I'll love Youk forever

"I'll always be a Red Sock," Youkilis said. "To negate all the years I played for the Boston Red Sox, and all the tradition, you look at all the stuff I have piled up at my house and to say I'd just throw it out the window, it's not true." -[via the Boston.com Extra Bases blog]

I went to Seaworld Orlando today with the friend that I'm visiting, and I saw a gentleman walking around the park wearing a Kevin Youkilis Boston Red Sox away jersey. It was a strangely emotional moment for me, as a lifelong Kevin Youkilis fan - I've kept my various pieces of Youk attire, but I don't plan to wear them while he's a member of the Yankees.

I was sad when Youkilis got traded last summer, though I recognized that it was Middlebrooks' turn and probably in everyone's best interest. It's slightly more difficult to fins the words to describe my range of emotions about Youk signing with the Yankees this offseason. I understood why he went there: a one year deal at that kind of money and I would probably sign with the Yankees and never look back.

It is nice to hear Youkilis' assurance that he won't be forsaking his Red Sox legacy just because he's in pinstripes; he'll certainly have to contribute a lot right away for Yankees fans to do anything more than tolerate him. I know a lot of you out there in Red Sox Nation have practically disowned Youkilis, but I'll always keep a place for him in my heart - even though he's reportedly shaved his famous goatee and adjusted his iconic batting stance.

American League Astros

By a show of hands, who is excited for the Astros to be playing in the American League this year?

In all seriousness, I was just completing my morning routine of checking Red Sox headlines, and my last stop was (as always) the Extra Bases blog, where there was a short blurb about old friend Jed Lowrie being traded from Houston to the Oakland A's (which is now an intra-divisional trade), and it included a list of the highest paid players on the Astros:

• RHP Bud Norris ($3 million)
• 1B Carlos Pena ($2.9 million)
• RHP Jose Veras ($2 million)
• LHP Wesley Wright ($1.025 million)
• RHP Philip Humber ($850,000)

For reference, the five highest paid players in Boston are making considerably more:

• RHP John Lackey ($16.5 million)
• RHP Ryan Dempster ($13.25 million)
• DH David Ortiz ($13 million)
• OF Shane Victorino ($13 million)
• SS Stephen Drew ($9.5 million)

Obviously, the highest paid players aren't always the best, and having a large payroll is no guarantee of success, but the comparison is pretty stark for the Astros. The Astros will be at Fenway at the end of April for four games, and then the Red Sox will head to Houston for a three game set at the beginning of August. 

Given how the Red Sox have been playing in the last year or so, even the moribund Astros can't be counted on as an easy win - but their presence in the American League can only be good for the rest of the AL's teams.