MLB

Red Sox’s Lester: ‘Weird’ to see Youkilis on Yankees

Something about the Yankees and Red Sox meeting on Opening Day feels right.

In Boston, however, Kevin Youkilis wearing the dreaded pinstripes of the enemy is all wrong.

“It [will] be weird,” Jon Lester — today’s starting pitcher — said of facing his former teammate, signed by the Yankees to fill in for injured star Alex Rodriguez (torn labrum) at third base. “I wouldn’t have never thought that would happen, but he made that choice for him and his family and got a chance to play third base here. I’m sure he’s excited about it, but now he’s one of the bad guys. We got to worry about him [today].”

Seeing a long-time teammate in the opposing dugout isn’t completely new territory for the Red Sox. After clashing with former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine and losing his job to third baseman Will Middlebrooks last season, the gritty 33-year-old veteran infielder was traded to the White Sox, ending his nine-year career in Boston. With Chicago, he appeared in 80 games, hitting .236 with 15 home runs, 46 RBIs and 47 runs scored. He faced Boston three times and had five hits — a home run and three RBIs in the series, including a three-run shot against Lester.

Of course, Chicago is not New York and the White Sox certainly aren’t the rival Yankees.

“It’s going to be different,” said Dustin Pedroia, who played seven seasons with Youkilis and won a World Series alongside him. “He’ll be clean-shaven and everything. It will be different. Youk’s been family to us for a long time.”

Pedroia, who sports a beard himself — much like Youkilis used to — was asked if he could ever see himself following his former teammate’s path.

“I have a razor,” he joked after initially dodging the question.

Youkilis, who signed with the Yankees after the White Sox declined his $13 million option, recently said players didn’t always look forward to the Red Sox-Yankees showdowns because of the extra attention paid to the meetings.

“As players, a lot of times we kind of dread [the Yankees-Red Sox series],” Youkilis said. “You’re excited to play it, but you know you’re going to be on Fox, you know you’re going to be on ESPN, you know it’s going to be a four-hour game. It’s one of 162. If you get too hyped up, you never know what can happen.”

The comment came before he was part of the “other side” in the heated rivalry. Add Opening Day to the mix, and this certainly won’t be just one of 162 games for Youkilis.

— Additional reporting by George A. King III.