Problems with Derek Lowe?

[S2S]

Is anybody else having problems with Derek Lowe like I am? I've managed him atleast a dozen times in games and he just seems to get hammered constantly. 1 out of the 10 games I managed with him starting, Only once was he able to go 5+ innings from not getting pounded on.

Example: I was up 2 to 0 in the bottom of the 2nd. I make the mistake of letting Kemp hit with 2 outs when I could've easily just had him pitch to Wolf to end the inning but Kemp homers and it's tied. The irony? Wolf gets a single in his at bat. LOL?!

3rd inning comes and he drops 6 runs to the Dodgers. Single to Ethier on the 1st pitch. Manny hits a bomb out to left. Single and then something bizarre happens, Apparently my infielders turn into little 4 year olds who can't field. A dribble gets hit to Prado and it goes between his legs, It didn't bounce up or anything. Then with a runner on, I was hoping for a double play and Escobar fields I think he's going to turn 2 but he goes to far past 2nd and throws to 1st only for it to sail 20' over the 1st baseman. I ended up down 9 to 2 before the inning came to a close and I had to pull him after 2 and 2/3's. He's horrible on this game.


Like I said, 1 game out of the 10 he went past 5+ innings and that was against the Rockies. He went into the 9th but of course with close 1 out they started bombing him so I had to go to the pen. I think I know who's going to be leaving the rotation for my Braves' franchise when Huddy comes back.

[Jgainsey]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I had a really rough first couple of months with Derek Lowe. For a while he was getting lucky and had a ton of run support, so his record was still pretty good. Though once the run support dried up things got pretty bad for Lowe. I even sat him one start and gave Kris Medlen a spot start.

Then a few starts before the All Star break something clicked. I started dominating with Lowe. All of a sudden no one could square up his sinker and he was keeping guys off balance and getting a few more k's with the slider. I'm now a week past the break and he's still going strong. I just finished up a game against the Mets where he took a no-no into the 6th. Of course it was broken up by Reyes who reached with a bunt. He ended up scoring the only run, but I left Lowe in long enough to drill Reyes in the head his next time up. He ended up going 8 strong innings only giving up that one run.

He's like 10 - 5 now with a 3.90 ERA(It was just over 5 earlier in the year. Plus, he's probably been my strongest pitcher over the last month or so. I'm not really sure how he's improved so much. Something just clicked with me and now I can do no wrong with him. When Hudson comes back I'm probably going to give him Vazquez's spot in the rotation. His ERA is the worst of all my starters at 4.19 and I can't come anywhere close to his real life strike out numbers.

[BigWilly]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I just finished up a game against the Mets where he took a no-no into the 6th. Of course it was broken up by Reyes who reached with a bunt. He ended up scoring the only run, but I left Lowe in long enough to drill Reyes in the head his next time up.

This made me laugh

[nemesis04]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I love hitting against him. I see his pitches very well and pound the hell out of him! Sorry, it does not help your problem.

[andruwjones00]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I have the same problem, but with hudson. He is just terrible for me, i cant throw anything up in the zone to keep hitters off balance. Anybody have any suggestions for huddy?

[Braves Fan]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

With Hudson and Lowe you have to pitch a little differently than you would with Vasquez, Jurrjens, or Hanson. For example with those three you can pitch in and out and up in the zone. A lot of the time I'll set a hitter up by going up with a fastball only to follow that up with an offspeed pitch down in the zone.

You can't do that with Hudson and Lowe, it just doesn't work. They don't have the pitches to pitch up in the zone so what I try to do is stay out of the middle of the plate and keep the ball on the corners and low in the zone. To set hitters up you have to pitch horizontally, it's really the only way you can be successful with them imo. Each one of them has 4 pitches so mix up your pitches and keep the ball low in the zone.

It's not easy to pitch with them but when you have a good game with them it's rewarding because you have to really work at it. You can't just blow hitters away with overpowering stuff, you actually have to do some pitching.

[TN - BRAVES FAN]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I do horrible with Derek Lowe...good in exhibition games, but in my franchise he's done awful.

Braves Fan and S2S add me to friend list....it's McMBlaster...i changed my name on here.

[Bulldogs78]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I'm glad Dodgers got rid of him. He's a bum.

[Jgainsey]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I realize I didn't really offer up any advice in my first post. I just notched another win with him and I noticed one thing I'm doing with him now that I didn't used to do. I pitch using the meter, and with Lowe I find myself stopping the meter right as it enters the yellow portion of the meter. I hardly ever give his pitches any extra velocity or stop the meter anywhere close to the red portion of it. I do this somewhat with other pitchers, but more so with Lowe.

Location really seems to be key for me when pitching with Lowe, and stopping the meter early in the yellow part of the meter gives me much better control. This is especially true for the sinker. I can usually be successful as long as I can pick my spots in the bottom 3rd of the zone, or just out of the zone with the sinker.

I've also gotten MUCH better at throwing sliders, and not just for Lowe either. I've had trouble all year with Lowe, Vazquez, and other guys that need their slider to be effective.The pitching meter is much more complex than it appears. There are lots of little quirks and intricacies to learn about pitching with the meter to pitch well. It almost feels like it works differently with different pitches too. The more familiar I get with the meter, the better I pitch.

[woody2goody]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I played against him recently playing for the Dodgers I think in my Fantasy Draft Franchise, I'm not 100% sure but I think I got rid of him after 5 innings. I think I scored 3 runs against him.

You can still pitch up in the zone with him, but be judicious as to when you pitch there, and who you pitch there to.

I've not got a power starting pitcher in my rotation (R. Johnson, O. Hernandez, Zito, Owings and Andrew Miller), so I have learned to pitch around a lot and work the corners.

Don't be afraid to use your breaking balls to get ahead in the count, and you can use the fastball a lot more than you think if you are careful.

[cjnoles9399]

Re: Problems with Derek Lowe?

I couldn't pitch with Lowe or Hudson with meter pitch so they were pretty much the reason I went to classic. I struggled with Lowe in April and he missed 3 starts with an arm injury. But in July he was less than a run ERA and 5-0. He is 10-2 with around a 3 ERA for the season. Hudson is up and down. Early in the year I took a no hitter into the 9th with him. Last week I gave up 8 runs to SD in 3 innings. 9-7 with around 3.5 ERA.

To be successful, I have to lean on the fastball for them guys in the first inning. I have struggled a lot with both when I start out throwing a lot of sinkers. I would miss low and walk a guy or two, or hang them over the plate after the walks and a big inning would follow. If I have a good first inning I don't really need to lean on the fastball as much because I mix up the sinker/slider.