Ah, I was gonna be busy this October anyway.

As if last night’s loss wasn’t buzzkill enough, word has just come down that the Sox will be without Youk for the rest of 2010. The Globe reports that the Magic Beard is having season-ending thumb surgery.

Of course, if we’ve learned anything from 2004, it’s that it ain’t over ’til it’s over. So I’m not gonna call this the death knell for our playoff aspirations. But it’s pretty damn close. Unless Bill Hall and Eric Patterson get belted by gamma rays anytime soon.