Lowell unmoved by offseason possibilities
TORONTO -- It was one of the more unusual examples of contract leverage in recent memory. When third baseman Mike Lowell agreed to sign a four-year extension with the Florida Marlins after they won the World Series in 2003, it included this stipulation: If the cash-strapped Marlins didn't obtain financing for a new stadium by the following November, Lowell had the right to become a free agent.
The Marlins weren't able to put a stadium deal in place, but a couple of days before the deadline, Lowell agreed to stay, signing a deal that guaranteed him $25.5 million over three years.
After all that, a year later, the Marlins traded him anyway, to the Red Sox as part of the Josh Beckett deal. So it's understandable if Lowell isn't inclined to spend a great deal of time worrying about where he'll be playing next year.
``I honestly have been involved in so many trade rumors, from Double A on, that's it such a nonissue to me," said Lowell, who went 2 for 5 yesterday afternoon after homering in two straight games.
``I wanted to play in the big leagues since I was 6 years old. I lived in Miami [when] there was no Marlins, so I knew I wasn't going to live at home. So it's kind of a childish way of looking at it, but honestly, you can send me to Mars -- if it's the big leagues, I'll play."
The Sox lost yesterday, 5-3, spoiling the major league debut of Devern Hansack, perhaps the most improbable of the 14 pitchers who have started for the Sox this season.
Hansack had never pitched above Single A ball when he was released by the Astros in 2003, then spent two seasons pitching in his native Nicaragua before Sox international scouting director Craig Shipley spotted him in a tournament in the Netherlands last fall.
He gave up back-to-back solo home runs to Lyle Overbay and Troy Glaus in the fourth, then was lifted in the sixth after giving up a double and single to open the inning.
``He threw strikes, he threw his breaking ball over the plate," manager Terry Francona said. ``I thought he showed some poise. He left two fastballs back to back, right over the middle of the plate.
``I thought he represented himself pretty well. Right from the first pitch of the game, he looked like he belonged. Pounded the zone, which was good to see right off the bat. He did OK."
The Sox lost despite a leadoff home run by Dustin Pedroia, his second round-tripper of the season and first to open a game, and a ninth-inning rally against Toronto closer B.J. Ryan, who gave up three singles, the last an RBI hit by David Ortiz. But Ryan emerged with his 35th save when Lowell was called out on a checked-swing third strike.
Lowell has another year left on his contract, one that called for him to be paid $9 million a year this year and next, so on the face of it there would be little reason for him to be concerned about not returning to the Sox in 2007.
Lowell rebounded nicely from an off-year in 2005, his last with the Marlins, with a .283 average, 73 RBIs , and 19 home runs, after hitting just 8 home runs in '05. He also has played his usual Gold Glove-caliber defense at third, committing just one more error (6) than the league's best defensive third baseman, Oakland's Eric Chavez (5), while playing 123 2/3 more innings in the field than Chavez.
Still, with another offseason of change in the offing for the Sox, Lowell doesn't rule out the possibility that he could be involved.
``I'm very happy here," Lowell said. ``I like our team, I like our guys, I like our staff. But I also understand it's a business, so I don't know.
``They haven't given me any indication. I don't think they need to. I don't think it's my place to ask them."
Do not mistake Lowell's pragmatism, however, for an indifference about where he'll be playing.
``I have my preferences," he said. ``I'd rather play here than in a place where you're a noncontender.
``I think your career goes through stages. My first three years, the fact that you're on a nonwinning team doesn't bother you that much because you're trying to establish yourself. That's why I tell Trot [Nixon] and other guys: `You guys are spoiled because you were able to establish yourself in an environment of winning.'
``Maybe that's why it was so satisfying to us [in Florida]. That infield -- Derrek [Lee], Luis [Castillo], and Gonzo [Alex Gonzalez] -- we lost a lot of games those first three years. To turn it around was very satisfying."
Incredibly, all four players in that infield are now elsewhere, the Sox snagging both Lowell and Gonzalez to form what is arguably the most impregnable left side they've had in their history. Lee is with the Cubs, Castillo with the Twins.
Lowell, 32, thought he was going to Texas last winter, along with Beckett, in a deal for infielder Hank Blalock and a couple of pitching prospects. Before that, at last July's trading deadline, it was supposedly a done deal, Lowell and Burnett to the Orioles. ``That's why I don't believe in done deals," he said.
Lowell's contract was what compelled the Marlins to move him, and was the reason the Red Sox were among the few teams in a position to take him. It may also be the reason the Sox shop him this winter. Lowell's OPS (combined on-base and slugging percentages) places him 11th among third base qualifiers. His 73 RBIs rank him 18th, and his 19 home runs place him 17th. Average to slightly average production, then, for premium dollars, though his value takes a quantum leap when his glove is factored in.
Asked if he anticipated change this winter, Lowell said, ``I anticipate some because I think teams with money have the ability to make quick turnarounds. What changes, I don't know. Being an outsider, I've heard that Manny [Ramírez] was being traded the last three offseasons. And he has a no-trade clause. If he doesn't want to go anywhere, he ain't going.
``I'm sure Theo [Epstein] and Larry Lucchino, those guys will get in their meetings. Every team looks to upgrade. Whoever doesn't win the World Series this year is looking to upgrade.
``I'm not laissez-faire in the sense I could care less where I play. I just don't stress about it.
``But I really enjoy playing for the Red Sox, I really have. I like it, I like the management, I like the approach we have, I like the way the guys are treated. But I'm sure in the offseason the GMs will be talking."
