Hurt Lowell Could Be Hurting Sox

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Mike Lowell was courageous simply to suit up for the playoffs. But it would be silly for the Red Sox to let him carry on.

Lowell, who has a torn labrum in his right hip, could barely move Wednesday -- and it was painful to watch him try. The bad hip is affecting him at the plate, too, since Lowell says he now has to wait an extra beat before deciding to commit to swinging at a plate. As a result, he’s late on everything. The Angels are exploiting that, of course, pitching Lowell away and making him reach across the plate to get to the ball -- something else that causes him pain.

‘He’s been very realistic all along about ‘Hey, I don’t want to get in the way of our winning,’ Manager Terry Francona said of Lowell, last year’s World Series MVP.

Well, he may be at that point now.

Trying to play through pain in the playoffs is nothing new for Lowell, who gritted his teeth and tried to help the Marlins in 2003 despite a broken hand. As a result he batted just .196 -- but the Marlins won a ring. Lowell, however, was philosophical about injuries hurting his performance in two of his three postseason appearances.

‘It means I’ve been there three times,’ he said.

-- Kevin Baxter