With Kevin Youkilis out for the rest of the season, and in the anticipation 1B Mike Lowell won’t be able to play every day due to the condition of his left hip, the Red Sox have signed 17-year veteran first baseman Carlos Delgado to a minor league contract.

According to Delgado’s agent, David Sloane, he is scheduled to report to the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, RI, tomorrow. He will need upwards of two weeks to get into playing shape after having missed all of 2010 to this point… he suffered a torn labrum in his right hip last year and underwent the same surgery as Mike Lowell — not once, but twice (most recently back in February).

The Red Sox are said to be interested in acquiring a first baseman via trade. They front office is said to be interested in acquiring Lyle Overbay (from TOR) or former Red Sox Casey Kotchman (from SEA), but either would require surrendering a prospect… if the gamble on Delgado bears fruit it will not cost the club anything but a small pro-rated salary.

Delgado will be paid a pro-rated portion of the minor league salary ($20,000) for any time he spends with the PawSox, and a pro-rated portion of $3 million if he should make the big league club ($545K per month). Reportedly, there are performance clauses that will pay him for being named ALCS MVP ($75,000) or World Series MVP ($100,000).

The contract provides that the 38-year-old veteran can opt out of his deal if he is not promoted to the Red Sox by September 1st.

Either way, it’s a relatively inexpensive gamble for a guy who has ranks 30th on the all-time list with 473 career home runs. He last played a full season in 2008 for the New York Mets, when he hit 38 HR and drove in 115 runs.

The Sox gave Delgado a private workout at Yankee Stadium yesterday, prior to agreeing to the deal. Asked about how Delgado performed, Sox manager Terry Francona said he saw Delgado hit during the workout and that “He did great!”.

Francona characterized the signing as the ballclub doing its “due dligence” to cover itself at first base. It’sx a low-risk move for the team - nothing ventured, nothing gained. Tito added “(We need) to see how that hip responds, how productive he is with the bat and see where it goes from there. He hasn’t played in a long time. He needs to go play.”

He said Dr. Thomas Graham told him that everything went “great” and he expects Youkilis to have a full recovery.

Youkilis had the season-ending surgery after injuring his thumb when he lined out in his first at-bat against the Cleveland Indians on Monday night. Youkilis felt pain and knew from the blue color and swelling there was something seriously wrong, something he could no longer play through.

He finished the season with a .307 average, 19 homers and 62 RBIs in 102 games.

The Red Sox have confirmed what was reported here on Tuesday night, 1B Kevin Youkilis will miss the rest of the 2010 season. The Cincinnati native will undergo season-ending thumb surgery tomorrow in Cleveland, OH. Dr. Thomas Graham will perform the surgery.

The thumb will be immobilized for six weeks before being evaluated… he is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

This is just the latest in a series of injuries that have plagued the team and apparently condemned the 2010 team to the status of an also-ran. More than half the team has made an appearance on the DL this year. As soon as C Victor Martinez came off the disabled list, CF Mike Cameron had to go back on. And then on the eve of OF Jacoby Ellsbury’s return to the field, Youkilis was injured.

Youkilis was hitting .307, with 19 homers and 62 RBI. He was injured during his first at-bat on Monday when he was jammed by a pitch and lined out to shortstop. He had a MRI performed at Mass General Hospital on Tuesday morning and was found to have a torn adductor muscle in his thumb.

This is one of the reasons I argued the Red Sox should hold onto Mike Lowell. Although Lowell has not been happy with his playing time, the team is responsible to plan for contingencies… and if they were going to pay most of his $12M salary, then (in my opinion) they needed to hold onto him, just in case.

Manager Terry Francona acknowledged as much today: “As tough as it is to lose Youkilis, I think we’re pretty fortunate. I don’t know how many teams can take a Youkilis out and put a Lowell in. I guess that’s how I prefer to look at it. I don’t know any other way.”

The Red Sox are reportedly in the market for a left-handed hitting first baseman they could platoon with Lowell. The Boston Globe is reporting one possibility is former Red Sox Casey Kotchman.

Forbes Magazine has surveyed every team in each of the four major pro sports in the United States (baseball, basketball, hockey and football) and developed a list of the Top 16 fan bases in the country - the top four franchises in each of the sports. And when the dust settled, the magazine judged Red Sox Nation to be the best pro sports fans in America… imagine that!

