Derek Lowe

Dear Readers (all five of you):

I've been active on my other blog at www.fannation.com, under the username JFro, but I continually forget to publish those posts here. That said, the next five posts should be considered my belated MLB preseason predictions -- a preview, of sorts. There's the top five infields, outfields, bullpens, and starting rotations, and of course The Big Kahuna:

Continue reading "Note about forthcoming posts"

ibly strong, just not as mechanically sound as he once was, and understandably so.

Why did we let Derek Lowe get away from us, and sign with a hated division rival no less? Why are the negotiations with Oliver Perez going so poorly? What happened to the loads of cash we used to have?

Continue reading "Does anyone know what the Mets are thinking?"

 But Jason Varitek has caught four, starting in 2001 with Hideo Nomo, followed by Derek Lowe in 2002, Clay Buchholz in 2007, and most recently Jon Lester in 2008.  None of those guys are slouches by any measure, however they aren't the most elite pitchers of their era yet either (can't pass judgement on Buchholz or Lester especially as of yet).  And yet, all of these guys have done what some astonishingly elite names such as Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling (who came within one strike of a perfect game with Varitek behind the plate in 2007), Pedro Martinez have never been able to do in some the most illustrious and impressive pitching careers that Major League baseball has ever seen.  With Varitek behind the plate and calling the game, good pitchers become great, and great pitchers can become legendary.  This is not to say that the Red Sox Captain deserves all the credit for his pitchers' success, but it is undeniable that he has a huge impact on the game and the way his pitchers perform.

Continue reading "Rightful Place"

aseball with others.

This time, he's allowed the best free agent pitcher remaining on the market, Derek Lowe, to go elsewhere. Lowe would have been a perfect fit behind Johan Santana in the Mets' starting rotation, and not only did Minaya let him slip away, he allowed Lowe to sign with a division rival: the Braves. 

Continue reading "Major Mets Blunder: Lowe Signs with Braves"

There's undoubtedly room for improvement.

The talk around town is that Derek Lowe was upset (and probably a little appalled) by Minaya's initial lowball offers. In the mean time Pedro Martinez is itching to return to the Metropolitans, but then again, he'd take a job anywhere he can find one.

Continue reading "The New York Mets: Plenty of Question Marks Remain"

03, and I fought sleepiness and ruined any chance of being productive the following day only to see Derek Lowe give up a walk-off bunt single in extras. I'm not sure I can take that again.

In truth, though, those of us on the East Coast shouldn't complain (that doesn't mean we won't). I mean think about it - those on the left coast get screwed almost every day when it comes to sports television. All the important games start when the average person is still at work, and football starts before you finish your first bowl of Cheerios on Sunday. Football at 10 a.m.? No thanks. So if we have to watch one late baseball game, so be it. After all, the Angels have homefield advantage for a reason - they earned it. It's not their fault that the home field of which we speak is in Los Angeles of Anaheim.

Continue reading "After my bedtime"

med the Red Sox lives of fan favorites Trot Nixon, Johnny Damon, Pedro Martinez, Doug Mirabelli and Derek Lowe, any of whom would have been retained if sentiment and sentiment alone drove personnel decisions.

Continue reading "The Break Up"

M)Jake Westbrook ($10M)Roy Oswalt ($13M Gil Meche ($11.4M) Jon Garland ($12M)Jason Schmidt ($15.2M) Derek Lowe ($10M)Ben Sheets ($10.1M)Johan Santana ($16.9M)Pedro Martinez ($11.8M)Andy Pettitte ($16M)Mike Mussina ($11M)Carl Pavano ($11M)Matt Morris ($10M)Greg Maddux ($10M) Barry Zito ($14.5M)Chris Carpenter ($10.5M)Vincente Padilla ($11M)Kevin Millwood ($10.3M) AJ Burnett ($13.2M)Roy Halladay ($10M)

Continue reading "Washburn's Farewell"

rk at the plate and in the clubhouse than behind it, Varitek has caught no-hitters from Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, Clay Buchholz and, now, Jon Lester's. He's the first catcher in major league history to catch four no-hitters, and that's no coincidence.

Continue reading "No-no? Yes Yes!"

tarting rotation.  Brad Penny should be fine but after that all they have are questions.  Derek Lowe needs to have a good year and Jason Schmidt must get healthy and stay healthy this year.  The line-up should be fine this year.  They are getting older but still have some very productive bats, Nomar, Jeff Kent, Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre.  Russell Martin is a stud at catcher and should really take off this season.  The bullpen has some great arms and one of the better closer in the game, Saito.  My only worry here is the way Joe Torre manages bullpens, he may overuse a lot of these young guys.

Continue reading "Part III: NL West"