She couldn’t see the end but neither could I

My favorite picture that I've taken of Mike Lowell (From 2006 when I was sitting behind home plate!)

I hope in my lifetime that I turn out to be at least half the person Mike Lowell seems to be:

“Maybe I can be a great role guy,” said the man who has been an everyday player his entire career.

“I don’t think I’m ticked off. But I just want to be ready, for whatever role, wherever I may be, whatever role I’m in.”

Mike Lowell has plenty of reasons to be “ticked off”.   His thumb, his knee, the fact that the team tried to trade him ended up not being able to and still brought in a new first third baseman…there’s a lot on the list.

Instead, he just continues to go out there and do what’s asked of him.  And even when given a forum to vent (the linked interview with Gordon Edes) he takes the high road.  Now maybe he goes home at night and kicks things around and punches walls but you haven’t seen any of that surface when he’s at the park or when he speaks to the media.

The likes of  Jay Payton could take a few lessons from Mike Lowell.

I’m an unabashed Mike Lowell fan.  I want him to finish his career with the Red Sox and I’d much prefer he didn’t do that on the disabled list.  I understand, though, the position of the Red Sox and why they went out and got Adrian Beltre.  M

In case you don’t believe in the niceness of Lowell, more from Mike, this time courtesy of Michael Silverman:

“I honestly try to channel out everything going on and worry about getting ready, because God forbid something happens to (designated hitter) David (Ortiz) or (third baseman) Adrian (Beltre), then if I am that everyday (player) and I’m sulking in spring training and I got my opportunity, then that would be on me,” Lowell said. “So I’m trying to get ready in case something like that happens. But that’s such an awkward situation because I don’t want that to happen. These guys are my friends.

“The one person you can pit me against is Adrian, but I’ve known Adrian longer than I’ve known (first baseman Kevin) Youk(ilis) and David, and that’s the aspect of the human side that is lost in all this. So not that I want to wish for that guy to get hurt, I just want to play.”

He just wants to play. And if the fates keep knocking him around, that might not happen this year. I’m still holding out hope it does – which is awkward since, as he points out himself, that means someone else goes down.  Hey, I’m not here to work out the logistics of these things.

Today we get Red Sox baseball on NESN!  1:05pm with Clay Buchholz starting against the Twins.  Spring Training has not been kind to young Clay.  Interesting that everything else has been going quite his way.  He’s the Jimmy Fund spokesman this season, he made a cameo appearance on Tosh.0 and he stars in what is sure to be the most popular ESPN Commercial on the East Coast.  Add to that his recent marriage and his impending fatherhood and everything is coming up roses for Clay…except for that pesky baseball stuff.  Now, I’m totally on the Buchholz bandwagon.  I want to see this kid succeed and do it big.  So today I’m sending positive energy to Clay in the hopes that he pitches well today and shuts up all of the reporters who, if he doesn’t, will be running to his locker to ask him if he thinks the only reason he’s starting the year in the rotation is because Daisuke is on the disabled list.  My hope is one day Clay will stop having to answer questions about whether he’s good enough to be in the bigs or if he needs to spend more time in the minors.

A gal can dream.

A week from tonight I’ll be sitting in Fenway Park watching the first game of the season.  Things could be much worse.