PawSox 5, White Sox 4

Brock Holt leading off and playing shortstop. Christian Vazquez catching. Rubby De La Rosa on the mound. If parking had been free, fans at Fenway Park might have thought they were at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. The home team also won, another thing that's happened more in Pawtucket this season than Boston.

To be fair, the Major League regulars made most of the winning plays in Wednesday night's game. At best, Rubby De La Rosa was okay in his 5 innings, giving up 2 homeruns and 3 runs in total. Vazquez was 0 for 3, Jackie Bradley Jr. was 0 for 4, Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3. Mookie Betts had a great game, though. We'll get to him in a bit.

Brock Holt had been 0 for 4 until the 9th inning. His single to knock in Daniel Nava capped off a rally that was executed mostly by the established Major Leaguers in the middle of the lineup. Down 4-0 the Red Sox scored 3 runs in the 8th. Mookie Betts, one of the few Pawtucket faces who did well in the game, led off the inning with a double. He scored on a Pedroia single. Pedroia scored on an Ortiz double. Jonny Gomes hit another double to knock in Ortiz.

The back end of the bullpen maintained the close deficit. Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 8th. Recently named All-Star Koji Uehara struck out the side in the 9th.

In the bottom of the inning Mookie Betts got on base again (HBP). Daniel Nava drove him in with a double. And Brock Holt's line drive single to right ended the game.

The season is over in terms of competing for playoff spots. However there are 71 games left and it's important to end the season with some positives that can be carried over to 2015. Wins like this, where the offense and the bullpen step up after the starting pitcher isn't great, are important lessons for younger players. And for some older ones too.

Red Sox and White Sox finish their series Thursday afternoon at 4. Jon Lester faces 5-7 Jose Quintana.

Photo Credit: Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Red Sox held to 2 hits by Chicago... again

Who is Scott Carroll? Before Monday night he was just another journeyman pitcher. A 29-year old righthander who finally made it to The Show in 2014, struggling with a 2-5 record and an ERA over 5.

But last night he became Cy freaking Young, thanks to an inept Red Sox offense that only managed 2 hits. In his previous start Carroll allowed 10 hits and 7 runs. This was his first quality start since May 3rd. His career high in strikeouts coming into this game was 4. He struck out 5 Red Sox Monday night.

The Red Sox 1 through 6 hitters went an astonishingly pathetic 0 for 21. AJ Pierzynski and Jackie Bradley each hit singles. Bradley also walked, as did David Ortiz and Mike Napoli. That's it. In a 3 hour game (not including the rain delay), the Red Sox played around 7 minutes of baseball with anyone on base.

They didn't get a runner to 2nd until the 6th. And then again in the 8th. Neither reached 3rd.

I'd feel sympathy for Clay Buchholz except he made bad pitches and gave up some bombs. Adam Dunn's solo homerun in the 2nd would have been enough to give the White Sox a win, but Dayan Viciedo made sure with a 3-run shot in the 4th.

Buchholz looked much sharper after that, but I don't care. We all know he has the stuff to do that. His issue is consistency. And giving up homeruns and doubles for a few innings, then shutting an opponent down for the next few innings is essentially the story of his inconsistent career.

Here's a blame pie for this loss:

Clay Buchholz: 30% - 4 ER, 2 HR
Brock Holt: 15% - 0 for 4, 2 RISP LOB
Dustin Pedroia: 15% - 0 for 4
Daniel Nava: 10% - 0 for 4
Stephen Drew: 10% - 0 for 3
Xander Bogaerts: 10% - 0 for 3
David Ortiz: 5% - 0 for 3, BB
Mike Napoli: 5% - 0 for 3, BB

The Red Sox are 1-6 on this homestand, and are now 10 games out of both the division and the wild card.

John Danks (7-6) faces Brandon Workman (1-2) Tuesday night.

Photo Credit: Charles Krupa/AP Photo

Red Sox Offense Painful to Watch, Especially for 14 Innings

The Red Sox beat the White Sox 6-4 early Thursday morning. Jackie Bradley Jr.'s 2-run double in the 14th was the game winner. The Red Sox only got 1 hit in the 8th and 9th innings, yet somehow managed to score a run in each inning.

