Hardball Heaven

Depending on your news source, Mike Lowell and the Sox today have either signed a deal or agreed to its basic structure to keep Lowell in a Sox uniform for three more years. The total dollars are around $37.5 million.

Very good news for the team and for Lowell, whose inside-out swing is tailor made for Fenway. We'll never know what he would have looked like playing 1B for the Yankees, and we'll never know what the team's Plan B was in case he jumped ship. Will he ever duplicate his 2007 numbers? Probably not, but you have to figure that Manny (contract year in '08) and J.D. Drew will revert to their normal offensive output next year, which will take some pressure off Lowell.

The next Hot Stove story for the Sox will likely revolve around Coco Crisp. A number of teams have a need for a low-cost, superb glove center-fielder. Should be interesting to see what teams are willing to put on the table.