This makes sense because Lowrie has been a very good offensive player his whole baseball career - including in 2007 when he was named the Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year. I fully expect him to hit .280-.290 next year. And we know he can play SS very well already.

You are so right Rick. Go Sox in 2009

You are so right Rick V. Go Sox in 2009, and Go Phillies tonight

the only thing that doesnt make sense is why they didnt sit him down for 3 weeks to heal,,,, May is along time ago and Lugo was ok then.. also doubt if it woul;d have taken 3 weeks t heal i when he firsdt injured it.. it will take 3 weeks now after aggravating it all year. Theo is an idiot.... (ya I kow he is a deity..... which makes me shudder even more).. Athletes are continually run out there when they should be resting and healing (notwithstanding the Mannys of the world going to the other extreme!!) I wanted the sox to win the world series BUT i am sort of glad they got eliminated since I was afraid they were gonna permanently disable Beckett.. it was criiminal they didnt shut him down for the whole playoffs!!! I would have much rather seen the old man Byrd or even Buchholz... The media is to blame too as they would have questioned the sox for shutting him down or questioning Becketts
guts or some stupid thing. Not one media person questioned whether a 50% Beckett was better than a healthy Byrd ,Buckholz or ........They went too far with Lowell too...... who knows how bad David was!!!

Type your comment here...

Holy crap. It seems like EVERYONE was badly banged up on this team and we still made it to game 7 of the ALCS against a very good, but very annoying, rays team! After this team (and yes..the Yanks as well) is all healed up and rested, the rays will not have such a walk in the park through the AL East next year.

That's a pretty good explanation for his late-season slump. I for one hope Lowrie is back as starting shortstop next season. He brings a lot more to the team both offensively and defensively than Lugo. I've enjoyed watching him develop as a player and I expect he will be able to hit more consistently when his injury is healed.

#4: They did take him off the roster in Pawtucket for about ten days to two weeks when the injury first occurred. It may have been that there was multiple problems--and the fracture wasn't noticeable when the injury first occurred.

While I trust the Sox management in general, they say whatever they need to in order to keep public opinion up. Remember Nomar's ankle? In spring training it was day-to-day, then he was rested, but surely he wasn't going to miss opening day. Then when he missed opening day he wasn't going on the DL, then.....

If they announced that Lowrie (who I like, btw) was not injured, this is who he is, and he is going to start opening day, would they sell out the season on the day they start selling tickets? Probably not. If, however, they put up a plausable lie about why his drop in performance is explainable, they will sell out 2010 as well.

It's just another example of how it wasn't their year. Look at their roster and the injuries and half the team was hurting.

Ortiz (knee/wrist)
Drew (Back)
Lowrie (wrist)
Lowell (hip)

Add in Tek because I think his divorce really effected him. I remember another athlete going through a divorce and it killed his season. I can't remember who it was off the top of my head, but I think you could add Tek to the injured list too.

Finally, they basically got to the ALCS without Beckett or Schilling. Beckett pitched but he wasn't the same guy. It was clear that he was hurt. They never had Schilling all year. You throw in a Wakefield who has been hurt a lot lately too and it comes down to this being the injury year.

All in all, I love their chances next yyear. I already can't wait until spring training.

Why is it that we always hear about how someone played hurt after the season ends? Not just the Sox, but all sports teams do it.

it is rather fishy that the sox find a way to make excuses for all the players (that they like) who didn't do very well. obvioulsy beckett, lowell, nd ortiz were hurt, but this seems kind of odd, I mean we don't hear about all this stuff with other teams. After Beckett had that awful start against the blue jays, it was numbness in his fingers... even tho he was throwing the ball at over 95. they certanly know how to manipulate the media

so why wouldn't they just have gone with Cora for a few weeks, he certainly would have done better than what Lowrie was going thru late in the season.

Seanson is over let's start fresh in 2009 and Keep the Faith

Seanson is over let's start fresh in 2009 and Keep the Faith

Mike --

I don't think Lowrie's status has much to do with whether or not the Sox sell out in 2009, or even 2010. I don't think the streak is ending any time soon and certainly I find it hard to believe that a complementary player would be the reason it ended.

Do you seriously think the state of Jed Lowrie's wrist has anything to do with whether the Red Sox sell tickets? Seriously?

And news flash for white - EVERY ballplayer in MLB plays in pain through much of the season. The only difference is in degree. You can't play baseball every day for seven months, hopping on and off airplanes and flying coast to coast, and not experience pain. It's something professional athletes live with. Which is what fans should bear in mind when they complain about players being "wimps."

Go Sox, the 2009 Sox will win the WS

IMO the Sox management has alot to be desired

testing testing 123

C'mon Mike!! A "plausable lie?" To sell tickets? I haven't noticed that they have had a problem selling tickets. And Theo hasn't said he is going to start - he has said that as of now, its an open question. There is absolutely no reason to lie about a wrist injury.