While rumors swirl that Kevin Youkilis is on his way out the door, Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine isn't making it any easy on his corner infielder, benching him in favor of upstart Will Middlebrooks at third base. Valentine reportedly said such a move required a conversation, but, according to the Providence Journal, Youkilis denies one ever happened.

"I don't know my situation," Youkilis said. "I never was told what's going on here. Let's put that straight. There was no conversation, and I'll leave it at that. I don't want to start up anything. There was no conversation. That was it. It has been addressed."

[...] "I'm a paid employee here. They make the decisions with that. When you're a paid employee and the boss tells you to do something, you do it. Until they tell me something, I'm here to play with the Red Sox."

Youkilis is hitting just .225 this season with a .311 on-base percentage with four home runs and 13 RBI in 142 at-bats.