Mike Lowell

By Nicole Auerbach, Globe Correspondent Former Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell is in Boston with his family. He's visiting his ex-teammates and, of course, his old stomping grounds -- Fenway Park. After the Red Sox took batting practice this afternoon, the recently retired Lowell chatted with the media. "Had a nice dinner with [Dustin] Pedroia last night -- he caught me up to speed," said Lowell, who currently resides in Miami. "The kids are good. We're enjoying it. " Lowell was asked if he considered himself an ex-Red Sox or an ex-Marlin, a valid question considering he...

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Staff Adrian Gonzalez has never had a game as bad as his 0-for-8, three-pitches-and-sit performance against Orioles DH/closer Chris Davis Sunday, and he'll never have a day that bad again. Heck, few players in history will ever have a day that bad. It was sub- Crespo ian, Grebeck -style but worse, a one-man tribute to Tony Clark 's 2002 season that went way too far to make its point. It's easy to get caught up in the misery of Gonzalez's Sunday performance and Red Sox season as a whole, in which one apparent rock-bottom moment...

Alex Rodriguez might win the American League's Most Valuable Player Award, but there's no doubt who's taking home the People's Choice Award - Mike Lowell. Almost as soon as Jonathan Papelbon fanned Seth Smith to secure the Red Sox' World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies, the campaign to re-sign Lowell went from grass-roots to full-blown, as teammates and fans alike sent not-so-subtle messages to management about what they believe should be the team's top offseason priority.

April 20, 1912: Boston 7, New York 6 (11 innings). April 20, 2012: New York 6, Boston 2. Revenge is theirs. "Change it up; change it up a touch," said Nick Swisher, who can now go to his grave safe in the knowledge that he hit the first home run in Fenway Park's second century of existence. Joe Girardi said, no, he did not have a séance with 1912 counterpart Harry Wolverton before sending his team onto the field to play Bobby Valentine's Red Sox. But he might have had one with Joe McCarthy, who was often ridiculed as being a push-button manager in the '30s and '40s.

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Staff Adrian Gonzalez has never had a game as bad as his 0-for-8, three-pitches-and-sit performance against Orioles DH/closer Chris Davis Sunday, and he'll never have a day that bad again. Heck, few players in history will ever have a day that bad. It was sub- Crespo ian, Grebeck -style but worse, a one-man tribute to Tony Clark 's 2002 season that went way too far to make its point. It's easy to get caught up in the misery of Gonzalez's Sunday performance and Red Sox season as a whole, in which one apparent rock-bottom moment...

Home runs always have gone over big around here. Buck Freeman was one of the 20th century's first certified sluggers. The Babe. Jimmie Foxx. The Thumper. Jackie Jensen. Dick Stuart. Tony C. Yaz. Jim Rice. Manny. Big Papi. I'm sure you could name 10 more. (Rico! Pudge! Tony Armas hit 43!) Fenway and homers just seem to go together. But last night, in the 107th year of the team's existence and the 96th in Fenway Park, a crowd of 36,905 saw something no Red Sox patrons ever had seen.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Thirty years ago, the Yankees had a young shortstop prospect named Andre Robertson who arrived at the big league clubhouse and asked if he could wear No. 3. It was taken. Retired by some guy named Ruth. Pete Sheehy, the guy who issued Yankee numbers starting in 1927, was still working with the Bronx Bombers when Robertson asked about 3. Sheehy was not amused. Robertson broke into the majors wearing No. 55 for the Yankees. He later upgraded/downsized to 18. Numbers are no small deal for big league ballplayers.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - It was a frat party run amok, a band of delirious baseball brothers who raucously celebrated as if they had won the World Series. The Boston Red Sox haven't done that - yet. But they unabashedly partied like it was 2004 yesterday afternoon after thrashing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 9-1, to complete a thoroughly humiliating sweep of the best the West had to offer. As the smell of sweat and champagne wafted throughout Boston's clubhouse, the Red Sox let loose, hugging and shouting and dancing to the heavy beat of their victory tunes.

With Theo Epstein off quietly living his life, and the general manager search reaching periodic points of inertia, the Red Sox last night were on the verge of acquiring Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett, a momentous move that would position the club with an ace around which to build its pitching staff for perhaps a decade to come. Pending physicals, the 25-year-old Beckett, MVP of the 2003 World Series, will come to Boston along with 2005 Gold Glove-winning third baseman Mike Lowell and the entire balance of Lowell's cumbersome contract, according to two major league...

WEBSTER - On May 30, 1943, a rookie pitcher who rose out of the textile mills of the Blackstone Valley was given the ball for his first home start at Fenway Park. "My heart was pounding like hell, I'll tell you that," says Lou Lucier, 94, the oldest living Red Sox. "You get on that mound there and you turn around and look at that Green Monster, and it felt like it was next to second base. It was so close. It looks the same today. " Lucier beat the Tigers, 5-1, as the skinny 5-foot-8-inch, 160-pound righthander threw a complete game and even knocked in a run. "Just being at Fenway made you feel...

