Lowell possibly done

The Red Sox are unsure right now if Mike Lowell will play again in the playoffs. “Where it goes from here, we don’t know yet,” Sox manager Terry Francona said. Lowell, very badly hobbled and forced from Game 3 by the injury in his right hip, will see trainers and team doctors today shortly after 5 p.m. – so, right about now.

When asked if there was any concern that Lowell might not play again this postseason, Francona responded quickly and frankly. “Yes,” he said. “Oh, sure. Yeah. Sure.”

More from Francona on Lowell from his meeting in his office with local writers:

Update on Lowell?

He’s really sore. He came out of the game last night and was really sore. Checked on him today. The trainers checked on him this morning, and we knew that he was sore. He came in. He’s pretty beat up. He’s not in the lineup tonight. Where it goes from here, we don’t know yet. He needs to be seen by the doctors. I think he’s a little frustrated. Nobody questions his toughness. It’s just getting difficult for him to be a baseball player right now. We’re going to try to get this out. Get a little more information on what we should do, or what we can do, or what we’re able to do.

Why exactly did he come out last night (in the 10th inning, after he walked and loaded the bases)?

I didn’t think it was fair to have him in a position where if somebody hits a groundball in the hole, and we’re going to score a run, he can’t run to second and he’s halfway there and they get an out they shouldn’t, I can’t let that happen.

How much is it affecting him?

I think it’s affected him everywhere. That’s not a knock. It’s actually – when you do what we do for a living, and you have a guy that’s willing to try, it’s hard not want to give him every opportunity possible. He’s hurting. I guess we’re going to have to figure out what’s in his best interest, short-term, long-term. Those are answers I can’t give. I have to get information from people who are hopefully smarter than I am about it.

Is the pain getting worse?

I think so. I think last night, it’s a long game. It’s cold. He had to dive to his right. He had to dive to his left. He got pushed a little bit. I think that definitely aggravated it a little bit.

For more on how much Lowell is hurting right now, Tony Mazz penned this excellent piece this morning.

More from Francona on Josh Beckett, Dustin Pedroia, and Sean Casey to come. We'll keep you posted on anything new on Lowell as well.