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Youk's Rage Earns SuspensionAugust 13, 2009 -- Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis began serving his five-game suspension Major League Baseball handed down Wednesday night.
The 5-game slap was a result of Youk charging the mound and tackling Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello Tuesday.
The Red Sox briefly thought about appealing, even going so far to place Youk in the lineup on Wednesday, batting cleanup and playing first.
But after consideration by Youkilis, manager Terry Francona, general manager Theo Epstein, and Youkilis’s agent, Joe Bick, the Sox wanted to end the suspension as soon as they could.
“We decided to just take our medicine and move on,’’ Francona said. “We seem to be healthy right now. There’s always the idea that you could get it reduced. There’s also the idea that it could come at a worse time. So, take our medicine, do the best we can, and move on.’’
Youkilis agreed with the decision not to appeal and did not argue the league’s suspension, either.
“You just got to do what you’ve got to do,’’ he said. “I don’t really have an opinion on it. It is what it is. You just got to move forward. Hopefully, the next four days will be quick.
“I don’t have any regrets over it. The kids I work with in my charity and stuff like that, just telling them that’s not the right thing to do. But there comes a point in your life where it takes so much, and if people don’t do things in the right manner, then you get kind of fed up with it. You have to do what you have to do in life to protect yourself. I take one ball off the eye or anything like that, my career could be over. And I take a lot of pride in this career.’’
Tigers starter Porcello was also suspended for five games and Tigers pitcher Edwin Jackson was fined for being highly active in Tuesday’s fracas.
Youkilis’s suspension will mean more playing time for Casey Kotchman, the first baseman the Red Sox acquired when they traded Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves. |
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