The magazine based its survey on three different metrics. First, the magazine measured each team’s home and away game attendance, determining this would be the best way to guage a team’s drawing power in its home market and nationwide. Second, Forbes analyzed each team’s merchandising sales. Lastly, it ranked each team’s in-market popularity, based on survey results of American sports teams conducted by Turnkey Sports and Entertainment.

The magazine ranked all of the teams from each sport and then took the top four from each of the four leagues and slotted them accordingly. [NOTE: The NE Patriots finished fifth in the survey (#3 in the NFL, behind Pittsburgh and Indianapolis) and the Boston Celtics finished seventh (#1 in the NBA). The NY Yankees finished 14th overall]

While the Red Sox trail the hated Yankees in MLB merchandise sales, it says something about Red Sox Nation that The Olde Towne Team ranks a close second to the Yankees in sales when the population of NY City exceeds 8 million people and the population of Boston hovers somewhere around 650,000… someone needs to devise a metric on per capita spending to determine the true measure of each fans devotional spending.

But none of this is news to Red Sox Nation. We followed our beloved team through thick and thin… through an 86-year drought… though four seventh game losses… through Enos Slaughter and Bob Gibson and Ed Armbrister and Bucky “Bleeping” Dent and Mookie Wilson and manager Butch Hobson. There are no fans in America like Red Sox fans… and now even Forbes Magazine - which is based on 5th Avenue in New York City - has recognized this fact and genuflected in our direction.

All hail, Red Sox Nation!

Youkilis was hitting .307, with 19 homers and 62 RBI. He was injured during his first at-bat last night when he was jammed by a pitch and lined out to shortstop. He had a MRI performed at Mass General Hospital this morning and was found to have a torn adductor muscle in his thumb… it’s an injury that could require surgery and end his season. Even without the need for surgery, it is an injury that can cause permanent damage if not cared for conservatively… so he was immediately placed on the DL.

This is why I said all along the club should NOT trade Mike Lowell… he was activated today and in tonight’s lineup at first base.

Dr. George Kasparyan, the director of hand surgery for the Lahey Clinic, spoke with the Boston Globe today about the injury. He has consulted for the Red Sox on other hand injuries. He told the paper: “I understand why they are being conservative and careful. If he theoretically continued to play he could further injury it and it would turn into a chronic problem where the tissue is less amenable to repair. We call it attritional. The tissue becomes thinner and thinner and the tissue loses its integrity and its repairability.”

Dr. Andrew L. Terrono, the chief of hand surgery at New England Baptist hospital, also spoke with the Globe. He has operated on several Celtics players, including Glen Davis and Tony Allen. He said that a thumb adductor tear from a sports injury is so unusual he can’t recall seeing one in the 25 years he has been specializing in hand surgery: “If its partially torn, it could be healed without surgery. A lot of it depends on where it’s torn… If it’s partially torn you usually don’t do anything for it but immobilize it and put it in a cast.”

He said It would be at least six weeks before someone with a partial adductor tear would be able to return to play, but added that without knowing the specifics of Youkilis’ injury it would be hard to pinpoint the amount of time he might miss.

After tonight’s game, manager Terry Francona confirmed that Ellsbury, who has been on the DL since May 28th, will rejoin the club. He said a corresponding move would be made as well — likely returning OF Daniel Nava, who was recalled earlier in the week, to Pawtucket.

Ellsbury capped his rehab assignment with a 3-for-5 outing for Pawtucket this afternoon.

Agent Scott Boras wanted a multi-year deal for his client last winter… ultimately, he had to settle on a one-year deal with a low-end player option for 2011 (it’s a $5MM player option that becomes $10MM when he makes 640 plate appearances this year — which seems like a safe bet if he remains healthy). Based on the way he has played this year, it’s a foregone conclusion he will decline the option and hit the free agent market for the second consecutive year.

And it’s a near-certainty he’ll be a Type A free agent.

