Kevin Youkilis and right-handed pitching

Kevin Youkilis became the latest in a long, long line of aging ballplayers the Yankees have signed over the years hoping to wring one last cup of tea from the old teabag. Before Youkilis, there was Chavez and Ibanez and before that Sheffield and Mondesi and before that Boggs and it goes on and on. And quite often, the ploy has worked. Chavez and Ichiro worked wonders in their time in New York. And so the Youkilis deal makes sense if you see this history. And everyone knows that Youkilis has steadily declined over the last two seasons and has had trouble staying on the field. The answer of why that has happened is easy to see and lies largely in his platoon splits.

Youkilis does have a pronounced split for his career. But not overly drastic. Against left-handed pitching in his career, he has an OPS of .928 with a triple slash line of: .298/.417/.511 compared to an OPS of .843 against right-handed pitching with a triple slash line of .277/.371/.471.  It is doubtful that anyone would sneeze at those kinds of numbers. 

But his ability to hit pitchers who throw from the right side has a distinct curve of growth from the early part of his career to a peak and then a decline and suddenly a cliff. Here are his OPS and strikeout percentages against right-handed pitching for his career:

If you have trouble seeing the numbers, just click on them. To see those numbers put in chart form:

The blue line on the chart is his OPS and the red line is his strikeout percentage. wOBA shows a similar curve pattern, so there is no need to use that as corroborating evidence.

The fact is that Youkilis did just fine against left-handed pitching the last two seasons with OPS figures of .987 and .878 respectively.

The guess here would be the effects of aging combined with his unorthodox stance and approach. There is a lot that has to happen to get a bat from that high above your head to the hitting zone. When Youkilis was younger, he was probably much quicker in getting that to happen against right-handed pitching. Now that he is older, he is not getting there as quickly and is easier to fool.

He gets a slightly longer look from pitchers who throw from the left side and can adjust to the pitch more effectively.

The big question is whether or not Youkilis is open to change. If so, Yankees batting coach, Kevin Long, helped Curtis Granderson with split problems Granderson had against left-handed pitching. But Youkilis will need to be open to such a change.

The situation is similar to what Yastrzemski did with the Red Sox years ago. Yaz also had a pronounced stance with the bat high over his head. When he got older, he made a sudden move to lower his hand position in his stance and it probably helped him last long enough to pad enough numbers for the Hall of Fame.

Youkilis probably started too late in his life to pile up necessary numbers for any post-career accolades. But this guy used to be one of the most feared hitters in baseball. If he is going to help the Yankees and rebuilt his offensive reputation, he is going to have to adjust now that he is older to hit right-handed pitching and he needs to do so in a hurry after such a precipitous fall. If he does not adjust and continues this trend, he better stash these paychecks away as he won't see them again..

Kevin Youkilis - The Greek god of what?

If you go to Kevin Youkilis' Baseball-reference.com's player page, one of the nicknames given there is the, "Greek God of Walks." The moniker, of course, goes back to the Moneyball story and Billy Beane who had his eye on Youkilis back in his minor league days. And then Youkilis burst on the scene for the Boston Red Sox in 2006 and was a major part of that team's glory year of 2007. But his star has faded in the past two seasons and this once darling of the analytic set is at a crossroads in his career. Where will he go from here? He is now the Greek god of what?

The first question to ask is the one that Bobby Valentine famously raised in 2012's Spring Training. Valentine's mistake, of course, was to pose the question to the media. But despite the hoopla surrounding the incident, was Valentine's question a valid one? He was witnessing Youkilis first hand last spring. Something he saw led to the question. Did Youkilis get complacent? Did his fire go out? And it is an important question because that fire was so much a part of the game of Kevin Youkilis.

Witnessing those epic battles against the Yankees, what stood out about Youkilis in his salad days was the way he played the game. He was as intense as any player in the game. He played like he was trying to prove the entire world wrong about something.

But then Valentine posed that question. Had nagging injuries taken the fire out of Youkilis? Had some nice paydays taken away the urgency of his game? Perhaps all of this speculation is hooey. The fact remains that Youkilis' game has disappeared in the last couple of years. And you have to wonder if it will return at this stage of his career.

Working in Youkilis' favor as he became a free agent this fall is the market for third baseman is Mother Hubbard cupboard-like. The White Sox have strongly intimated that they would like to have him back. Other teams will be in play if the White Sox do not satisfy what Youkilis wants. After all, this is most likely the player's last chance for a nice contract.