In fact the Red Sox were held completely hitless from the 2nd until 1 out in the 9th. The Red Sox only totaled 6 hits overall, and only of those 5 came against actual pitchers. JBJ's 14th inning game winning double was off utility infielder Leury Garcia. Garcia had never pitched in the Majors or minors.

It's alarming that an infielder was on the mound and the Sox went 1 for 3 with a double and 2 walks. Sizemore and Pedroia each grounded out. Pierzynski flew out. Against a second baseman.

I'm not worried that the Red Sox offense will be this woefully powerless all season long. Pedroia and Ortiz haven't been doing what we know they'll do. And there are some decent bats sidelined with injury. It will get better.

For the time being, however, this offense blows, and blows quite comprehensively. No hits whatsoever in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th innings. Two of the 6 total hits were infield singles, 1 was off a second baseman, and it was the only hit they got off him. The Red Sox are 23rd in runs scored and 24th in team batting average.

It will improve. It can't not improve. What I'm beginning to wonder is if it will improve enough. The Red Sox scored the most runs in baseball last year (853). Then they lost Jacoby Ellsbuy and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who were 3rd and 5th, respectively, on the team in OWAR.

With Ellsbury they lost 172 hits, 246 bases, 48 extra-base hits, 52 steals, 92 runs. With Saltalamacchia they lost 116 hits, 198 bases, 54 extra-base hits, 14 homers, 65 RBI, 68 runs. If you include steals, the Sox lost exactly 500 bases when they parted ways with these two players.

They have been replaced by decent players. Grady Sizemore has so far done all you could hope to expect of him. JBJ has looked good although he has less power than Ellsbury had, which wasn't much to begin with. And A.J. Pierzynski's OBP is just south of .300. It's silly to think that you could lose two of your top 6 offensive producers (one who leads off and the other who anchors the middle/bottom of the order), replace them with guys who you don't even expect to be as good, and then believe your offense won't get worse.

Oh, and don't forget that Daniel Nava, who had a career year last year, is hitting .137. And I'm sure that will improve. But will it improve to the .303 average he had last year, with an impressive .385 OBP? This is a guy who at 31 has only 1 Major League season with over 300 at-bats. What's more likely in 2014, that Nava finishes 15th in baseball in OBP again, or that his performance drops? There's optimism, then there's hope and prayer.

Maybe I'm sleep deprived, and that's why I'm writing such a downer of a post. The Red Sox still have a very good offense. It's just not as good as last year's, nor is it the best in baseball.

This means that the pitching staff must step up. It means that the bullpen has to work hard to squeeze out close games like Wednesday night's/Thursday morning's 6-4 win. In that game, the bullpen combined for 8 innings, allowed 4 hits, only 1 earned run, only 1 walk, and struck out 9. That's a strong effort by 5 good relievers, although Edward Mujica almost ruined it.

The offense will get better. Ortiz and Pedroia will definitely hit. Nava will probably hit, Victorino and Middlebrooks will return. Runs will score. Just not as often as last year.

Photo Credit:
Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Red Sox Trade for Jake Peavy

The Red Sox have acquired Jake Peavy in a three team trade. The Sox sent Jose Iglesias to Detroit, and a trio of spellcheck challenging minor leaguers (infielder Cleulius Rondon and pitchers Francelis Montas and Jeffery Wendelken) to the White Sox. The Red Sox also acquired reliever Brayan Villareal.

Peavy is one of those guys who look like great players around the trade deadline. In actuality he's just good. He's 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA. He's never really succeeded in the American League. Apart from last year's 3.37 ERA. I'd completely forgotten that he won the NL Cy Young in 2007. He was once a great pitcher.

He, however, is still a good pitcher, and the Red Sox needed a good pitcher. Clay Buchholz's status remains a mystery. Brandon Workman has pitched well but it's risky to rely on a 24-year old to keep your rotation stable. Peavy fits snugly in the middle of that rotation, behind Lester and Lackey, ahead of Dempster and Doubront.

Losing Jose Iglesias hurts. He was hitting .330, and was getting on base (.376 OBP). He provided depth and options on the left side of the infield. Then again, he was hitting .205 in July, with only 1 extra-base hit all month. Even when he had been hitting well, he hadn't been hitting for power.

You have to make this move. Pitching is so much more valuable than an infielder.

