Projo Sox Blog

BY PAUL KENYON
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Don't count out Mike Lowell just yet. There was encouraging word Saturday on the Red Sox third baseman, who is battling a bad hip.

"Mikey actually was a little surprised he felt as good as he did,'' manager Terry Francona reported.

Lowell returned to the lineup Friday night as the designated hitter. He had only one at-bat, hitting a fly ball to left and hobbling badly as he moved toward first base. He never even made it to first base and was in obvious pain.

"Last time he had an episode, [in the middle of last week] in Tampa, he woke up the next day and was really sore,'' Francona said.

But on Saturday Lowell wasn't nearly as bad.

"I think that's somewhat encouraging,'' Francona said. "What we'll do is let him spend the next couple days [resting], let the medical people work on him. We'll get him out there [in Anaheim] Tuesday, run him through a workout and see how he does.

"I visited with Mikey [Friday] night. I visited with him [Saturday] morning,'' Francona continued. "We're on the same page. He's a tough kid, maybe the toughest I've ever seen. He's hurting. We'll evaluate how he's doing and go from there.

"He's not ready to quit and we'll not quit on him,'' the manager concluded.

 Tags  Mike Lowell Red Sox Terry Francona

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