With an off-day on Thursday, the Boston Red Sox get some rest after hitting the .500 mark following their 6-5 win over the Orioles on Wednesday.

Sean McAdam joined Gresh & Zo in studio Thursday afternoon, after the team's tough 20-games-in-20-days stretch.

After Wednesday's win, Valentine made the following comments on NESN:

"I am so proud of this group of guys. I know that's an overstated line but those are men playing 20 days of real tough, hard ball with hard travel, with hard competition, some weather factors, injury situations that they had to put out of their mind and play the way they played today and play played that way the whole 20 games. If we play like this the rest of the season, we're going to win a championship."

The Red Sox went 11-9 on the stretch, but still have yet to go over .500 on the season. If the Red Sox keep that pace up for the rest of the season, they will finish with around 90 wins. Is Bobby being a little too dramatic with that statement?

"90-72 will probably get you the second Wild Card," joked McAdam. "The pool has been watered down a little bit and the field has been expanded... so 90 (wins) is going to, if it doesn't get you a Wild Card, it will get you in the conversation come September."

"I get what Bobby was saying though. I think they have been playing well given the man-power issues," added McAdam. "You're looking at a team that is missing two-thirds of it's starting outfield, and I don't think there has ever been an organization that has had seven outfielders on the DL at the same time."

"I think they do deserve some credit for playing as they have the last couple of weeks," said McAdam. "They've played better, their pitching has been better... but they're at .500, they're still in fifth place, and there is a long way to go here."

The trio also touched upon the return of Kevin Youkilis, who has been involved in trade rumors since the emergence of Will Middlebrooks. How is Youkilis dealing with all the trade chatter, and still trying to make his mark on the field?

"Youkilis is aware of the talk... This guy knows that he is probably going to be showcased here, and Middlebrooks is the third baseman of the future; and that future is coming up a lot faster than anyone expected," said McAdam. "He realizes the end is near here, and best case scenario for his is that if he plays well, he is only speeding up his ticket out-of-town. If he shows he is healthy -- that he can help teams at two positions -- (the Red Sox) know that they have Middlebrooks here to lock down third base... I think Youkilis knows he could be gone by the All-Star break, if not soon after, and that's probably a difficult thing for him to deal with."

"He knows that there is a certain amount of this that he doesn't control, and he could end up going to any number of places," said McAdam. "There is a lot of uncertainty in his life."