Good luck, Youk

So, I arrived home last night from an amazing two-week honeymoon to Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia to find that Kevin Youklis was traded to the Chicago White Sox yesterday in exchange for right-handed pitcher Zach Stewart and utility infielder Brent Lillibridge. The trade analysis is almost painfully simple. The Red Sox have had a better designated hitter and a better first baseman for a couple years now, and with the emergence of Will Middlebrooks, have a better third baseman. Youkilis - one of the best hitters alive from 2008-2010, with a .308/.404/.560 line - no longer had a place in the Red Sox lineup.

It's been a bit of a crazy few months for us Red Sox fans. First, Tim Wakefield officially retired. Then, a few days later, Jason Varitek followed suit. Now Youkilis has been traded, leaving David Ortiz as the only player with a 2004 World Series ring left with the team.

Red Sox fans have been following Youkilis since even before his famous inclusion in Moneyball. The 2001 tenth rounder out of the University of Cincinnati had been tearing up the minor leagues, rising fairly quickly through the Red Sox system until he reached Pawtucket, where he continued to mash but waiting a long time for his chance. Injuries got him some playing time in 2004, and the poor play of Kevin Millar led to calls from several circles to give him playing time the following year. Finally, in 2006 he beat out J.T. Snow for the starting first baseman job. (Admit it. You forgot J.T. Snow was on the Red Sox).

He played fairly well that year, came into his own in '07, and turned into a star in '08. In all, he spent six excellent years as a starter, working deep counts and ripping doubles inside the left field foul line. His grimacing (I believe it was Joe Magrane who said the look he makes after a called strike resembled a "bitter beer face") and bat throwing and shouting made him into something of a lightning rod, being a player that people either loved or loathed, but even his detractors appreciated his production.

Losing his job to Will Middlebrooks this year seemed almost poetic, as this season has marked something of a generational shift in the Red Sox. Varitek, Wakefield, Youkilis, Papelbon, Drew, Epstein and Francona are now all gone. A year ago, the departure of any one of them wouldn't have been surprising, but the loss of all of them in such a short time seems almost seismic. The current Red Sox would be unrecognizable to someone who saw them only one year ago. I can visualize my mother, listning to the game on the radio and asking me "who are these guys?"

Even though the move is sensible, it's impossible not to be sentimental. Youkilis was immediately recognizable, fiery, and really, really good. I miss that bitter beer face already.

The Second Half Begins - A Few Random Thoughts

-Oakland pitcher and Dunne Deal favorite Brett Anderson has apparently undergone Tommy John surgery, ending his season. Anderson has one of the highest percentages of sliders thrown in baseball, so the Francisco Liriano comparisons are inevitable. Provided he can make a full recovery, it will be interesting to see if he lowers his sliders to closer to 20-25% of the time, and, if so, if he can continue to be successful.

-I was posed this question on another site - with money not a concern, who would you prefer: Mark Teixeira or Kevin Youkilis?

	Tm	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+	PA/HR	PA/BB	PA/K
Youkilis	BOS	1381	.301	.409	.544	149	23.4	7.5	5.3
Teixeira	NYY	1802	.268	.370	.522	133	18.6	8.1	6.2

Youkilis has been a much better hitter since the start of 2009 (when Teixeira joined the Yankees), but Teixeira has been the much more durable player. It's not just the last two months of last season, Youkilis always seems to have some sort of injury bothering him. Even so, Youkilis has a much better WAR (14.9 to 11.7), which is a cumulative stat, and can play 3B acceptably.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

-Albert Pujols, since May 30th (106 PA): .333/.425/.744. Right now he is 10th in the NL with a .500 slugging percentage, only 9 points out of the top 10. Anyone want to bet that he won't be in the top 10 a week from now?

-Too much ink is being spilled on how to improve the Home Run Derby. It's a Home Run Derby! The only idea I've liked is a bracketing system, but that certainly won't make the thing any shorter.

-The Matt Moore hype train is picking up. Keith Law has him at #2 on his mid-season prospect list. (Insider access only) It's depth like this that allowed the Rays to trade Matt Garza. Mike Trout (who was his preseason #1) is not included on the list by virtue of his promotion to the majors last week.

-Manny Delcarmen was released yesterday. After an excellent 2007 season, his performance has declined every year. His next stop may be the independents.

-Quick second half predictions. I think the Red Sox win the East, provided two of the Lester/Buchholz/Beckett trio are healthy. The Rangers take the west, based on their depth. Detroit holds off the Indians. The Yankees take the wild card, as they try to rest their stars enough in the second half to make sure they are 100% for October. In the NL, the Phillies make a run at 100 wins and win the East. The Rockies make a run, but the Giants hold them off to repeat in the West. The Brewers are in first place with awful performances from the left side of the infield. They'll adjust there and win based on talent. Like the AL, the Eastern division produces the wild card, in this case, the Braves.