Talking With: Derek Lowe

BK: You mentioned turnover in the clubhouse, and chemistry. How important is the mix of guys that come through and consistency there, and how much are chemistry issues or the troubles of incorporating new guys fixed by winning?

DL: You can win for short stretches with bad chemistry and guys that don't get along, but in our game, with 162 games, I think it's impossible (to win over the long haul without it). So it's very important to have guys, not necessarily to be your best friends, but guys that root for each other. You can't be cliquey. You can't have this group over here saying bad things about this group over here. And I don't mean by nationalities, I mean like pitchers talking about hitters and vice versa. You've got to have everyone on the same page, and I think we got that when we got our new guys.

BK: Have you been on teams where that's a problem?

DL: Yeah, and we didn't win. 2000, I believe it was (with the Red Sox). It's just so draining every day to have everybody not get along, and certain guys aren't playing and then they're mad. So I'm a firm believer in chemistry.

BK: So how have you been able to do that this year, when there's been so much turnover?

DL: We have a lot of young kids too. So I think they can kind of fit in anywhere. Maybe if you brought in different veterans — there's no black book you can go to and say, "This is what you have to do to win." This year, it was unique. The only way they felt we were going to win was by changing, pretty much the majority of the team. And you've got to give them credit, because at least with 11 games to go we've got a chance.

Andrew Kamenetzky: Do you see yourself as having a specific role, as either the glue guy, someone to keep guys in line, someone to keep things light?

DL: These are just my beliefs, but I don't believe a starting pitcher can keep people in line. Who am I to tell 162 games what to do when I play 32. What I try to do every day is just be myself, as far as in the dugout. Crack jokes, keep things loose, maybe say something along the line as far as motivation, but as far as keeping guys in line, that's not a starting pitcher's job.

BK: A common criticism of the team is that your position players aren't the rah-rah guys, or the kind of guys who stand up in front of the media.

DL: Most of the teams that I've ever played with, the rah-rah guys are the bench players. Again, that's what their role was for the team. A perfect example was Kevin Millar (with Boston). He was the most vocal and kept everyone loose, and he didn't play that much. There's no one person who has to be a leader among the position players. It can be a young guy, it can be a veteran guy. Just because your veterans don't talk doesn't necessarily mean you can't have a younger guy be the more vocal leader. And I think as the year has gone on, Russell Martin has kind of taken that role not as far as he's gonna take it, but for a first-year player, guys respect him because he's out there playing every single day. He's getting beat up, and a lot of players always respect the catcher because of what he has to go through over the course of the season.

BK: Is it a question of things he says on the field or the clubhouse, or a question of literally getting out there and playing every day?

DL: Getting out there and playing every day, but again, he's getting more vocal. He's getting more comfortable. And I think it's hard for a rookie to step in and tell the veteran guys, "Hey, let's go." You think you may be stepping on people's toes, but again, if you have the type of team that your veterans are more quiet, there's nothing wrong with that.

AK: Is it doubly impressive because he's both a rookie and a rookie catcher?

DL: Very. It's not easy to be a rookie catcher. You don't know the hitters, and you don't even know the pitchers, especially this year with as much turnover as we've had. That goes to preparation, which he does. He prepares and he understands the hitters. He's only going to get better. There really haven't been that many true rookie catchers step in and dominate not only catching and hitting. You look at it, and he's still almost hitting .290, which is impressive in itself.

BK: And he's been there all year.

DL: Correct.

BK: You get a lot of grief in the clubhouse and from some members of the media for the amount of time you talk about the '04 Red Sox. With that in mind, what can you pull from that experience that's useful for the team right now? Is there anything?

DL: There really isn't a lot you can do, because you have to be there. You have to go through these last 11 games to understand what it's really like and to have success. Not just go through it and say we tried and it didn't work. I'm talking about having to win games when you have to win. You can tell people, "Hey, we've got to win today!" which is great, but until guys can relax and play under pressure, that's up to each individual to understand what they have to do to be able to perform. I just bring up the '04 season because it's fun to mess around, but is a lot to be learned from that team. Because we were down 3-0 (in the ALCS versus the Yankees). We had to play four consecutive games that we had to win, and we were able to pull it off. So you've got to look at the ability to bounce back, the ability to focus not on what happened yesterday, but the now. So there's something to be learned from that.

BK: Getting back to what you said before, being a starting pitcher, can you deliver that message?

DL: Yes and no. It's tough. Maybe the day I pitch I can say something, but the other days I'm sitting on the bench rooting for the guys. It's a drastic turnaround from last year, that's all I know. We're in a spot to win, so it's up to us.

BK: You came out of eight years in Boston and nothing last year worked.

DL: Nothing worked. Nothing good came about last year, and that's frustrating because when you sign to play somewhere, you sign to win. There's no guarantees wherever you go, but you want an opportunity like this year to win. Last year was a whirlwind. A lot of changes, we had a lot of young guys. We never jelled. It was actually embarrassing that we were still in it eight, nine, 10 games below .500. It was embarrassing that we still had a chance, but as you saw, we didn't make it.

