Lowrie Will Wait It Out… For Now
“Cautious optimism” is better than no optimism at all, I suppose: Jed Lowrie said in a phone interview with WEEI on Wednesday that his doctor (Dr. Thomas Graham — a Baltimore hand specialist) was “cautiously optimistic” that a series of two cortisone shots, combined with weeks of rest, might negate the need for surgery on his injured wrist.
MLB.com took a more strident approach- reporting definitively that Lowrie “will not need wrist surgery” — but WEEI’s interview with Jed indicates that the possibility has not been completely ruled out yet. Per Lowrie, and Dr. Graham, there are three possibilities once Lowrie is re-evaluated in 3-5 weeks after the effects of the cortisone shots wear off:
2. Cortisone is a short-term fix, that it feels good for a little while like it did this offseason through spring training, and then the surgery is needed when that’s done.
3. Cortisone works, and is a long-term solution.
WEEI’s report goes on to discuss the timeline of the injury, and why Jed waited to report the discomfort in his wrist to the trainers:
Lowrie said that he felt a recurrence of soreness after the Red Sox traveled to Tampa Bay to play the Yankees on March 24. Initially, he thought the soreness was a byproduct of returning from the injury. Instead, the symptoms got no better. Still, even as [he] stopped hitting with the authority that he had exhibited as a left-handed batter over the first month of spring training, he believed that the issue was merely one of mechanics. That changed Sunday in Anaheim, when Lowrie awoke and discovered that his wrist was exhibiting the same issues that it did down the stretch last year, when his strength loss rendered him unable to hit effectively as a left-hander.
“That’s when I brought it to the attention of the trainers,” said Lowrie.
With Julio Lugo also still on the DL, Nick Green will continue to play at shortstop while Lowrie rests his wrist.
Nothing wrong with what Nick Green has been doing… but I do hope Jed can finsih the season. That said, he’s young and maybe it is best to fix this bone now… afterall he’s positioned to the be the SS of the future here in Boston…
Though, I hear Jose Reyes’ contract is up in 2010… I’m just saying.
@Bottom Line Rob: If healthy, there’s no reason not to keep Lowrie around. He has a pretty decent bat, as well as a decent glove. He’ll probably get around to learning 1B soon enough, so that means even if he doesn’t start, he could step in at any spot in the infield. Not a bad investment, especially since he’s not eligible to be a free agent until 2013 or so. . . .
I swear Theo Epstein is psychic. When we first got Nick Green I thought it was a stupid move because we already had Lugo and Lowrie but now that both of them are injured I’m really glad we have Green.