jed lowrie was a red sox 1st round draft pick in 2005 ... his rookie year in boston was 2008 ... jed started that season as backup to julio lugo (ss) & mike lowell (3b) ... and ended it as the starting shortstop ... lowrie missed much of 2009 (wrist surgery) & 2010 (mono) ... he finished 2010 impressively replacing a wounded pedroia at second base ... now, as the 2011 season quickly approaches ... it appears jed lowrie has a job but doesn't have a job

jed sees himself as a major league starting shortstop ... i believe the personnel people at fenway see lowrie as an above average hitter & fielder who can play everyday if he can stay healthy ... i also believe theo views jed as a talented bridge to the future who he needs to showcase before the arrival of jose iglesias

there are a bunch of teams jed lowrie could start for ... not in boston ... at the moment, marco scuturo holds that position ... and marco will continue at shortstop until he loses the immense respect & confidence his manager has in him ... or theo trades him ... leaving lowrie to back up scuturo and 3 guys who rarely miss games ... adrian gonzalez (1b), dustin pedroia (2b) and kevin youkilis (3b)

like i said ... jed lowrie has a job (he'll get paid) but doesn't have a job (he won't get much opportunity to play) ... and while jed sits idle in the sox dugout this summer ... everytime he looks over his shoulder he will see jose iglesias looming ... tough position for a good kid approaching prime career years