Sports Page

Farewell to The Greek God of Walks

After playing in Boston for 9 season the Red Sox have traded Kevin Youkilis to the Chicago White Sox. Youk was a part of two World Seres titles, a three time all-star, and a gold glove winner. Youkilis moved from 3rd to 1st and back to 3rd, with 2 games at 2nd, and 22 in the outfield. He moved where ever the team needed. 3348 at-bats, 959 hits, 594 runs. 133 home runs, 563 RBI, 494 walks, a batting average of .286, .388 OBP, SLG .487, and an OPS of .874. These are the numbers that Youkilis produced in Boston. The things that the numbers don’t show is a hard work ethic, a passion for the game, and a player willing to play or bat anywhere. Youk is no longer the player he once was. Years back I heard a scout I respect say that when Youk loses “it”, he will lose it fast. Maybe that’s happened. Who knows? Injuries and age may have caught up with him.

From the moment that Middlebrooks got called up I was writing about trading Youkilis. It was just his time to go. I remember the day that Nomar was traded. People were shocked and taken back. I on the other hand was trying to convince people that it was a great deal. No one bought it at the time. I’m not sure how people feel about this deal but I think it’s good.

I do believe that Youkilis will be an upgrade for the White Sox. His health will be an issue, but if he’s on the field, he will produce. He may not be the player that we’ve seen but he won’t be as bad as his number have looked this season. 

From the Red Sox angle, this is the first year in a while that I don’t hear about a pitcher knocking at the door in the minors. The organization has high hopes for Barnes but he’s not close to the bigs. Stewart has yet to put up good numbers in the majors but as recently as 2009 he was the top prospect in the Blue Jays system. He’s 25, so he might not be considered a prospect much longer. With Lillibridge, whatever. He’s fine. He will be a player who can play anywhere in the field but he won’t impress with the bat. At all. Maybe that will make trading an outfielder even more possible.

Maybe Stewart turns into something. That’d be great. If nothing else, it will add depth. This is a deal that needed to be made. I couldn’t imagine the Red Sox getting much more for Youkilis. It may not be what fans expected but it’s better than nothing. I anticipate other deals to be made wether the Sox are planning on competing or not. Look for Shoppach to be dealt with Lavarnway coming up and at least one maybe two outfielders.

Now that the Youkilis era is over in Boston it can only be seen as a success. He helped break a curse and I’m not talking about his language. If this team had 9 players with his intensity, although there’d be a lot of bickering to the umps, it would be a great team to watch and root for.

(Photo source)

Trading Kevin Youkilis

*We call that the flying Youkini*

I wrote last week about trading Kevin Youklis and now the media is following my lead. Obviously that’s why…

The Red Sox could get Youkils back on Monday and they wouldn’t have anywhere to play Middlebrooks. Would dealing Youk make the most sense?

The last few day Gordon Edes touched on some ideas and Jason A. Churchill (insider) throws out some others.

First he mentions the Tigers. I would love if they could turn Youk into Jacob Turner. I doubt that would happen, but what if that’s the difference between the Tigers making the World Series? I would even consider a package of players (they’d have to be pretty good) including Max Scherzer, who hasn’t been good in years. I wouldn’t feel terrible about a package including Delmon Young or Brandon Boesch (Maybe I would feel terrible after all). The idea for Detroit is that Youk can go to third and Fielder and Cabrera can play 1b and DH. Imagine that lineup. Someone who can actually get on base in front of those big bats.

Next mentioned is either LA team. First of all, let’s talk about the Dodgers. I’d trade him straight up for Ethier, no doubt, he’s an impending free agent, but I couldn’t see the Dodgers trading him. But Pedroia and him are BFFs, so he’d love it. I could see the Sox asking for their former prospect, Tim Federowicz, (who they traded to the Dodgers last year) included with other players. Overall, they don’t have a lot to offer in terms of what the Sox would want. I’d love to see them get Jansen but that won’t happen.

Now the Angels, they have so many unathletic corner infielders, I’m not sure why they’d want another. Maybe they could get Peter Bourjos and a prospect. When they’re healthy, they don’t need another speedy outfielder, but right now they do. The Angels outfield is pretty full. I’d say that they could trade shitty Vernon Wells, but they’d have to pick up his contract. They have a bunch of infield prospects (Segura, Lindsey, Cowart), but the Red Sox infield is set for the future, unless injuries happen. I don’t see this team being a good match either unless they sent Boston an outfielder.

Next they list the Cubs. I’m not sure why the Cubs would want to add age to their team, Theo probably loves Youk. The article mentions a package around Garza, hell, I’d do for Garza straight up. I could talk about Cubs prospects but there is no way that Youk is getting traded to the Cubs. The White Sox would be more likely but they can’t take the Rios contract in a deal. Can they get Addison Reed or Nestor Molina or Trayce Thompson, than maybe we can talk, but I doubt you can get them.

Lastly they talk about the Phillies. If they can get a package around Domonic Brown, then let’s get it done. Brown and May? Done! The Phillies have a lot of pitching prospects that can get the deal done. That would make a pretty good lineup, and if Howard and Utley come back decently, that’d be one of the top lineups in the NL, and with that pitching staff, who knows how far they could go?

What about the Pirates? He could be their first baseman and the Pirates could send one of their many OFs to Boston. The pirates could move Hanrahan and a prospect (or Presley and a better prospect) to Boston for Youk, who could play first and Jones could move to left. The Pirates have some great prospects and could get the deal done if they really wanted to but would that make a difference?

As I’m writing this the Twins have sent down Danny Valencia. I couldn’t even fathom why they’d trade for Youkilis, but let’s just figure out a way to get Denard Span anyway.

With al of that said, a lot of teams could use Youkilis, but how many deals it make sense for both sides? A lot of the teams that were mentioned about don’t make complete sense to me, or aren’t compatible trade partners. The one that makes the most sense is the Phillies. Let’s trade Youkilis for Dominic Brown and middle tier pitching prospect. Get it done. The Red Sox are desperate for an outfielder, and Brown could possibly be the right fielder for the next ten years.

Mat Gamel is likely out for the year with a torn ACL.

Allow me for a second to play GM here. If I were the GM of the Red Sox, with Will Middlebrooks getting called up and expected to start until Kevin Youkilis comes back from the DL, I’d instantly be calling the Brewers. Maybe they would take Youkilis and a good prospect for Grienke, who’s an impending free agent or straight up for Shaun Marcum. This would help sure up the Red Sox staff, and allow Bard to return to the bullpen. It would also give some more pop to the Brewers’ lineup. Maybe the Brewers can bring up their top prospect Wily Peralta to fill the rotation. More than anyone, this deal would help Youkilis. Kevin is a gold-glove caliber 1st baseman and since his move to third has been injury riddled. Maybe being away from the rigors of 3rd will help keep him in the lineup. Of course, this all depends on the severity of Youks injury, but I don’t think it’s too bad. I’m not sure that fans of either team would want this deal though but to me it makes baseball sense.