One reason the Red Sox could fail during this playoff push is lack of pitching. They're not going to fail because they lack a light-hitting left-infielder. Peavy solidified their rotation. Getting 11 starts from a pitcher like Jake Peavy is worth Jose Iglesias. Peavy is also under contract for next season.

Peavy doesn't push them over the top, but he fills holes that might have sunk the ship.

Should the Red Sox Sign Youkilis?

The Chicago White Sox didn't pick up the option on Kevin Youkilis, and I think this might be an opportunity for the Red Sox to pick up a talented and versatile corner infielder. If there weren't significant drama in the past.

On paper, signing Youkilis makes sense. The Red Sox, after trading Adrian Gonzalez, are in need of a first-baseman. And Youk is a Gold Glove first-baseman.

But there's some off-paper obstacles to Youkilis returning to Boston. While Bobby "physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past" Valentine is out of the organization, the GM who sent Youkilis to Chicago for Brent Lillibridge and Zach Stewart is still the GM. The owners who approved the deal still own the team. This organization shipped Youkilis to Chicago and not much has changed in said organization's structure.

The Red Sox could use Youkilis as a first-baseman, and a solid #6 hitter, but there might be too much water under the proverbial between Youkilis and the Red Sox for this to actually happen.

It's too bad. Because first-base is a glaring hole in the Red Sox roster going into 2013. A decent one is available on the open market, but he might be unattainable for the Red Sox.

Kevin Youkilis was one of the few likable players on this team, almost like a Kevin Garnett. I miss him.

Ross Knocks Sox Off with Walk Off

Cody Ross continues to belt out 3 run homeruns. And Clay Buchholz is once again pitching as well as he did before his esophagitis. This allowed the Red Sox to beat the White Sox 3-1. The Red Sox won 3 out of 4 in their series against the AL Central leaders.

Ross now has 50 RBI on the season. He's 3rd on the team in RBI (despite having much fewer at-bats than David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez, who are ahead of him). He's 3rd on the team in homeruns behind Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

I'm going to entertain a moment of optimism here, so bear with me. The Red Sox could have an outfield with a power-hitting Cody Ross, a five-tool player like Ellsbury, and a speedy line-drive hitter like Carl Crawford. If all three of these guys are performing at their best, that's a very productive trio.

One tough but enjoyable question to ask is: where do you bat all these guys in the lineup?

Clay Buchholz's ERA might still be a too high 5.19, but since May 27th (his last 7 starts) it's 2.63. He has a track record of starting seasons slow and eventually settling down, and 2012 doesn't appear to be different. He went 8 innings last night, scattering 6 hits, allowing just 1 run, and striking out 6.

Buchholz is the key man in the rotation. Lester, perhaps in a quest to be seen as an Ace, seems to be having some psychological difficulties. Beckett will inevitably be inconsistent and unreliable. Doubront and Cook have been solid, but they're not front-of-the-rotation types of pitchers.

Buchholz can go on a run of seriously good starts. He can spearhead the rotation. He isn't an Ace but he's capable of pitching like one for extended periods.

At the same time, if he gets hurt (as he tends to do) or has a bad stretch (as he can sometimes have), then he can sink the rotation. He's either an engine to drive the pitching staff forward, or an anchor to drag them down.

The Red Sox host the floundering Toronto Blue Jays this weekend. Tonight Josh Beckett faces Aaron Laffey. The converted reliever has been Doubrontlike in most of his starts. He faced the Red Sox in late June and pitched 6 scoreless innings.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Ross and Gonzalez Power Red Sox

Cody Ross and Adrian Gonzalez knocked in all 10 Red Sox runs last night. Prince Felix Doubront made another very solid start and the Red Sox cruised to a 10-1 victory.

Ross hit a pair of 3 run homers, one in the 3rd, the next in the 4th. He now has 15 on the season, along with 47 RBI. Ross has the second best slugging percentage (.557) on the team, behind David Ortiz. So with Ortiz on the DL, the Sox need him to continue to hit for power.

Adrian Gonzalez also needs to help fill the void left by Ortiz. And he's starting to do that. He was 3 for 4 last night with a solo homerun and a pair of RBI singles. He knocked in 4 runs.

