Mike Lowell: Home and Away

One of the things you're going to hear from the Mike Lowell detractors are his 2009 home and away stats.

I am here to prepare you with some ammo to counter their assertion that Lowell is "a Fenway guy"...you can thank me later.

They are going to tell you, "look at his last year home and away stats", and you will counter with the following (his four years with the Red Sox):

OPS
2009: Home-.932, Away-.713, Total-.811
2008: Home-.766, Away-.823, Total-.798
2007: Home-.993, Away-.767, Total-.879
2006: Home-.763, Away-.866, Total-.814

The homeruns and power numbers follow suit.

So if you want to counter them, just whip out these numbers and tell them that 2010 projects to be a "Mike Lowell is awesome at home year...as long as it's not in Fenway."

Mike Lowell + ? = One Good Offensive First Baseman

By now you've all heard that the Mets are scouting Mike Lowell.

He is an intriguing possibility, and could be very useful as part of a platoon.

Just for kicks, I decided to compare Murphy's 2009, with the combined numbers of Mike Lowell and Mike Jacobs in 2008.

I used Lowell's numbers against lefty's and Jacobs numbers against righty's.

First Murphy:

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	508	60	135	38	4	12	63	38	69	4	2	0.266	0.313	0.427	0.740

Now, our Mike and Mike Platoon:

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	143	17	43	8	0	7	22	13	18	1	0	0.301	0.363	0.503	0.866
vs. Right	358	54	92	23	2	25	70	31	83	1	0	0.257	0.315	0.542	0.857
Total	501	71	135	31	2	32	92	44	101	2	0	0.269	0.331	0.528	0.859

The obvious issue with a "Mike and Mike" platoon is that neither player offers up much in the way of flexibility.

Lowell has only played 4 professional games at first base, and Jacobs is a VERY poor first baseman, and as an emergency catcher he is frightening.

The issue with Murphy is that we truly don't know what he will give the Mets this year.  He is not a great fielder (don't be fooled by his UZR--he goes after EVERYTHING), and his hitting was positively atrocious in 2009.

Tatis, who plays many defensive positions (he played 1B, 3B, SS, 2B, LF and RF for the Mets in 2009), is something of a safety blanket for Jerry Manuel, but I am 100% convinced he is still banged up, and right now his numbers reflect that (1 for 17).

I do believe the Mets need offense, and the Mike and Mike combination could provide that, but...

Another intriguing but VERY distant thought would be for the Mets to scrap what hasn't worked for them, cut ties with Jacobs, bring on Lowell, and let Ike Davis take the job now with Lowell as a caddy and starter when Davis needs a rest or struggles (which he will).

This could work because Lowell can start against lefty's and be a pinch-hitter, spell David Wright kind of guy.  If Tatis is healthy, he can continue in his super-sub role and play everywhere and anywhere.

It just seems that Ike Davis is a guy who is ready now--why wait when there is an option out there that makes this very doable?

Mike Lowell on the Way? Tatis in Trouble?

As you know, I've been documenting the difficulty that Fernando Tatis has been having at the plate this spring.

Tatis is still banged up, and he just doesn't look like the player he was two years ago.

Now, according to the Chicago Tribune, word is that the Mets are back to scouting Mike Lowell.

Mike Lowell makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is his bat.He just also happens to absolutely crush lefty's.

… The teams scouting Mike Lowell include the Mets, Marlins, Brewers and Twins. His surgically repaired thumb appears fine, and a trade appears likely as the Red Sox don't want him stuck behind Adrian Beltre, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. "He can still really hit, he can play first and can probably go to third once in a while. If the Sox pay most of the $12 million, this guy is a valuable asset to any team,'' a scout told the Boston Globe. …

At this point I would much rather have Mike Lowell than Tatis.  Lowell is an excellent hitter, and if he can truly play both first base and provide backup for David Wright, it could be a real win for the Mets.

The key would be the amount of dollars the Red Sox would pickup on his hefty salary, and Lowell's willingness to come to the Mets and take a role on the team that would net him 300 at-bats or so on the year.

Regardless, this one bears close watching.

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