Noah Lowry, MisDiagnosed or accidently MisHandled?

As you've probably heard by now, Noah Lowry had surgery today. Surgery to remove a rib, now allowing his body to "facilitate circulation". Henry Schulman reported earlier that Lowry has been diagnosed twice in the last 5 days differently than he had been previously.

Lowry's agent, Damon Lapa, came out later and stated the Giants had misdiagnosed Noah all along and eventually performed an unnecessary surgery last year, followed by an incorrect rehab program. Then he basically accused the Giants of neglect, without saying that specific.

The Giants came back later and aggressively shot down any notion of wrong doing, citing their inability to comment cue to patient confidentiality.

So the Ground work has been laid.

Lowry, for what it's worth, is in the final year of his deal. The Giants hold a team option for $6.25 million for next year. The surgery is a 3 month recovery, putting him into late August/early September before he can begin throwing.

His season his done.

So what happens now?

The way I see it, Lowry's agent is laying the ground work for a case against the Giants. A suit is possible. 2 years of lost time is significant if a jury/judge finds negligence. But that is a long way off.

More likely, Noah is mad & excited at the same time. Happy to finally find a cure and know he'll pitch again, upset that he could have been back on the field last season had the Giants found the cause in Sept. '07.

I'd say he is probably ready for a fresh start, and given the depth of starting pitching the Giants have throughout, he may not want to have to "prove" himself here. Yes, I think the ground work is being laid alright.

At 6.25 million, a healthy Lowry is a good deal. I think the Giants wanted to pick up his option but can't justify it now. That doesn't make him a free agent yet though, as he doesn't yet have the service time to be one. The Giants can non-tender him, take him to arbitration, and pay him less, about 20% probably since he hasn't pitched.

Lowry's agent knows this. This is their ticket to more security. If Noah comes back at $4.5 million, fighting for a rotation spot behind Lincecum, Zito, Cain, Sanchez, Bumgarner, Alderson, Martinez, Pucetas, etc., he's potentially going to end up in F.A. 2010 with very little to show for the previous 3 seasons. If they make enough noise though...

They can force a trade. If the Giants are fed up with the agents antics and Lowry is upset, potentially suing him, they might be able to force a trade giving him a place for a fresh start. A shot at a rotation. Lowry is still only 28 and twice led the Giants in wins. He's going to get healthy again. He's going to be a solid #3 in the league somewhere.

It's too bad it won't be here...at least that is how I see it.

I'd love to see the two sides work this out and bring him back for next season. I just don't think they will. Stay tuned, this could get ugly...