In his last 20 games, Gonzalez is hitting .427, slugging .598, has hit 3 homeruns and knocked in 19 runs.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford did their job and got on base. Ellsbury was 3 for 4 with a double. Crawford was 1 for 3. Ellsbury scored 3 times, Crawford twice.

The offensive output from the top of the order slightly overshadowed yet another good outing by Felix Doubront. He already has 10 Quality Starts this season. Most of them are the 6 inning, 3 earned run variety, but that's good enough. He's only failed to go 5 innings in 3 starts. He's gone 6+ innings 12 times.

This was a great combination win. The big name talent like Gonzalez, Ellsbury, and Crawford did their job. The second-tier guys like Ross and Doubront continued to go above and beyond.

The Sox have a good chance to win this series tonight. Clay Buchholz faces 4-1 Jose Quintana. Quintana is a leftahander who's had consistency problems. For instance, he had an 8 inning 1 run start against the Rangers. Then followed that by getting knocked around by the Royals for 5 runs in 5 innings.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Kevin, You Kill Us

I know that the words "ego" and "Bobby Valentine" have likely never been used in the same sentence before. Valentine is, after all, one of the least macho, least egotistical, least arrogant managers in the game. So I'm sure his decision for Lester to pitch to Kevin Youkilis with first base open in the 4th was based entirely on logic, and not on a desire to prove himself superior to the player he called out in April.

Whatever the baseball logic or Freudian psychoanalytical reasons behind allowing Lester to pitch to Youkilis, the simple fact is Lester pitched, Youkilis swung, hit the ball, and it went a long way. Youkilis executed, Lester didn't.

And Jon Lester hasn't executed much at all this season. He fully deserves his 5-7 record. He's failed to go 5 innings 4 times this year. He only failed to do so 3 times last year.

Strangely enough, all 3 of those sub-5 inning outings came in the second half of last season. He had 19 Quality Starts in 2011. But 12 of them were in April, May, and June. Only 7 for the rest of the year. Since July of 2011, Lester is 10-12. And since September of 2011, he's 6-10 with a 4.93 ERA. He's been failing to meet expectations for a full calendar year now.

Monday night Aaron Cook gave the Red Sox a great start. And Adrian Gonzalez finally came through in the clutch. And I had a glimmer of hope that if the second-tier guys like Cook continue to perform, and the big-name talent like Gonzalez can contribute, the Sox have a good chance. Well Lester is one of those big-name talents. He isn't contributing much, though.

The Red Sox are 7-12 when Lester starts. If they were just 10-9 in those games, they'd be leading the Wild Card race.

Why can't we have more Aaron Cooks and fewer Jon Lesters?

The Sox had a chance to secure at least a 2-2 split in this series. Instead, it was just another wasted opportunity for the Red Sox.

Felix Doubront takes the mound tonight. He faces Pedro Hernandez, who is making his Major League debut. Hernandez is a lefty and the Red Sox have no experience facing him. That usually doesn't bode well.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Win Thanks to Home Cooking

There are two types of players on the Red Sox: those who have exceeded expectations and kept the team afloat, and those who have disappointed and been a drag. Last night the Red Sox won because a starting pitcher exceeded expectations, and also because one of those previously disappointing draggers stepped up and contributed.

Aaron Cook went 7 innings, allowing only 1 run that was due entirely to defensive miscues. While the infield was shifted, Will Middlebrooks made a mistake in covering the wrong base. Adrian Gonzalez compounded the mistake by throwing to the uncovered 3rd base. Either that or Middlebrooks went to the Chad Ochocinco school of route running and wasn't on the same page as Gonzalez.

Fittingly, that run-scoring play was on a groundball out. Because Cook induced 15 of those, and only allowed 6 fly-outs. So even though he didn't strike anyone out, he kept the ball low, and the White Sox couldn't lift it off the ground.

Cook, then Vicente Padilla, kept the White Sox from scoring long enough for Adrian Gonzalez to get his clutchest hit of the season. He blasted a deep homerun to left-center and blew the game open in the 8th.

It was Gonzalez's first homerun since June 24th, the day Youkilis was traded.

This was the type of win I like to see from the Sox. They've gotten some good outings from Aaron Cook, and finally highly paid stars like Gonzalez are taking advantage of the opportunities given to them by the hungry role players.

