Another blow to the Braves: Derek Lowe arrested for DUI
Derek Lowe's mug shot. (Atlanta Department of Corrections)
The Hawks just won a playoff series. The Falcons moved up to take Julio Jones. And the Braves?
They’re having a week no team wants to have.
If sorting out what to do about pitching coach Roger McDowell wasn’t difficult enough, the Braves awoke this morning to learn that Derek Lowe, who has become their best big-game pitcher and who has long been considered a clubhouse exemplar of how to be a professional, was arrested on charges of DUI.
The team is expected to announce something today regarding McDowell, having spent Thursday trying to gather information. And now they get to read about Lowe being arrested smack in the middle of Buckhead.
And to think: On the field, the Braves are doing well. They finished a difficult West Coast road trip by winning five of six games and have climbed back to .500. They’ve got that going for them, if nothing else.
9:54 a.m. update: The Braves have released this statement:
Obviously we are concerned and disappointed about the events involving Derek Lowe overnight. We are currently gathering information and plan to address this matter later today.
10:36 a.m. update: As reported by colleague Mike Morris, a Georgia State Patrol spokesman says Lowe was allegedly racing another driver down Peachtree Road.
By Mark Bradley
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255 comments Add your comment
SawThat1nce
April 29th, 2011
10:58 am
Innocent until proven guilty. Right? Especially if you make 15 mill per yr. and can afford to buy the best defense in the land.
PureEvil
April 29th, 2011
10:58 am
Ken
2 issues and its getting old? Maybe you need to grow up!! I’m not defending getting a DUI but they are human and are allowed to make a mistake. Last time I checked Jesus Christ wasn’t on the roster.
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
10:58 am
Maybe the new referendum from today’s blog should be whether top legalize more drugs.
Mexico is worse than Chicago before Elliot Ness.
Laverne
April 29th, 2011
10:59 am
The police in this city clearly have misplaced priorities when they are arresting clean-cut, educated Braves players instead of the felony-committing, jive-talking, chest-thumping, inarticulate, illegitimate-father Falcons players.
Dr. R
April 29th, 2011
11:01 am
“Fredi has to get a grip on his team?” Once again, Atlantans seem to think every sport is college football. Pro athletes are grow-up men, not children who need to be baby-sat by their coaches. If they screw up, they face the music legally like anyone else. It’s the manager’s job to make out the lineup and prepare his team to win, not follow them around in the off hours.
chad
April 29th, 2011
11:03 am
These are hypocrital statements. When a football player does this he is a thug and the coach has lost control, but most of the statements on here are trending towards, “it’s not a big deal.” Hmmm
AlG
April 29th, 2011
11:04 am
Amazing to see how many responders defend the practice of DUI. Maybe that explains a lot of the driving I see around the ATL.
Roswell Braves Fan
April 29th, 2011
11:04 am
Yes, many of us can say “There but for the Grace of God…” Hopefully this will be a learning experience for Mr. Lowe.
With regard to Mr. McDowell, the reports seem to allude to a pattern of mouthing off at fans. Mark, have there been other incidents that the Braves were aware of? Throughout his career, McDowell’s been known as a jokester, but is he a nasty jokester?
bascogcjs
April 29th, 2011
11:04 am
Gman is right on the money.
i think Dimitroff was with Lowe when he made the trade for Julio.
Come on, five draft picks,,reminiscent of the Herschel Walker cowboy-viking trade.
Joseph
April 29th, 2011
11:05 am
The most disappointing part of the story is knowing that, even with the millions he makes, Lowe drives one of the ugliest cars on the market. wtf dude
Paul H
April 29th, 2011
11:05 am
The fact that these SF fans got Gloria Allred to represent them makes me lose any sympathy for them. I hope nothing happens to Roger.
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:05 am
@PureEvil.
I’m sympathetic to your argument to some extent.
I think Bradley’s point today was the Braves really don’t need either incident.
Both of these guys have been around long enough to not have made their mistakes.
Atlanta doesn’t support losers.
We still have a poor economy and if the Braves falter, it is going to be one record low at the Ted after another.
We have a nation of millionaire athletes who don’t seem to recognize we could get fed up with them for any of a number of reasons and stop attending.
Dennis Reynolds
April 29th, 2011
11:07 am
I remember when I had my first beer.
