Dealing only with the what-ifs

There's no denying that Mike Lowell has a tremendous band of supporters in Red Sox Nation. The thought of trading him to Colorado for Todd Helton this offseason brought on an onslaught of e-mail to this address, mostly starting with, "How could they?"

The trade talk also struck a nerve with Lowell.

He would have gone to Colorado and made the best of it, but as he told me after the deal fell through, when asked whether he would have made the deal, "Straight up, yes. Our numbers don't compare. However, I like me a lot more than I like Todd, and Todd is a good guy."

Helton, who is in town with the Rockies tonight for a three-game series at Fenway, will have a chance to showcase his hitting prowess in a ballpark that might suit him as much as Coors Field, where he's a career .368 hitter.

While we will never know exactly what the final pieces of the blockbuster trade would have been, there were three names coming out of Colorado: Lowell, Julian Tavarez, and Manny Delcarmen.

Word was that the Sox were insistent on keeping Delcarmen but would part with a lesser prospect; the more money the Rockies assumed on Helton's contract, the better the prospect. But the money never got high enough for the Sox.

Helton, a career .333 hitter with a .431 on-base percentage, would have played first base and Kevin Youkilis would have gone back to third. If Tavarez had been dealt, the Sox would have gone with Kyle Snyder, Kason Gabbard, Devern Hansack, or even dipped into free agency for a fifth starter.

The Rockies wanted to unload Helton's large contract and were willing to pay some of the freight. But according to Red Sox sources, the portion of the remaining $90.1 million (through 2011) they were willing to pick up was never as much as the 50 percent that had been thrown about in media reports.

The deal was first discussed at the general managers' meetings in November and then revived at the winter meetings in December but died swiftly.

The Rockies, to the best of our knowledge, never tried to revisit it after telling Helton he would not be traded. While there have been reports of the Yankees and Angels going after him, nothing substantive has surfaced. Helton, who has a no-trade clause, has said he will not play in New York. To this point, Boston is the only team he would have approved a deal for.

"I realize something was there," Helton told the Rocky Mountain News. "It's still like I never wanted to leave Colorado, but if I was going to go, [Boston] is the place I said I'd be willing to go."

In the end, the fact that there was no deal was fine with Lowell and Red Sox Nation.

Lowell had fretted about the possibility of leaving Boston after one very good season -- .284, 20 homers, 80 RBIs, 47 doubles -- that resurrected his career after his worst year, with Florida in 2005.

He was, after all, the "throw-in" in the Josh Beckett-Hanley Ramirez deal. The deal was contingent upon the Sox taking Lowell's $9 million-per-year salary. The Sox were willing. And it has worked out very well. But would they have parted with Lowell? Probably. Given that he's in the final year of his contract and knowing they have the option of Youkilis at third, they would have entertained something that made sense.

Even recently, there were rumors of Lowell being involved in a deal with the Dodgers, who were sending scouts to look at third basemen. Lowell, Scott Rolen, and Troy Glaus were atop their list.

But Lowell doesn't want to say goodbye, and considering the affection shown toward him by fans and teammates, a lot of people want him to stay.

"Not to knock Colorado, but I'm happy to be with the Red Sox," Lowell said. "After the fact, I heard it wasn't as close as people made it out to be, but at the time it sure sounded like it. It sounded like it was a done deal and all they had to settle was a little bit of the money. I'd been involved with rumors before, and I just thought that one had some truth to it."

Either way, the Red Sox would have been fine.

There's no doubt that Helton, who is among the National League leaders in hitting with a .332 average, would have fit in nicely at Fenway. He could have slapped a load of doubles off the Green Monster, the way Fred Lynn and Mo Vaughn once did.

"With the way the team is set up this year, it's even better," said Lowell. "I just think it's a good situation. Hitting sixth with the guys in front of me, I've had a lot of opportunity to drive in runs. I think that helps for a good start. I'm just really happy with the way things are going. We're doing a good job here."

But Lowell has not heard anything from the Sox about extending him.

"I have not [had discussions]," he said. "I'm not opposed to it, that's for sure."

And he's not surprised.

"I think that my agent tells me it's more the Red Sox' philosophy to wait until the offseason," said Lowell. "It's a different market to what I'm used to with the Marlins. They're always looking for ways to find a bargain and go after guys in the middle of the year because they might get a discount, and the Red Sox don't need to do that. They have something a lot of teams don't have, and that's money."

They do have plenty of money, but there aren't plenty of third basemen. The Dodgers have been frustrated in their attempts to find one. If the Sox don't re-sign Lowell, they might opt for a first baseman like Mark Teixeira and move Youkilis to third. Or they could entertain thoughts of Alex Rodriguez filling that role.

"I really don't know the market," Lowell said, "but I know there aren't a lot of free agent third basemen this year. I guess that's good for me, but I want to be here. Without a doubt."

That was precisely Helton's attitude. If he had to leave the comforts of Coors Field, he wanted to go somewhere where baseball was important and where there was a commitment to winning. This is his 11th season in the majors and he has never been in a playoff series.

But he won't be wearing a Red Sox uniform this season. What about next year? What if the Red Sox elect not to re-sign Lowell?

It's something that cannot be ruled out. Which is why this series will be a good exercise. Close your eyes and envision Helton hitting second for the Sox. Envision a Sox team without Lowell at third. Change your mind?

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.