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April 24, 2007
There were two pieces of news for Kevin Youkilis today and Youkilis was not overly thrilled with either one.
One was that the Sox first baseman was being given a night off.
``It’s a good night. Youk ran into about every wall there is (Monday night),’’ manager Terry Francona said.
Youkilis twice ran into fences chasing foul balls. That came on the heels of twice being hit by pitches. Youkilis admitted he was a bit shaken when he ran into the fence as he was racing back, toward the trap, chasing on foul ball in the first game against Toronto.
``I think they added a triangle pad or something,’’ he said. ``I thought I had about two feet of room, but it’s s at an angle. When you’re running you think you have more room. That thing just jumped out of nowhere.’’
Despite the bumps, Youkilis said he was ready, willing and able to play. He reported that he had just completed his usual pre-game routine, including doing some weight lifting. Still, Francona felt it was a good time to give hims some rest and equally importantly get Eric Hinske some work. Hinske will hit in the number two hole usually occupied by Youkilis.
``He’s done such a good job staying prepared,’’ Francona said of Hinske. ``He’s not playing enough for our liking, but I don’t know what else to do.’’
The second issue with Youkilis was the All-Star ballot. Voting began this week. Youkilis is the only Sox regular not on the ballot. It is the second year in a row he is not on the ballot, but for good reason. Each team can only have one player at each position. David Ortiz is listed as Boston’s first baseman.
``I don’t worry about that,’’ he said. ``That’s out of my control.’’
Posted by Paul Kenyon 
at 5:09 PM | Permalink
