As I was struggling to break through some writer’s block this afternoon, I asked for some suggestions. Thankfully, Matt P from the 700 Level came through.
From his Tweet:
What If… the Phillies had signed Derek Lowe… What if the Mets had? Where do the respective teams stand right now if either?
Great question. Definitely one that got me thinking. With all of the Phillies and Mets pitching problems this season, Derek Lowe would have been a great addition to either of the two staffs.
I’ll start with the Phillies. First off, their rotation would be a lot different.Lowe would probably have slotted into the 2 spot in the Phillies rotation. He’s definitely a #1, but I’m sure the Phillies would have gone with Cole Hamels to start the season coming off his World Series MVP. The rotation probably would have looked like this:
Hamels – Lowe – Myers – Blanton – Moyer
That would have been awesome. None of this bullshit with Chan Ho Park because he never would have been signed. If the Phillies’ rotation would have looked like that, they would have been runaway favorites to repeat as World Series champs. They were already picked by a few to do it, but adding Lowe to the top of that rotation would have sealed the deal.
Right now, Lowe is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA for the Atlanta Braves. He completely shut down the Phillies in the season opener, but the Phillies pretty much owned him in the NLCS last season. He’s a good pitcher and the Phillies would have been dominant with him.
As for the Mutts? They definitely could have used Lowe to go along with their only other major league caliber pitcher, Johan Santana. They added a lot to their bullpen but now their starting pitching is falling short. Last year it was the opposite. With the bullpen they have, they would definitely be in contention if they had been able to snag Lowe.
As it fell, the Braves ended up with him, Phillies ended up with Chan Ho Park, and the Mets ended up with 40 year old rookie Takahashi.
I think the Braves made out the best of the three.
-KK
