What are they drinking in Boston?

[RickD]

I am by no means a Red Sox fan, however I really feel the Sox gave Youk the shaft and treated him horribly as they ran him out of town.

Now comes this:

The Boston Red Sox are already trying to cash in on the departure of longtime third baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Youkilis will play his first game back in Boston when the Red Sox host the White Sox for a three-game series in mid-July. Monday morning, mere hours after Youkilis' nameplate was removed from his Fenway Park locker, the Red Sox e-mailed their fans promoting the return of Youkilis in an effort to sell tickets.

Doing this right after you give him the boot is classless in my opinion. Who is running this madhouse?

[Old Sweater]

So classless in every way you want to look at it. They sell out every game anyways. It is like management spitting in the face of Youkilis fans 'here is the first chance to see your favorite player we railed out of town?'

[soberdennis]

Very classless. But other teams do it too. Doesn't make it right, just the way things are done in the business of Major League Baseball.

[DaaBoTownSox]

The front office, and management have been disliked for a long time.

It's sad to see that no matter who the owner's are, they tend to run guys out of town with no remorse.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

My goodness. This is so low.

I never liked the way the Yankees treated Bernie Williams by not even letting him know they weren't interested in him anymore, but this....? This is the all time low.

[Mudge]

Doesn't make me no never mind. They treated Carlton Fisk a whole lot worse.

Shall we take off the Pollyanna shirts, folks? This is baseball. This is business. Remember how the Yankees treated their veterans all the way back in the 1950's?

[RickD]

I know it's a business but I never like to see it happen. I think the Vets, the legends, deserve a little more respect.

[Old Sweater]

I know it's a business but I never like to see it happen. I think the Vets, the legends, deserve a little more respect.

Yeah, players are the same as stock on the market but they are human. Blatant marketing moves like this should be covered in the CBA.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Yeah, players are the same as stock on the market but they are human. Blatant marketing moves like this should be covered in the CBA.

Exactly. I never liked Youkilis. But this isn't the way you treat a human being. Sure MLB is big business, but at least you can treat your players with respect.

[Mex86]

Hold on a second, folks. It's a tacky move, to be sure.. but some of you are making it sound like Youk was debased as a human being. Like a thousand players before him, he stopped hitting and became expendable. He was displaced by a younger player (Will Middlebrooks) having an incredible season. He was traded.

Nothing was more classless than Bobby V's ill-timed comments about Youk early in the season. He may have been correct, but you don't say that kind of stuff publicly. Youk never forgave him for the comments, and it sounds like he had become a figure of discontentment in the clubhouse. So he was shipped out, in a trade that I'm sure was hardly shocking.

All right, so they're capitalizing on his return. Youks' return to Fenway will be great theater - he was a fan favorite, after all. Call me crazy, but it's far from the worst thing I've heard. Do you know how many players are traded without even being notified by their clubs first? They find out through the media, or through sources. How about teams that have shut pitchers down or kept hitters out of the lineup in order to stop them from reaching bonus incentives in their contract? It's happened. Baseball can be an ugly business just like anything else.