So what are the Sox to do? They don’t have a big-league-ready third baseman in the farm system… and the jury is out on how quickly Lars Anderson might be ready to take over at first (which would enable Kevin Youkilis to move back across the diamond to third base). Agent Scott Boras is likely to demand a 4- or 5-year deal and will take his client deep into free agency to get what he wants, so they will either have to pay the big bucks early or move on and take the draft picks… they will not want to get burned again by the uber-agent (like they did with 1B Mark Teixeira).

Beltre has been a great addition to the clubhouse and a perfect fit in the lineup, but the truth is he has only had two exceptional seasons (2004 and 2010) and GM Theo Epstein is not inclined to invest heavily in inconsistent ballplayers. So it says here they take the draft picks.

The front office could pursue the Adrian Gonzalez trade with the San Diego Padres. They could also look to re-sign soon-to-be free agent Billy Hall and ask him to hold a place in the lineup until Lars (or maybe Anthony Rizzo) is ready.

Or they could look to fill the void through free agency. Someone like Jorge Cantu or Jhonny Peralta or Ty Wiggington could fill the bill… or even Miguel Tejada.

Whatever happens, it will be an interesting decision, with long-term implications.

I think they get Gonzalez IF the Padres are serious about dealing the face of their franchise… and it says here they’ll have to ship Casey Kelly and Lars Anderson westward to get the deal done.

When I wrote about my interview with OF Ryan Kalish last year, I predicted that he would be a BIG hit with Red Sox Nation when he finally arrived in Boston (though I’ll admit that I thought he’d get here in 2011, not 2010). I discussed his experience as a football player, and the fact that he seemed to bring that toughness to the baseball diamond nearly every single day… and I suggested he would eventually be the successor to Trot Nixon as the head of the group of hard-nosed Red Sox players affectionately known as “The Dirt Dogs”.

How am I doing so far?

This article isn’t about the fact that he’s hitting .500 three games into his pro career… It is not about the fact that he misplayed a ball in front of The Green Monster the other night (left field at Fenway is notorious for challenging even veteran left fielders)… and it’s not about the fact that he has already thrown out a runner trying to score at home plate. It’s about what happened last night at home plate, and afterwards.

In the 7th inning of a game in which his team trailed by four runs, Kalish stood at second base thanks to a double he had ripped into center field. With one out, teammate Daniel Nava singled into right field and the young left fielder did what he was supposed to do — he tried to score. As Kalish approached, Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana stood astride the plate, much in the same way we have seen Jason Varitek do a hundred times - left leg extended to block the plate as he looked towards the right side of the diamond awaiting the throw. It was the proverbial bang-bang play at the plate. Ball and runner arrived simultaneously… Santana turned to apply the tag… Kalish lowered his shoulder as if he were a middle linebacker making a tackle at the goal line on fourth down.

Kalish inadvertently and unintentionally hit him a bit low, in the vicinity of the left knee. As he bowled over the young backstop, the catcher’s knee bent backwards and outwards, apparently in a way that the human body is not designed to bend. Santana held onto the ball. Kalish was called out by umpire Mike Dimuro. It was a good, hard baseball play… a Dirt Dog play.

But Santana did not bounce right back to his feet. He lay on the ground in obvious pain for nearly 15 minutes, eventually having his left leg immobilized in an air cast before being transported off the field on the back of a golf cart. NESN played the replay several times. It was a clean play with a seemingly ugly result.

Red Sox fans demonstrated once again why they are the BEST fans in all of sports by giving Santana a standing ovation as he was taken from the field (and for all of you haters out there, it isn’t just me saying so - Forbes Magazine today released it’s list of the top fans in all of sports and Sox fans were rated Numero Uno)

This was baseball the way it was meant to be played. There was no Manny Ramirez hot dog in Kalish. He wasn’t wearing shoulder pads and a helmet, but he may as well have been. The play was precisely illustrative of the reason I predicted he will be a fan favorite here in Boston for many years to come. I REALLY like the way this kid plays the game.

There was some potentially good news in the aftermath. Preliminary tests suggest Santana may have avoided a serious knee injury… he was shipped back to Cleveland this morning for an MRI, but Indians manager Manny Acta sounded a hopeful note in the vistor’s dressing room last night.

