Is Lowe the Answer for the Braves?
January 20th 2009 17:34
When I got up this morning and looked out the window in North Carolina I saw something I never thought I would see when I moved here. It was SNOW. There was about three inches on the ground and continued to fall. It's hard to think pitchers and catchers report in about three weeks and the season starts in less than three months but they do.
Last week the Braves took a step closer in locking up their starting rotation by signing Derek Lowe to a four-year deal. He joins Javier Vazquez, Jorge Campillo, Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami as the projected rotation in 2009.
Lowe has proven to be a leader and has shown success in his career with the Red Sox and Dodgers. He helped the Red Sox win a World Series and get the Dodgers in the playoffs the last two seasons. He comes over to the Braves with a background of being the top pitcher in the team's rotation, but now he is pitching in a more difficult division. Nothing against the NL West with the likes of Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and Jake Peavy, but now he goes into a division where he faces Cole Hamels and Johan Santana on a regular basis and stronger lineups from the Phillies, Mets and Marlins. The Phillies come in as defending champions with a lineup of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, the Mets showed life the second half of the season offensively with the help of Carlos Delgado, and the Marlins have a strong young lineup with Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, and prospect Cameron Maybin. This was a good signing for the Braves, but will be a tough test for Lowe to see if he can help carry Atlanta back to the playoffs and fight off the competition.
Last week the Braves took a step closer in locking up their starting rotation by signing Derek Lowe to a four-year deal. He joins Javier Vazquez, Jorge Campillo, Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami as the projected rotation in 2009.
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