Good move for both teams. Youk will get to play everyday and we'll see what he has left in the tank. I'm not convinced that he can play 3B everday but we'll see. Now Middlebrooks doesn't have to be looking over his shoulder if he has a bad series. Youkalis was good player in Boston and the fans gave him a standing O when he was lifted for a pinch runner. Best of luck to him in Chicago.
Stoked would not accurately describe how excited one of my friends, who's a White Sox fan, was to get Youk.
From the standpoint that third base is freed up for Middlebrooks, it is a good move for the Sox. However, they got almost nothing in return and will have to pay most of Youk's salary for the rest of the year. Zack Stewart has done virtually nothing in his big league career and three teams have dumped him. He has a less than impressive 89 MPH fastball and an ERA of almost 6. Brent Lillibridge is utility player who gives the Sox essentially two Nick Puntos. I know it was important to get something done quickly but I would rather have seen a lower level prospect with some potential than these two. I think the White Sox win this one.
How quickly you forget Zack Stewart was formerly the top prospect in the Jays farm. I know he has been dumped by 3 teams, but Andrew Miller has a similar story and has turned around nicely for the Sox. There is a chance Stewart can turn around too, given a good development staff (which I think the Sox have).
Cost the Sox $5.5MM so what the hell, it isn't my money. I don't know if Youk is done but he is close. They basically took 2 players the White Sox didn't want and got a player the Red Sox didn't want. Youk is the only proven big leaguer but he had to go both from the Sox side and for Youkalis. It would have been better for Youk to go to a team needing a 1B but there aren't many of those.
Speaking of 1B, Anthony Rizzo (yeah, that guy I was really high on and everyone said I was just overrating another Sox prospect) is due to get his Cubs debut tomorrow, signaling probably the start of his permanent career in the bigs. Why? Oh because this is his batting line in AAA: .349/.410/.710. Yeah, he'll just be fine.
The Sox dumped Youk's corpse in Chicago in exchange for two smaller, less well known but equally stiff corpses. The White Sox hope they catch lightning in a bottle and get some production out of Youk while the Red Sox get the sulking douche out of their locker room. That's basically the trade. One man's sulking douche is another man's treasure.
Doesn't this trade along with Youk's lack of performance and churlish attitude vindicate Bobby V. for that early season "gaffe"? Perhaps he is changing the culture for the better a bit.
Quite accurate, add that the Sox are paying 90% of the cost of inneffective sulking douching for the balance of the year in an attempt to foul up the White Sox wild card chances.
Because he was rushed to the bigs and played in Petco field where offense goes to die. In all seriousness, he'll be good. Just wait.
Yes, because the first 50 games in the bigs means everything for a career. I mean, Tom Glavine was a great pitcher the first couple years he was in the bigs. (Not.)
Not saying he wont be good but stop patting yourself on the back, there is some serious reason to doubt he will be the player people projected him to be 2 years ago. And unless you are a 10 year old girl please do not say "not" at the end of a sarcastic statement.
Sorry if I'm a fan of Borat. And second, Rizzo is the top prospect in the Cubs organization. I do not think there is doubt. If anything, there is less doubt than is status two years ago before he broke into the bigs.
I hope that you are right but I am far from ready to say that Miller had turned around. He has pitched a total of 16.7 innings this year. Although the results are good the Sox are being very cautious with him. I was ready to say that I think that I think that the Sox pitching development has really deteriorated since John Farrell left the team for Toronto. In terms of ERA, their ranking out of 14 American League teams since 2007 has gone as follows: 1, 5, 6, 9, 9, 12. If you look at the ERA leaders in the AL, the first time you see a Red Sox name is at 23. They have some bats but pitching is pretty bad and there is not a lot of help on the way from the farm system.
Miller is doing what he has to do to pitch in the bigs. He is throwing strikes early in the count. He always had outstanding stuff but he got in trouble by getting behind then either walking the batter or laying a strike on the fat part of the plate. Lester had to get over the same problem as do many young pitchers. Miller (with a little more development) may be able to become a starter and he could be key. Bucholtz is on the DL with a strange illness and it wouldn't be the strangest thing if they dumped Beckett before the trading deadline.
I doubt the Sox dump Beckett unless they get a lot back in return for him. Buchholz (no T Danzz ) has an illness that probably is preventable if he chose to not participate in certain life decisions *coughchewcough*
And his ridiculous slash line this season is coming in the PCL, the most inflated offensive league in baseball
