Youkilis out until 2011

Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 7:04 pm on August 5, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season, Injury Watch | Leave a Comment

When it rains, it pours (literally.. have you looked outside today?!) Kevin Youkilis, one of the few remaining healthy players on the 2010 Red Sox went down with a thumb injury on Monday against the Indians. The thumb had been bothering him for a few weeks but Youkilis tried to fight through it until the pain was no longer bearable .. and it started turning blue. Something was obviously very wrong so the team performed an MRI in Cleveland this morning. The MRI showed a muscle tear and will require surgery.

The surgery will end his 2010 season but GM Theo Epstein is positive that Youk will be 100% for his offseason workouts. That is good news but doesn’t mean much for this year’s team. A team, that is struggling to get their head screwed on right as 5 of their 8 Opening Day starters have hit the DL this season.

Mike Lowell, who returned Tuesday night with a bang and a 2R HR, will get a good amount of the starts over at first base. Other options for the club are Victor Martinez and Jed Lowrie. Unfortunately none of these guys are likely to put up the numbers that Youkilis has so far (3rd in the league in OBP at .411 and 5th in OPS at .975) If Epstein’s pre-season plan of defense and pitching doesn’t start coming to fruition then October is going to be a long month as all of us Sox fans watch the Yankees and Rays enjoy the postseason.

Rangers still stalking Mike Lowell

Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 2:09 am on July 30, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season | Leave a Comment

Mike Lowell hasn’t appeared in a game for Boston since June 22nd and he’s only gotten to start 8 games all season. Most of this is due to his old-man hip but a lot of it has to do with the deep bench that the big league club has got and the unexpected excellent performance from third-baseman Adrian Beltre.

None of this seems to matter to the Texas Rangers. As far as most people were concerned, a Max Ramirez for Mike Lowell deal was complete in December until the Rangers were unsatisfied (and for good reason) with Lowell’s physical and MRIs showing a bum hip and torn thumb ligament.

It is now 7+ months later and Mikey is coming off a rehab stint in Pawtucket where he hit .500 in 22 AB with 4 HR and 10 RBI (Oh, and a 1.727 OPS.) Yes, this is a small sample size and it is against minor league pitching but I think the man has proven that he can still hit. Almost as soon as he finished raking in AAA, rumors about the Rangers being interested in the 2007 World Series MVP have started flowing again.

Crushing it in Pawtucket

Mike Lowell can provide a strong bat for the Rangers in the stretch run but putting him at DH behind Vlad Guerrero or 3B behind Michael Young doesn’t make too much sense to me. Obviously Texas brass didn’t think Guerrero would have the monster year he is having when they were previously courting Lowell so is getting a catching prospect like Max Ramirez completely out of the picture in return for a crippled DH that will be with your team for 3 months? Unfortunately, the answer is probably yes.

If Lowell does end up going to Texas, expect diminished returns ESPECIALLY after the Rangers just acquired corner infielder Jorge Cantu to provide additional offense. Personally, I don’t believe the rumors. There is a better chance he stays with the Sox or gets dealt off for some relief help to a club that really needs some hitting (White Sox or maybe the injured Tigers?)

Thank you Nick Swisher (from a Sox fan)

Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 6:57 pm on July 8, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season | 4 Comments

Yes, it is true that I’m not a very big Nick Swisher fan. In fact, I have been known to immediately put down any food that I’m eating over the past couple of seasons whenever I see his greasy hair on my HDTV.

Why? Other than the fact that he plays for the New York Yankees, I think the “Bleacher Creature’s Roll Call” is lame and I roll my eyes every time Swisher salutes them like they’re anything other than a bunch of drunk obnoxious fans. It doesn’t hurt that I am slightly jealous that he’s married to actress Joanna García, even if it’s only because she played Vicki Appleby on ‘Freaks and Geeks.’ Oh yeah, and he’s a self proclaimed Scientologist. If that doesn’t breed a burning sense of dislike in your belly then nothing else will.

I do have some sad news to report however; I am GLAD that Nick Swisher used his Twitter account along with celebrity endorsements from people like Jessica Alba to win himself the final spot on the American League’s All-Star roster. Absurd, right? Hold on, I’ve got some reasoning..

Yesterday I was thinking of doing a bit more campaigning on the behalf of Kevin Youkilis. The tally was close and I had used all of my 25 votes for him earlier in the week. When I say ‘earlier in the week,’ I mean before the Red Sox got laughably swept by Tampa Bay. I also mean before Youkilis hurt himself digging out a space in the batter’s box (oddest injury of the season thus far.) His replacement in the lineup led to David Ortiz being intentionally walked 3 times due to zero offensive protection in the 4 spot.

