"If Youk returns in a week and is ready to go, he plays third base. He's been here. It's great that Will has come up and done a good job and we like him a lot and he's a big part of our future. But Youk's on the DL and he didn't lose his job because he got hurt."Ben Cherington
One of the crazier and most unfortunate aspects of following this Red Sox team is that you never know who or what to believe. For instance, the fact Ben Cherington presented this ridiculous argument to Sean McAdam, doesn't mean that it's actually Cherington's opinion.
This is the same guy who stood before us last December and swore up and down that he was 100 percent behind the hiring of Bobby Valentine, when we knew all along that he wanted Dale Sveum. At that moment, Cherington proved that he had no problem playing Larry Lucchino's game, and was content to carry the GM title, even if it didn't come with the typical GM authority. And for a guy in Cherington's position, I can't say I blame him.
Who's going to turn down a chance to be the GM of the Red Sox?
Still, it was obvious very early that while Cherington was the face of the front office, there were othersand one especially slimy otherpulling the strings. So, when he makes a statement like the one above, it's only and always fair to wonder:
Who's really behind all this?
I say this because, deep down, I don't want to believe that Ben Cherington actually thinks that the Red Sox owe anything to Kevin Youkilis. That given everything that's gone on with this team, that Cherington could possibly think that blindly handing the starting third baseman's job back to Youk is anything but idiotic.
Boston Red Sox
I want to believe that when Cherington provided this quote, he was tied up and blind-folded to a pole in Larry Lucchino's basement, as LL squealed in the background: "You tell them what's going on, Cherington. I just ordered 15,000 Youuuuuk t-shirts for the pro shop, and hell if I'm not turning a profit!"
Is there another plausible explanation?
Will Middlebrooks represents everything this team needs. Youkilis is everything they need to get away from. That's not very hard to see.
Now I can understand if we're having this conversation in the middle of July, and Middlebrooks has since comeback to Earth and clearly a little green for the MLB game. At that point, sure, give Youk another try. But to just pull the plug on Middlebrooks before seeing it through?
That's insane.
But that's the Red Sox.
We have no clue who's making the decisions, but they never cease to disappoint.
Rich can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrich_levine