2004 World Series Champion Red Sox SP Derek Lowe joins! What is Lowe's singular moment/memory that Derek looks back on, that sticks with him the most?
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00:00Joining us right now, it is Derek Lowe for Chris Curtis.
00:07Derek, good morning.
00:10Hey, I just got the info. I was supposed to be on your show.
00:14My buddy called and said, hey, I think you're supposed to be on.
00:16So here I am.
00:18I'm blaming this all on the Veritex because the Veritex said they were having you over for Easter.
00:24Did they have you over for Easter?
00:28We were supposed to go last night.
00:29We went to a buddy's mine in Easton.
00:33No, I got invited.
00:35Okay.
00:36So they were going to pass the word along because Curtis, our Red Sox savant here,
00:44other than Tom Brady, this is the highlight of his broadcast career.
00:50James is second.
00:51Speaking to you, Derek.
00:52Derek, it is an honor.
00:54On behalf of everybody in our listening audience, I want to say thank you for the World Series.
00:59Without you, the 0-4 team is an afterthought.
01:03What is your singular moment?
01:05Was it game seven on two days rest?
01:07Is there anything that you look back on 20 years ago that sticks with you above all else,
01:14given that historic postseason run you were part of?
01:16That's a good question.
01:18I would honestly say game four, actually, for me.
01:24We obviously, I don't know, what was it, 18-7?
01:27We lost game three.
01:29And it was a huge opportunity for me.
01:32As people know, I was in the bullpen to start the playoffs.
01:34You know, and I needed a moment, you know, to show, I was a free agent, you know, I had
01:40a terrible year.
01:41And I needed a moment to show myself, but more importantly, the Red Sox and baseball that
01:45I could still pitch.
01:46And to keep us in the game, I think a lot of people probably were driving that game
01:50thinking, oh, God, we're going to get destroyed.
01:52And to kind of keep us in the game, give us some momentum.
01:57So that was, for me, my biggest game.
02:01And then definitely game seven would be number two.
02:05But it was great.
02:07With Johnny, we got off to an amazing start, and I was able to kind of settle in.
02:12But yeah, game four, again, to kind of keep us in the series.
02:16Yeah, I feel like the way the postseason began is forgotten with you not being in the rotation
02:24and obviously, you know, entering an offseason where you were a free agent.
02:28What was more pressure, you to perform in that game four for your future?
02:33Or was it, you know, holy crap, did you think you had a shot down three games to not entering
02:37that start in game four?
02:39I mean, you know, you always have hope.
02:43But I think, you know, everyone, you know, the Kevin Millar famous has said,
02:46don't let us win one.
02:47But, you know, yeah, you have to say there's hope.
02:52But, I mean, it wasn't, hey, let's just win one and we'll cruise type of thing.
02:56They had five or six guys in their lineup that were just all hitting over 500.
03:01You know, daunting task.
03:02You're going to have to go into Yankee Stadium.
03:04But, you know, the old saying, one day at a time.
03:06I mean, I know it's so boring, so cliche, but, I mean, yeah, small hope.
03:12But, you know, we had to get to game five somehow.
03:15And David Ortiz, I mean, single-handedly carried us for the whole series pretty much.
03:19I mean, Millar really takes credit for the whole thing.
03:22I mean, let's be honest.
03:23Of course he does.
03:25Of course he does.
03:26He was a hoot, man.
03:28He was a hoot.
03:28You need those guys.
03:29You need the positive guys.
03:30You know, guys did show up with amazingly positive attitudes in game four, honestly.
03:37It was a special team.
03:39Guys truly got along, truly rooted for one another.
03:42So I don't think guys, you know, wanted the season to end.
03:44But you've also got to be realistic, too.
03:47You know, no one has ever done it in baseball history.
03:49But it's funny because a lot of people, including myself, I have very vague memories of the World Series.
03:56Some people don't even know who we played.
03:57You know, it's pretty much everyone remembers that series and that series alone.