And teams will want him because of what he did from 2006 until 2010. We are talking about a guy who averaged a .384 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage in the .480 range or higher. We are talking about a guy who produced a wOBA over .400 for two straight seasons in 2009 and 2010 and a guy who has a career .894 OPS in high leverage situations.

But his last two years are quite daunting to those who hope there is still some magic in there. He only played 102 games in 2011 and his OPS fell to .833. That OPS still sounds rather productive and yes, he did drive in 80 runs. But that OPS was over a hundred points less than the OPS he put up in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

And then his 2012 season started dismally for the Boston Red Sox. After 42 games, his OPS was sitting at .692. He was batting .233. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox. After after a big game and a big first week with his new team, his season settled back in to the same sort of mediocrity. In 80 games with the White Sox, his triple slash line was .236/.346/.425. His combined OPS for both teams was .745 in 502 plate appearances and for the first time for a full season, his OPS+ fell under 100.

And even further indication of his loss of game was his doubles total. Youkilis, if nothing else, has been a doubles machine in his career. In the six years between 2006 and 2011, he averaged 35.66 doubles a season. In fact, his average per 162 games is 39. In 2012, he ht fifteen of them. This is not your normal Kevin Youkilis.

Digging deeper into his numbers, just about everything in his approach and results are the same as it always was. His plate discipline remains outstanding. His swing and miss rate was right in line with his career average. His home run per fly ball ratio was nearly identical. He produced similar line drive rates. His walks and strikeout percentages were normal for him.

There are only two statistical measures that have changed, and they go hand in hand. One is his BABIP.  For his career, Kevin Youkilis has averaged .322 on balls he put in play. In 2011, that figure fell to .296 and this past year, fell dramatically to .268. One of the reasons is that he is hitting far more ground balls than ever before in his career.

For his career, Youkilis has hit 36 percent of his batted balls on the ground. His career ground ball to fly ball ratio is 0.84. But in 2011, his ground ball percentage jumped to 41.8 percent and in 2012, that rate jumped again to 42.9 percent. His ground ball to fly ball ratio for the past two seasons have been 1.09 and 1.18 respectively.

And this seems to be a concerted effort on the part of the pitchers who face him. The number of two-seam fastballs thrown to him increased from 9.3 percent in 2010 to 12.3 percent in 2011 to 15.3 percent in 2012. With the improvements to the batted ball data teams now produce for themselves, fielders are positioning themselves better and Youkilis' ground balls turned into outs. He batted only .208 on grounders this past season.

It seems obvious that at this stage of the career of Kevin Youkilis, he is going to have to make adjustments. Perhaps it is time to simplify that preposterous batting stance of his so he can get to the ball quicker. Perhaps he will need to improve his off-season training program so that he can stay on the field more often.

Kevin Youkilis is going to be sought after this off-season. He will get a nice deal from either the White Sox or somebody else. Third baseman are scarce. His past performance is tantalizing and attractive. Youkilis will get a job with somebody. The question is whether he can get back to some semblance of the player he used to be to make whatever contract he is offered worth the investment. He was fun to watch and it would be a shame if he cannot get to some semblance of that kind of player.

Shut up about the Red Sox already

Two major writers took the time to discuss the Boston Red Sox clubhouse and skewered the team. In both cases, the writers used innuendo and vagueness in their reporting. That is not journalism. That is rumor-mongering. If you are a journalist and make such declarative statements, then back it up. First there was Buster Olney, a writer that is appreciated here because he delivers day after day, even on weekends. But he was clearly in the wrong in this piece. And then another respected writer, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, wrote this article basically stating the same things. Back it up, or shut up.

Olney says the unhappiness of the players and staff are "multi-layered." But then does nothing to tell us what those layers are. If you are not going to risk your access to the team by stating what the problems are, then the reporting should not happen at all. And that is what this is about here. Olney and Brown simply do not want to upset the Red Sox enough to lose access to the players and the manager. But that is chicken-journalism. If you want to protect your access enough so you do not report what you are reporting, then don't report it. Brown tells us that there are petty-feuds and cliques but then holds back on who are involved and what those problems are and then hides behind the old, "Reports are that..."