David Ortiz extended his hit streak to 11 games, and his walk streak to 10 games. Then he injured himself rounding 2nd base on Gonzalez's homerun. I think he's listed as day-to-day with a Classic Baseball Injury (CBI).

Pedro Ciriaco was 3 for 4 with a double and is currently hitting .464.

Carl Crawford returned to the lineup and was 1 for 3 with a single. He scored twice and drew a walk. He only walked 23 times last season.

The Red Sox made Dylan Axelrod look like a Cy Young candidate, but that tends to happen when they face someone they have little experience facing. And that also makes this win even more satisfying because it was a game that easily could have gone the other way.

The Red Sox need Jon Lester to start pitching like Aaron Cook. Lester is on the mound tonight, facing Philip Humber. Humber is 3-4 with a 6.01 ERA and hasn't had a Quality Start since May. Adrian Gonzalez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia have done well against him in the past.

This is a great chance to secure at least a split in this series.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Bobby Valentine vs. Kevin Youkilis

Kevin Youkilis is returning to Fenway Park tonight. And even though most Red Sox fans agree that he probably had to be traded, there is still a strong undercurrent of support and appreciation for the man who brought a Paul O'Neill attitude to the corner infield, who won a Gold Glove at first base then was willing to move to third, who was an associate member of the 2004 World Series winning Red Sox and a very full member of the 2007 World Series winning Red Sox.

Everyone seems happy to welcome Kevin Youkilis back, especially the promotions people in the Red Sox ticket office. Everyone except Bobby Valentine.

It doesn't seem like Valentine and Youkilis saw eye-to-eye. It's not difficult to figure out why. Valentine sees himself as an Alpha. Youkilis is always grumbling and gritting his teeth. He's a dissenter. It was natural for these two to tango.

Even now, when April is a distant memory, Bobby Valentine is still harping on how his ex-player reacted to stuff that he told the media months ago.

Before I discuss this further, let's remember that Youkilis is gone. He's a member of another team in another city in another division. He is no longer the charge or responsibility of the Red Sox or of Bobby Valentine. He's out of here, absent, long gone. He's an opponent now, and his time as a member of the Red Sox is very much in the past. It is long since time to move on.

So why is Bobby V talking about him in the present tense? Everyone, including Youkilis, seems to have moved on. So why can't Bobby V say "he was a good player but the circumstances dictated that we do something because we had too many players for too few spots in the lineup." Why can't Bobby V implement worn-out, yet honest lines such as that?

Instead, Valentine placed all responsibility for any player-manager relationship strains on Youkilis: "I think the comment I made early, he made a big issue out of, and I don't think he ever wanted to get over it... I have no idea. It was whatever he wanted it to be."

So Valentine is saying that the ex-player who has been traded and played well for his new team couldn't get over something? Seems to me like Valentine can't get over Youkilis.

In retrospect, it doesn't seem like Valentine was ever a big fan of Youkilis. Valentine has been diplomatic and defensive when discussing all the other injured players on the Red Sox. With Youkilis, Valentine publicly questioned his work-ethic and his commitment to the team.

There are plenty of players on the Red Sox whose commitment and work-ethic are worthy of scrutiny, Why did Valentine pick Youkilis'?

Maybe it was because Youkilis was alleged to be the so-called "snitch" that leaked information to the media about Josh Beckett and friends getting liquored and chickened up in the clubhouse.

Did Valentine target Youkilis? Did he think he could rally the disjointed Red Sox clubhouse and unite them against a common enemy?

If not, why is Valentine still talking about it? Since being traded, Youkilis has fed the media the standard lines. He appreciated his time in Boston but he's focused on the White Sox now. Any and all Youkilis-driven clubhouse drama ended when Youkilis left the clubhouse. Why is Valentine still trying to isolate Kevin Youkilis and attack him?

Why is Kevin Youkilis a major issue for Valentine? I thought the point of trading Youkilis was to prevent him from becoming an issue.

But I guess Valentine wants to try to unite his team around a common cause. Valentine feels the need to be responsible for everything. That's why he blames Youkilis for creating a strenuous clubhouse atmosphere. And now Valentine wants to be the one who gets credit for getting Youkilis out of here and allowing that atmosphere to calm. Valentine's remarks simply provoked the beast into acting like a beast. And Valentine helped remove the beast. Bobby V wants credit for the tranquility he's helped create in the Red Sox clubhouse.

