I awoke this morning on the left coast to two messages: SG had won NE Blog of the Year… and Youk was hitting the 15-day DL. You never want to see your best hitter out of the line-up, and it’s particularly disheartening to lose the mangy hillbilly edge that Youk’s presence gives us in the eyes of opposing pitchers. But Teets and Youk were optimistic, if vague, before the announcement:
“We keep day-to-daying it, but what we don’t want to do is put him in for an at-bat and turn it into a three-week or four-week, [when it could have been] 10 days.
“We’re trying not to react too quickly. It’s not cut and dry. We’re just trying to use patience. If we ever make a mistake, we want to react on the side of caution.”
Also before the announcement, Youkilis did not indicate anything had worsened with his injury. “There’s nothing to talk about,” he said. “When I’m in the lineup, I will play. That’s pretty much the story. It’s coming along.”
Of course, the big question is who will grow a beard as savage as Youk’s as an homage during his absence? Since Jason Bay, I’m guessing, is incapable of growing one, the responsibility seems to fall on Dustin Pedroia.
