Third base. The hot corner. The place where shortstops go to die. At this pivotal intersection sits Alex Rodriguez in New York and Kevin Youkilis in Boston. Both of these players had off years last year. A-Rod hit .276 with 16 homeruns and 62 RBI's, while Youkilis hit .258 with 17 homeruns and 80 RBI's. Youkilis played in 21 more games than A-Rod as A-Rod suffered from injuries found most prevalent in German Shepherds.
Despite Youkilis' slightly better performance last year, A-Rod holds the advantage in a few key areas. For one, A-Rod's a better hitter than Youkilis. Yes Youkilis can out walk A-Rod, but A-Rod can actually hit the ball better. A-Rod can also out date Youkilis. A-Rod is commonly found with actresses and singers, while Youkilis is commonly found in police lineups fitting the common profile of "creeps". Further more, Youkilis has bad karma from his time in the minor leagues, where he worked a second job hiring himself to families as the boogie man to scare children into obeying their parents. Many children were emotionally scared in those days. The kids were so horrified of Youkilis they would run to the actual boogie man for comfort. That stuff has a way of coming back to you.
So who wins in this comparison of third baseman? A-Rod. Only because he's making $29 million this season, and only 70 homerun hitters with high .400 batting averages make that kind of money. Youkilis will make $12 million which is in the ballpark of what Carl Pavano was making when he was with us. Do you pick the 70 homerun hitter or Carl Pavano? I rest my case.
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