What Youkilis Does for the White Sox

Kevin Youkilis was traded to the White Sox along with cash considerations (5.6 million) for Zack Stewart and Brent Lillibridge. While it is sad to see a player that fans endeared and a player that worked so hard to leave, Lillibridge will likely have a better career in Boston. White Sox fans have to realize that Youkilis is a great addition to the team and the White Sox didn't have to give up a whole lot in order to get him. Whether or not you like or liked Kevin Youkilis before this trade, you have to realize that he is an upgrade from the current third basemen on the White Sox. Let's take a look at what the current third basemen have done and what even a terrible Youkilis will do for the White Sox.

Let's start with the weakest stat, batting average. Kevin Youkilis is batting a mere .225 this season which doesn't sound impressive especially compared to his career average of .286, but none of the three current players that could play third base for the White Sox even have a batting average over .200. Orlando Hudson at .167, Brent Morel at .195, and Eduardo Escobar at .190.

Onto the stat that Kevin Youkilis is best known for, on base percentage. Youkilis only at .311 which also seems low compared to a .388 career OBP. Once again, Youkilis is much better than all three White Sox third basemen. Hudson with .247, Morel at .225, and Escobar at .299. Youkilis will get on base more often and is probably the perfect fit for the 2 hole problem the White Sox have.

Finally, perhaps the biggest problem for White Sox current third basemen, OPS. The White Sox third basemen went into the game today with an OPS of .466, the worst in Major League Baseball. That OPS is worse than Youkilis' OPS of .670 this season by far.

So if you are thinking that the White Sox got the bad end of the deal because Youkilis hasn't been good this season, he is still an upgrade and it didn't cost the White Sox very much. It's a good gamble for Kenny Williams to make and if it pays off, he will be praised.

Weekly Links

Weekly links continues, but it is a little early this week because I figured that I would include some articles on the draft which starts on Monday. And in other news, Gordon Beckham is hotter than ever so I think he has a permanent home as the Weekly Links picture. 

• Another week, another recap of the AL Central. Except this one is only covering half the week. That's beside the point though. It's a great recap from Aerys Sports. 
• One of the bigger storylines this week is whether Morel will get his job when he comes back. I read two good articles about it. Here and here.
• Another week of Chris Sale being awesome, another great article about why he's been such a good starting pitcher.
• A great article was written about Ventura and why he should get some respect for what he's done with the Sox so far this season. 
• Last but not least, the draft. The White Sox website put out an article about the draft and why the Sox are hopeful for what they might get with the 13th pick.

Game Recap. White Sox win 4-3

Alex Rios was the hero in last night's game against the Rangers. Yes, Alex Rios. This game was very promising because both Adam Dunn and Rios had good games. They are both much improved compared to last year already. Rios looks a lot more comfortable playing in right field and won't make as many errors this year.

The first few innings of the game were kind of rough. The Sox started off well by scoring in the first. The Rangers scored to tie it in the 2nd and then in the third they both scored 3 runs to keep it tied until Rios' ninth inning heroics.

Paul Konerko had a great game getting 3 RBIs. Adam Dunn was good again and scored a run. Morel still hasn't gotten a hit this season. For that reason, he won't be playing today.

Jackson and Teahen Traded, De Aza Called Up

Today has been a busy day for the White Sox. Last night De Aza was pulled from his game in Charlotte and was sent to Chicago. Nobody was certain whether he was going to be used in a trade or if he was being called up. We learned today that he was called up and will start in place of Alex Rios in center field. I like this move. Rios needed to sit for awhile. He wasn't playing well at the plate or in the field. De Aza should provide a little more hustle in the field and should be able to provide a little offense. He can't be worse than Rios, so I like this move a lot.

The other move that was made was that Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen were traded to Toronto for Jason Frasor, a reliever, and Zack Stewart, a pitching prospect. When I first saw this trade, I didn't like it at all. Now that I think about it more and more, I don't think it's that bad of a trade. Frasor has a good ERA and should be a good addition to our solid bullpen. Stewart isn't a great prospect, but our farm system is very good for churning out pitchers so I trust that the Sox' system will make him a better pitcher that we can either use in a trade next year or make him someone that will be ready to move up to the big leagues in a few years.

I never liked the Edwin Jackson trade. Daniel Hudson has a lot of potential and I didn't want to see that go. I felt like Kenny Williams saw that Jackson had a no-hitter and thought he was a fantastic pitcher. In reality, Jackson isn't a great pitcher. He throws too many pitches, has terrible control, and always gives up too many runs in the beginning of the game. I'm glad he's gone.

I didn't really like the Mark Teahen trade either. I thought the Sox gave up too much. I liked Getz and thought he could be a good 2B for the Sox for a long time. Now the Sox have Beckham playing second and he plays it beautifully. I'm happier with this trade now, but Teahen was being payed too much money. The Sox needed to get rid of that contract. I liked the way that Teahen had been playing. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't great. He was good to put in when Morel wasn't playing well. Now Morel has the reins at third base. I think he can handle it.

Overall, I think this trade was good. The Sox got some pitching and got rid of the guys they needed to get rid of. I also like the calling up of De Aza. I look forward to seeing him play tonight. Hopefully he'll get a couple hits.