“Without a Curse” Episode 516: “Carl Crawford And Kevin Youkilis Return To Fenway” (7/19/12)

by Alex Reimer | Posted on Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Hosted by: Alex Reimer

lex is back from his vacation in southern California, and to paraphrase football coach Pete Carroll, he is “pumped and jacked” to begin this edition of “Without a Curse.”

Alex begins by discussing both Carl Crawford and Kevin Youkilis returning to Fenway Park this week. Should we be worried Crawford is in further danger of aggravating his elbow this season, or should we trust the Red Sox that he’s fine to play, and also won’t wind up missing a significant portion of 2013 by delaying potential surgery?

Crawford has been impressive at the top of the lineup since returning, and Alex is campaigning for Crawford to remain there. Alex discusses Crawford’s comments about Terry Francona dropping him in the lineup last season, and the validity of the trade rumors involving Crawford getting shopped around the league.

Youkilis has had a terrific series with the White Sox, which has led to many chastising the Red Sox for trading him at low value last month. Alex explains, however, why the great lament over the Youkilis trade is the definition of revisionist history.

Franklin Morales’ shift to the bullpen, as well as the overall state of the starting pitching is talked about too. With Jon Lester’s continued mediocrity, should the Red Sox explore shaking up the front of the rotation at the trade deadline for this season and beyond? How has the dysfunctional coaching staff affected Lester and the other starting pitchers?

David Ortiz’s injury, and the reemergence of Adrian Gonzalez’s power are touched upon as well.

The Red Sox, amazingly though, are only one game out of the second wild card spot. Alex no longer believes it will take 90 wins to win the second wild card, and thus strongly believes the Red Sox have as good a chance as any team to capture a playoff birth. As Larry Lucchino put it, the “varsity team is back.”

In the “Around the League” segment, Alex looks at the AL East standings. He also outlines what the biggest story in baseball will be in the second half of the season (Stephen Strasburg’s innings limit), and tells the listeners why a rule in the new baseball CBA will dramatically affect how teams approach this year’s trading deadline.

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Carl Crawford And Kevin Youkilis Return To Fenway

Alex Reimer

Alex Reimer has been hosting the critically acclaimed Red Sox podcast, “Without a Curse”, since July of 2005. Alex has also been profiled in The Boston Globe, and has been a guest on both “The Today Show” and “The Tonight Show” for his work on the podcast. “Without a Curse” can be found on www.thesportstuff.com, and www.youcastr.com. Alex can be reached at alexredsox076@aol.com.