Boston dugout yesterday to get his World Series ring before the home opener against the Yankees.

Lowe, who received one of the largest ovations ("Was it? I don't know. I didn't have an applause meter," he said), took off his cap, acknowledging the crowd's appreciation.

He shook hands with the owners and glad-handed all his former teammates on the field. Then he grabbed former batterymate Jason Varitek and hugged him.

"I told Jason today to enjoy his next four years here. This is a special place," said Lowe. "Coming back and seeing the guys, seeing the fans, was good for closure."

Lowe and Varitek (who celebrated his 33d birthday yesterday) came to Boston together in a trade for Heathcliff Slocumb July 31, 1997. The Red Sox made Varitek a multi-millionaire in the offseason, but they didn't sign Lowe.

According to the sinkerballer, who signed with the Dodgers in the offseason, his negotiations with the Sox were nonexistent.

"Nothing happened," said Lowe. "They never made an attempt to have me come back. They never made an effort at all. I didn't like the fact that a lot of off-the-field issues got brought up, events that clearly never happened. That was most disappointing from my end."

Lowe added that he wouldn't have had any problems with the team if it merely had told him it was strictly a business decision.

Lowe didn't know he would be here for the ring ceremony until seven days ago. "We knew we had an offday, and I asked our manager if I could have permission to come here for the ceremony. He told me to go, with his blessing," said Lowe.

The ring is "a meaningful thing to have," added Lowe. "It's the reason why we play. Look at Ellis [Burks]; he played his whole career and finally got one his last season."

Lowe pitched Sunday for the Dodgers, but was lifted for precautionary reasons after he was hit on the arm by a line drive. Lowe boarded a red-eye, arriving in Boston in the pre-dawn hours. "It's just an in-and-out visit, but it was well worth it," said Lowe, who planned to return to the West Coast on a late-afternoon flight.

Lowe spent more time in the air than he did at Fenway. But while there, he was walking on air, savoring his ring.

In the bowels of Fenway after the ceremony, he examined the ring. "Greatest comeback in baseball history," read Lowe, with every syllable possibly bringing back a memory. And he had plenty of memories during the playoffs, winning the final game in each of the three series.

"It's big and heavy," said Lowe. "Doesn't it glitter? It's hard to shake hands when you're wearing it. I'll bring it to the ballpark tomorrow and show everybody on the Dodgers. I'll let it be an incentive. But I'm not going to shove it [in] their faces."

He looked at the ring again. "Nothing matches this," he said. "Today is a good day for everybody so that we can move on. It means a lot. I think that's what playoff baseball is all about. People remember you for that, good or bad.

"If you have success in the playoffs, it matters. If you ask people five years from now what my record was, they won't know. But they will remember what I did in the playoffs. They are always going to remember. There was nothing like being a part of it. Just a great memory.

"This is why you play the game."