Red Sox Rumors: Penny, Lowrie, Smoltz

Here's the latest on Jed Lowrie and Brad Penny, and what it means for the Red Sox: Lowrie told Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe that he sees "light at the end of the tunnel." He's expected back at the end of June or the beginning of July. Ben Collins of the Boston Globe says the Penny-John Smoltz conversation won't be "either/or" anymore after Penny's impressive pitching last night. Maybe there's room for both to help the club out. But, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports, Penny wouldn't want to pitch out of the bullpen. In the same article, we hear that Penny has "no idea" what will happen when Smoltz returns. He has a supporter in Josh Beckett, who made it clear he doesn't want to see his rotation-mate dealt.   Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal says Terry Francona and the Red Sox have had "a lot of discussions" about their pitching surplus.