Youk’s Season Officially Over

When Kevin Youkilis was diagnosed with a torn muscle in his thumb, every associated with the organization knew it was bad, but there was a glimmer of hope that he would not need surgery. The dream has ended, after Youk got a 2nd opinion on his thumb today in Cleveland, the decision was made to have surgery and end his season, regardless of whether the Sox miraculously make the playoffs or not. With Youk as the most recent and arguably most devastating injury of the dozens this year for the Sox, is the fat lady warming up her voice?

I am an eternal optimistic, almost to a fault. There is always a chance for this team to come back and I will join the parade to try and motivate them, but even I am having a little trouble believing a serious surge is just around the corner. Before Youk’s injury and when Mike Cameron was still playing at least a few times a week, there was a sense this team was legitimately getting healthy and would be at full strength in August. With Cameron needing to go on the DL and now Youk hanging up his cleats in 2010, there is an eerie feeling of demise in my stomach.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not giving up on 2010, not by a long shot, but as each game passes and the Sox either maintain their 6+ game deficit or gain and lose a game within a day or so, it sucks a little more life out of the players, management and fans. Last night’s 9-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians was a kick in the mid-section and sucked more life out of this team. With each loss against a last place team, the Sox not only concede the season, they give fans more reason to doubt. Over the past half a dozen years, Red Sox fans have learned to expect the unexpected and believe anything is possible, but that aura is beginning to wear off.

The 4-game set with the Yankees beginning on Friday is the entire Sox season in just 4 games. They need to split or win the series, because if they lose ground on the Yanks, the players can begin planning their family vacations for October when they have nothing else to do. Peter Abraham of Boston.com wrote a post on whether the Sox should begin looking towards 2011 and not focusing on 2010 any longer. On the positive side, if the Sox can beat the Yanks and gain a game or 2, here come the waiver-wire moves for  Theo Epstein as he begins to add some late pieces for a final push.

There will be a lot of eyes watching the Sox/Yanks series at the Stadium this weekend, because the Yankees fans are watching a slug-fest for the AL East title and the Sox fans are just wishing and hoping for a miracle. Either way, I guarantee both teams will give 110% throughout the series because of it’s added value beyond the usual rivalry. If there ever was a must-win game or series in the MLB, this is it for the Sox.