In an interview with WHDH on Sunday night, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine thinks Kevin Youkilis isn’t “into” the game as much as he’s been in the past.
“I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason. But [on Saturday] it seemed, you know, he’s seeing the ball well, got those two walks, got his on-base percentage up higher than his batting average, which is always a good thing, and he’ll move on from there.”
I don’t really know how Valentine would come to this conclusion, considering he’s been back on American soil since the end of the 2009 season. Youkilis was hurt for good portions of 2010 and 2011, and Valentine finally got back on the field when the Red Sox hired him this offseason. So…Valentine is criticizing one of his star players, who he doesn’t have a long history with, who has been banged up for the last couple of seasons, nine game into the year. Did I get everything correctly there?
To his credit, Youkilis took the high road in responding to Valentine’s comments.
“Everyone here knows I go out and play with emotion,” Youkilis told reporters in the Red Sox clubhouse at Fenway Park on Monday morning before the team’s annual Patriots Day matinee. “The only time there has ever been a question is because I’ve been too emotional.”
Dustin Pedroia on the other hand, really didn’t play nice in the sandbox with his manager.
“I really don’t know what Bobby is trying to do,” Pedroia said Monday. “That’s not the way we go about our stuff around here. He’ll figure that out. The whole team is behind Youk. We have each other’s backs here.”
Pedroia was then asked whether he thought Valentine perhaps was trying to light a fire under Youkilis, who is hitting .200 on the young season.
“Maybe that works in Japan,” Pedroia said, referring to Valentine’s successful stints as a manager in Japan.
This is absolutely not the first time Valentine has gotten into it with Red Sox players, past and present. Red Sox legend Curt Schilling blasted him at the end of spring for the way his tenure in Boston had gone so far, and while an analyst for ESPN last season, he criticized Carl Crawford and his approach at the plate. Crawford, of course, is now one of Valentine’s players with the Red Sox.
Let’s summarize things quickly in Boston. Valentine and GM Ben Cherington disagreed numerous times on personnel moves during the spring, Mike Aviles (who Cherington wanted to start at short) has an .861 OPS in the majors, while Valentine favorite Jose Iglesias still can’t hit, as his .592 OPS in AAA can attest to. Valentine wanted Ryan Lavarnway in the majors on his bench, and he’s struggling out of the gate in AAA with a .601 OPS. There’s also the Daniel Bard issue, but after five innings as a starter, we can’t be much of a judge there.
After a rough start to the year in Detroit and Toronto, the Red Sox have responded with furor upon returning to Fenway Park, beating the tar out of the Rays over a three game stint (outscoring them 31-11), and will look to complete the four game sweep today. It won’t get any easier for the Red Sox, though. They welcome the Rangers into Fenway for a two game series once the Rays leave town, and then have three at home with the Yankees.
Photo courtesy of Daylife.com
