Posted September 13, 200519 yr c/o MLB.com Lowell handling adversity: In the most disheartening season of his career, Lowell has tried just about everything: extra batting practice, breaking down his mechanics, and even using a contact lens for his left eye. Nothing has worked in snapping him out of his slump. Of late, Lowell has been out of the lineup with Miguel Cabrera moving to third base and either Conine or Jeremy Hermida seeing action in left field, where Cabrera played most of the season. Batting .234 with six home runs and 53 RBIs, Lowell plans on having a busy offseason to get back to the level he's used to. He is dealing with his reduced playing time without complaining. "I'm already making preparations on how to come into Spring Training, working on mechanics, hitting-wise," Lowell said. "I don't want to say I lost it, but [it's frustrating]. I've just been doing a lot of thinking about how to come into next year." Recently, Lowell analyzed his swing with Hall of Famer Tony Perez, a Marlins special assistant. "Analysis by paralysis," he said. "Don't get me wrong, if I go three days without a hit, I'm trying to figure out what's going wrong. It's worn on me a lot trying to figure it out. There is something that is not letting me do what I want to do. I'm not sure what it is." Lowell had his eyes checked and used a contact lens for a while, about a month ago. "I went to see some doctors one year, had a contact in one eye for a while," Lowell said. "I was seeing the ball well and hitting the ball well." That contact broke and Lowell went with a new contact with the same prescription, but his vision wasn't the same. So he took it out. "I really believe in muscle memory," Lowell said. "It's been frustrating."
September 13, 200519 yr I miss seeing him in the lineup. I guess it's for the best for the future. :confused
September 13, 200519 yr I miss seeing him in the lineup. I guess it's for the best for the future. :confused 943072[/snapback] More importantly it's the best for now.
September 13, 200519 yr Mike is the epitomy of class IMO. He handled the situation so well in '03 when Jack was slow to put him back into the lineup in the playoffs, and he has handled this year with class. It's easy to see how upsetting this funk has been for him, yet he goes out there and does his best everyday. I honestly think he was ready for Jack to sorta release him from his misery this year so that he could get a head start on next year. I fully expect him to turn it around next year.
September 13, 200519 yr I hope the best for Mike, but I have to hope the best for the Marlins first. It would be nice to see him come around if we get to the playoffs.
September 13, 200519 yr I don't know Mike, I met him briefly at a golf tournament but my wife's cousin is pretty tight with him. We were talking about it on our way to Dolphin game and my wife's cousin says the same thing about Mike's paralysis by analysis. At least that what Mike is saying it is. He has somehow allowed doubt to creep into his head and that's never good for a hitter. Some guys go in there not thinking anything. Completely blank. They see the ball, they hit the ball. Other guys analyze everything. It can work both ways. But when you start guessing wrong and get down on yourself it's a lot tougher. I haven't analyzed Mike's approach too much because I've missed a lot of games this year but when he's been successful in the past I noticed that he always took the firsst pitch in his first 2 or 3 at bats in a game. Usually late in the game he'd swing away on the first pitch knowing that the pitcher would want to try to get ahead. I wonder if pitchers have just picked up on his tendencies and that there's really good and well publicized (within baseball) scouting report on him. Or perhaps he has strayed somehow from his formula. Also I'm not superstitious about anything in my regular life but with baseball I am. And I've noticed that Mike changed the song he gets introduced to this year. Maybe he he ought to go back to "ya'll gonna make lose my mind. Up in here. Up in here"
September 13, 200519 yr To everyone who thinks that this is just in Lowell's head and he'll come out of it next year: He slumped terribly after the '04 all-star break, and since then he's hit a whopping 12 homers. He had a whole off-season to get the bad second half out of his mind; I mean, if it's still weighing on him, what could this season of ineptitude possible do to his psyche? And since I feel the need to point this out ambiguously in every Mike Lowell post, he has aged terribly since the second half of last year (his hair is almost completely white, and I mean, Conine is 9 years older than him and looks 10 years younger), and he clearly is doubting himself, two well documented side effects of getting off steroids when you've relied on them for personal success.
September 13, 200519 yr Wow. The guy's hair goes gray and your saying it's because of the juice. Why isn't Giambi's hair white. By the way there was a guy that went to my high school whose hair was salt and pepper 50/50 when he was 18. Also you lump in the end of last season. But he has had poor second halves before and come out the next year fine, so the two aren't necessarily linked. Besides if he was on steroids before why would he suffer so much in the second half? The roids are supposed to help you reccover. None of the steroid stallions we we've seen before (like Mcguire, or Giambi or Bonds) tailed off in the second half. You know it's just possible that Mike is an average hitter who played above his ability for a period of time and is now playing below his ability.
