When Julio Lugo tore his quad running out a grounder I honestly felt bad for him "poor guy can't catch a break". Then I started thinking, he's been overpaid and has underperformed since coming to Boston (which is in typical red sox form for a short stop lately). I figured this injury would give us all an early introduction to Jed Lowrie; a 24 year old short stop who most scouts doubted could become an everyday short stop, especially for a team in Boston. While it was Tito's plan to split the time at short between Alex Cora and Lowrie, Jed has played himself into the everyday starting lineup.I think it is safe to say that Lowrie has opened some eyes in the Boston region. He's not flashy like Jacboy or expressive like Pedrioa, but he simply quietly goes about his work everyday. Most days, you won't see him on the Sportscenter highlights, but the kid can play. The Stanford grad plays the game hard and has proven to have a dependable glove at short. He works well with Pedrioa up the middle, but more importantly, he's been a factor in our lineup. While Julio Lugo was hitting for a "higher" average this year than last, his production numbers are way down, and he has essentially been a non factor in the 8th or 9th spot. Take a look at this 2008 stats head to head: (keep the number of at bats in mind)
Lowrie:
(In 88 at bats): .295 avg, 1 hr, 18 rbi, .353 obp and .420 slugging
(In 88 at bats): .295 avg, 1 hr, 18 rbi, .353 obp and .420 slugging
Lugo:
(In 221 at bats): .268 avg, 1 hr, 22 rbi, .355 obp and .330 slugging
(In 221 at bats): .268 avg, 1 hr, 22 rbi, .355 obp and .330 slugging
Jed will have his struggles as a young short stop in Boston, but his upside appears to be higher than previously assumed. From providing us with a better glove at short, to giving us more faith in the bottom of the lineup, he needs to keep his current status as the everyday short stop for the Boston Red Sox.
5 comments:
Jed is a solid major league ss. lugo SUCKS. He is a 9m dollar pinch runner. The problem is that Tito is so dumb. He is the opposite of Bill B. He'll play the veteran over the clearly more talented and reliable player.
I agree that Jed "appears" to be a solid short stop, i'm not ready to give him all-star status or anything, but he appears ready...and i'm not a big fan of Lugo at all. You're right that at this point he should be reduced to an unfortunate 9 million dollar pinch runner (by the way, anyone else think he is the goofiest "fast runner" you've ever seen run?).
I wouldn't call a manager who has produced two world series rings in the last four years in boston dumb, but we all have every right to question some of his moves. At times, his relationships with players run too deep and cause for a conflict of interest. (PS, i'll be updating Jed's numbers as we go)
Those Lugo/Lowrie comparisons are jarring. Let's see how Terry handles this once Julio recovers. My guess is we'll see Lugo at short, whether we like it or not.
SteveT I hope you're wrong, but I, like you, are nervous about this upcoming decision. One would think that the numbers alone would speak for themselves, but we all know Tito is not that kind of manager. It is hard to argue with Tito since he's done so much good here in Boston, but if Julio Lugo is the everyday short stop in a month, i'm going to be writting Tito a letter.
Not sure when Lugo is due back, hopefully its in Sept when the Sox can expand the roster and keep Lowrie up.
Lugo hasn't gotten it done in 2 seasons here, this year has been worse then last year as if that were possible. I don't buy the arguement that he's to expensieve to trade, you hear that on eei all the time. They print money at Fenway, trade him and eat his contract, lowrie is never going to be arod at shop, but he could be a solid player.
Lugo is a diggle
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