Lowell: "I Felt Like The Ball Was Still Lodged In My Head"

Mike Lowell, on getting nailed in the right side of his head by Curtis Granderson's bad hop grounder in the fifth inning last night:

I feel like I've got a knot inside my head. ... I've never seen a bounce like that in my life. ... I didn't see stars. I felt like the ball was still lodged in my head, but I never lost consciousness and I didn't get dizzy. ... I would have stayed in the game, but it was 10-1 at the time. My eye started twitching a little, and I didn't really want to hit like that. I had enough excitement for a day.

Next Saturday's game against the Yankees at Fenway will be "Thanks, Mike Night" -- with a pre-game ceremony noting Lowell's career and his five seasons in Boston.

Lowell debuted with the Yankees in 1998 and was traded to the Marlins the following spring. He came to Boston with Josh Beckett after the 2005 season and was named the MVP of the 2007 World Series. Lowell recalled that he made a good first impression in Boston. "I went 4-for-4 the first home game."

He's right. April 11, 2006, against Toronto: 4-for-4, with (no surprise) three doubles.