September 13, 200519 yr Wow.? The guy's hair goes gray and your saying it's because of the juice.? Why isn't Giambi's hair white.? By the way there was a guy that went to my high school whose hair was salt and pepper 50/50 when he was 18.? Also you lump in the end of last season.? But he has had poor second halves before and come out the next year fine, so the two aren't necessarily linked.? Besides if he was on steroids before why would he suffer so much in the second half?? The roids are supposed to help you reccover.? None of the steroid stallions we we've seen before (like Mcguire, or Giambi or Bonds) tailed off in the second half.? You know it's just possible that Mike is an average hitter who played above his ability for a period of time and is now playing below his ability. 943236[/snapback] You know that the second half swoon that was simply chalked up to second half adversity also coincided with the announcement of the new drug policy, right? Steroids last in the system, depending on the potency of the drugs, traces can stay around for up to 18 months, so you'd have to assume that a player would detox himself once a new more stringent testing policy was announced. And if you look up my past posts, you'd see that gray hair is the last thing that I point out as a link between Lowell and noticeable steroid side effects.
September 13, 200519 yr he has aged terribly since the second half of last year (his hair is almost completely white, and I mean Seems pretty unambiguous to me. And by the way, aren't steroids supposed to give you muscles and stuff like that. What about mood swings and agressive behavior? I just think your barking up the wrong tree. The guy was never a 40 homer guy. He never had a big jump in production like Brady Anderson. Maybe he's just on the downside of an average offensive career.
September 13, 200519 yr he has aged terribly since the second half of last year (his hair is almost completely white, and I mean Seems pretty unambiguous to me. And by the way, aren't steroids supposed to give you muscles and stuff like that. What about mood swings and agressive behavior? I just think your barking up the wrong tree. The guy was never a 40 homer guy. He never had a big jump in production like Brady Anderson. Maybe he's just on the downside of an average offensive career. 943260[/snapback] You obviously haven't watched Mike Lowell if you don't think he doesn't have tremendous mood swings. Water coolers, bats, helmets, benches, he's taken it out on all of them, pretty ferociously. His temper is noted, heck, even his wife said a few times on Marlins on deck that she won't come any where near Lowell when he's in one of his moods. Here's a link to something I posted on this a while ago: Link Plus, Alex Sanchez and Juan Rincon have shown us that big muscle bound freaks aren't the only guys taking and benefiting from steroids.
September 13, 200519 yr Ok TSwift we know you think Lowell took steroids. This is only the 500th time you have said it. I think you slandered the man enough at this point
September 13, 200519 yr Ok TSwift we know you think Lowell took steroids. This is only the 500th time you have said it. I think you slandered the man enough at this point 943273[/snapback] Since it's in print, I believe it's called libel.
September 13, 200519 yr It's all between the ears. I wonder if he has tried a sports psychologist. 943099[/snapback] My shrink is actually the Marlins team shrink. :mischief2 :mischief2
September 13, 200519 yr It's all between the ears. I wonder if he has tried a sports psychologist. 943099[/snapback] My shrink is actually the Marlins team shrink. :mischief2 :mischief2 943305[/snapback] you've got a shrink? :o :lol
September 13, 200519 yr You dont need steroids to hit .280.943350[/snapback] Apparantly you do if you fall to a .230 hitter with no power. The only reason I'm on this mean streak against Lowell is that I feel he unfairly hijacked the organization in the offseason when he essentially said "guarantee me, or I'm gone and you'll have nothing to show for it." (It also helped that he'd get a state-tax free $24 million guaranteed, likely less than he'd get from the already maxed out Yankees). Plus, the second he's on the bench, everyone feels bad for the guy because of articles like this, but it still doesn't change the fact that he is more to blame for us fighting for our playoff lives right now. More than Leiter, more than Perisho, more than AJ, more than Mota, and on and on.
September 13, 200519 yr I feel bad for Mike as well. Hopefully he'll find it next season and rebound. Although.................. playing Miguel at third will prevent him from becoming lazy like Manny Ramirez out in left field.
September 13, 200519 yr We should see if he can rebound early next year and increase his value so that we can trade him for a quality starting pitcher or a solid left fielder. I don't want Miggy to go back to LF permanently. I want him to be our third baseman.
September 13, 200519 yr giving up steroids wouldn't make Lowell pop everything up..... Wouldn't he have tested positive if he was taking steroids? The penalties for taking steroids are a joke, but the testing procedures are seemingly working. Apparently steroids stay in your system for a while, so I would think he would have tested positive.
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