tackle-bag

Don't think there's any need to be so dismissive. My original post made clear that I just wanted to start a discussion and it's apparent that a good few people agree with my point of view. If you want to deal in OBP and slugging, Youkilis is 11th (with .314) and 12th (with .372) respectively in those stats. Middlebrooks is 7th (with .341) and 5th (with .517). Don't forget that Youk is the 4th highest paid batter playing for the Red Sox. To my mind, he's over-paid, over-rated and the team can do without him.

I'm not saying for a second that he's not highly rated; he's a 3 time all-star who has consistently been listed in the top 40 players in the majors over the past few years. My point is that those accolades don't appear to have been deserved for some time now. Will Middlebrooks has played 4 fewer games this season than Youk but there is daylight between them in terms of hits and homers. The former also has nearly twice as many RBI, all of which is summarised by a much healthier average. All of the offensive evidence so far this season would suggest that he ought to be first choice.

Hi all, I'm a relatively new Sox fan, having followed the team for just under 2 years now. In that time, I've come to the conclusion that Kevin Youkilis is by some distance the Sox' most over-rated player. This isn't trolling, I'm just wondering whether there's something that I'm missing. As I see it:- - His batting average is just that, average (14th among players on the active roster this year, 11th last season). - He doesn't hit many homers for a big guy. - He's not a big game player. Any time he has a chance to turn a game, it seems to me that he does something stupid like strike out swinging at a ball in the dirt. Tonight's performance with the bases loaded is a classic example. - His technique is ridiculous. I get the impression that maybe because he's spent his entire career at Fenway and because he's a passionate character, he sometimes gets a free pass. Or is he a guy who used to be a lot more effective (I note the decline in his stats) but is past his best?