It is not a good time to be Derek Lowe right now.
Lowe, a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, was arrested last night after police pulled him over and smelled alcohol, according to TMZ.com.
The pitcher refused a sobriety test, so the police took him into custody and had his car thrown in the impound lot, eventually charging him with DUI, reckless driving and an improper lane change. Lowe posted bond and is now out of jail.
Needless to say, this is the last thing Lowe and the Braves wanted. The veteran pitcher is a major part Atlanta’s rotation, and this is a needless distraction during a season.
Furthermore, for Lowe to be that drunk at 10 p.m. is a little disturbing. It’s simply irresponsible to put himself in a situation like that, especially when he’s slated to pitch Sunday.
However, this isn’t the first time Lowe has been linked to alcohol and excess.
Per Kevin Roderick of LAObserved.com:
Trinka Lowe alleged in her deposition that the pitcher’s agent, Scott Boras, suggested an “intervention” to deal with the player’s drinking and told her the Red Sox did not re-sign Lowe after the 2004 season because of his alcohol problem. In his deposition, Derek Lowe acknowledged that the Red Sox thought he had a drinking issue but that he disagreed.
According to Fineman, Trinka Lowe said the alcohol issue got so bad when Boston was in the playoffs in 2004 that bullpen catcher Dana Lavangie phoned her at home in Fort Meyers, Florida “and told me that I needed to come up to Boston because Derek was falling apart….He was depressed. They had taken him out of the starting rotation. He was in the bullpen. They told him pretty much he wasn’t going to touch the baseball for any of the playoffs.”
Lowe would get drunk last season in the Dodgers clubhouse with clubhouse manager Dave Dickinson, Trinka contends. Dickinson told Fineman “he would drink with Lowe occasionally after games, but not every night. And he also said he did not see Lowe get drunk in the clubhouse.”
It’s clear now that he has to get help for himself.
Lowe simply cannot be living like this anymore because now he’s not just risking his own life, he’s putting others in dangers as well.
If he doesn’t get help for this issue, it’s going to consume him and cut short what has been a very underrated career. It’s sad to see it come to this, and you have to wonder what the Braves are going to do about this very delicate situation.
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