Ortiz and Youkilis at 3-4 has been deadly

[Triboy16]

Youkilis is no manny ramirez in terms of hitting experience just yet but honestly there isn't another i would feel as a cleanup hitter than youk. Similiar to manny so far, (mainly this year cuz last years 2nd half he was very average) he makes contact(barely swings at bad pitches or looks fooled) , sees alot of pitches, has been absolutely clutch.

I'm sure if i were any pitcher in the league right now i would dread to face him with some man on base even with two outs.

When lowell comesback i want francona to stick with youk at four. Place lowell at 5th, bay at 6th, lowrie at 7.(thats another thing, lugos new spot when he comesback should be at the bench until lowrie struggles)

ramirez or not, youkilis has been more than a patch up job at 4th

[crownsy]

the nice thing is, the way our lineup gets certain guys hot and tito has no problem shaking up the lineup, there's several people who could get hot and back ortiz. Drew has been great this year, lowell obviously, and even bay.

but for right now, ride youk's ridiculos hot streak for all its worth 

[Chris]

My only concern with Youk is whether he can keep it up over the long term.  Not because it is an aberation, but because he has shown the tendency to wear down late in the year, in the past.  I know he worked really hard on his conditioning, so hopefully he is past that. 

I never expect Youk to be a regular 30 HR guy, but he doesn't need to be to hit cleanup for this team.  If he continues to drive in runs, and  hit with runners in scoring position, that is all they need.

[Bankshot]

My only concern with Youk is whether he can keep it up over the long term.  Not because it is an aberation, but because he has shown the tendency to wear down late in the year, in the past.  I know he worked really hard on his conditioning, so hopefully he is past that. 

I never expect Youk to be a regular 30 HR guy, but he doesn't need to be to hit cleanup for this team.  If he continues to drive in runs, and  hit with runners in scoring position, that is all they need.

I have the same concerns about Youk.  When the season starts winding down and into the playoffs, contending teams are not going to let Ortiz beat them.  They will walk him and make Youk, Lowell or Bay step up and get some hits.  Let's see if they can step up and get it done when it counts in Manny's absence.

Let's also not forget that the Sox were facing some dismal pitching, so I'm not sure if their offensive woes are over.  Let's see how they do against better teams first.

[Redz]

You've got to give a little credit to Texas' pathetic pitching too.

Youk's career has had a steady upward curve...Why should that stop?

[xmuscularghandix]

Last year against cleveland....

28AB  10R 14H 1(2B) 1(3B) 3HR  7RBI   5BB   3SO


Manny Last year against cleveland
22AB  5R   9H 1(2B) 0(3B) 2HR 10(RBI) 9(BB) 5SO

i'd say stat lines are pretty equal, except even after all this people will avoid Ortiz and pitch to youkilis like "oh its not manny bring it on" when hes proven to be just as dangerous.

[gpap]

My only concern with Youk is whether he can keep it up over the long term.  Not because it is an aberation, but because he has shown the tendency to wear down late in the year, in the past.  I know he worked really hard on his conditioning, so hopefully he is past that. 

I never expect Youk to be a regular 30 HR guy, but he doesn't need to be to hit cleanup for this team.  If he continues to drive in runs, and  hit with runners in scoring position, that is all they need.

I disagree. Since the All-Star break, I am not sure if there's a more solid, consistently productive player in baseball than Kevin Youkilis.

I would think right now in the conversation of MVP, Youk and Pedroia's name should be the first two that pop up.

[celticsfan34]

My only concern with Youk is whether he can keep it up over the long term.  Not because it is an aberation, but because he has shown the tendency to wear down late in the year, in the past.  I know he worked really hard on his conditioning, so hopefully he is past that. 

I never expect Youk to be a regular 30 HR guy, but he doesn't need to be to hit cleanup for this team.  If he continues to drive in runs, and  hit with runners in scoring position, that is all they need.

I disagree. Since the All-Star break, I am not sure if there's a more solid, consistently productive player in baseball than Kevin Youkilis.

I would think right now in the conversation of MVP, Youk and Pedroia's name should be the first two that pop up.

When being a homer fails...being an idiot homer takes the cake.

Seriously, there's other teams and players too. Youkilis and Pedroia are each barely in the top five. Carlos Quentin for the White Sox is the front runner with Josh Hamilton, Justin Morneau, Ian Kinsler, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia all in the mix. But to say those are the first two to pop up? Ridiculous..