You know the more I watch Mike Lowell, the more it looks like he isnt getting out of this funk any time soon. I normally like to give the player the benefit of the doubt but this is bordering on ridiculousness(quite the word). Maybe Lowell does snap out of this but you know what? We have a kid down in Triple A absolutely killing the ball. He can play any position you want(besides 2b,ss,cf). Now maybe Josh Willingham isnt the answer, but imo, if you have a ready HOT bat waiting for a shot, it might be time to give the kid the call. And maybe you only give Lowell a few games off, maybe Willingham comes up and lights the world on fire. He can also play some RF and we know Senor Encarnacion looks lost out there right now. Willy can also give Delgado a well needed break(imo).

 

You know people have slumps all the time. Mike Lowell slumped thru April. Thats ok though, he will snap out of it. We are now 15 days into May and Mike Lowell is still struggling. He has 2 homeruns, and I realize RBI arent a great stat because it depends on who gets on base in front of you, but Lowell has had plenty of opportunities. To make matters worse is that he isnt being patient at the plate either. He isnt working the count, he is swinging at crap and he isnt walking. Right now, Mike Lowell is the rally killer. Every inning ends with Mike Lowell because let's be honest, we know for the most part that Bass is in there for his glove, not bat.

 

Im not saying bench him for good or trade him away, Im just saying that maybe he does need some time off. You have someone a plane ride away who is aching at the chance to help this time. He is a much more patient hitter and maybe Willingham jump starts this offense.

 

Maybe Im talking out of my ass, but Mike Lowell is hitting .179 on May 15th with a .233 on base % and a .299 slugging %. Something's gotta change and fast.

 

And oh yea, that kid down in AAA just hit his 10th homerun.

Well if we take him out of the lineup and give him even less playing time then he's going to lose his timing and he's going to be even worse.

 

To get him out of his slump we just need to give him some more chances and he'll get out of it, but to do that he needs to stay in the lineup.

 

And today he had a sac fly on a nicely hit ball. He also just missed a double down the line in that same AB. He's hitting the ball hard and he had a lot of games this year where he had a hit...more than half atleast I believe.

 

Lowell just isn't catching any breaks. No need to take out this 3b All-Star player.

lose his timing?

 

what timing does he have to lose?

 

he looks like he is still in ST... and speaking of ST, he was struggling then too!

 

this "slump" has gone from March to May already

It's tough watching him out there, especially with how well he has played in the past. At first I thought the same thing Marlins thought, that we had to leave him out there to battle this, but i'm starting to become a believer that maybe a couple of days rest would do him well.

 

Hope he breaks out of this soon, we need him to come around.

You can't play your way out of a slump by getting splinters in your ass

 

But I wouldn't mind Jack giving him a day off once in awhile and utilizing the bench a bit more (edit: the good part of the bench).

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

CONINE at 3rd, Lowell on the bench.

Good post, Ramp. When Lowell makes Gonzo look like a good hitter, we're in trouble. Too bad we didn't let him go after last season. I hope he turns it around, but I think he's done for the year. He won't get above .250 this year. :blink:

Good post, Ramp. When Lowell makes Gonzo look like a good hitter, we're in trouble. Too bad we didn't let him go after last season. I hope he turns it around, but I think he's done for the year. He won't get above .250 this year. :blink:

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Uh, right now neither is doing too well. I'd say they're in the same hole lately.

It was painful watching Lowell, Gonzalez and Encarnacion against Peavy last night. More often than not they would watch strikes go by and swing at crap out of the zone. Pierre and Delgado aren't getting good swings either.

 

Who does that leave? Only Cabrera and LoDuca look confident at the plate right now.

 

Time to start another fire Bill Robinson thread? :confused

It was painful watching Lowell, Gonzalez and Encarnacion against Peavy last night. More often than not they would watch strikes go by and swing at crap out of the zone. Pierre and Delgado aren't getting good swings either.

 

Who does that leave? Only Cabrera and LoDuca look confident at the plate right now.

 

Time to start another fire Bill Robinson thread? :confused

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I don't know if Robinson should be fired but he should be given a different job. We changed pitching coaches and look at the results. From Willis to Bump, there is a big improvement in our pitchers.