The result of such poor journalism is to put it in people's minds that there are great problems and then let the average fan, bloggers and even television personalities speculate on who the bad guys are. The conclusions are that Josh Beckett and especially, Kevin Youkilis, are the ones wearing the black hats here. Youkilis is unhappy about not playing. Wouldn't you expect that when a player has been a main cast member for years and suddenly has lost a job to a rookie? He wants to play and still feels he can play. There is no more natural reaction than that.

And yet, Mitch Williams of the MLB Network declares that Kevin Youkilis must be traded because he has jumped to the conclusion that based on reports by Olney and Brown that Youkilis is one of the cancers to the situation. Is that fair? Perhaps Youkilis is the bad guy here. But unless we have that information reported to us directly, such speculation is unfair and the natural result of being vague in the reporting. And you can tell that Williams is basing his statements on these journalists because he does not make a persuasive argument on why Youkilis should be traded. In fact, he made no argument whatsoever.

Without further facts, Youkilis being traded should be reported based on him being a surplus player right now that could bring back something that could help the Red Sox. Any other way of reporting it is not right unless you reveal more than what has been revealed thus far.

Of course, Youkilis did not help his case by disputing what Valentine said about talking to the player about benching him. But that is Valentine's fault for being duplicitous. Valentine had to backtrack because he lied. Plain and simple. Perhaps Valentine is the problem. His communication certainly seems to be directed to the press more than to the players and he has been called out by the players on at least three occasions this season. That is terrible management skills if you ask this humble observer.

Where is the front office in this situation? Why haven't they brought the players and manager together and read them the riot act? Perhaps they have. But that doesn't seem to be the case. David Ortiz is right. The place is a sh** hole right now. And writers like Olney and Brown stirring up the pot without revealing the contents of that pot does not do service to the situation. Instead, their chicken journalism leads to innuendos and causing people to take sides when we do not even know what the sides are. At least one thing is for certain: Somebody is going to get rich writing a book about all this stuff.

Despite all of this, the Red Sox are still a viable contender in the American League East and in the wild card race. If they manage to grab a playoff spot, it might be the most against-all-odds story of the season.

Kevin Youkilis - Brittle?

Last night and this morning, yours truly had a short conversation with Chris McBrien of the terrific Dear Mr. Fantasy website and Chip Buck, the creative contributor for the awesome Fire Brand of the American League and it was astounding that Chris from a fantasy perspective and Chip from a Red Sox team-based site had little faith that Kevin Youkilis will play 100 or more games in 2012. The conversation proved just how fickle the game of baseball can be. Youkilis, a major player in the 2007 championship run, a featured story of Moneyball and a guy just recently named one of the top fifty players (35th) active in baseball has now become an afterthought.

It is easy to understand Chris McBrien's stance. It's part of his job for his readers to assess fantasy baseball risk on players. This Fan doesn't play fantasy baseball and so there is no expertise in that area. But to think that you wouldn't want to touch Kevin Youkilis with one of your picks in that world just blows the mind. According to Fangraphs, despite only playing 222 games the past two seasons, Youkilis has still achieved a value of just over $33 million with his play. Despite only 120 games played in 2011, Youkilis still hit 32 doubles, 18 homers and drove in 80. The guy is a stud, isn't he? His batting average did dip inexplicably to .258 in 2011, but he still got on base a little more than 37 percent of the time.

It's also easy to understand Chip's point of view. He called Youkilis, "brittle," and despite emotional objections to that word, the facts bear it out. Since Youkilis became a fixture on the Red Sox in 2006, he's never played 150 games in a season. Seeing that in his player card was a total surprise. Kevin Youkilis has never played a full season. His 147 games played in 2006 were his tops in that category. Well, holy A-Rod! Who knew? Does that make Youkilis the current incarnation of John Valentin? Valentin was another on-base machine for the Red Sox in the 1990s who couldn't find a way to stay healthy. His career was basically over by age 32. Youkilis will be 33 in March.

There have been reports that the Red Sox were considering trading Youkilis for pitching or other needs. Looking at the value proposition of such a deal, the pitcher better be pretty darned good for that to happen. As mentioned earlier, Youkilis, as a part-time player the last couple of years has been worth over $16 million a season and has a very reasonable contract that pays him around $13 million. That contract does run out after 2012 (with an option for 2013), so perhaps that factors into such a strategy.