PTC DAWG
April 29th, 2011
11:07 am
Pay the fine and move on. Nothing to see here. Lowe is not a perfect human.
Dennis Reynolds
April 29th, 2011
11:08 am
While chasing down a division title, can anyone say “distraction”?
Doc
April 29th, 2011
11:09 am
P B Orr, a few issues please sir. 1)”Never take a breath test”. Excellent idea, always avoid responsibility whenever you can. Manning up for your actions and being accountable are tremendously overrated. And hey, if possible, always blame the cops if you get busted because isn’t it truly their fault anyway? 2)”The DUI racket…has practically no effect on highway safety”. Do you smoke marijuana? Or maybe snort cocaine? Cause you honestly have to be high to have said something that stupid. Let me give you some quick stats to try to clear up your ignorance. In Georgia alone since 2000, there have been 4781 DUI related fatalities. 4062 of those were above .08. That means 719 of those killed were below a .08. Or in other words, those were the ones who’d only had their “Three beers”, then driven. Now try to imagine for a second how those numbers would be different without law enforcement doing their job. From reading your two posts from above however, this information likely isn’t sinking in is it? 3) I’m a complete militant when it comes to busting bad drivers”. Really!? Isn’t that a little contradictive of your earlier comments? Is that not what that trooper did with Lowe? Is that not what they do whenever they arrest any impaired driver? You clearly have never lost a friend or family member to a DUI accident. I would love for you to forward your comments to any one of those who’ve lost someone. Try to see both sides of the spectrum in the future, become more open minded. And do us all a favor, please wait to smoke your weed or snort your cocaine til after you’ve submitted your comment.
Curious George
April 29th, 2011
11:10 am
Does this mean Derek did not get home in time to watch the Royal Wedding live as it happened?
P Rose
April 29th, 2011
11:11 am
Come back Bobby!
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:13 am
Hey.
I think the black woman who backed up the cops side of things in the IHOP incident deserves a medal or something. Too many people fail to come forward with the truth when there is a conflict.
Jacket Dad
April 29th, 2011
11:15 am
Dennis: “Its a DUI, not a rape charge. Relax, who hasn’t driven a car when they’ve probably had a little too much to drink?”
Are you kidding me?????? #1 – I have not driven a car when have had too much to drink. #2 – I had a high school friend killed by head on collision by drunk driver racing (the drunk walked away without a scratch). #3 – Stop making excuses for drunk drivers.
Jack G.
April 29th, 2011
11:15 am
A wise old City of Atlanta traffic court judge once told me that there are two kinds of DUI’s. The caught and the uncaught. Think about it, how many of you have ever driven a car with a little too much to drink. just saying
SandyJ
April 29th, 2011
11:17 am
Vote derek a bad driver!
http://www.driver-ratings.com
Curious George
April 29th, 2011
11:18 am
Was Mark Bradley making a breathalyzer joke when made that “blow” reference in this story’s title?
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:19 am
The plot thickens though Jacket Dad.
He is also charged with racing down Peachtree.
And they caught the 2nd driver.
37 and a teen’s maturity.
Just great.
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:21 am
If he was racing another driver, this becomes a whole lot worse.
No?
What’s next?
The speed they were going.
enz
April 29th, 2011
11:21 am
Has made more money than God but is too stupid to get a limo…Wow
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:23 am
D Lowe and Charles Barkley are working on a duet.
The working title “We are not role models, lugnuts”.
Curious George
April 29th, 2011
11:23 am
Will the media and public forgive Derek Lowe if he follows the lead of the White House and uses PhotoShop to make a fake Hawaiian Birth Certificate for himself that gets released by the Braves Public Relations department?
headley lamar
April 29th, 2011
11:23 am
Who was he racing ???
His DUI buddy Techs own Matt Skole?
Dennis Reynolds
April 29th, 2011
11:23 am
Jacket Dad
I figured someone would pull out the “i know a person killed by a drunk driver” and Im sympathetic to that. But I doubt Derek was THAT drunk. And if he was, its not as bad as a rape charge or battery like you hear from players in the NBA and NFL. I don’t think Derek was right for doing it, of course. But the dudes a human. As long as he didn’t hurt anyone and he wins 15 games this year propelling us into the playoffs, he can get as many DUIs as he pleases. I don’t pay his fines
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
11:25 am
Doesn’t street racing kinda lose its appeal a little by the time you are in your late 30s?
