After weeks of enduring painful steps and gritting his teeth through agonizing discomfort in his right hip, Mike Lowell finally called it a season Tuesday.
The veteran third baseman, the 2007 World Series MVP, was playing through a partially torn right hip labrum and a painful bone spur in his right hip. The injuries slowed the already slow-footed infielder and made it virtually impossible to continue competing in the playoffs.
Early on, Lowell was simply having trouble moving laterally and attacking batters who bunted on him at third base, but by the end he simply had no mobility left and went hitless in eight excruciating postseason at-bats.
Lowell is expected to have arthroscopic surgery in New York on Monday to repair the torn labrum in his right hip. "They're going to fix the labrum issue?and tie it up wherever it needs to be tied and I guess the biggest part is they call it a bump -- but I'm assuming it's a bone spur -- on the top of my femur," Lowell said. "That's what has been jamming the whole hip area. I might stay at the Holiday Inn Express the night before the surgery so I can let them know how to do it."
The procedure should allow Lowell time to be ready by the time spring training rolls around. He had hoped to be on the World Series roster if the Red Sox made it, and the decision to have the surgery now was hastened by Boston's 3-1 deficit in the AL championship series against Tampa Bay.
"Theo (Epstein, the general manager) told me there was a 99 percent chance I wouldn't be on the (World Series) roster, but we've got to take care of business here first, obviously," said Lowell. "I just didn't want to drag it out and then see it affect the latter part of spring training or early next year. By mid-February everything should be good to go for spring training, and I won't be rushed at all."
The 34-year-old -- in the first year of a three-year, $37.5 million deal signed during the winter -- battled several injuries during the season, including a thumb injury, a strained oblique and the problematic hip that cost Lowell 49 games during the summer. He still hit .274 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI, but he said the hip compromised his performance over the last three months of the season.
In Lowell's absence, the Sox are expected to continue giving the bulk of the third-base duties to Kevin Youkilis, who has done a marvelous job of flipping between first and third whenever Lowell has gone down with injuries this season.
"He knew before the series started to take a lot of groundballs during fielding practice because he hadn't been over there as much," said manager Terry Francona. "There are a lot of things that he's done that make him even better than his numbers, and his numbers are phenomenal."
RAYS 13, RED SOX 4: Tim Wakefield made his first start in two weeks and served up three home run balls in the first three innings, sealing Boston's fate early on. Kevin Youkilis smacked a two-run double in the eighth inning that supplied much of Boston's offense in a listless Game 4 loss.