04:01Yeah.
04:02Can you tell us now, like, did you really hate Alex Rodriguez?
04:05Was he just a guy that you guys didn't like?
04:08Hate the strong dislike.
04:10We'll go with dislike.
04:14Yeah.
04:15It was just a special time.
04:17You know, if you look at both sides, you know, both teams, I mean, you're looking at eight or nine Hall of Famers, basically.
04:24You know, some guys got in, some guys didn't.
04:27It was just a very special time with just uniquely talented people.
04:30You know, how often do you get a Pedro, you know, Roger Clemens matchup?
04:35It's just, it was just, yeah.
04:38You know, obviously, what happened in 03 clearly had a lot to do with it.
04:41You know, we all thought we were going to win Game 7 and we could talk about that forever.
04:45But it didn't happen.
04:47And so, yeah, it was just a great, great history, great time.
04:50And it's amazing.
04:51You know, I just moved back to Boston.
04:54And, you know, they've won two World Series since.
04:56But, boy, oh, boy, people remember that 04 Series for sure.
04:59Derek, you talk about some of the guys.
05:03What was it like to play with those guys on the team?
05:06I mean, you're talking about Pedro, Big Papi, one guy that I loved.
05:09I loved Manny Ramirez.
05:12Shillon, just like to be part of that type of roster with those type of players, what was that like for you?
05:19Yeah, it was obviously awesome.
05:21You know, it was nerve-wracking when I was a reliever trying to come in games when, what, try to, excuse me, try to finish games after Pedro pitch.
05:30No one wanted to see us, trust me, out of the bullpen.
05:33It was just, you know, it was just, it was special.
05:35You know, I think you look back and you wish you would have enjoyed it a little bit more.
05:39You know, the honor of watching a Shilling and a Pedro and, like you said, Manny and David and, you know, it was just an extremely close-knit team, like I said earlier.
05:49You know, everyone got along.
05:51Just talent everywhere.
05:52You know, people don't, Bill Miller won a batting title.
05:54No one even remembers that.
05:55But, yeah, it was just, you know, the additions, you know, with Doug and Cabrera, you know, the front office did a great job.
06:04But, yeah, it was just, you know, when people say chemistry doesn't matter in sports, I mean, they've obviously never been in a locker room.
06:09I mean, you definitely need it, and we had it for sure.
06:13Derek, well, I want to thank you because 04 was the first time I saw my dad cry, and he talks about it to this day.
06:19Like, any time that we talk about Red Sox, he brings you up, he talks about 04.
06:22But you've got somebody like Curtis who talks about it quite frequently.
06:27Is that Boston-specific in your mind, where you have people that still come up to you and thank you for 04?
06:33Yeah, 100%.
06:35Like I said, I've since moved back here, and, I mean, there's definitely days that go by that people don't bring it up.
06:42And people have such strong memories of the 04 team.
06:47And, you know, and talking about crying, I mean, I can't, it was, the parade was amazing to see grown men cry.
06:54You know, people just endlessly thanking you.
06:57You know, I don't think we kind of knew, you know, make a lasting impression on the town, but I don't think we realized, you know, how much.
07:04You know, we came back last year for our 20th anniversary, and just the thanks and the remembrance.
07:09And I think that's what the beauty of sport is, especially in a town like Boston, is people will never forget what you did, good or bad.
07:17Well, we appreciate you taking the time this morning.
07:19I'm sorry that Catherine Veritas...
07:21Yeah, no worries.
07:22I'm going to go run the marathon, so I've got to get going here.
07:24Yeah, no.
07:26I'm kidding.
07:26We appreciate it.
07:28Well, you're going over to the park today, so everybody will see you over there today.
07:31And then we'll see you later on over here at Capitol Grill, I think.
07:35Yeah, awesome.
07:36I appreciate it.
07:37We'll see you guys in a little bit.
07:39All right, Derek Lowe, it's a cavalcade of guests.
07:42Right.