You know what Bobby Valentine's problem is? He needs to find a hobby. For years Dustin Pedroia and Terry Francona played cribbage before games (he also played with Tim Wakefield, George Kottaras, Mike Lowell and Chris Woodward). From what I've seen, Valentine does none of that. Maybe Bobby V can break out a scrabble game and play with Dustin and Youk before the game. Or maybe best-out-of seven hangman? They might like him better. Maybe he can pass them notes during the game, "Nice swing Youk.

Home runs always have gone over big around here. Buck Freeman was one of the 20th century's first certified sluggers. The Babe. Jimmie Foxx. The Thumper. Jackie Jensen. Dick Stuart. Tony C. Yaz. Jim Rice. Manny. Big Papi. I'm sure you could name 10 more. (Rico! Pudge! Tony Armas hit 43!) Fenway and homers just seem to go together. But last night, in the 107th year of the team's existence and the 96th in Fenway Park, a crowd of 36,905 saw something no Red Sox patrons ever had seen.

Nothing makes the chilly temperature rise like an Opening Day win, and with it a pristine record that evokes idyllic hopes of 162-0. It came yesterday, a near-perfect performance in the Red Sox' second stab at game No. 1, a renewal of acquaintances with the team that kept them from getting to the World Series last year. So 26 hours after Josh Beckett was supposed to head to the mound, after the rains had washed away the first Opening Day, the staff ace made like a staff ace as the Fenway Park crowd met the 2009 version of the Red Sox. It was, in its 2-hour-39-minute...

DENVER - The comparison, as commonly applied, tends to be odious. It makes John Henry quaver, Larry Lucchino combative, Theo Epstein defensive. But perhaps in this one instance, the Red Sox will not object to being likened to the New York Yankees. Only one American League team in 103 years of World Series play has executed a four-game sweep in successive Series appearances. The Yankees have done it on three occasions. Three years to the night Keith Foulke flipped to Doug Mientkiewicz for the final out of the 2004 Series, the Sox stand poised to...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Unlike the late Frank Sinatra, your Boston Red Sox get plenty of kicks from champagne. The Red Sox enjoyed another bubbly bacchanal yesterday clinching their Division Series against the anemic Angels with a 9-1 drubbing before 45,262 mostly numb witnesses in Orange County. The muscle-flexing Franconamen open the American League Championship Series Friday night at Fenway Park. Still a postseason warrior, 40-year-old Curt Schilling (9-2 lifetime in the playoffs)

The Boston Globe looks back at the 10 most memorable moments from the Red Sox' 2007 championship season: Mother's Day Miracle: May 13 -- Red Sox 6, Orioles 5 Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez dropped Coco Crisp's popup with one out in the ninth, starting a chain of events. With Baltimore up 5-0, Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie was lifted, and the game spun out of control. After a flurry of hits that didn't stop until Julio Lugo reached first on an error that allowed the tying and winning runs to score, the Sox had recorded the win. Clay Buchholz no-hitter: Sept.

The Boston Globe looks back at the 10 most memorable moments from the Red Sox' 2007 championship season: Mother's Day Miracle: May 13 -- Red Sox 6, Orioles 5 Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez dropped Coco Crisp's popup with one out in the ninth, starting a chain of events. With Baltimore up 5-0, Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie was lifted, and the game spun out of control. After a flurry of hits that didn't stop until Julio Lugo reached first on an error that allowed the tying and winning runs to score, the Sox had recorded the win. Clay Buchholz no-hitter: Sept.

April 20, 1912: Boston 7, New York 6 (11 innings). April 20, 2012: New York 6, Boston 2. Revenge is theirs. "Change it up; change it up a touch," said Nick Swisher, who can now go to his grave safe in the knowledge that he hit the first home run in Fenway Park's second century of existence. Joe Girardi said, no, he did not have a séance with 1912 counterpart Harry Wolverton before sending his team onto the field to play Bobby Valentine's Red Sox. But he might have had one with Joe McCarthy, who was often ridiculed as being a push-button manager in...

Alex Rodriguez might win the American League's Most Valuable Player Award, but there's no doubt who's taking home the People's Choice Award - Mike Lowell. Almost as soon as Jonathan Papelbon fanned Seth Smith to secure the Red Sox' World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies, the campaign to re-sign Lowell went from grass-roots to full-blown, as teammates and fans alike sent not-so-subtle messages to management about what they believe should be the team's top offseason priority.

WEBSTER - On May 30, 1943, a rookie pitcher who rose out of the textile mills of the Blackstone Valley was given the ball for his first home start at Fenway Park. "My heart was pounding like hell, I'll tell you that," says Lou Lucier, 94, the oldest living Red Sox. "You get on that mound there and you turn around and look at that Green Monster, and it felt like it was next to second base. It was so close. It looks the same today. " Lucier beat the Tigers, 5-1, as the skinny 5-foot-8-inch, 160-pound righthander threw a complete game and even knocked in a run. "Just being at Fenway made you feel...