No September Blues for Lowe

Derek Lowe might have been the most relaxed player on the field at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

And that was the problem.

There was no Green Monster towering over him, no New York Yankees breathing down his neck. He didn’t have the tension of knowing that one bad pitch could cost his team a World Series championship, or the anxiety of knowing that a bad performance could cost him a roster spot.

Having carved himself a reputation as a clutch postseason pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, Lowe finds himself in a September not worth remembering, grinding through the final days of a season in which his team has been eliminated from postseason play.

So what motivated Lowe as he took the mound Sunday at Dodger Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates?

He paused at the question after going six innings to pick up the victory in a 9-2 Dodger win, shrugged and said, “Who knows?”

Lowe (12-14) conceded that his 34th start of the season, a career high, was difficult.

“These are new waters for me,” Lowe said, “playing in September when the games don’t mean anything. It’s easy to play when the games matter. But this was a tough game. This tests you. You’ve got to find ways to excite yourself, to motivate yourself. Win or lose, it’s not going to get us in the playoffs, but it is your job.”

As one of the anchors of the Dodger rotation, Lowe, a nine-year veteran, can feel confident that he will have a job next year.

Not so for many of his teammates on a club where 14 players are classified as rookies and where General Manager Paul DePodesta and Manager Jim Tracy are analyzing every pitch thrown and every bat swung in trying to determine the makeup of next season’s roster. After Saturday night’s elimination, the eight games remaining became like spring training games.

Only more so.

“I’m a big believer that you can gather more information now,” Tracy said, “than you can in spring training. When you are in the Grapefruit League, you are busy preparing a team for a season.”

Tracy and DePodesta had to like what they saw Sunday although their biggest run producer, Jeff Kent, was rested.

The offensive stars, in a game in which the Dodgers blew the game open with a six-run sixth inning, were Oscar Robles (two hits, including his fourth home run, and three runs batted in), Jose Cruz Jr. and Jason Repko (two hits apiece) and Jason Phillips (two-run pinch single).

“I’m just enjoying my time here right now,” Robles said. “I don’t know what they’ve got planned for next year.”

And that’s all the motivation he needs.

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After throwing 28 pitches in a two-inning stint Saturday night -- his first appearance since injuring his rib cage Aug. 6 -- Dodger left-hander Odalis Perez reported no ill effects Sunday.

Right-hander Brad Penny, who came out of his last start early because of forearm tightness, will test the arm today or Tuesday in the bullpen. If Penny is able to throw effectively, he and Perez will both pitch Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Why use two starters coming off injuries in the closing days of a season going nowhere?

“It’s a reassurance for Odalis,” said Tracy, later adding that it was the same for Penny, “and a reassurance for us as an organization that everything is OK and that we can move forward because he has a clean bill of health.”

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Hard-earned

Derek Lowe (12-14) has a 3.63 earned-run average this season, the lowest among pitchers with 13 or more losses. Of the 22 who have 13 or more defeats, three others have an ERA under 4.00:

*--* Player Team ERA Tom Glavine (12-13) New York Mets 3.69 Aaron Harang (10-13) Cincinnati 3.79 Noah Lowry (13-13) San Francisco 3.90

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Source: Dodgers