'08 Outlook for Kevin Youkilis

'07 Season: Youk broke the American League record for consecutive games at first base without an error, he has proven to be on of the best defensive players on the Red Sox and won a Gold Glove. Youkilis hit .328 for the first half of the season and earned his nickname as "The Greek God of Walks" by getting 40 free passes before the All-Star break. His average dropped to .238 for the second half of the season; some of this can be blamed on injuries from being hit by Yankee pitchers in the head and wrist. (Don't forget the 2 thrown over his head by Joba) Youk had a great ALCS batting .500 with 3 home runs against the Tribe.

'08 Outlook: Kevin Youkilis does not have great power for a first basemen; last season he hit a career high 16. However he is a very versatile hitter and can be placed anywhere in the lineup. It will be interesting to see where he ends up in the order in '08 because the Sox will most likely go with Ellsbury and Pedroia before Manny and Papi. Youk could bring some production to the second half of the batting order where it was missing for a large part of '07. Now that his injuries have healed he should be able to bring his average up. He will go back to being a more patient hitter at the plate and bring his OBP back to over .400. Youkilis' value, like Tek's, is hard to show with stats be cause he is such a well rounded player and clubhouse contributor. Expect to hear a lot more Yoooooooouuuuuuuuukkkkk in '08.