Youkilis Sounds Ready For A Trade: "It Hasn't Been Fun" This Year

It's a given that the Red Sox will not pick up Kevin Youkilis's $13 million option for 2013. Will Middlebrooks will be the team's third baseman next year and Yook will be sweating profusely in the uniform of another team. There have been plenty of rumours over the last few months that Youkilis (.219/.303/.352 in 2012) is being shopped, and he sounds like he's ready to go.

Am I happy here this year? I mean, did it start out well this year? It hasn't been fun. So what are you going to do? You've got a game, you've got your teammates, you've got to play. That's all you can do. ... Yeah, there's been a couple of things that have happened. ... It hasn't been the easiest road, it hasn't been easier than past years but what are you going to do? ... I don't know the right way to put it — if I get traded, I get traded. Nothing you can do.

Yook also talked about his screaming match with Monday's home plate umpire Ron Kulpa:

Did you see the first pitch that was called on one of my at-bats? That's twice. There was a 1-0 pitch, the ball was inside, he called it a strike — changes the whole at-bat. Called another pitch on me that I thought was horrible. One was a ball at a big part of the game, the other one was a guy showing he doesn't like me at all. ... He's a very vocal guy who goes at you. ... He's an aggressive guy.

Far from keeping quiet about bad calls and risk being called a whiner, I think all players (and managers and coaches) have to start calling out the umpires more often. If more attention is focused on the truly egregious calls -- and there seems to be a couple of those every single game, now -- maybe something positive will be done to make sure the game if officiated in a professional and (as) accurate (as technologically possible) manner.

Rich Hill visited Dr. James Andrews and was told he has a strained flexor muscle in his left elbow. Hill, who underwent TJ surgery last June, will not throw for two weeks and could miss as many as six weeks.

Over his last seven starts, Buchholz has 2.83 ERA. He has issued only six walks in his last four starts (31 innings). Bobby Valentine said Buchholz has been

absolutely fantastic. [He's] just throwing the ball as well as we've seen him throw the ball all year. He's really on a roll and his changeup was outstanding. His curveball was real good. He went to the cutter to complement his fastball in the middle of the game.

With the Red Sox having won just two of their last nine games -- both started by Buchholz, by the way -- the Globe is wondering if the team should take some drastic steps with its roster. (This involves ignoring the fact that the Sox had gone on a 16-6 run before this recent bit of bad ball.) Nick Cafardo says the offense could use some help and Peter Abraham wonders if it's time to blow up the roster. SoSH reacts to the later suggestion.