Monday night, in the top of the seventh inning, Derek Lowe got himself into some trouble against the Giants and held a mound meeting with manager Bobby Cox. Lowe persuaded Cox to let him pitch to one more batter, but Lowe would subsequently walk Pat Burrell on five pitches to load the bases and bring an end to his start. Cox came out of the dugout to make a pitching change, and Lowe was none too happy with the sequence of events:
Quantifying Derek Lowe’s Distaste With Himself
Lowe’s animated reaction became an instant internet hit, as it stood as one of the most lip-readable obscenities in the history of sports. But there was another layer to the whole thing. There was more than just the obvious swear, and if you weren’t paying careful attention, you may have missed it.
Lowe jerked his head down and to the left with sufficient force as to readjust the position of his cap. His hat was already tilted prior to the jerk, with an angle between his eyes and the bill of about five degrees. Following his vigorous act of disapproval, however, the angle approached ten degrees, nearly doubling in magnitude.
It’s difficult for us to proceed any further. Investigations into the force of Lowe’s head-jerk hit a speed bump when we encounter the unknown lubrication capacity of Lowe’s considerable sweat, which undoubtedly played a role in allowing his hat to shift as it did. Still, even lacking a proper estimate of the force, we may conclude that this was no ordinary head-jerk. The pressure and weight of the playoffs shows up in ways you’d never imagine.
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