Bobby Valentine Questions Kevin Youkilis' Commitment, Both Physically and Emotionally

Bobby Valentine Questions Kevin Youkilis’ Commitment, Both Physically and Emotionally

by Mike Cole on Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 7:46AM

Bobby Valentine is known as a manager who’s not afraid to call out his players in public to stir things up. He proved that Sunday, but his target, Kevin Youkilis, may come as a surprise to some.

The Red Sox manager questioned his third baseman’s commitment to the game during his appearance on WHDH’s SportsXtra, according to WHDH sports director/anchor Joe Amorosino.

“I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason,” Valentine said. “But [on Saturday] it seemed, you know, he’s seeing the ball well, got those two walks, his on-base percentage up higher than his batting average, which is always a good thing, and he’ll move on from there.”

Youkilis has gotten off to a slow start this season, especially going by his standards. While he has started to turn things around a bit as of late, Youkilis was just 2-for-20 through the team’s first six games. He is 4-for-10 through three games against Tampa Bay this weekend, though.