Memories of Jed Lowrie

[G-Fafif]

A’s sign to a minor league contract the Met who barely was.

He got a nice if ironic hand when he finally batted in September 2019.

[MFS62]

He got a nice if ironic hand when he finally batted in September 2019.

He deserved only one (middle) finger.
What a waste.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Gosh. Good for him.

Appeared, but never donned a glove on behalf of the Mets. He did garner actually a walk in a ninth-inning pinch-hit appearance in a blowout against Colorado, so he did manage to appear in fair territory.

[LWFS]

As long as we keep him alive in our hearts, it's like he never died at all

[Fman99]

Can you name someone else (baseball or otherwise) who did less to earn $20 million than this joker? I cannot.

[Edgy MD]

Hi, I'm Don, Jr.

[LWFS]

To be fair, Lil' Donnie does do a LOT of some things

[bmfc1]

Maybe he can help an A's minor league team win a title as he did with the Cyclones.

[LWFS]

Oh, he'll play, like, 140 games for the A's

[A Boy Named Seo]

I'll always associate Jed with GBV (edit: BVW, not Guided By Voices). He came with risk, but seemed an ok pickup anyway, despite his chumminess with Brodie. What a weird two years for Jed.

Oh, and the two earflap helmet.

[batmagadanleadoff]

[Centerfield]

That’s right. Helmet. Knee brace. That’s all I got on Jed.

I thought he’d end up on one of the LA teams. Jeds tend to end up in Beverly. Hills that is.

[smg58]

Oh, he'll play, like, 140 games for the A's

I was going to say 150. Hell, I bet people will say he made Cal look like a slacker.

[smg58]

In fairness, he had miserable luck. I suppose the best thing you can say about his Met tenure is that his injuries unburied Jeff McNeil on the depth chart.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I remember I was at the "Islanders bar" to watch a soon-to-begin Rangers-Isles game the evening this deal was announced. I wouldn't have expected that to have been the most vivid memory I had of him.

And fwiw, the Mets might have been better off than if this chump ever arrived. Hard to imagine him being as good as either Davis or McNeil, whose reps woulda gone to Lowrie.

[Lefty Specialist]

Grand larceny. I like to think he was the straw that broke the Wilpons' back.

Yes, he'll have a great year for the A's.

[G-Fafif]

Jed’s side of the story, via Peter Gammons.

Jed Lowrie is quite familiar with the anonymous voices who denigrate or minimize some players’ careers, like those of Appel or Hultzen. Lowrie, who will be 37 on April 17, is in his 14th season, but he has played more than 100 games only four times because of injuries. He can play all four infield positions, and he is a switch-hitter who has a rare understanding of the visual and physical differences that come with batting from each side of the plate. The Astros have acquired him twice, and this is his third stint with the Athletics, but when he was in the Opening Day lineup at second base and had two hits in the season’s second game, it represented a remarkable return.

“When you’re questioned on social media or by people behind your back, I consider it to be nothing more significant than gossip,” he says. “I’ve had some injuries, but this last situation with the Mets was really frustrating.”

Before the 2019 season, Lowrie signed a two-year, $20 million contract. The Mets GM was Brodie Van Wagenen, Lowrie’s former agent. But in the spring Lowrie’s knee gave him considerable pain. He was examined, then asked for a second opinion, which concluded that he had a knee fat pad impingement. The knee fat pad protects the patella tendon, and when it is damaged in any way, it is extremely painful.

Lowrie got eight plate appearances in 2019, none last season. The Mets declined to allow him to get the knee operation, he says. They threatened him with a grievance. As he sat out the 60-game season, things were unpleasant, and as soon as the Mets were eliminated, Lowrie was free to get the knee procedure, which occurred in October, right around the time Fred and Jeff Wilpon were on their way out as team owners, and Van Wagenen with them. Lowrie had the surgery and he was assured he would be ready to work regularly by the middle of March. “I missed playing so much, it was very difficult,” Lowrie says. “I would love to play two more years, then perhaps work in the business. It’s been my life for a long time, from Stanford to 14 seasons in the major leagues.”

https://theathletic.com/2504812/2021/04 ... -baseball/

[Ceetar]

I don't doubt that the Mets were whiny brats with him, opting for conservative PRP and stem cell stuff over actual cutting, but even still, how did they not allow him to get the surgery in like August/September of 2019 if the recovery was only going to be a few months? Like what's the logic in that? Did anyone really think a rusty Jed Lowrie was potentially what the Mets needed to either clinch or win the playoffs? Jeff ain't great at logic but I also don't think he cares about players as people so if someone presented a "we're gonna cut him up and he'll be fine by spring" option why would he ignore that?

And as far as I know the Mets haven't overhauled the medical teams (that we know of?) so the same people trotting out conservative treatments are still there making these decisions.

[G-Fafif]

And as far as I know the Mets haven't overhauled the medical teams (that we know of?) so the same people trotting out conservative treatments are still there making these decisions.

https://twitter.com/hspecialsurgery/sta ... 15523?s=21

[G-Fafif]

More on the new team doc (club release).

DR. KATHRYN McELHENY NAMED METS HEAD TEAM PHYSICIAN

FLUSHING, N.Y., March 30, 2021 – The New York Mets today announced that Dr. Kathryn McElheny has been promoted to Head Team Physician. Dr. David Altchek will continue in his role as the team’s Medical Director.

As Head Team Physician, McElheny will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Mets medical department. She has served as the Mets’ Non-Operative Medical Director for the past two years. McElheny will succeed Dr. Struan Coleman. Dr. Coleman will be relocating to Washington, D.C., where his wife is a member of the Biden administration. He will continue to serve as a consultant with our entire Mets medical team.

“We are excited to have Dr. Kat McElheny take on a more senior role on our medical staff,” said Mets’ President Sandy Alderson. “Her experience in medicine and with the Mets will be an integral part of keeping our players in peak physical condition. I would also like to thank Dr. Struan Coleman for his fifteen years of extraordinary service with the Mets and look forward to continued collaboration.”

Dr. McElheny is dual board certified in Pediatrics and Sports Medicine and is a member of the Primary Care Sports Medicine Service at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. She received Sports Medicine fellowship training at Hospital for Special Surgery where she served as a fellow team physician for the New York Giants and New York Mets.

Dr. McElheny graduated with honors from Emory University in 2009 where she was a member of the track and cross country team. She went on to graduate magna cum laude from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago where she was voted a member of the AOA national honor medical society. She completed her residency training at Weill Cornell/New York Presbyterian Medical Center in New York where she was Chief Resident.

Dr. McElheny has authored or co-authored multiple scientific papers, with ongoing research projects largely concentrated in baseball injury prevention at both the youth and professional level.

[MFS62]

So, now he can walk? And talk?


Later

[Ceetar]

one new doctor isn't what I meant, and she only is taking the place of her predecessor because he's being forcibly relocated to Washington thanks to his wife. (Thanks Biden)

[Edgy MD]

She isn't one new doctor. She's the head team physician.

We agree that's different, right?

[Ceetar]

'promoted' so she was already there.

This is an organizational philosophy going back a decade maybe longer. I see no reason to think McElheny was advocating for surgery over stem cell treatment and was just ignored, and Cohen found her wallowing away in the ranks and promoted her.

I suspect there are PR reasons for the promotion actually, though I hope not. Cohen hasn't exactly shown a willingness to do a thorough and comprehensive hiring process for anyone yet, granted there was more of a time crunch between when he took over and when the season started, so let's see what happens.

[nymr83]

Hi, I'm Don, Jr.

really? that guy is probably a VERY busy man - it's a lot of work to cover up all of your father's crimes.