"I'm Not All About Money."

"I'd like to believe I'm not all about money," Lowell said on a conference call. "I feel like I'm more of a baseball player than businessman. I weighed where I felt comfortable, where I could produce the best and have a chance to win a world championship, and it was Boston. I didn't think my happiness should be bought just by dollars.
"There were things that were considered, definitely. The amount of money that was left on the table was something that ... I didn't really struggle with, but I was thinking, guaranteeing that fourth year, was that something I should really pass up? Ultimately, my fit and my comfort level with my family and the team here in Boston outweighed those other options."

Peter here, and that, of course, was our third baseman Mike Lowell talking, taken from the Hartford Courant, and his words ensure us that he's a Red Sox player in his heart AND in his soul. And that's good to know. Theo Epstein had this to say about the actual process of obtaining Lowell's services....

"The process wasn't always easy, but in the end both sides are really happy," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "It's a credit to Mike's character that he certainly passed up more money elsewhere to come back to Boston. We don't take that for granted.
"We were balancing two competing interests: our desire to bring Mike back and adhering to principles about contract length and future roster and payroll construction that were important to us."

Peter back once again. And I think Theo and the powers that be did everything EXACTLY right. Mike's desire to come back to the team he loves certainly helped decide matters.....he could have had a cool $50 million for four years spent (suffering?) in Philly, but he wisely decided to stay at the place where the Fenway Faithful, Red Sox Nation and Red Sox International converge. It's a brilliantly joyous piece of Oz, and it's called Fenway Park. Yellow Brick Road included.

Click on the title of this post for the Globe's Nick Cafardo's look at this exact same subject, and I hope you're all getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday on this still dark Wednesday morning. If you're traveling, be careful and be safe, and if it's just homeward bound for a wonderful dinner with the entire family, like me, have fun, eat and eat a lot, then eat some more. But be happy. That's the most important thing. Thank you, as always, for stopping by, and leave a comment or three. I'll reply to each and every one. And that's a promise. Since the news out of Boston is so quiet, that's all I have for today. But if something breaks, though on the day before the holidays I'm expecting peaceful nothingness, I'm right here to get it in print. As Richard Pryor said in the wonderful comedy SILVER STREAK, "We aims to please." And I do! Always and forever. I'll be here tomorrow to write something, too. I try to have a post up every day, 365 (366 next year) days per year. Bye!!!!