In Theo we trust

Mike Lowell is an excellent third baseman, and I'd love to see him back in that spot for the Red Sox next year. He was our most consistent hitter this season and led the team in RBIs, while in the field he makes every play, looking smooth and confident. He was our World Series MVP and is universally regarded as a class act.

However, those who are leaning on Theo Epstein and Sox management to re-sign Lowell, now a free agent, seem to be ignoring some facts. The team's current ownership took over in 2002 and has moved forward since then with strategies that have resulted in two championships, ending an 86-year drought that many New Englanders considered a birthright.

It's clear that principal owner John Henry is willing to shell out cash to sign key players. What should also be recognized is that management is willing to move people whenever they feel it's what is best for the long-term health of the franchise -- a policy that includes not signing older players for too many years. They were right on Johnny Damon, who batted .316 in 2005 with the Sox and then fell to .285 last year with the Yankees and .270 this season. They were right on Pedro Martinez, who has won a total of 27 games with the Mets since leaving here.

It appears that the Sox want to offer Lowell a two-year contract, probably with a nice raise, but some believe that he will look around the league for a three- or four-year deal. Lowell will turn 34 in the off-season. It's quite unlikely that he will ever again have a year as good as this one and for the 2010 season will we want a 36-year-old with deteriorating skills to be eating up a big chunk of payroll?

I'm a big fan of Mike Lowell, and I hope he stays around, but it is somewhat hypocritical to cheer this year's World Series win at the same time that one is demanding that the Sox go against the strategy that brought them to victory.