Since the end of a frustrating 2009 campaign, Atlanta Braves fans have agreed that signing Derek Lowe to a big free 
agent contract was a bad decision as he ate up payroll while essentially being the team’s fifth best starter.
Instead of being a 15 million dollar ace that the Braves envisioned, Lowe posted a 4.67 ERA in 2009 and looked more like a washed up innings eater than a pitcher you would want on the mound in a big situation.
Lowe continued to disappoint in 2010, posting a 4.53 ERA through his first 28 starts this year. Because the Braves had plenty of starting pitching options at the time, they decided that it would be best if Lowe skipped his first start of September in order to rest his arm.
Since that skipped start, the Braves are finally getting some value out of Lowe. In the season’s most important month, Lowe has dominated, going 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA in five turns. While the Braves offense has struggled, it has been Lowe (and not ace Tim Hudson) who has given the Braves dominant starts and kept them in the Wild Card lead.
Lowe’s best start as a Braves came September 13th against Washington when he allowed just six hits and fanned 12 batters over eight shutout innings. Lowe’s most important start with the Braves might have been yesterday against the Florida Marlins, when he allowed just one run in 5.2 innings while pitching on short rest.
The Braves currently sit 1.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card race despite a less than stellar 13-14 record in the month of September. With the Braves offense struggling, it’s likely that the team would only have nine or 10 wins this month had Lowe not started a hot streak.
If the Braves use their starters on regular rest for the last three games of the season, Lowe would be slated to pitch if the Braves had to enter a one game playoff to decide the Wild Card race. While the Derek Lowe signing may have looked bad to Braves fans at first, Lowe has shown he still can be a difference maker, and ultimately could be the reason the Braves are playing in October.
Another starter that is lighting it up late this season is Phillies starter Roy Oswalt.
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Used with permission of the author.
Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.
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