Wallace Matthews of ESPN really ruffled the feathers of many Yankees
fans with his latest piece on ESPNNewYork.com Kevin Youkilis Arrives at Camp. In his article, he starts off with "Kevin Youkilis has two
messages for Yankees fans. He'll always be a Boston Red Sox, and he'll
never be Alex Rodriguez." Guess what? He's right. Sorry to break it to you...
Youk will always have a
place in the hearts of Boston fans, and Boston will always have a place
in his heart. It's true. He spent 8 1/2 years with them, and won a
championship with them in 2007. No player can just wipe away what they
had with a team they spent the majority of their career with. How would
you feel if Derek Jeter went to another team next year, and said the
same about New York? We'd get a warm feeling from it, I know I would. So
you see where I'm going with this? It was the right thing for Kevin to
say, maybe not to the New York media, but it actually makes sense.
But also understand this, Kevin
is a smart guy and he knows where he is now. I won't ever question his
passion and desire to play hard. Those credentials earn you some respect
somewhere. In his case, he has to duplicate that grit in a New York
Yankees uniform now.
Now onto the Alex Rodriguez part. We all know
why Youkilis is here. Simply because Alex is not. Kevin understands he
is here because of our needs at 3rd. He also understands that he is in
need of finding work. The Yankees made an offer he accepted. Again, he's
right to say he's not Alex... he isn't. He isn't here to be a successor to Alex nor to hope to be the
heirloom at 3rd. Kevin Youkilis is here to play as Kevin Youkilis. I
understand what he did in the past against us. It infuriates me when our
team loses. But, it's all history now. Youkilis starts a new chapter in
his baseball career and it takes place in New York now. The fans should
do the same, start a new chapter. Call it KEVIN YOUKILIS IN HIS YANKEE
DAYS.
-- Rudy Laurens, BYB Writer
Facebook: House of Champions
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Very objective perspective. Let's not forget one thing... ARod is not ARod either. He won't be able to fill his own shoes when he gets back. The bigger question is, if Youk has a good season, will ARod be able to duplicate Youk? Time will tell.
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