Mike Lowell - a man that played the game the right way

October 2, 2010 brought appreciation for Mike Lowell’s career in baseball and for his time with the Boston Red Sox organization. It can and has been said by some media that Lowell was never really wanted by the team. But on this Saturday afternoon none of this mattered. Today was a day to celebrate his success on and off the field and the memories in which he provided Red Sox fans for the past five seasons.

The 2007 season, saw Lowell go on to hit for a .324 average, 21 homeruns, 120 RBIs in addition to playing tremendous defense at the hot corner before being named MVP of the 2007 World Series during the Red Sox World Series triumph.

In career, Lowell went on to hit for a .278 average, 223 homeruns and 952 RBIs over the parts of 13 seasons. His career with the Red Sox came full circle yesterday, during “Thanks Mike” Day at Fenway. With Lowell retiring at season’s end he was able to finish his career against the New York Yankees, the team that provided Lowell with his first taste of the big leagues back in 1998.

While the gestures in story articles and press releases will read that Lowell was presented with gifts such as Stone Crabs (from the Florida Marlins), the 3rd base bag and a $100,000 check toward his foundation (from the Red Sox) the history books will show that on October 2 Mike Lowell finished his big league career going 2/2, with a walk, a run scored and 2 RBIs during yesterdays 6-5 loss to the New York Yankees. More importantly, yesterday provided members of Red Sox Nation a final look at the man who played the game it was meant to be played. In quoting Ian Browne’s piece of MLB.com Tim Wakefield’s description of Lowell, "He epitomizes professionalism and sets a standard for being a team leader, not only vocally, but through example, and how he prepared himself, and how he played." This is exactly how Mike Lowell would like to be remembered and this exactly how Red Sox Nation will remember you Mike. I’m just honored that yesterday I was able to witness it all!

Career Fair

I am flying home tomorrow to get out of Indianapolis for a little bit and it honestly couldn't have come at a better time or with better planning. Saturday, I will be attending Career Fair held by the Lowell Devels - a hockey team in the AHL. The career fair is going to be held at the Tsongas Arean and I'll be able to see the Lowell Devils take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins that night.

Representatives that are going to be at the career fair are:

*New England Patriots
*New England Revolution
*Boston Bruins
*Lowell Spinners
*Worcester Tornados
*U.S. Army
*Air Force
*Boston Blazers
*Boston Breakers
*NESN
*WEEI
*CBS Radio
*1510 The Zone
*Boston Cannons

I've previously worked at Gillette Stadium in college and have also recently applied for positions with both NESN & WEEI. I am looking forward to the networking opportunities that present themselves this weekend!

Bill James Predictions

I was reviewing the predictions Bill James made on the Red Sox for the 2010 season. Overall, they offensively they seem pretty accurate. Obviously as a Red Sox fan I hope to see a bump up in production, especially from what he see in the 3 & 4 holes of the lineup.

On the pitching front, I think he is basically dead on in his predictions other then with John Lester. I see Lester having a much better season than his prediction from James. I also wouldn't worry to much about his win predictions as so many factors go into the a starting pitcher getting a victory.

Here are the predictions Bill James had made for the Red Sox in 2010:

Starting Lineup: (BA-HR-RBI/OPS)

1. Ellsbury .302-09- 62/.780
2. Pedroia .307-15-75/.843
3. Martinez .298-19-97/.841
4. Youk .289-23-95/.885
5. Ortiz .264-29-99/.887
6. Drew .269-22-76/.859
7. Cameron .237-23-74/.756
8. Beltre .269-17-68/.760
9. Scutaro .264-10-57/.728

*Predictions are from before transactions took place for new players

Rotation: (W-L, ERA, K's)

1. Beckett 15-9/3.62/206
2. Lester 13-10/3.84/184
3. Lackey 13-10/3.81/166
4. Matsuzaka 12-10/4.02/184
5. Bucholz 10-8 /3.91/155
6. Wakefield 6-5 /4.03/62

Networking through Twitter

When I first out about twitter I was completely against it! Needless to say that has changed and changed quickly especially for individuals who are sports enthusiasts and people like myself who aspire to work in baseball.

Twitter has allowed for networking to happen almost instantly. Now some of those conversations are just through a 140 words, but some have developed to emails, to reviewing numerous blogs and websites to phone calls with others who are just as passionate about baseball as I am.

Because of this, I just wanted to share a thank you to those I've talked to in some length, be it twitter, email, phone, etc. I admire your passion for baseball and together we can all make our specific dreams a reality.

THANK YOU TO:

*SABR
*Sports Management Worldwide
*Maury Brown of Biz in Baseball
*Adam Foster - Project Prospects
*Nate Birtwell - Advocare & NC State Baseball
*Frankie Piliere - Former Texas Ranger Scout & MLB Fanhouse
*Pentagon Sports Management
*Pro Star Management
*Will Carroll - Baseball Prospectus

Opportunities I've had in baseball, sports, athletics, fitness

My dream, my passion is to work in athletics. More specifically, I want to in baseball. I have taken a number of steps in order to make that dream a reality. Below are steps I have taken up to date:

Education:
*Bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Johnson & Wales University
*Master's degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University (March 2010)
*Certificate in Baseball GM & Scouting from Sports Management Worldwide

Volunteer Opportunities:
*Women's Professional Football League (New England Storm)
*Rhode Island Kid's First Food & Fitness Expo
*Internship with the YMCA - Winter/Spring 2004
*Annual Road Race - Jewish Community Center
*Annual Golf Outing - Jewish Community Center
*Assisted Sam Horn with Baseball Camp in conjunction with Jewish Community Center
*Assistant Baseball Coach Brebeuf Jesuit Prep - Spring 2009
*Assistant Baseball Coach Lafayette White Sox - Summer 2009
*Biz of Baseball - October 2009

