AROD, MO and Mike Lowell

AROD has won the AL MVP award, and deservedly so, collecting all but two of the first place votes. His stats dwarfed all others, and the only thing a baseball fan can say is that the voters got this one right.

Mariano Rivera has decided to rejoin the New York Yankees in what ended up to be a three year deal worth $45 million. That makes him the highest paid reliever in all of baseball. The Yanks would have been in trouble without him, and they did the right thing (for them) by signing him. Me? I'd rather have Paps...any day, any way, any time.

And last but certainly not least, the Boston Red Sox have agreed in principle with Mike Lowell on a three year deal worth $37.5 million, which matches the annual payout of the last minute four year deal offered by the Phillies. Here are a couple facts about the deal and what teammate Curt Schilling had to say....

"Lowell, who hit the free agent market last Tuesday, had been seeking a four-year deal, and ESPN reported Monday that the Phillies made Lowell a four-year, $50 million offer Sunday night. But Lowell chose to stay with the Red Sox, who increased their offer from $36 million, matching the annual amount of the Phillies' offer.
After the World Series clincher at Coors Field in Denver Red Sox fans serenaded team ownership on the field with a chant of "Re-Sign Lowell." That mantra was echoed publicly by catcher Jason Varitek and pitcher Curt Schilling, who also tested free agency, then returned, signing a one-year deal Nov. 6.
"How cool is that?" Schilling wrote about Lowell and the relationship with fans on his personal blog Monday. "Leaving years and dollars on the table to come back here for three more years, good stuff. Pretty nice to think you are fans in a town that is now a desired destination for athletes across the major sports. Come a long way for sure."
"Congrats to Mike and I've already spoken with a few guys on the team and suffice to say we're all ecstatic."

Peter here, and ecstatic is a great word, Curt. I can think of a few others....delighted, overjoyed, confident, psyched...I could go on, but you get the idea. And taking less money to stay with the team that loves him and the fans who adore him was the exact right thing to do. Thanks Mikey. Go get 'em next year. The Red Sox now have the exact same on-the-field starting nine as last year, with Papi, of course, as the DH, and all that's needed to do now is add a couple pair of arms to the bullpen. And that bodes well for 2008, and beyond.

Click on the title of this post for the Boston Herald's full report on the argeement with OUR third baseman, Mikey Lowell. Have a great Tuesday. Any comments will be read and responded to, as always. Be well. Great job Red Sox front office, by the way.