Twenty-two days after being traded by the Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis is back at Fenway Park, and he looks both relaxed and happy, two words that never would describe his final months with the team.
“I would say there’s less drama, all-around,” Youkilis said of life after the Red Sox. “No offense to you (media), but there’s always a story. With us, you come about the game, you play, it’s over with. You get a question, there’s no drama or questions all the time. It’s just fun. We’re also second-fiddle to the Cubs, so it’s great. It’s easy.”
Youkilis (AP photo, left) spent parts of nine seasons with the Red Sox, arriving in the middle of the 2004 run to the World Series and leaving June 24 when he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox for utility infielder Brent Lillibridge and Triple-A pitcher Zach Stewart. (Lillibridge, it should be noted, was designated for assignment today to accommodate Carl Crawford’s return from the disabled list.) And while there were plenty of good times, including two championships and three All-Star Game appearances, there also were hard times, never more than last September when Youkilis dealt with a double hernia that ended his season in the midst of the Red Sox’ epic collapse and the early part of this year when he feuded with new manager Bobby Valentine.
The relationship with Youkilis and Valentine was fractured, perhaps irreparably, when Valentine in a television interview publicly questioned the third baseman’s emotional investment in the game. Youkilis objected to the comment, and Valentine apologized. But from there, things only got worse. And when Youkilis went on the disabled list with a lower back strain, it created an opportunity for top prospect Will Middlebrooks to seize the third base job. Turns out, Middlebrooks never really gave it back.
Predictably, Youkilis steered clear of commenting on Valentine.
“I’m not here to talk about (that),” Valentine said. “I don’t understand why this is still a big rift and things are going on. I’m just here to play baseball, and things will happen and that’s all it is, just going out and playing the ballgame. There’s no Bobby V. (versus) Kevin Youkilis or vice versa. It’s about Chicago White Sox versus Boston Red Sox and just playing baseball.”
Asked if he has any regrets from nearly a decade with the Red Sox, Youkilis smiled, something else he did little of during his final weeks with the club.
“Any regrets? 2008? God, I wish in Game 7 (of the ALCS) I would have hit more home runs. What was that, against (Tampa Bay’s Matt) Garza or whatever?” Youkilis said. “There were no regrets. I had a lot of fun. I came in my rookie year and won a World Series and won another one (in 2007) playing every day. Some guys can’t even say they’ve won one, and I was very fortunate to win two and go to All-Star Games and all cool stuff. Met my wife here, so there’s no regrets. I’ve never looked back and said, ‘I should have done this or that.’
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