Bobby Valentine didn’t take long to stir the pot in his new clubhouse.
After questioning Kevin Youkilis’ commitment in a television interview Sunday, the Red Sox manager apologized to the third baseman yesterday — but not before upsetting several of his players.
“I really don’t know what Bobby is trying to do,” Dustin Pedroia said yesterday. “That’s not the way we go about our stuff around here. He’ll figure that out. The whole team is behind [Youkilis]. We have each other’s backs here.”
As for the possibility Valentine was trying to motivate the struggling Youkilis, Pedroia wasn’t buying it: “Maybe that works in Japan.”
Bobby Valentine (inset) yesterday apologized for inflammatory comments about fan favorite Kevin Youkilis, who sat out a 1-0 loss to the Rays." title="SQUAWKY WAY: Never-shy Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine (inset) yesterday apologized for inflammatory comments about fan favorite Kevin Youkilis, who sat out a 1-0 loss to the Rays." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/04/17/sports/web_photos/17.1s059.RedSox1C--300x300.jpg" />
AP
SQUAWKY WAY: Never-shy Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine (inset) yesterday apologized for inflammatory comments about fan favorite Kevin Youkilis, who sat out a 1-0 loss to the Rays.
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Bobby Valentine
Valentine found success in Japan after he left the majors, where he had not managed since leaving the Mets following the 2002 season before being hired by the Red Sox in December.
But Valentine insisted he was not trying to get Youkilis going when he told WHDH-TV he didn’t think the famously intense Youkilis was “as physically or emotionally into the game for some reason.”
Youkilis, who missed yesterday’s 1-0 Patriots Day loss to the Rays with a sore groin, said he was “more confused than anything [about the comments]. Everybody knows I go out and play the game as hard as I can.”
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Red Sox, who host the Yankees for three games in the rivals’ first series of the season starting Friday.
Valentine yesterday said he regretted his choice of words.
“I should have been more specific,” Valentine said yesterday. “ ‘Physical’ is about your swing, ‘emotional’ is about not being happy when he doesn’t hit a ball off the wall. ... I don’t know if he accepted my apology. It was sincere.”
The manager also spoke to Pedroia.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” the second baseman said after the loss. “We talked about it. We’re good.”
General manager Ben Cherington, who took over for Theo Epstein and was reported not to be Valentine’s strongest advocate in Boston’s managerial search, said he hopes the air was cleared.
“Kevin and Bobby spoke, I spoke to Kevin, I spoke to Bobby, and there were other conversations,” Cherington said. “I think what needed to be said has been said and we’ll go forward.”
Still, the controversy provided fodder for those who expected the controversial Valentine to make waves after he took over for Terry Francona.
Valentine’s recent comments were reminiscent of some he made when he was with the Mets, especially in his first full season at Shea in 1997 when he knocked Todd Hundley for not getting enough sleep. That was interpreted as Valentine’s way of criticizing the catcher for going out too much.
Youkilis is hitting just .200 with no homers and three RBIs in eight games in the wake of a season in which he hit a career-low .258 in 120 games.
“I go out and just play the game,” Youkilis said. “It doesn’t matter one way or another. There’s things that happened over the years with a lot of different things in baseball. For me, it’s not an issue.”
Valentine said he also thought the issue was overblown.
“I’d be surprised if Kevin didn’t know I was totally behind him,” he said. “We’re big boys. I think he’ll get it. If not, I’ll talk to him a lot more.”
For better or worse.
dan.martin@nypost.com
Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox, Bobby Valentine, Valentine, Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, Youkilis
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