Youk’s Walkoff Hit Last Night Leaves Mixed Emotions

I caught the end of last night’s ESPN-televised game between the Rangers and the White Sox. In the bottom of the 10^th inning, Kevin Youkilis was up with a man on 2^nd and no outs. He connected on a game-winning single to left field, and was mobbed by his new teammates.

I wasn’t sure how to react to the situation; a large part of me was very happy for Youk, and a large part of me was bitter that we traded him when we did – and that another group of fans were able to enjoy yelling “Yooouk”. In the post-game interview Kevin was all smiles and talked about how great his new teammates have been to him. He said “I’m having a great time with this team, it’s always a lot more fun when you do stuff like that.”

It was no secret that Youkilis was not happy in Boston this season. There was a lot said after last September that left a bad taste in the mouth of players, and it seemed to carry over into this season. What Valentine said earlier in the season about Kevin’s desire to play the game certainly didn’t help either. It’s frustrating to know that the Red Sox do not have a clubhouse that players enjoy being in anymore.

It’s also frustrating that we traded Youkilis when we did, knowing that we could have gotten more for him. Youk has batted .306 in 9 games for the White Sox, but he was also batting .429 in his last 4 games with Boston. He had to be traded this season, but one can only wonder if Boston would have gotten more in return if they had waited a few weeks for his stock to rise. Heck, I sure would rather have Youkilis filling in for an injured Middlebrooks than Brent Lillibridge, Nick Punto, and Mauro Gomez.

Youkilis was one of my favorite Sox players since he first got his starting job. I will always root for him as a player, but it is hard to not have mixed emotions knowing that he could have still brought value to the Red Sox, and they could have gotten more for him in return.