Tagged: Jed Lowrie
Carl Crawford double winner
Carl Crawford came up big again for the Boston Red Sox as they
wrapped up their 11-game home stand with an extra-inning win over the
Minnesota Twins, 2-1, winning the final three of the four-game series.
Crawford, who hit a walk off single against the Seattle Mariners on
May 2, won the game with a double off the left field wall to score Jose
Iglesias in the eleventh inning. Crawford’s game-winning double extended
his hitting streak to nine games and finished his home stand with a
.333 batting average.
Lowrie in the middle of the annual shortstop debate
Who is going to play shortstop for the Boston
Red Sox? This question has been asked at the start of every season since
the departure of Nomar Garciaparra. Even with Marco Scutaro set to
return, his performance and health issues last year are keeping the door
open for Jed Lowrie to take the starting reins. In many organizations,
both Scutaro and Lowrie would enter spring training with a defined
starting role, but this is the Red Sox.
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Jed Lowrie.Photo: Otto Greule Jr./ Getty Images) |
Scutaro,
the 34-year-old veteran, signed a two-year deal with Boston after
having a career-best season for Toronto in 2009. Scutaro played in all
but 12 games last season, despite shoulder and neck issues. His desire
to play through the pain shows he is the type of player that fans in
Boston admire most. In spite of the injuries, he still put up numbers
slightly above his career average. He batted .275 with an OPS of .721
and 11 home runs. In the field is where Scutaro’s injuries may have
caused some problems. The 20 errors he committed set a new career-worse
mark. With Dustin Pedroia sidelined near the end of the season, manager
Terry Francona moved Scutaro to second base to make fielding easier on
his injuries.
With
the offseason spent rehabbing, Scutaro, who has a considerable higher
salary than Lowrie, would seem to be the favorite to retain the starting
role, if he can stay healthy. Although there were trade rumors
involving him recently, I expect Scutaro to stay with the team and move
on after the 2011 season.
Lowrie
has endured numerous health issues during the last few years. A wrist
injury sidelined him for most of 2008 and 2009. He was sickened with
mononucleosis last spring. In July of 2010, Lowrie was healthy and
finally showed his potential at the major league level. Taking the
needed role of utility infielder, he was able to make strong
contributions to the injury plagued Red Sox. Lowrie averaged more
production than Scutaro over 55 games, hitting .287 with a .907 OPS and
nine home runs. Lowrie saw the most action at second base and shortstop,
but also filled in at first and third base.
Lansdowne Street Report 