Monday, June 25, 2012

Yooooouuuuuukkkkkk!

With yesterday's trade of Kevin Youkilis to the Chicago White Sox, there remains only one player from the 2004 World Series winning team still on the current Boston Red Sox roster.

That player is designated hitter David Ortiz.

The players that made up the team of "idiots" which stayed loose enough to excel in the post-season have slowly attrited since due to trades, free agency or retirement.

Here is how the list breaks down on when the players left the Red Sox.

Nomar Garciaparra traded mid-2004 season.

2004 last season with Sox:  Scott Williamson, Orlando Cabrera, Derek Lowe, Doug Mientkiewicz, Pokey Reese, Dave Roberts and Pedro Martinez.

2005 last season with Sox: Alan Embree, Bronson Arroyo, Mark Bellhorn, Bill Mueller, Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar and  Dave McCarty

2006 last season with Sox: Trot Nixon, Gabe Kapler and Keith Foulke

2007 last season with Sox:  Curt Schilling and Doug Mirabelli

2008 last season with Sox:  Manny Ramirez and Mike Timlin

2011 last season with Sox:  Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek

And now, in 2012, we say goodbye to Kevin Youkilis understanding that this may also be the last year of the sole remaining member of the historical 2004 team.

As with all good stories, there's a wistfulness that comes at the end, for the desire really is for the story to continue indefinitely. Major League Baseball and the player's union put an end to indefinite stories years ago with the advent of free agency. Prior to that, it wasn't uncommon for players to spend their whole careers with one team.  Now it's highly unlikely.

Carl Yastrzemski started his baseball career in 1961 with the Boston Red Sox. He retired from baseball in 1983. For all of those 22 years, he played for only one team.

There was a a time when you could purchase the shirt of a favorite player and pretty much expect to keep it for his whole career. Now when one purchases a player shirt, it may only be relevant for the next three years. It sort of makes me wonder how many people opt to update the shirts of favorite players as they move around from team to team. Not many, I suppose.

Kevin Youkilis was a homegrown talent, coming up through the Sox' farm system. He played eight and a half years with the Sox, the first couple years seeing irregular playing time. In 2006, he agreed to move from his third base position to cover first base and became a regular.

The last few years have seen Youkilis missing significant amounts of playing time due to injury.

And now, with very little fanfare, Youk is donning a Chicago White Sox uniform.

He's still in the game, but an era is definitely winding down. It was an era that finally shook the much-referenced Curse of the Bambino, and did so in wildly dramatic fashion, particularly in the American League Championship Series.

The band of "idiots" sang together, played together, drank together and seemed like a throwback to an age when players actually enjoyed the game. Now it all seems so business-like so much of the time that I sometimes wonder if it has any soul left.

All good stories come to an end, and the characters move on.

Fans of the Boston Red Sox were privileged in 2004 to witness one of the greatest stories ever told by Major League Baseball. Now it's almost time to turn the last page and put the book up for good.