Steve Buckley has a column in today's Boston Herald discussing why the Red Sox should bring back Kevin Youkilis and give him the starting role at 3rd base. His logic is - to say the least - lacking. Here are the three bullet points Buckley points to on why Youkilis should get his job back.
1. If Youkilis can return and show his old hitting prowess then the Red Sox will have added a proven veteran to the line-up. To this I say - old hitting prowess may be a bad choice of words because Youkilis has looked old at bat and in the field. Since last year's All-Star break Youkilis has hit .205 with a sub .660 OPS. Let's also be honest - the days of Youkilis hitting 20+ HR are gone. The years of Will Middlebrooks hitting 20+ HR per year are just beginning. Give the kid a shot.
2. Buckley wants Youkilis to get his job back to increase his trade value because to use Buckley's own words, "Youk is worthless [on the trade market right now]." There's a reason Youk is worthless Buck. Nick Punto is worthless on the trade market too - should we give him a starting job to try and improve that?
3. The third reason Buckley gives is the old - a veteran shouldn't lose his job to injury. To which I'd say in my best Don Draper voice, "THAT's WHAT THE MONEY IS FOR!" Youkilis is making $13 million this year. He isn't coming close to returning value on that investment.