ATLANTA -- While we're on the subject of trading All-Star talents who are in their walk year, let's not forget Derek Lowe.
Of course, the market would not be good for the sinkerball specialist at this hour. D-Lowe's value just dropped B-Lowe the Mendoza Line. He is 6-8 with a 6.02 ERA. He's allowed 110 hits and 38 walks in 86 2/3 innings while striking out 41. He represents a bad gamble by agent Scott Boras. The price is going down every day, which might be contributing to Lowe's woes.
Lowe's Fourth of July meltdown yesterday was exactly what the Red Sox did not need at the end of their road trip from hell. He was cruising along with a 4-1 lead in the fifth when he came apart like a cardboard box in a monsoon. Before the inning was over, Lowe was in the showers and the Sox trailed by the appropriate (and final) score of 10-4. As in over and out.
Thus the Sox finished their 1-5 road trip in the same horrible fashion that marked their Gore Tour through New York. They return to Fenway tomorrow night for the midpoint of the season (game No. 81) with a record of 43-37. They are three games under .500 since May Day. The Chasing Steinbrenner dream is over (yesterday was George's 74th birthday, but the Sox' gift arrived a few days early), Boston is 2 1/2 games ahead of Tampa Bay, and there's blood in the water of the Charles.
Most losses are team efforts, but yesterday's embarrassment falls on the wide shoulders of the happy-go-lucky righty who is hands-down the biggest disappointment of the first half of this season of high expectations.
It looked like this one was in the bag. Truly. Lowe had given up just three hits in the first four innings, retiring the initial seven batters in order. This was going to be a second straight win for the Sox and a momentum-builder for the return home to the ever-growing fellowship of the miserable.
Then came the frightful fifth. Lowe got ahead of Andruw Jones, 0-2, then walked the Atlanta center fielder. Charles Thomas was next and he bounced a ball off the plate that didn't come down in front of second baseman Mark Bellhorn until both runners were safe. Bad luck.
This is when Lowe lost it. More than any Sox pitcher, he becomes unglued at the first sign of trouble. So instead of bearing down and dominating Eddie Perez, the .197-batting No. 8 hitter, he walked the catcher on four pitches.
With the bases loaded and no outs, pitching coach Dave Wallace visited the mound. Lowe got pitcher Mike Hampton to ground into a force play, but he would not record another out. In rapid-fire sequence, Rafael Furcal singled to left on an 0-2 pitch, Nick Green singled to left, J.D. Drew roped a double to center, and Chipper Jones crushed an opposite-field homer to left. Each ball was hit harder than the one before.
