Red Sox Beat: The Underappreciated Awesomeness of Mike Lowell

I'd like to think at some point, Red Sox Nation is going to appreciate what they have in third baseman Mike Lowell and not attempt to drive him out of town anytime a trade rumor appears on Twitter or a blog.

Tuesday night, Lowell was on the bench as Boston played the 2nd of three games against Detroit. He was soon called into duty though after Kevin Youkilis was ejected following his bull rush on pitcher Rick Porcello after getting plunked.

All Lowell did was hit a 3rd-inning solo homer to put Boston up 4-3 and a 5th inning two-run homer for what turned out to be the game-winning run in a 7-5 victory.

All he's done since returning off the disabled list after missing considerable time in late-June and early-July is hit .368 with 16 RBI for an offense that looked like they had been on the D.L. during the same timeframe.

All he's done is stay quiet and not complain despite having his playing time cut due to ongoing recovery from offseason hip surgery and the recent additions of Victor Martinez and Adam Laroche-then-Casey Kotchman that has resulted in a regular rotation of the corner infield positions.

Since being acquired as a throw-in to the Josh Beckett-for-Hanley Ramirez and prospects deal prior to the 2006 season, the 35-year-old has been a consistent force at the hot corner, both with his glove and the bat. He could have felt slighted at how he was viewed coming into Fenway Park, but it didn't take long for Lowell to get over with the faithful.

After a stellar 2006 (.284/47 doubles/20 homers/84 RBI and just six errors in 462 chances), all Mr. Throw-In did was finish 5th in the A.L. MVP vote in 2007 with a .324 average, 21 homers and 120 RBI. In the run for the 2007 title, Lowell continued his dream season by hitting .353 in the postseason and driving in 15.

But after an injury-riddled 2008 that saw the four-time All-Star play in just 113 games (his lowest since part-time duty in 1999), we were all ready to send the guy packing when visions of Mark Teixeira danced in our heads last winter. Then, it happened again when Adrian Gonzalez was a major point of discussion around this year's trading deadline.

Made worse, the answer of what to do with the abundance of players for two positions was definitively to bench Lowell or attempt to deal him rather than work him into the lineup or trade another player. Thanks for the memories, pal!

But Lowell has always chosen to take the high road, even if the circumstances over the past year have given him enough reason not to. It's sad in a way that it has become refreshing to hear an athlete not complain, but Lowell's professionalism in dealing with the questions from the approximately 1 billion Boston media members has been just that.

He worked hard and while he's lost a step defensively due to the hip, Lowell has hovered around .300 all season and hasn't been an embarrassment at 3rd base - all while staying above board when the media sharks would rather him do the opposite.

As we enter Wednesday, Lowell is hitting .297 with 13 home runs and 57 RBI in 323 at-bats while DH David Ortiz is at .220 with 15 long balls and 62 RBI in 378 at-bats. However, Ortiz is hitting just .094 for August with no homers and just two runs driven in - part of a bizarre season for the former MVP candidate.

When it comes to benching or trading a player, maybe our focus is on the wrong guy. We love stars in Boston and especially those that simply play hard, shut their mouths while doing so and want to win, baby, win.

We have a great one in Mike Lowell and enjoy him while you can. If last offseason and the trading deadline this year were any indication, Lowell will once again be treated like a piece of coal by those that continue to search for diamonds they already are overlooking.

Regardless, you'll find Lowell working hard somewhere and doing the best he can. It's the only way he knows how.

Josh Nason is the main writer/publisher of Small White Ball, a New England based sports and media blog that has contributed to Bleacher Report since 2008. He can be reached at josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com] or via Twitter.