I was talking with friends at the Rolling Rally on Tuesday (Y'all did know the Red Sox won the World Series, right???) and we were talking about how 'annoyed' Theo looked during post-game interviews on the field Sunday night. Regardless of which station it was on or who was doing the interview. Every time Theo was in the spotlight, there were hundreds of fans in Colorado chanting "Re-sign Low-ell!" and "Don't Sign A-Rod!". He couldn't get away from it.
I was annoyed by Theo's annoyance. I mean, what did he expect? ARod and Scott Boras make the dramatic announcement in the 8th inning of the final game of the World Series, and the world starts talking about the Sox picking ARod up. With technology being what it is, everyone at the stadium got the news at the same time the television-viewing public did. Theo had to know what was on the mind of the fans who chanted "MVP" every time Lowell came up to bat in Fenway in September. (Something that amused the hell out of me since we all knew he wouldn't get the AL MVP, yet we still wanted him to know he WAS the MVP...then he gets the World Series MVP...life is funny sometimes - but I digress!)
So I thought Theo was being a little jerky. And then my friend mentioned something I hadn't thought of. Telling Theo to re-sign Lowell is akin to telling a pitcher to "
throw strikes".
Holy cow, she was right. And it never occurred to me.
Of COURSE Theo knows he should try to re-sign Lowell. But there are many other things in play here. The possible hard-on that John Henry supposedly has for ARod. The fact that Mike Lowell just had a career year topped off by being World Series MVP (have I mentioned that the Red Sox won the World Series?) and he might want to test the free-agency waters to make his big pay day/final push at being in one place for the rest of his career.
I chanted 're-sign Lowell' at the Rolling Rally. I also chanted "Thank you" to Theo, Larry, Tom and John Henry...along with yelling for Kyle Snyder and basically screaming for the entire team.
But that doesn't mean I don't have a realistic view of what is going on here.
Mike Lowell has an opportunity to cash in on a huge payday. He has an opportunity to sign a long-term contract that will, most likely take him through the rest of his career. (In February 2008, Lowell turns 34.) He has explicitly stated that he would entertain the idea of playing for the Yankees (it's where he started his career) even though he also stated that the Red Sox are the team where he wants to stay.
The point being, Theo certainly has a say in whether or not Mike Lowell gets re-signed. But guess what folks? So does Mike Lowell. And in as much as I think the Red Sox should (and will) make a fair offer to him, it's going to be up to him as to whether he thinks 'fair' is good enough.
I think he deserves as much money as he can get. And I fervently hope that the offer he chooses is the one that comes from Boston. But if the unspeakable happens, and he ends up somewhere else, we're going to have to sit back and analyze all aspects of this situation before we start pointing fingers toward the ones we think are to blame for this.
Based on absolutely nothing but my own feelings, I have a strong belief that the Sox and Lowell are going to come to an agreement and "Mikey" will be on third for many years to come.
For now, I'm basking in the glory of a second World Championship, in my lifetime, and trying not to worry about the 'housekeeping' that's yet to come.