Kevin Youkilis is not as good a third baseman as he was a first baseman. But saying so discounts how few real options there are in the majors for third basemen out there. Even playing 120 games, Youkilis was the third most valuable third baseman in baseball last season. It seems to this author at least that 120 games of Youkilis at third would be a better option than 160 games from anyone else not named Adrian Beltre (why the heck didn't the Red Sox re-sign that guy?) and Evan Longoria.

There is one other statement this author would like to make concerning Youkilis: His .944 OPS in the post season and the way he grinds at bats, there are few other batters a contending team would rather face in big situations than Kevin Youkilis. This Fan has never really liked the guy, but there is a lot of respect for him as a batter. If the impossible happens and Youkilis can stay on the field for 140 or more games, that can only be a benefit for the Red Sox. Yes, folks, that was an understatement. To this observer, Kevin Youkilis is a big key to the team's success in 2012. And yeah, if the Fan played fantasy baseball, Youkilis would be grabbed in the first round if those two other guys weren't available.

Is A-Gone Bad for Youk's Health?

Kevin Youkilis was placed on the disabled list by the Boston Red Sox yesterday because of a balky back. Such an issue has to be unsettling for Red Sox fans as history has seen such great players as Don Mattingly and Todd Helton have careers sapped by such a thing. As we all know, Kevin Youkilis has to switch to third base after the Red Sox acquired Adrian Gonzalez in the off season. The trade was good news/bad news because the Red Sox picked up an MVP-type player but in the process necessitated taking what was one of the best first basemen in the American League and putting him over at third.

Let's be up front here and state officially that there are few batters in baseball that are as scary in big at bats than Kevin Youkilis. The guy just has this presence at the plate to do big things w hen the game is on the line. He's a big part in the never-say-die Red Sox. And let's also be frank by stating that Youkilis is an elite producer who has played at a value of nearly $18.5 million this season (4.1 fWAR). But still, there has been a perceptible drop in his production this year over past seasons.

First, there is his slugging percentage. In the previous three years, Youkilis has slugged between .548 and .569. This year, he's at .481. His homer to fly ball ratio is his lowest since 2007. Though he is still a human walk machine, he's swinging at slightly more pitches out of the strike zone. For the first time in three years, his wOBA is under .400. And perhaps just as telling, as an elite hitter, Kevin Youkilis has always hit with a high BABIP that was well over league norms. This year his BABIP is just slightly above league average. Without getting to nitpicking, his strikeout rates is slightly higher than his career norm and his ground ball percentage is slightly higher too.

Youkilis is 32 and regression is inevitable as he gets a little older and further from his peak years. But does playing third base make any difference? Fielding metrics do show that he was an elite fielding first baseman. He is not an elite fielding third baseman. His current metrics are in the negative numbers for the season. But the more this writer types, the arguments for third being more "unhealthy" for Youkilis seem kind of lame.

Playing third can't be any more stressful than playing first. Both positions are subject to hard shots. Both positions require setting up for a grounder. Both positions are required to set up for cutoff plays. Both positions have to field bunts. The only real difference is that third base requires more throws and those throws have to be made from multiple body positions. So maybe that's part of the answer, or at least a more favorable argument.

A balky back can happen from playing any position. And we don't really know how long it's been bothering Youkilis. From his .209 batting average in August, you would have to conclude that it's been going on for a while. Time will tell if this is going to plague him for a while and drags him down like it did other players.

And it could just be a down year for Youkilis. Whether it's due to his switch to third base could be no more than a coincidental argument. What can be said is that the 2011 Kevin Youkilis isn't quite as good as previous year versions. But still...you just know he's going to draw a walk in the ninth inning of a big game, don't you?

Will the Red Sox Recover?

Victor Martinez is reportedly going to the Tigers. The odds are not favorable that Adrian Beltre will return to the Red Sox and even if he does, there is no guarantee he can repeat what looks like an outlier of a season. Injuries wrecked the team last year and Youkilis, J. D. Drew and David Ortiz are all another year older. Sounds like reason to be singing the blues if you are a Red Sox fan, But consider that Francona coaxed 89 wins out of that banged up team last year even though it couldn't pitch and couldn't field. The Red Sox will find a way.

Kevin Youkils and Dustin Pedroia will be back and they are two great players. This Fan would no fool around and move Youkilis over to third if Beltre leaves. He is a terrific first baseman and there is less chance of injury over there. Ortiz should finish with an OPS+ of 120 or so, which is just fine for a DH in the American League. The DH position has really sagged in recent years and Ortiz will remain one of the best at least for another year.