Well be careful what you wish for, Bobby, you just might get it. You seem hell-bent on being responsible for what happens with this team, and in the end, you likely will be. Don't worry. I'm sure Francona will get a job managing a baseball team and ESPN will be looking for a loud-mouthed, opinionated, frequently incorrect jerk to help boost ratings. Bobby V is the Skip Bayless of baseball managers.

Sox Starting Second Half Tonight

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the Sox playing a 16 game stretch against below average opponents, and how it was a great opportunity for them to pad the win column. They went 9-7, which is good enough to win the AFC West, but it fell below my expectations.

The Sox failed to take advantage of weaker opposition. And now they're playing the good teams. They've already lost 3 of 4 to the Yankees.

They're playing the Rays this weekend. Tampa Bay is 2 games ahead of the Sox in the AL East (and Wild Card race). The Sox are 5-4 against the Rays this season.

Then Kevin Youkilis and the surging White Sox come to town for 4 games. They've won 9 of their last 12 and are in 1st place in the Central. They're good on the road, too, with a 23-16 record away from home. The Red Sox beat the White Sox 3 times in a 4 game series in Chicago. But that was back in April. These White Sox are different.

Toronto comes to town for three games. The Blue Jays and Red Sox have the same record. The Sox are 5-4 against the Jays and have won 4 of their last 6 meetings.

Then it's three games in Arlington, Texas. In July. Against the AL West leading Rangers. Cue the weather excuse. The 52-34 Rangers have the 2nd best record in baseball, best run differential in the Majors, and the best home record in the AL.

The Sox then play a weekend series in New York. The Yankees have taken 5 of 6 from the Red Sox this season.

Then it's 3 games against the Wild Card contending Detroit Tigers. The Sox were swept by Detroit in April. Then won 3 of 4 against them in May. The Tigers were hot entering the All-Star Break, but by the time this series is played (end of July), that will likely change.

So the next 19 games for the Sox play will be against opponents who are .500 or better. 10 games will be against division leaders.

The weighted average record of these opponents is 47-38, or .552.

The Sox squandered an opportunity against below .500 teams to accumulate wins. So now they must win against teams that are above .500. The Yankees and Rangers are both above .600.

It's possible for the Sox to survive this stretch, even do well. They've been good against Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Detroit. And if the lineup gets hot, they can go on a run against anyone.

But they must at least tread water. Because of their failure to beat the Athletics and Mariners, now they have to do well against the White Sox, Yankees, and Rangers. They've put themselves in a tough spot.

Maybe the Red Sox Shouldn't Have Traded Kevin Youkilis

Hindsight is 20/20. And Kevin Youkilis is 11 for 36. He's hitting .306 for the White Sox, including a game-winning RBI single yesterday. He's already knocked in 9 runs and hit a homerun in Chicago. He only had 14 RBI and 4 HRs with the Red Sox before he was traded.

Meanwhile, Will Middlebrooks hasn't played recently and is questionable to play this weekend. When he strained his hamstring a few days ago, Red Sox suck-up Nick Cafardo astutely noted "The Sox ideally could use a veteran corner infielder or someone with third base experience."

I know a team that is not only willing to give up such a player, they'd also be willing to pay most of his salary, and all you'd have to give them is a utility guy with a sub-Mendoza average, and a mediocre minor league reliever.

The same club that sold recycled shreds of infield tarp for $60 a pop sold Youkilis for next-to-nothing.

And we all agreed it was smart. Because Youkilis must have been becoming a problem in the clubhouse.

Was he? I don't know. The media, which has a history of being influenced by the whispers and rumors that leak out of Red Sox Front Office, seemed convinced that he was. And perhaps he was. He's always seemed to be, at best, a prickly personality. And at worst, an utter prick.

But if clubhouse chemistry was the motivation, aren't there similarly offensive jerks to get rid of? Why is Josh Beckett still on this team if chemistry is a worry? Not only is he a lazy weasel, you can actually get something for him in a trade. And don't bother arguing that Beckett's high salary makes him untradeable. The Red Sox were willing to continue to pay Youkilis.