Employment Opportunities:
*Johnson & Wales University - Student Assistant Manager at university fitness center; September 2000-May 2004
*Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots) - Information Staff
*Dunkin Donuts Center - Security
*Pawtucket Red Sox
*YMCA - Fitness Center/Membership; 2005-2006
*Health & Physical Education Manager at Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island; March 2006 - June 2007
*Assistant Baseball Coach - Brebuef Jesuit Prep

Professional Networking Opportunities:
*2009 Sports Management Worldwide Career Conference at NFL Combine
*2009 Sports Management Worldwide Career Conference at Baseball Winter Meetings
*2009 Baseball Winter Meetings
*2009 Indiana Baseball Coaches Clinic of Champions
*2009 Butler University Hot Stove Baseball Coaches Clinic
*2010 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches State Clinic

Professional Associations:
*International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM) - Student Member in college
*Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA)
*Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA)
*Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA)
*Society of American Baseball Research (SABR)

Red Sox - Pitching Depth

While the offseason didn't start the way many in Red Sox Nation would have liked to see things have begun to pick up over the past couple of days as the Red Sox have argueably the best Starting Pitch depth in Major League Baseball.

Their pitching depth as it currently stands:

1. Josh Beckett
2. John Lester
3. John Lackey
4. Daisuke Matsuzaka
5. Clay Bucholz
6. Tim Wakefield

Additional depth can be considering in terms of FA acquisitions, and prospects:

7. Michael Bowden
8. Junichi Tazawa
9. Boof Bonser
10. Adam Mills
11. Casey Kelly
12. Felix Doubront
13. Stolmy Pimentel
14. Brock Huntzinger
15. Stephen Fife

Casey Kelly is considered their top prospect, while Bowden, Tazawa and Bonser all have MLB experience. Adam Mills should again be part of the AAA rotation in Pawtucket.

The depth the Red Sox have built could allow them to continue to dangle Clay Bucholz in future trade discussions.

Baseball at Your Finger Tips

I am 28 years old, born as a member of Red Sox Nation but have since transplanted to the Midwest. I am presently an Assistant High School Baseball Coach for Brebeuf Jesuit Prep in Indianapolis, IN and also serve as an Assistant Coach for the Lafayette White Sox, an 18u travel team out of Lafayette, IN.

In the short time I have had the honor to serve as an Assistant Coach under some great baseball minds, I have seen 6 individuals since sign commitments to play D1 Baseball at (Ball State, Butler, Wright State, Xavier, Valparaiso) respectively. That has been a very humbling experience, and an experience that only provides me with greater energy to continue to pursue a career in professional baseball.
As the annual Baseball Winter Meetings are underway here in Indianapolis the first bit of exciting news was Rafael Soriano accepting arbitration from the Atlanta Braves in a move that came across as a surprise to many people. The move further enhances the backend of the Braves bullpen giving them 3 closers on the roster (after the free agent signings of Wagner & Saito). The activity of the winter meetings has since picked up including:

• The BBWW awarded Bill Madden of the Daily News in New York with the Spink Award and he will be inducted in the writer’s wing at the Hall of Fame.

• Chone Figgins signs with the Seattle Mariners; 4years @ $36 million


• 3 Team Trade between Arizona Diamondback, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees
o New York Yankees acquire Curtis Granderson
o Arizona Diamondbacks acquire Edwin Jackson & Ian Kennedy
o Detroit Tigers acquire Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, Phi Coke and Daniel Schlereth

Yet the biggest news of the Winter Meetings has come from none other than Peter Gammons. Gammons will be leaving ESPN after the Winter Meetings and will be joining forces with both the MLB Network and NESN.

The Monday of the Winter Meetings began with the annual job fair. To date more than 330 jobs have been posted at the Job Fair ranging from Internships, to entry level positions to the posting of a GM position in Australia. Monday also served as the day Sports Management World Wide held their Baseball Career Conference. The career conference offered networking opportunities and a discussion panel that included a wide array of top names involved in the baseball industry.

The panel of speakers included:
• Ned Colletti - Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager
• Will Carroll – Baseball Prospectus
• Maury Brown – Biz of Baseball
• John Manual - Baseball America; Editor in Chief
• Jeff Idelson – President of National Baseball Hall of Fame
• Manny Colon – Florida Marlins; Manager of Player Development & International Scouting
• Chaim Bloom – Tampa Bay Rays; Assistant Director of Minor League Operations
• Ronnie Richardson – Atlanta Braves; Assistant Director of Player Development
• Jonathan Story – former scout
• Jerry Crasnick – ESPN
• Oscar Suarez – MLB Agent
• And many more

The Winter Meetings will always remain as the center of the baseball universe, Dr. Lynn Lashbrook and his staff at Sports Management Worldwide put together a fabulous conference that provided job seekers and students ample networking opportunities.

While the chance to speak with others aspiring to work in baseball is fun, the Winter Meetings has served as a tremendous opportunity. I was able to have a ½ hour discussion with Ari Kaplan of AriBall about baseball and the scouting involved in today’s game and also had the opportunity to meet with former New York Mets General Manager – Jim Duquette who is very excited about his opportunity to work with pitching guru Rick Peterson of 3P Sports.

Two days are remain before the Winter Meetings conclude, the Job Fair and the Trade Show will conclude tomorrow at 5 pm but the place to be will continue to be the Marriott for more ground breaking news. With the cold, snowy and rainy weather here in Indianapolis we can be sure that many are already looking forward to the sunshine of Orlando come next December!