A new hitting coach just may be able to fire up these guys who are all in one hell of a funk. Beinfest and Co. have got to make a decision and do it now. A new hitting coach is about a year over due. They can't wait until the middle of season. That will be too late.

Not having Castillo really makes a difference in the top portion of the lineup.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

CONINE at 3rd, Lowell on the bench.

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How about Cabrera at third and Conine in left?

Not having Castillo really makes a difference in the top portion of the lineup.

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As much as I agree with you, it has nothing to do with the pitches Lowell was swinging at last night.

Well, I'm officially getting worried. 2 weeks ago I would've still said no way, this is Mike Lowell we're talking about he'll break out of it, but this has gone on for way too long, and we can't afford to have him in the lineup much longer. Now as much as I like Conine, he's my favorite player to ever wear a Marlin uniform, I'd much rather give Willingham a shot because their is the potential there for him to be a tremendous force in our lineup. We know what we're getting with Conine, with Willingham we could be getting that third power bat in the middle of the lineup that we desperately need.

I think we should send down Smith or Crowell and bring up Willingham... We havent really used either Smith or Crowell, so why do we need them in the pen right now. Maybe bringing up Willingham will spark the offense :shrugs

Its worth a try

It's time Lowell rides the bench. This is going way too far.

Suggested a couple of weeks ago (during the Colorado no-plays and an impending off-day) that Lowell get a few days off. Even (flippantly) suggested he be sent to the Bahamas for a few days.

 

I got slammed for that suggestion.

 

But, now Maverick makes a similar suggestion and many jump on the bandwagon.

Wake-up butt-kissers.

Suggested a couple of weeks ago (during the Colorado no-plays and an impending off-day) that Lowell get a few days off. Even (flippantly) suggested he be sent to the Bahamas for a few days.

 

I got slammed for that suggestion.

 

But, now Maverick makes a similar suggestion and many jump on the bandwagon.

Wake-up butt-kissers.

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DL Lowell with a mystery ailment (saving face and Lowell's reputation) give Willy 2 weeks to work on it, and give Lowell a week at Jupiter to mash the ball and get his confidence up. It's a win-win and it gives us a few weeks to work our pitchers (namely Smith and Crowell) into games to see who is going to get sent back down.

 

I don't think we could call up Willingham and simply slide Lowell onto the bench, that does nothing, but I'm pretty sure that what I've proposed is unethical, but then again, we put Ramon Castro on the 60 day with a toe injury...

Mikey needs to give way to Hammer Time for a little while

 

Make the call

DL Lowell with a mystery ailment (saving face and Lowell's reputation) give Willy 2 weeks to work on it, and give Lowell a week at Jupiter to mash the ball and get his confidence up. It's a win-win and it gives us a few weeks to work our pitchers (namely Smith and Crowell) into games to see who is going to get sent back down.

 

I don't think we could call up Willingham and simply slide Lowell onto the bench, that does nothing, but I'm pretty sure that what I've proposed is unethical, but then again, we put Ramon Castro on the 60 day with a toe injury...

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Ray quit on the team. It appears that Lowell is still playing hard every night.

Ramon quit on the team?

DL Lowell with a mystery ailment (saving face and Lowell's reputation) give Willy 2 weeks to work on it, and give Lowell a week at Jupiter to mash the ball and get his confidence up.? It's a win-win and it gives us a few weeks to work our pitchers (namely Smith and Crowell) into games to see who is going to get sent back down.

 

I don't think we could call up Willingham and simply slide Lowell onto the bench, that does nothing, but I'm pretty sure that what I've proposed is unethical, but then again, we put Ramon Castro on the 60 day with a toe injury...

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Ray quit on the team. It appears that Lowell is still playing hard every night.

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Yeah basically.

His toe hurt and there were no other catchers but he removed himself from the game. As far as we know, Lowell is giving his all.

3 days off for Mike. Jeff can play LF and Cabs can play 3b. If Enc doesn't shake off the dust by then, when we put Mike back in, Enc goes to the bench. Also, we bring back Mike in a different order spot to shake things up again.

lose his timing?

 

what timing does he have to lose?

 

he looks like he is still in ST... and speaking of ST, he was struggling then too!

 

this "slump" has gone from March to May already

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he has his timing

 

don't you see him hitting balls hard foul or right at defenders?

 

he's hit the ball hard in a lot of his AB's he's just been getting unlucky I guess...