BK: Was there the feeling that you could turn it around, or did you know that the team just wasn't good enough to get it done?

DL: I think guys always believed we had a chance to win, but I think if you asked each individual at the end of the year, "Did you really feel like we were going to win?" No. I think the majority of the the guys would say no, and I'm of the belief that we weren't good enough to make the playoffs and then somehow if we got in, we definitely weren't good enough to even win a game in the first round. So we probably ended up where we should have.

AK: Have you found this season to be more enjoyable, in terms of the guys around you, the place you're in?

DL: Absolutely. For me personally, bringing in Grady, Nomar, Billy Mueller hasn't been (playing) but he's been around, these are guys you play with before, and you know what they're all about. They brought in a lot of veteran players, so it has been more enjoyable. But yet, just because you enjoy the year, you still want to win. That's why you play the game. So it's been a more fun year, but we haven't gotten where we want.

BK: Were you worried after last year, coming into this year?

DL: No, just because of the changes they did make. If they would have come back with the same team, then I would have said, "Hey, this isn't going to work. It didn't work last year, there's no way it's going to work this year." But the amount of changes they made, they brought in guys for the right reasons, and I felt like this team had a much better chance than last year.

AK: Had you heard rumors that the organization might bring in Grady?

DL: Yeah, I had spoken with a couple people in the front office, just kind of giving my advice about him, about how good he is with the players and the type of manager he is. There's a lot of guys that aren't even with this organization that called on his behalf, because we saw what happened in Boston where he kind of got the short end of the stick. So it was definitely a good day when they called. They called a lot of us, I believe, and said we named Grady Little the manager before they announced it to everyone else. It was a step in the right direction, I believe, as far as getting a new guy.

BK: How hard is it as a player when you have to sit and watch a manager often get punished for the failings of the players?

DL: That's the one thing that I even said in '03 when it happened, and you even see it now. Managers and coaches get blamed before the players get blamed. They're just standing there. They fill out the lineup, they put out the guys they think are going to have the best chance at success. And if it doesn't work, they boo Grady. They boo the manager. I've never understood that. So they always get the heat for our lack of performance. That's what happened in Boston. We didn't win, and he got blamed for it. So he got to come here.

BK: So when you think about what makes a good manager, what do you look for?

DL: Winning. You look at most managers that stay around, they win. Which means they have good players, and they get the most out of the guys that they have. I think one of (Little's) strong points is that he's so even keel, never gets too high or too low. As players we follow his lead. When we were winning a lot he never got too high, and vice versa when we were losing. Especially when things are going bad, you kind of look to your manager. How's he reacting? Is he putting his head down? Is he making excuses? He never did that, so we want to follow him.

AK: How much does it say about his ability to get quality out of players when you consider the roster turnover you've had all year?

DL: How he relates to people, how he keeps everyone (comfortable). I think people perform best when they're relaxed and not stressing. He's always cracking jokes, he keeps guys loose in the clubhouse, loose during the game. I think he does a great job of playing everybody as much as he possibly can to try to keep everyone involved in the game. I mean, I'd never want to be a manager. I couldn't do it personally.

BK: What characteristics do you think you lack?

DL: Probably patience, more than anything. Dealing with all types of personalities. Some guys you have to kiss their butt to get the best out of them. Some guys you have to ride them a little. He's dealing with 25 different individuals, and his goal is to get them all working in the same way. I don't think I'd probably do too good at that.

BK: What was your lowest point as a pro?

DL: Wow. Probably my first year (with Seattle), when I was struggling so much. I finally got an opportunity to make it. I got like seven starts, then you get sent back to AAA thinking you just blew your shot. You blew your shot to have success, you're back in the minor leagues. But since I've been in the major leagues, I've had way more positives than negatives. Obviously you have bad games throughout your years, but nothing where you can really say — besides, like I said, when I got sent down — no game, or no moment where it's like, "this sucks."

BK: And the flip side. Your best moments?

DL: There's a lot of playoff games we've been in as a team. I think beating New York was all as exciting as beating St. Louis. Beating New York, being down 3-0, and then throwing a no-hitter for an individual (moment), has been the two greatest moments in the game.

AK: Where do you keep your ring?

DL: At my house. Obviously you can't wear it a lot here, (laughing) because I can't even talk about the team, let alone wear (the ring). So it just kind of sits there and collects dust. Like in a sock drawer.

BK: Last question. I know you're a huge fan, and basketball season is coming up. What's the story with the Pistons? No Big Ben?

DL: No. And they're going to miss him. He was, to me, and I'm not in the locker room so I'm speaking third person, he was the identity of that team. When you thought of that team, you thought of Ben Wallace. You thought of the intimidation factor, the rebounds, the hair. He was kind of their identity and now you take that away? Time will tell how they do. But I figure they're not going to be as good as they've been. I don't know enough about Nazr Mohammad, but I suspect he's no Ben Wallace. And we need to get the Michigan Wolverines back going too.