In the Red Sox dugout, manager Terry Francona said he did not even want to see the replay. For his part, Kalish said: “I knew it was bad. I just knew it was something bad and I don’t want to watch it.” He would later demonstrate a lot of class, calling Santana on the phone to express his remorse for the outcome of the play. Afterwards, Kalish said: “It was a hard slide. I’ve already talked to him and he’s doing a lot better than they thought. I feel awful.”

This was baseball the way it was meant to be played. This wasn’t Pete Rose taking a cheap shot by bowling over catcher Ray Fosse in an all-star game… this was hard baseball being played by a pair of good young prospects as the Dog Days of August got underway.

This morning, I took my daily gander at bleacherreport.com, a site where I often contribute articles, and unfortunately spied an article by an idiot named Tom Dubberke (who is a self-proclaimed baseball enthusiast and SF Giants fan). The title of the article was: “Cleveland Indians Catcher Carlos Santana Got What He Deserved”. It made me cringe! He said Santana positioned himself in the wrong manner in the wrong place while trying to block the plate and, thus, ‘got what he deserved’.

Can you imagine that?

You can tell good ol’ Tom never played a game behind the plate. I did… for MANY years. I was never taught to position myself at the corner of the plate with my knee positioned just so, as good ‘ol Tom asserts. I was taught to block access to the plate… and I typically did so in much the same way as Varitek routinely does and Santana did last night (although I usually put more of my big body in front of the plate, forcing the runner to go through my torso, instead of at my leg). As big as I am, I took more than my share of lumps in home plate collisions… usually ending up on my back with my bell rung after my head bounced off the ground. It was good, hard baseball (or softball). I did what I was trained to do… and the runner did what he was trained to do. Sometimes he was out… and sometimes he was safe. But no one ever got injured.

These plays happen all of the time, and rarely is anyone ever hurt. Injuries like last night are the exception, not the rule… and no one EVER ‘deserves’ an injury! (Do you hear that, Tom?!)

I tip my cap to Kalish and Santana. I pray the tests on the Indians catcher show nothing more than a sprain and that he’ll be back behind the plate in a week or so.

I also pray that idiots like Tom Dubberke use better judgment when penning articles… especially when they show so little understanding for how the game is taught and played.

The Red Sox have announced that OF Jeremy Hermida has been designated for assignment… the club has apparently given up on him after obtaining him from the Florida Marlins for two low-level prospects.
Hermida hit just .203, with a .257 OBP, in his brief tenure with the Rec Sox.

In his place the front office has called up OF Ryan Kalish from Pawtucket. The Red Bank, NJ, native hit .294/.382/.502 in 78 games between Portland (Double-A) and Pawtucket (Triple-A) this season… he hit 13 HR and had 47 RBI.

Readers of the site may remember that I interviewed Kalish last summer in Portland, ME, just before he went on a torrid hot streak. The interview was published in two parts… links are provided below.

Hanging Out With Ryan Kalish, Part I

Hanging Out With Ryan Kalish, Part II

NESN reporter Heidi Watney was radiant as she walked along the red carpet prior to the fundraiser… guys, she is MUCH prettier in person — if you can imagine that is even possible! SOX1FAN photo

Undeterred by his foot injury, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek relied on a pair of crutches to participate in the evening’s festivities… SOX1FAN photo

Sox lefty Jon Lester was the last player to lace up his bowling shoes last night, but as always he was gracious with the fans and media alike (always one of the more generous players, he agreed to sign a couple of items for me that will be auctioned for ALS research in September)… SOX1FAN photo

Beckett: “Any time you can touch other people’s lives, your life ends up getting touched just as much”.

Red Sox right-hander John Lackey paid $25,000 for one of the items auctioned off at the event: a one-of-a-kind, custom-made Red Sox poker table that was made by Luxury Gaming, Inc… his opening bid and was never topped. Here, he seems to be having trouble coming to grips with the fact that he might have bought the table for a little less money if he’d placed a lower opening bid. SOX1FAN photo

Actor Verne Troyer, aka “Mini-Me”, may be short of stature (2 ft, 8 in) but he was a BIG hit with the media and the fans last night, doing interviews, posing for pictures and signing numerous autographs… SOX1FAN photo

Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell has never met a charity event he didn’t like… I can’t remember one of these Red Sox charity events that he didn’t attend. SOX1FAN photo