Monday, September 01, 2008

Derek Lowe: An Appreciation

Brad Penny was supposed to be the ace. Chad Billingsley has become the ace. But no Dodger pitcher has done more with less than Derek Lowe this season:

  • In 12 of his 29 starts, the Dodgers have scored two runs or less. Yet Lowe has managed to even his record at 11-11.
  • Lowe has gone fewer than five innings only twice.
  • Most importantly, Lowe has started against the Diamondbacks four times, facing Dan Haren once and Brandon Webb three times. The Dodgers won three of those four games, including yesterday's Torre-mandated must-win contest.

I had assumed after 2007, when Lowe set Dodger career-highs in ERA and WHIP, that this year would his last with the team. Lowe is exiting his prime (he turns 36 next season) and could be playing for his last big contract (if you believe in the walk-year effect), so the Dodgers signing him to another long-term deal seems unlikely.

If 2008 is indeed Lowe's last year as a Dodger, he's done a lot to earn the thanks of Dodger fans. Let's hope he can finish things off in style and help make September better than August.

UPDATE:

The Dodgers may not give Lowe much run support, but other teams can be downright hostile:

top photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images
bottom photo by Paul Connors/AP

3 comments:

berkowit28 said...

Assuming it's Lowe's last year would just be on the expectation that some other team will always bid more than the FA's current team?

When FAs don't come to an agreement for an extension or new contract before bidding begins, is it legal for his agent to inform the current team (or any team, for that matter) that some other team has put in a bid for such-and-such dollars, "Would you like to better that?"

Orel said...

I'm unsure about the legalities, but certainly it's in an agent's best interest not to reveal exact amounts.

Otherwise Adrian Beltre might still be a Dodger today.

Alex@DodgerFan said...

I was at that dbacks game on Sunday and saw that bat go flying before sticking in the dirt - crazy!!! He did a great job on Sunday.