Do you ever feel like we’ve stepped onto a demented merry-go-round that’s been possessed by the tazmanian devil? In the latest edition of the Red Sox news cycle that never ends, Kevin Youkilis appeared on WAAF this morning (via Jerry Spar of WEEI) where he refuted much of Jackie MacMullen’s most recent article that touched upon his alleged strained relationship with Jacoby Ellsbury.
“I have no issue with Jacoby. When this [season-ending] game was over, I went up to him and I said, ‘I just want to tell you that that was one of the most remarkable seasons I’ve ever seen [from] a player. I just want to tell you, I know it didn’t end well, but that was one of the most impressive seasons I’ve ever seen.’
I think the thing is it’s played out, like everyone keeps talking about that and everyone’s misquoting. And that’s the problem. My philosophy is this, and I will believe in this to my dying day: There should be implemented, which has always been implemented, when you’re hurt, you either go to Fort Myers or you go with the team. And I’m not going to change my philosophy on it. And it’s a matter of opinion. Some people don’t believe in it, some people do. It’s opinion. And it’s not that big of a deal. Everything has been really blown out of proportion.
Quite frankly, I was answering a question about this this year, and I don’t even know why. It didn’t matter. You sit there and you sit back in your locker and you’re like, ‘What is going on here? God, this is a never-ending story.’ “
This whole Youkilis-Ellsbury ordeal has gotten way out of hand. Youkilis made some comments last season that may or may not have been taken out of context, and they were blown out of proportion. Now that the Boston media can add both an epic September collapse and rumors of team chemistry issues to the pot, they’re revisiting this rather inane, insignificant problem in hopes of pinpointing a root cause. They’ll most likely come up empty handed, and probably will damage the reputations of a few in the process. Then again, that’s to be expected when dealing with an angry, irrational mob.
I hold a great deal of respect for MacMullen, but her most recent article for ESPN Boston made Youkilis out to be a bitter malcontent hell bent on instigating trouble and making everyone miserable. While I don’t believe it was her intent to make him look like a monster, that’s the takeaway many held onto after reading her piece. Yes, Youk’s antics rub people wrong way, and sometimes I wonder if believes he’s never taken a called strike; but he’s not a clubhouse cancer. Far from it, in fact. He’s a fiery, intense, competitive guy that wants to win badly. He not only expects his injured teammates to support the team, but also believes they should rehab either with the team or at the Spring Training facility in Fort Myers. These aren’t unreasonable demands. Had I been asked the question, I probably would’ve replied in the same manner. He was merely expressing an opinion. Based on what little I know about Youkilis is that he’s an upstanding guy. I have no doubt he pulled Ellsbury aside at some point afterwards to discuss his comments.
Later this morning on Dennis and Callahan, MacMullen took a moment to respond to Youkilis’s comments.
“I like Kevin Youkilis. I still believe he’s part of the solution. I don’t like what’s happened. You write something sometimes and it gets a spin toward, ‘Well, we have to get rid of this guy.’ I don’t feel that way at all. Youkilis is at his best when he is passionate and he’s really into what he’s doing. But in this case, by being there every day, because he was hurt, because he couldn’t play, they’re losing, he got frustrated, he couldn’t do anything about it. The one thing about Kevin is he can’t keep his opinions to himself. That’s why we love him.”
(snip)
“I did ask him about it, because I wrote a piece [on Ellsbury]. I asked him, I said, ‘You know, in retrospect, if you could do that over, would you?’ Listen, give him credit for standing by what he believes in. He just believes that Jacoby Ellsbury should have been there. I always ask these guys, ‘Did you understand how that played out?’ And he said to me what he just said to [WAAF] this morning, that he felt he was misquoted and misrepresented. So, I asked him again about it so I could hear it from his own lips.
His feeling is very strong that Ellsbury should have been there. And my point was, that’s not always the best thing. And I used Kevin as an example in this. Because really for him, with his frustration level the way it was, he just started — he didn’t have anything else to do, really, I guess.”
While it’s nice to see MacMullen clarify his statements a little further, I would have preferred she reported his comments rather than editorialize and make inferences. That’s neither here nor there at this point. What’s been done, has been done. All we can hope is that the witch hunt ends sooner rather than later. Until then, this demented merry-go-round will continue to spin out of control.