HEY YOUK, SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND PLAY BALL!

Kevin Youkilis is about to get the hammer dropped on him whether Yankees fans know the real context of what he said or not.  Youk’s challenging Yankee fans just like he did when he was in Boston whether he realizes it or not. The reality is, it's almost like poking at us or mocking us or seeing if we blink.  We are blinking… big time.

In context, Youkilis said this: "To negate all the years I played for the Boston Red Sox and all the tradition, you look at all the stuff I have piled up at my house, to say I'd just throw it out the window, that's not true... I'll always be a Red Sock."

Look, I understand what Kevin Youkilis was saying when he said he will always be a Boston Red Sock.  I think we all get that in some regard, but there are certain places and certain things you don’t tell the New York Media and Yankee fans unless you want a shit storm. The reality is Kevin Youkilis could have said that anywhere other than New York Yankees camp.  Does he not realize that?  No… he realizes it and he doesn’t care. Or, maybe he does now.  Thanks to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (HERE), who Tweets Youk saying this morning, "In the context of what I said, if you read it just as 'I'm always a Red Sock', it looks bad. It's not that way. I'm a Yankee today."  But look, one things for sure, he’s about to get a dose of bitter emotion from Yankee fans who take this stuff much more seriously than the players do, regardless of him backtracking today.

The simple fact is, guys like Johnny Damon and Wade Boggs got it.  Boggs never won a damn thing in Boston but he knew not to speak out of turn signing with a division rival, not to mention the most competitive rival ever in sports.  Again… some things you just don’t say.  Look at Johnny Damon.  He won in Boston and then came to New York.  He didn’t say a word about it other than to say that it’s interesting to be on a different side of the rivalry.  He fit in nicely in New York and won with us in 2009.

Now comes Kevin Youkilis who gets a 1 year deal and is considered a temporary replacement with the Yankees.  Yankee fans struggled with the signing, but for me personally, I have always considered Youk to be a tough competitor, so the idea of him coming into the Bronx didn’t really shock me. I was fine with it… until now. That’s right, now I wonder what the hell to make of Youk.  

Now I know the players could care less about this crap.  The fans take all this stuff personally, the players just play, but you have to wonder if there isn’t going to be alittle anger among some of the players.  You have to wonder if the next few days will be tough on Youk in Tampa.  I hope so. I hope they break his balls for speaking his mind about “Always being a Red Sock.” Why? Because it was stupid, that’s why.

What Youk could have said from the jump was, “The Red Sox years were a lot of fun, but now I have a new focus and that’s with the Yankees.  I'm here to win a championship.”  That’s the baseball way of handling it. That would have gotten no press.  Kevin Youkilis may have forgotten where he was for a moment and he forgot the most important part of this whole mess… it’s not about the player, or himself, but it’s instead about the fans and if you trigger uneasiness in Yankeeland early… us fans we turn our back on you real fast.

Let’s hope he plays hard for us and doesn’t dog it or it may be the worst signing since Carl Pavano.

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