Felger & Mazz: Gammons On The Arrivals Of Middlebrooks and Cook
Peter Gammons of MLB.com joined Felger and Massarotti on Wednesday to discuss the state of the Boston Red Sox and how they are coping with injuries.
With Kevin Youkilis battling a bad back, third baseman Will Middlebrooks has been called up from Triple A-Pawtucket and will actually get the start Wednesday night against the A's.
What does Gammons expect out of the Red Sox' top prospect?
"He could be a potential right handed power bat," Gammons said. "Youkilis is a huge loss for this team. To take him out of the lineup for a while because he's a long pitch-count, high on-base, right-handed power guy in the middle of the order. I love Middlebrooks and his potential, but he's not going to be a guy to hit third or fourth right now."
"To his credit, his on-base percentage and slugging has improved every year as he's moved up from the minor leagues and he's a great athlete and all the rest," said Gammons. "But he's still a seven walk, 18 strikeout guy."
If Youkilis hits the DL, and Middlebrooks stays on the same pace he's on in Pawtucket, what will it mean for the future of Youkilis?
"I think they keep playing (Middlebrooks) and then just look around," said Gammons."Give Youkilis time, maybe they try and go an entire month and try to get him healthy. It's a complicated set of injuryies for him. The core is such an important part of his swing; his leverage and power."
What will all the recent and past injuries to Youkilis mean to his future in Boston? And what are the Red Sox plans for Aaron Cook? What will Cook's arrival mean to Clay Buchholz and even Daisuke Matsuzaka? Find out that and more with Peter Gammons!
