You can't put a value on what Lowell has done

Papi? Ooo, baby. David Ortiz had a rope of a single to right. Papi then hit The Wall twice in his final two at-bats. Shades of '03, you know?

"A great sign," said manager Terry Francona. "We all love when he hits those long home runs, but when hitters hit the ball the other way and get rewarded, that is a real good sign. When David hits that wall, it kind of puts the other team in a little bit of a bind."

And then there was Mr. Red Sox MVP.

Well, he is, isn't he? Has anyone been more consistent, more reliable, and more, yes, valuable to the Red Sox cause this year than Mike Lowell? Help me out here. It's not possible anyone has been more important to the day-in, day-out Red Sox cause in the year 2007 than Mike Lowell. Is it?

"He plays every day and his production has been so consistent," said Francona. "Just plays every day and he has great at-bats."

You had to figure that the way Lowell's season has been going, he'd be making a little club history sooner or later. Well, it's happened. With his five runs batted in last night, Lowell raised his total to 116, and that means he is the Red Sox third base RBI record-holder. Move over, Butch Hobson, who had that fairly amazin' 112-RBI season back in 1977. And it really was amazing because Butch spent the whole season batting eighth. When he wasn't batting ninth.

Lowell has done it batting sixth, fifth, and, since Manny came up with the infamous oblique pull/tear/whatever at the end of August, fourth. This may not come as a major shock, but be advised that Mike Lowell rather likes batting cleanup.

"I love it," he said. "Even when [Jacoby] Ellsbury was leading off and Pedroia was batting second, I had plenty of opportunities. It's a great spot. It seems that when you're batting fifth or sixth, you're up there with two outs and men on more often."

A man could get used to it, you know? But Lowell is renting, not buying.

"I wouldn't mind staying there," he said with a smile. "But 24's got a little bit of a hold on that spot."