Sure, the Red Sox "need" Beckett in order to win. And that is the absolute worst kind of negative clubhouse guy to have, the one who has all the power. That's the guy that must be gotten rid of.

I fell in line with everyone else. It seemed as though Kevin Youkilis had to go and had to go quickly. And it's easy now to look back question it, with him winning games, and Middlebrooks temporarily out of the lineup.

But why was it so rushed? The deadline is still weeks away. Why were the Sox negotiating with multiple teams but unable to get anything significant in return?

Clubhouse issues aside, are the Red Sox better or worse with Kevin Youkilis on the bench or Brent Lillibridge?

And would Youkilis have been a problem if the Red Sox had kept him informed about his status with the team? Just a quick meeting with the GM maybe telling him "You'll be hearing your name in trade rumors, we are talking with teams about trading you. We'll keep you posted." Instead, Youkilis was the last to know about what was happening to him. He had to learn about it from the Globe and Herald at the same time we did.

That'd make me an angry individual and potential clubhouse problem.

The Sox traded Youkilis but didn't dump his salary, didn't get much in return, and are now a little worse actually. They might have resolved a chemistry issue, but there's still plenty of acid in that mixture. And now Middlebrooks is hurt, Youkilis is doing well in black and white, and the Sox are realizing that they're very shallow at third base.

At the very least, Youkilis' success in Chicago seems like the Red Sox are paying the price for some bad karma.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Kevin Youkilis Traded to White Sox

It finally happened. After countless rumors, what had to be done was finally done. The Red Sox parted ways with Kevin Youkilis.

Youkilis' last day on the team was thoroughly pleasant, a sentimental end to an intriguing and unfortunate tale of miscommunication, internal strife within the Red Sox organization, and a very confused chain-of-command on Yawkey Way. Youkilis was given a start yesterday. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI triple. He received numerous ovations, both when he stepped to the plate and when he was replaced by pinch-runner Nick Punto.

After the game, it was announced that the Red Sox had traded him to the White Sox. The Red Sox will still be paying part of Youkilis' $12.25 million salary. In return, they received Zach Stewart, a 25 year old minor league pitcher. And Brent Lillibridge, a utility player with experience in the outfield and infield.

Yeah. That's it.

Zach Stewart was recently optioned by the White Sox to AAA Charlotte. He made 18 appearances for Chicago, 1 of them was a start. He's been a long-reliever type for them, and carries a 6.00 ERA. As a reliever, he has a 5.18 ERA. He made 11 starts last year between the White Sox and Blue Jays. He was 2-6 with a 5.88 ERA. He did manage a Complete Game Shutout.

He was drafted by the Reds, then traded to Toronto, then signed by Chicago, and now he's in Boston. He'll actually be sent to Pawtucket. At best, this guy could potentially be a decent mid-reliever.

Brent Lillibridge is versatile. He's played all infield and outfield positions. He has no bat. He's a career .215 hitter. He strikes out in 29.6% of his plate appearances. He doesn't walk.

He showed some potential in 2011, hitting 13 homeruns in 186 at-bats. And his average was a decent-for-a-utility-player .258. He's also had some occasional good numbers in AAA, but never with consistency.

He's fast. And he can play 7 positions. Considering the Red Sox' injury situation, he's not a bad guy to have on the roster just in case. But he doesn't do much to improve a healthy team.

I guess this was the best the Red Sox could do. Stewart at least has potential for growth into a reliever. And if more players go down, Lillibridge can play the field. It's not much for a guy who was once an MVP candidate and has a career OBP of .388.

The Sox were in a corner. Youkilis has been awful this year. Middlebrooks has been great. With Ortiz and Gonzalez, there was no place else for Youkilis. He's been repeatedly injured, and it will cost a team $1 million to buy-out his contract next year.

The alternatives to this motivated selling were to release him, get nothing, and still pay him. Or to keep him as a bench player. And after this trade, it doesn't look like that would have been a horrible thing. At least not in theory.

There were concerns about what a benched Youkilis might do for the chemistry of the team. He voiced displeasure at the Red Sox failing to communicate with him what their intentions were. At the same time, the media knew more about the Youkilis situation than Youkilis did. Fenway Park is a 100 year old structure but the most incessant leaks have been Youkilis rumors.

