"There are reasons that Detroit and possibly another team or two has at least some interest in trading for Derek Lowe for the stretch run.

For one thing, the 38-year-old pitcher has been through many pennant races and postseasons, and proven himself under the most pressure-filled situations, as fans of the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox can attest.

He has a 3.21 ERA in 21 postseason games (12 starts), and he has a 27-16 record and career-best 3.15 ERA in September, including an unbeaten last month in 2010 that was instrumental in the Braves getting back to the playoffs. (He was terrific in September, when other Braves pitchers were hurt or slumping.)

Lowe, who has an 86-88 career record and 4.02 ERA before the All-Star break, is 76-48 with a 3.66 ERA after the All-Star break, entering his start tonight before what I expect to be at least a couple of scouts at Coors Field specifically there to watch him (or eat the mountain oysters they sell at a concession stand — seriously).

Think about that. No, not the mountain oysters. The fact that Lowe is two games under .500 for his career before the break, but 28 games over .500 after the break.

But there are reasons why the Braves would be willing to trade Lowe in the middle of a playoff race, why they have made it known that he's now available for the right price.

One of the biggest reasons is price – the $15 million he's owed in 2012 in the final season of a four-year, $60 million contract, plus more than $5 million he's owed for the remainder of this season. OK, that's probably the only reason to trade him.

There are a lot of things the Braves could do with $20 million this year and next, or, rather, whatever large portion of that deal that the team trading for him would agree to pay (Braves won't move him unless a team pays a lot of it).

Then there is the cold, hard fact that Lowe has been the No. 4 or No. 5 starter in the current Braves rotation, in terms of performance."