Yes, because they knew ahead of time that Papi was gonna get hurt and that DH spot would open up….

It wasn’t a great trade obviously, but I almost feel like they did it out of respect for Youk. The man didn’t deserve to be riding the pine, and they really had no spot for him anymore. They couldn’t keep putting Agon out in right field and risking that injury, and Middlebrooks had proven his spot at third.

By whom? Did Kenny Williams have a gun to Cherington’s head? Forced by their own “maneuvering” and the manager’s big mouth? “Forced to the point where, 2 weeks later, Pedro Ciriaco was the team’s DH?

If they were at all a professional organization, they could manage such a “problem” as too many viable players for a few slots. Middlebrooks was hot and Youk was banged up, so you tell the guy your letting him ride the bench a bit to get himself healthy and make the team better. Instead they paid the White Sox to take a good player and got the DFA’d Lillibridge in return.

Or, to put it more simply, BOTCH.

Beckett, on the other hand, is under contract for the next 2 plus seasons and the Red Sox are not similarly pressed to deal him as they were with Youkilis.

Whether Beckett turns things around and gives the Sox a consistent performance between now and the end of the season. He is not likely to have as much value going forward as he will have between now and the start of the 2013 season – especially if the Sox absorb a portion of whats owed to him.

But short of one of the most miraculous transformations in history during the balance of this season, Beckett will be gone this off-season.