Good morning Fackers. Some things just seem destined to be together. Peanut butter and jelly; gin and tonic; douchebags and Porsches; hipsters and black-rimmed glasses; A-Rod and According to NESN, the first part of that last pairing would like that partnership to span his whole career (h/t BBTF):
YOOOOUK WILL ALWAYS BE IN OWAH HAAHHTS!!!!!
Kevin Youkilis' passionate play has led Red Sox fans to embrace the infielder as a true Bostonian. Youkilis has embraced the local fans as well.
Like that time he was absolutely fackin' dawnminating at Daisy Buchannan's!
According to the Boston Herald, Youkilis would like to retire as a member of the Red Sox. "I see myself, if everything goes well, retiring as a member of the Red Sox," Youkilis told the Herald. "That's my goal. I want to finish my career with the Red Sox, and that's not something that a lot of players do."
"If everything goes well" is a pretty big assumption. As players' careers wind down and their skill sets erode, they often have a different perception of how useful they are to their team than the organization does. Under the control of Theo Epstein, the Sox have been quick to cast of guys like Nomar, Johnny Damon and most recently Jason Bay if they had concerns about their long term viability. They are a lot less sentimental than most teams when it comes to retaining talent.
Thus far though, Youk's actions seem to indicate that he likes being in Boston and doesn't care that much about the money. He opted for long term stability over the allure of a big free agent contract and signed a pretty team-friendly extension that takes him through the 2012 season with a $13M club option for 2013. At that point he'll be 33 years old and it's unlikely he'll have a big enough payday on the open market to tempt him to leave.
The two-time All-Star says Boston is unlike any other place. "It's a cool town," Youkilis told the Herald. "It's a cool city. I don't want to knock any city when I say this, but there's a lot of cool stuff about Boston. And not just the city. You can get in your car and drive to Vermont, and that's a whole other world.
State. It's a whole 'nother state. A state a lot like Massachusetts but with fewer people and more mountains, cows, maple syrup and hippies.
The 30-year-old has plenty of major league seasons ahead of him. If Youkilis' enthusiastic play continues, he should always have a place on the Red Sox roster and in the hearts of Red Sox fans.
In all non-Boston-accented seriousness, it would greatly behoove Youk to retire a Red Sock. He was drafted by the team, came up through the organization and obviously embodies the franchise perfectly (or else we wouldn't have named this blog after our hatred of him). If he finishes out his career in Boston, he's set for life with the franchise. And outside of the Yankees, the Sox are probably the best organization to be associated with in your retirement, provided you are interested in things like "making money for appearances" and "never having to buy a drink at a bar in a certain city again".
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