He was on the postseason roster in 2004, and though he only had two at-bats, he was in the dugout for every pitch as the Red Sox pulled off the most improbable comebacks over the Yankees and a four-game sweep of the powerhouse Cardinals to break an 86-year-old curse.
Youkilis was a much bigger factor in the 2007 championship, batting .388 with four homers and 10 RBIs. In the 2008 playoffs, he batted .292 with a pair of long balls and seven RBIs.
Still, the Ohio native said that there’s always a rare air of excitement before any playoff game. NESN’s Heidi Watney asked him if he still gets butterflies.
“Oh yeah. I get excited every time I step on the field, so stepping on the field in the playoffs is even more excitement,” Youkilis said. “I love it. Every minute I come out here in the playoffs is fun.”
The Angels’ Game 1 starter is John Lackey, and Youkilis has had a game plan established for a while on how he plans to face the 6-foot-6 righty.
“[Lackey]’s just a guy that’s just going to nibble and try to get you to swing at pitches that he wants you to hit,” said Youkilis, who owns a career .294 average with two home runs against Lackey. “He doesn’t have overpowering stuff but he knows how to command the ball and try to get you out. So for us, we have to be patient and attack the pitches that are in the zone when we need to.”
In Game 1 of last year’s ALDS, Youkilis went 1-for-2 with a walk against Lackey, scoring on a Jason Bay home run. According to Youkilis though, that won’t matter come Thursday evening.
“You throw stats away, you throw everything away and you just try to win ballgames,” he said.
