Kevin Youkilis: What Were You Thinking?

"bets anybody 1,000,000$ the media is gonna spin this Youkilis charging of the mound as re-energizing/turning around Boston's season..." -My tweet after the incident

Now if you know me, you know I'm not a fan of the Boston Red Sox. However, I do respect the talent of their players.

Josh Beckett is simply amazing. Dustin Pedroia is old-school gritty. Jason Bay plays with great class.

Kevin Youkilis used to be on the list of Red Sox players I respected. Not any more. After charging the mound, Youkilis proved that he cannot keep his emotions in check.

Now before you attack my opinion without reading the article, keep in mind that even though I do not like the Red Sox, I do not like the Tigers more. I really wanted Boston to win, and I'm glad they did. But Youkilis still acted like an immature toddler.

Now, I will preemptively answer the typical (but wrong) "justifications" for Youkilis charging the mound. It's silly just typing charging the mound and justifications in the same sentence, because it's stupid as it can lead to injuries and it promotes violence at a time when baseball is not held in  its highest regard.

1. But Youkilis is tired of being hit...

So what? Eight players have been hit just as much or more than Youkilis and they have not charged the mound.

In fact, Chase Utley has led the league in being hit by pitches in 2007, 2008, and again in 2009. Have you ever seen him charge the mound? No, he lets his bat do the talking.

And that's what Youkilis should have done, let his bat do the talking. We all know Youkilis can hit the ball, but his reckless actions took him out of the game, preventing him from retaliating in the right way. Hell, Craig Biggio took pride in being hit by pitches.

2. But Youkilis was hit two days in a row...

But again, who cares? That doesn't give you the right to charge the mound. But that's not important. The media is hyping up that Youkilis is constantly being thrown at and he's had enough, especially when it's in the same series.

What the media is glaringly neglecting is that Miguel Cabrera was also hit for the second time in the series. His was far more serious, as he had to be taken out of the game. Miguel Cabrera is the Tigers' best player and really only source of offense.

But did he charge the mound against a rookie pitcher? No, because Cabrera knew how to act, unlike Youkilis.

3. But Youkilis was just being a man...

Yeah, this is pretty much the worst excuse ever. First off, Youkilis did do something right and that was acknowledge remorse after the game. Tons of kids were watching and throwing your helmet at an opposing player is just dirty and wrong, and he set a terrible example.

But if I were to stoop to this level of argumentation, I would say that Youkilis "got owned." Youkilis is pretty bulky and Porcello is just a skinny kid, not even old enough to drink. Youkilis missed Porcello and got taken down by a scrawny kid.

4. But Youkilis was right, Porcello was wrong...

False, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

A lot of people agree with Ozzie Guillen saying retaliation is justified. Ozzie meant retaliation in terms of returning the drilling, NOT charging the mound. Ozzie's players do not charge the mound, and there are plenty of opportunities.

In fact, Porcello should not have been thrown out of the ball game. Porcello was not the aggressor in this situation, and he actually initially receded from the charging Youkilis. He was defending himself.

So basically, Kevin Youkilis is a hothead. He cannot control his emotions, and he showed it by charging a rookie pitcher who could have made a mistake. It makes no sense that a rookie pitcher would throw on purpose at a player with a 3-0 lead.

Red Sox fans will call it passion; I call it unwarranted. Imagine if Miguel Cabrera had charged Junichi Tazawa‎—Red Sox Nation would be up in arms calling for Miggy's head—as would I.

Sparking the Red Sox?

There's another point to this article. And that's where I get to my original tweet. This will not spark the Red Sox offense. There's already been an influx of articles defending Youkilis's actions on this website, and it's just sickening.

Yes, Boston came from behind for the win yesterday, but it had nothing to do with Youkilis.

Porcello was ejected (and he should not have been) and his replacement Chris Lambert came into the game with a 32.40 ERA and 5.40 WHIP. Of course the Red Sox were going to take advantage of a terrible pitcher.

Now once again, the Red Sox are likely going to win again tonight. However, it will not be because of Youkilis. It's because Josh Beckett will outpitch Armando Galarraga.

The Red Sox are a better team than the Tigers and should have initially won this series—they did not need Kevin Youkilis acting like a moron to do so.