Marco Scutaro is just average, but on this team, average is okay for its shortstop after so many sub-average seasons there. So what about third base? May this Fan suggest Jed Lowrie? Lowrie got into 55 games last year and finished with a 139 OPS+. It seemed like he really found his stride as a player. He's a shortstop by trade, but if he can at least repeat what he did in the minors with a career .825 OPS, he should do well at third defensively and replace most of Beltre's offense. If Beltre does come back, then Lowrie should play short over Scutaro.

If the outfield includes Kalish in center, Ellsbury in left and Drew in right, you have the makings of a very good outfield. This Fan really likes Kalish and he is a better fielder than Ellsbury who should thus be moved to left permanently. If Ellsbury returns to his form after a lost year, he is one of the most exciting players in baseball. The Sox would then have a terrific bench of Cameron, Nava and others.

The biggest question mark for the Red Sox is at catcher. Martinez is gone. Varitek is old (if they even sign him) and they seem to have a crush on Jarrod Saltalamacchia (ye gads, that name is way too long). This is a concern because the Rangers had a long crush on him too and it never panned out. But, he is only 25 and if any team can turn him around, it's the Red Sox.

Signing Curt Young as their pitching coach was brilliant and this writer has no doubts about the Red Sox pitching staff. Beckett will come back and be useful. Lester will get even better. Lackey will be slightly better than average and Buchholz might end up better than Lester. And this Fan also thinks that Young can turn Adrew Miller around too. It's unclear at this point what they will have in Matsuzaka or if he will still be with the team on opening day.

The bullpen will be fine. If Papelbon is back, he should rebound from a off year. Bard is terrific and there are enough other pieces for Francona to work with.

There has been a lot of speculation about the Red Sox going after Adrian Gonzalez and/or Justin Upton. Upton could be a potential upgrade for Drew, who should be included in the deal if it comes to that. This Fan doesn't see a need for Gonzalez as Youkilis is first rate and as mentioned, Lowrie could be a terrific third baseman. The Red Sox have some good talent in the minors at first and if Lowrie didn't work out, Youkilis could still move to third to make room. This Fan is not on board for trading talent for players that may or may not be better than what they currently have.

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you probably know this Fan's opinion of Terry Francona. He is probably the best manager on the planet and given enough pieces, he will make it work. He is a master and his 89 wins in 2010 should have earned him Manager of the Year. This Fan doesn't see the Red Sox situation as dire at all. They can still have a terrific team if the pitching comes together and if Kalish and Lawrie can live up to their promise. Anyone who counts the Red Sox out is due for a grand disappointment.

Quite a Race Going for AL MVP

Josh Hamilton has been amazing for the Rangers. Every single day the box score reveals multiple hits, doubles, homers, ribbies. The guy is just on another planet right now. But he's still not a lock for MVP. Another candidate is Miguel Cabrera, who has been putting up his own monster season. Robinson Cano has faded a bit in recent weeks, but if he heats up again, he is currently fourth in the majors in Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Youkilis is a long shot and Morneau needs to come back hot from his concussion.

Those who vote for MVP usually vote on traditional counting stats. Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera lead the way in those categories. Currently first and second in batting respectively, they combine a high batting average with plenty of power and both are driving in runs in prodigious regularity. Hamilton is batting .360. Cabrera is batting .347. Both are amazing averages. Cabrera has Hamilton by one homer and fourteen RBIs. He also leads Hamilton in runs scored by four. Those are the traditional stats that MVP voters look at when the season is over. But there are other factors. If any of the voters are interested in some of the newer statistics, we'll get to those in a minute.

Team factors will arise for voters. Cano will have problems because he plays with a bunch of superstars. Hamilton isn't the only force in the Rangers' lineup. Young, Kinsler and especially, Vlad Guerrero, are all having great years. So that may be a detraction from Hamilton. Cabrera is the only great hitter in his lineup. Yes, rookies Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch are having good seasons. But they can't carry the lineup like Cabrera can. The problem Cabrera might face is if the Tigers fall out of the race and become irrelevant. If that happens, Cabrera's chances will suffer.