The Red Sox bungled this situation. Information and rumors were leaked to the media. The organization itself didn't seem to know what it was doing, yet was never afraid of making determined declarations. For instance in May you had Ben Cherington declaring Youkilis would keep his starting job, even though he was still injured and Middlebrooks was hitting .381 at the time.

And during all this, as rumors flowed, the Sox didn't communicate with Youkilis. And that might have made him more of a clubhouse concern than his lack of playing time. Weirdly, the trade rumors may have instigated the need to trade him. That and the Sox not knowing what they were going to do and then not keeping Youkilis in the loop about his future.

The Youkilis situation has finally been resolved, but the Chain of Command that runs the Red Sox is still a tangled mess of contradictions and confusion.

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Sox Annoyed by Floyd

The Red Sox went 6-1 in the Midwest, with Gavin Floyd spoiling a perfect 7-0 trip yesterday afternoon in Chicago. He took a no-hitter into the 7th inning. And even after that was broken up and the Red Sox chased him from the game, Chicago's bullpen was able to get the last 7 outs for him.

Beckett settled down after a 3 run 1st inning. In his remaining 5.2 innings, he only allowed 3 hits and struck out 7. The outing was certainly good enough to win on a normal day. But not when facing Gavin Floyd.

Beckett threw 126 pitches. And that's a day after Lester threw 122 pitches in his 1-0 win. That speaks to how unreliable the Sox' bullpen has been. But I don't think this will be a common trend throughout the season. Both Beckett and Lester will be making their next starts on 5 days rest. So why not take advantage of that?

The Red Sox should try to avoid Gavin Floyd in the future. He's now 7-0 in his career against Boston. I'm glad he pitches in the AL Central.

With all due respect to Floyd, the Red Sox' offense has been exceptionally inconsistent this season. The Red Sox have played in 21 games, and in 17 of those they've scored either 3 runs or less, or 9+ runs.

Youkilis missed the game with tightness in his back. He was just starting to get a few hits lately, but I'm concerned there might be a physical problem that's keeping him from hitting with consistency. Hopefully it's a problem that can be solved without an extensive absence from the lineup. However long it takes though, you don't want to have to deal with lingering back problems all season long. If something is wrong with Youkilis, he needs to get healthy now so he can contribute down the stretch.

Sox return home just 1 game under .500. They host the A's tonight. Buchholz opposes 3-1 Tommy Milone, who's coming off an 8 inning 3 hit win against the White Sox.

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Lester Elite Against White Sox

It was a tight pitching duel. And the Red Sox emerged superior. Jake Peavy threw a 4 hit complete game. But it wasn't enough against Jon Lester and the suddenly reliable Red Sox bullpen.

It was Lester's first Quality Start since April 11th. And his first win of the season. He's suffered from slow starts to seasons in the past, so perhaps this outing marks the end of that slow start and the beginning of his more predictable and higher quality pitching.

Lester's the Ace of this staff. By default. Beckett is too unreliable. So it's good to see Lester having a game like this, and finally getting that first win.

Hey, and the Sox are also at .500 again. 10-10. Maybe they'll return to Fenway above .500.

The Sox look to make it a perfect road trip this afternoon. Beckett faces Gavin Floyd. Floyd is 1-3, but he's pitched well. Could be tough.

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Red Sox Stay Perfect on the Road

The 9 runs that Philip Humber gave up last night were the most ever allowed by a pitcher in the start after pitching a perfect game. Credit the Elias Sports Bureau for unearthing that factoid.

How sweet would life be if the Sox could play in the AL Central? And why not also send the Tigers to the East in that trade. That'd be perfect.

Another double digit output of runs last night. Youkilis hit a Grand Slam and went 3 for 4. His numbers are steadily increasing as this road trip progresses. Aviles is hitting. Gonzalez, Ortiz, and Ross are knocking guys in. Everything is clicking on offense right now. Even when the manager fills out a lineup card incorrectly.

Which means all you need from Felix Doubront is 6 innings and 3 earned runs. And an old-fashioned 3 inning save from Tazawa.

This team is going to win and lose with its bats. And for the last 4 nights, they've been winning.

Daniel Bard is back to his starting role tonight. He faces John Danks. Danks is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA. And someone tell Bobby V that Danks is a lefty.

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