user: New Yankees third baseman Kevin Youkilis says he’ll always be a Boston Red Sox

Kevin Youkilis has always been brutally honest. Yankees fans found that out firsthand Thursday during a surprise spring training appearance when the new Bomber promptly put his foot — or rather his Red Sock — in his mouth.

Although position players don’t report to camp until Sunday, the former Boston third baseman made a quick trip to Steinbrenner Field Thursday to drop off some bags and say a few quick hellos. Asked whether it felt strange to be on the other side of baseball’s most famous rivalry, Youkilis made it clear on Valentine’s Day that Boston still held a special place in his heart.

“To negate all the years I played for the Boston Red Sox and all the tradition, you look at all the stuff I have piled up at my house, to say I’d just throw it out the window, that’s not true,” Youkilis said. “I’ll always be a Red Sock.”

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And Youkilis’ love for Boston goes beyond the diamond. His wife, Julie, is the sister of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and that, combined with his ties to two World Series teams, earns him a spot among Boston’s sports royalty.

“Guys play on different teams and that’s a part of your history; that’s a part of your life and you can’t change that,” Youkilis said. “It was great years in Boston. One bad half-year doesn’t take away from all the great years I had there and all the good things I’ve been able to do along the way and accomplish as a team, as an individual. It was great.”

The end of his time in Boston sure wasn’t “great.” The team’s miserable 2012 season began with new manager Bobby Valentine questioning Youkilis’ desire — two weeks into the season he said he didn’t think Youkilis was “as physically or emotionally into the game” — and three months later he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. Valentine lasted only one season and was canned after Boston lost 93 games and finished last in the AL East.

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“For me, as an individual, I know the problems I had playing baseball aren’t on one person other than myself,” Youkilis said. “When you don’t individually do well, it’s on yourself. There can be variables here and there. You can make excuses, but you’ve got to hold yourself accountable.”

Youkilis took a red-eye flight from California to Tampa Wednesday night and headed directly to the Yankees’ minor-league complex to get some hitting in before making his pit stop at Steinbrenner Field.

Having signed with the Bombers in December, Youkilis knows that the Yankees-Red Sox questions will follow him all season. But as he exited the ballpark for the first time, he said he is simply not qualified to answer them yet.

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“I can probably answer that question a little bit better down the road when I have both experiences under my belt,” Youkilis said. “For me, it’s just preparing to play baseball. No matter what jersey you have, you have to do the same things in spring training. This offseason I didn’t train to play for the Yankees, I was just training to get myself in baseball shape.”

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assistant: Kevin Youkilis has always been brutally honest. Yankees fans found that out first hand Thursday during a surprise spring training appearance when the Bombers' new third baseman promptly put his foot — or rather his "Red Sock" — in his mouth.