Youkilis and Morneau will have arguments as well. Morneau led all of baseball in WAR for most of the season until the last couple of weeks. Youkilis has had a great season and has been a rock for the Red Sox in a season of injury and upheaval. If the Red Sox cannot catch up to the two top teams in the AL East, he'll have problems getting votes. Morneau has been slowed by his concussion, but he also has a problem with his own teammates. Joe Mauer is considered one of the best players in baseball at a premier position and Delmon Young is having an amazing breakout season. Young might be the Twins MVP right now. Both Morneau and Youkilis have one other problem that Cabrera shares. They are all first baseman and because that position is so loaded throughout baseball (the NL MVP will come down to two first basement too in Votto and Pujols), all those great players get jumbled up in jumbo.

Will anybody with an MVP vote care about the newfangled statistics? Probably a few. If so, Cabrera leads all of baseball with an OPS of 1.067. Morneau is second and Hamilton is third. Morneau leads all of baseball in wOBA at .447. But that category is really tight. Cabrera is at .444 and Hamilton is at .441. Youkilis is fourth at .421. There is another stat called Win Probability (WPA) and Cabrera is first in that category and Hamilton second. Nobody is remotely close to them in those categories.

Where it gets dicey is if you go by value which includes fielding. Cabrera still isn't considered an elite first baseman. He has improved, no doubt. But he is not great. Hamilton is having a fine season in left and Morneau is having a great season in the field. When you add fielding to batting, you get a statistic called WAR or Wins above Replacement which is used to figure a dollar value on a player's performance. Hamilton leads the majors with a WAR of 5.4 and a value of $21.6 million. Morneau is second at 5.2 and $20.6 million. Carl Crawford, a long shot for this award, is a surprising third at 5.1 and $20.5 million. But it's really not that surprising to those who look at these kinds of numbers. Crawford has hit for some power, steals bases and is the best left fielder in the game today.

So where are we? Well, we have to take into consideration what the old-fogey voters vote for. They want average. They want power. And they want their winner to be on a contending team. Hamilton fits. Crawford fits, but again, he suffers from playing with Longoria and Zobrist who will distract some votes. Cabrera will lose out because the Tigers are fading and because he is a first baseman. That leaves us with Josh Hamilton, who would win if the vote was held tomorrow. And for once, the voters would not be wrong.

Youkilis Jobbed by All Star Vote

This writer has never been a member of the Kevin Youkilis fan club. But whether you like a player or not, you have to respect and admire the Boston first baseman's game. The guy is probably the most valuable player on that team. He's always on base, when he doesn't walk, he crushes the ball to all fields, he drives in runs, he plays good defense. He is consistent day in and day out. But he lost the fan vote for the final spot in the All Star vote to Nick Swisher.

Now, Swisher is having a fine season. He is one of the most valuable Yankees with his attitude, his hard work and his penchant for getting on base. But the numbers don't add up for him getting the nod over Youkilis. Youkilis currently has a WAR (wins over replacement) of 3.3. Swisher's sits at 2.8. Both valuable, but easily shown that Youkilis is more valuable. Many would also argue that Konerko should have been ahead of Swisher too. But Swisher is ahead of Konerko in WAR.

Youkilis has a problem. He is a first baseman. There are more valuable slugging first basemen than at any other position. The American League has Teixeira, Cabrera, Konerko, Morneau and Billy Butler. The Nationals League has Pujols, Votto (who thankfully was voted in), Adrian Gonzalez, Aubrey Huff (having a great year), Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman and Gaby Sanchez. It's easy for Youkilis to get lost in that shuffle.

But for his worth to the Red Sox and his consistency from year to year, Youkilis stands out. His WAR is currently tied for fourth among all major league first basemen. That's pretty exciting considering the list just put out there for you. And of that long list just mentioned, only four of those guys are the most important members of their team. Youkilis would be the fifth. Look at the Red Sox and tell this writer who is more important to the Red Sox than Youkilis? Nobody.

Is Swisher the most important member of his team? Uh...no. An important member, you betcha. But not THE most important. And Youkilis and his WAR are a little suspect in this writer's mind. He gets little love in the stats for his glove. Morneau gets more props for his glove than Youkilis and this Fan can't see that. It's too bad that the fielding stats are so hard to tangibly touch (like batting stats) where you can see it and breathe it. Fielding stats are nebulous and you have to take the compiler's word for it. But Youkilis seems like a better fielder than he is given credit for.

And one other thing. Youkilis, now 31, is actually getting better at the plate. His wOBA of .422 this year is the best of his career. He is fully matured and knows what he is doing at the plate. It's too bad the fans don't know what they are doing at the polls