What struck me about this is that if I’m not mistaken this is almost the same place where Dany Heatley got his teammate killed. So yeah, this is pretty serious. DUI puts human lives at risk… unlike, say, dogfighting for example.
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:26 am
We’re going to bring the Birther argument into this somehow????
Southside
April 29th, 2011
11:27 am
Call George Stein!
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:29 am
@Dennis Reynolds.
Tell me I’m not right about this.
Frank Wren is cussing like a sailor today, maybe all week.
TuckerFan
April 29th, 2011
11:31 am
What he did was stupid, reckless, and irresponsible even if he was sober.
Frank Wren
April 29th, 2011
11:33 am
I’m the GM of a team of morons.
Absolute morons who fail to get better with age.
Bad enough stupid twenty somethings.
That I can understand.
Been there, done that.
But the older guys on this team are idiots too.
Chief Hittabatta
April 29th, 2011
11:34 am
The Braves are a team full of THUGS!!
Frank Wren
April 29th, 2011
11:35 am
I forgot to say $#@(!!#&*.
Dennis Reynolds
April 29th, 2011
11:36 am
George Stein sucks. Way too expensive. Of course thats not a problem for Lowe.
We put these athletes on pedestals and forget they’re just people good at baseball. The media and the league makes these people into superstars. Like I said, Im not concerned with his personal life at all. He can do what he wants as long as he wins games and plays to his full potential.
chewyandrw
April 29th, 2011
11:37 am
What kills me about you people is “Why cant he get a cab or limo? He makes millions of $$$ a year.” But then its the same people who are critical about athletes blowing all their money and being broke bc of stupid decisions. If he had a limo after everytime he had a beer or two, he would be broke.
BTW, he got charged with DUI not convicted.
tomahawk chop
April 29th, 2011
11:38 am
This weeks events seem so out of character for the braves. Roger should know better, He’s in a no win situation, he gets harrassed and he’s the bad guy. It’s a shame about the deal, but as long as he has been in the game he had to know what he was getting into. Lowe has made a bad desicion, he’ll have to live with it.
Dennis Reynolds
April 29th, 2011
11:39 am
THUGS?
Wow. Go watch an NFL game if you want to see a team full of thugs. Any team. Pick an NFL team out of a hat and you will see a team of thugs. Baseball players are some of the most respectable, intelligent athletes in pro sports.
NBA and NFL players usually come from the streets and don’t change when they get money. In most cases they get worse.
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:39 am
@Dennis Reynolds
But is Frank cussing today?
No wait.
Frank just answered that one.
ATLER ( ramblin wreck )
April 29th, 2011
11:42 am
Oh shut up people!!!!!! Some people think that everything is hunky dorey and Disneylandish in Ga. Hello and welcome to the real world. People make mistakes and should be forgiven. I wonder how many of you throw rocks, but live in a glass how. Like we tell them in the Marine Corps ” Suck it the F$#k up and move on!!!!!!!!” And I have spoken!!!!!!!!!!
Braves Country
April 29th, 2011
11:42 am
Hey, Welcome to Braves Country!
Braves 2011
April 29th, 2011
11:44 am
@Dennis Reynolds.
The thug argument is being made to make a point.
Whenever a college football player gets a DUI, our two local college bloggers start throwing the thug word at each other.
It really doesn’t pertain to this incident.
We cannot get the college kids to stop using it so those who have been frustrated by them in the past are using it today to get even.
Dennis Reynolds
April 29th, 2011
11:44 am
ATLER
Thank you for gracing us with your intellect.
ATLER ( ramblin wreck )
April 29th, 2011
11:45 am
Laverne
April 29th, 2011
10:59 am
The police in this city clearly have misplaced priorities when they are arresting clean-cut, educated Braves players instead of the felony-committing, jive-talking, chest-thumping, inarticulate, illegitimate-father Falcons players.
Totally uncalled for Laverne.
Brooks Conrad
April 29th, 2011
11:45 am
Give him a break.
Like I said yesterday regarding Roger, and like I’ve proven myself, everybody makes errors.
KornDawg
April 29th, 2011
11:46 am
Definitely a “Lowe” point in Derek’s career.