Lowell

(With apologies to The Kinks and Ray Davies)

Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

We got him from a club down in Florida
Where they won a World Series but all they wanted was Guillermo Mota
M-o-t-a...Mota

We got him in the deal with Josh Beckett
He cost a lot of dough; we figured what the heck
send us Lowell...(our MVP) Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell.

Well he's not the world's youngest third baseman
But when he hits those doubles we're all in heaven
Oh Mike Lowell. Lo-Lo-Lo-Lo Lowell.

Well he's not dumb and he has great hands
And when he's throws them out at first we all get up and stand
For Mike Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell.

Well he drank champagne while Paps danced all night
Under Granite City's Electric light
He's won two World Series' and an MVP
And he might end up being an MF Yankee

Well we are the world's most passionate fans
and we know what we want; we want this man
Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell.
Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell.

Don't push him away
Don't let him walk to the door
We're all on the floor
And all on our knees
Sign Mike Lowell now, oh Theo please

Cause that's the way that we want it to stay
And we always want it to be that way for Mike Lowell
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell

Youk will play first and Mike will play third
No need to mix up or muddle our perfect world.
Sign Mike Lowell.
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell.

Well he was at Disney just a day before
and we never saw him ride the teacups before
But Lowell smiled and played at being Grand
He lead the parade and we all gave him a hand

He might not be a twenty year-old man
But we know what he is and we're glad he's OUR man
And so is Lowell
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell.
Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell. Lo-lo-lo-lo Lowell.

Photo courtesy of Boston.com

"Re-Sign Lowell!" and other random thoughts

Photo from Boston.com

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.

Do you know me?

• I've been playing in Major League Baseball for eight years
• I was an All-Star for three consecutive seasons
• I have a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove
• I made 7.5 million dollars last season
• My batting average currently leads my team
• I was on the 2003 Marlins team that humiliated the Yankees in the World Series!

But do I get articles written about me discussing what my at-bat music should be? No.

Do I get a specialized shirt at The Yawkey Way Store? Hell no! (And may I remind you all that Coco is on the DL, folks? HE ISN'T EVEN PLAYING and all I see at Fenway are Coco t-shirts!)

I hit three doubles on Friday night, made (if I do say so myself) an amazing, diving catch and I stole third base...third base, folks, do you KNOW how hard it is to steal third? I do all this and who gets the biggest ovation of the night?

This guy: I mean come on!

Half of the Boston sports media wrote me off. Oh, Theo was just letting me tag along so the Red Sox could sign Josh Beckett. How's that working out? I'll tell you how. Beckett's ERA is 4.86. (Have I mentioned that my .339 average leads the team?) Beckett has been struggling, while I'm becoming the double king of the east coast! But who gets all the publicity? Beckett.

I know how you people like to compare us to the Yankees, so let's compare me to their third baseman, okay? Hell, Alex Rodriguez is only hitting .266 with a measly four doubles. Do you know how many doubles I have? SEVENTEEN! Not such a big deal...except that it IS since I'm leading the freaking league right now!

So where is the love? Where is the respect? Most importantly...where the hell are the groupies?

No, seriously. Where are they? I spent Friday night watching NESN's midnight replay of the game. I was awesome! Instead of sitting in front of the television letting my cat eat out of the tv dinner tray, I should have been surrounded by beautiful women. But was I? No. Lenny Dinardo can barely get the ball over the plate...the women are all over him. Kevin Youkilis? Looks like a bald troll doll...can't take five steps away from Fenway without tripping over some gal throwing herself at him.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?????

I'm sorry. It was a long day at Fenway and in 24 hours I'll be sitting in a hotel room in New York, preparing for my first foray into Yankee Stadium in a Red Sox uniform. I'm a little stressed.

Maybe the New York chicks will know how to appreciate a real third basemen?

Or, I could become a Yankee killer. That'll get me some nice write-ups, my own funky t-shirts and all the Red Sox chickies I could ever want. That'll work.

I guess I can wait.