McAdam On Toucher & Rich: Youkilis Is A 'Very Tradable Commodity'
After racking up five straight wins at home, the Red Sox hit the road and dropped game one of an eight game road trip.
Clay Buchholz gave up two runs and six hits over five-plus innings and was pulled in the sixth after taking a grounder off his foot. After the game Buchholz said that his foot was a little sore, but that it's nothing to really worry about.
Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich to discuss Boston's pitching, the future of Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon's comments about Red Sox trainers.
Clay Buchholz's pitch count was at 87 when Bobby Valentine pulled him from the game in the sixth. Was McAdam surprised by the manager's decision in this situation?
"Yeah a little bit. If there's anything Valentine's done this year it's probably stayed with starters a little too long."
The guys also discussed the amount of balk the Sox pitchers have given up at this point in the season. Sox pitchers have been called for five balks in their last eight games and hold the lead for the most in the league at six, is this a pitching coach issue that needs to be addressed?
As Kevin Youkilis' return to the Sox lineup gets closer, what will the Sox do? We have already been told by GM Ben Cherington that Youkilis will be back at third, but where does that leave Will Middlebrooks? Could Youk's return to third be an effort to showcase his value for a potential trade in the near future?
"Obviously Youkilis is a very tradable commodity because he's only got the rest of this year as a guaranteed deal. He does have the flexibility of being able to play both corner infield spots, so you can go up and down and find teams that need help at third base."
Plus, former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon is in Philadelphia now, but had some comments about the trainers in Boston. Papelbon stated that he had conflicts with many of them during his time here, is there any truth to that or is he just spouting off because he's in a different city?