The resulting beatdowns provided by the Rays officially convinced me that I would much rather have Youk sitting at home watching the game with a beer than trying to join in on the festivities. He works at everything he does as hard as he can, as fast as he can, and as well as he can. The All-Star game would be just another day at the park for him rather than the relaxing celebration that most players find it to be.

So yes, Kevin Youkilis may be more deserving of the final spot on the roster (as well as Paul Konerko) but I’ve got no quarrel with Nick Swisher for using whatever means necessary to make the All-Star team. In fact, I’d like to flat out thank him for saving 1 of our 4 remaining opening day players from potentially landing on the DL with their teammates.

I still think he’s stupid for believing in Scientology though.

Buchholz latest All-Star to DL

Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 6:56 pm on July 5, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season, Injury Watch | Leave a Comment

First time All-Star Clay Buchholz has become the latest Red Sox player to hit the disabled list. Buchholz, 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 starts this season, strained his left hamstring while running the bases in San Francisco on June 26th. You can officially add a no-hitter to my post on the most talented disabled list in baseball.

LHP Felix Doubront will come up from Pawtucket to replace Buchholz as the starter for Tuesday night’s game against Tampa Bay. Doubront won his major league debut on June 18th over the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up three earned runs over five innings. He is having a dominating season in the minors and is thought of by many to be one of Boston’s best bargaining chips for the upcoming trade deadline. This spot start could serve to show off his worth to a wider group of teams in hope of spinning him to plug some of the team’s holes (*cough* RELIEF PITCHING *cough*)

Red Sox ’10 All-Stars announced

Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 4:35 pm on July 5, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season | 1 Comment

The Red Sox have put 6 of their own on the AL All-Star team this year. For the first time in recent memory, none of them were voted to start by the fans. Usually you could make the argument that at least one or two of them deserve to be starting but it’d be a pretty hard argument to make with this lineup.

(Red Sox players are in BOLD)

Starting Lineup
Pos - Player
C - Joe Mauer, MIN
1B - Justin Morneau, MIN
2B - Robinson Cano, NYY
SS - Derek Jeter, NYY
3B - Evan Longoria, TB
OF - Josh Hamilton, TEX
OF - Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
OF - Carl Crawford, TB
DH - Vladimir Guerrero, TEX

Pitchers
Pos - Player
P - Clay Buchholz, BOS
P - Trevor Cahill, OAK
P - Fausto Carmona, CLE
P - Neftali Feliz, TEX
P - Phil Hughes, NYY
P - Cliff Lee, SEA
P - Jon Lester, BOS
P - David Price, TB
P - Mariano Rivera, NYY
P - CC Sabathia, NYY
P - Joakim Soria, KC
P - Matt Thornton, CWS
P - Jose Valverde, DET

Reserves
Pos - Player
C - John Buck, TOR
C - Victor Martinez, BOS
1B - Miguel Cabrera, DET
2B - Dustin Pedroia, BOS
2B - Ian Kinsler, TEX
2B - Ty Wigginton, BAL
SS - Elvis Andrus, TEX
3B - Adrian Beltre, BOS
3B - Alex Rodriguez, NYY
OF - Jose Bautista, TOR
OF - Torii Hunter, LAA
OF - Vernon Wells, TOR
DH - David Ortiz, BOS

Pedroia and Martinez were both voted onto the squad by player ballot and both will miss the game because they are on the DL. This will be the first appearance for Adrian Beltre, Clay Buchholz, and Jon Lester. A notable exception from years past is Jonathan Papelbon who has been struggling thus far in 2010.

Last but not least, Kevin Youkilis has a chance to join the team via the ‘2010 All-Star Game Final Vote.’ The competition above him at first base was pretty tough (Morneau and Cabrera both put up slightly better numbers) but Youkilis deserves to be on the team by putting up a pretty hefty 1.000 OPS in the first 81 games of the season.

That was my subtle way of saying VOTE FOR YOUK!

The most talented Disabled-List in baseball

Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 12:53 am on July 2, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season, Injury Watch | 5 Comments

The Red Sox currently have ten players on the disabled list: Josh Beckett, Manny Delcarmen, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeremy Hermida, Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, Junichi Tazawa, and Jason Varitek. Not only does this equal one of the more expensive DLs in baseball but it is also one of the most talented.