By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET – If there’s someone in the Red Sox family who Chris Carter can point to and say, “been there, done that,” Kevin Youkilis is the candidate.
In some regard Carter is the 2005 version of Youkilis. The current PawSox first baseman/outfielder is riding the same Pawtucket-to-Boston shuttle Youkilis grew to know and not always love. As much as those represented frustrating times for Youkilis, he can now look back and say he survived, eventually blossoming into a all-star.
“I think it helped me in the long run that I didn’t sit at the major league level,” said Youkilis, working his way back from a right oblique strain. “As much I didn’t want to hear that, it was the best thing for me to play that year down at this level.”
That restless phase is what Carter is attempting to sidestep. As Youkilis kicked off a two-game rehab stint Monday night, Carter spoke glowing about the Gold Glove recipient, saying the path Youkilis traveled down is one he’s best suited for.
“There are guys (in the minors) who got moved up the ladder and were going to be in the big leagues the day they signed. Then there’s guys who pushed there way in, went back-and-forth, and kind of forced a situation. That’s Kevin,” Youkilis said. “I’m in a similar situation. I’ve got to make room for myself and hopefully make a spot. If not, at least I gave it everything I had.”
Youkilis expressed the same sentiment. “Don’t ever feel at the end of the year you could have done something different. You never want to say, ‘If I worked harder, I would have had a chance.’”
There’s no question Carter is teetering on the brink of becoming a big league contributor. Currently he finds himself paying his dues. The Red Sox thought enough of the affable 26-year-old to fly him out to California last week, the logistics being the parent club needed an extra body in town. When everything was settled, Carter was dispatched back to the PawSox.
It’s that kind of yo-yoing that Youkilis experienced while stationed just a stone’s throw away from Fenway Park. That transition-busting 2005 campaign included 44 games over five stints with the Red Sox and 43 games spread over four stints at Class AAA. It was a hard-to-swallow season for someone who the year prior appeared in 72 games with the Red Sox.
Like Youkilis in ’05, Carter was listed on the Opening Day roster. Like Youkilis, it didn’t long for Carter to find himself in a situation in which he became the odd man out, riding a wave of uncertainty that comes from wondering “Where will I be today?”
Those days in the rear view, Youkilis finds himself counseling other players in the organization about staying patient and waiting for your turn to arise.
“I tell guys that you’re going to be upset, you’re emotions are definitely going to take that path because you feel you deserve to be in the major leagues,” Youkilis was saying. “Even a lot of times when you’re doing good and you’re swinging the bat well – which was the case with me every time I got sent down – it was an emotional thing.
“Be upset, but once you step back in the (minor league) clubhouse, be all business. You’ve got to give them every reason not to call you up. You can’t be a guy hitting .280, you’ve got to be that guy hitting .330, driving in runs and have a high on-base percentage.”
That’s the recipe Youkilis has followed since signing up for full-time duty in 2006. In three-plus seasons he’s totaled 64 home runs and driven in 290. Those totals are eye-popping considering he amassed 29 round trippers in 393 minor league games.
Ron Johnson served as Youkilis’ manager at two Double-A affiliates (Trenton and Portland) and Pawtucket. The PawSox skipper would like to say he envisioned future greatness for the 30-year-old who was bestowed a four-year, $30 million pact last winter. As Johnson noted, Youkilis is better off being regarded as a self-made ballplayer.
“I would to like to sit here and tell that I know back in Trenton that Kevin Youkilis would be a 30 home run/100-plus RBI man in the big leagues, but I can’t,” said Johnson. “What I hope he exemplifies is this: tremendous work ethic with a burning desire to be good can lead to this. I have never seen Kevin Youkilis play a game that he didn’t bust his (butt) and play to win.”
Youkilis arrived in Pawtucket July 29, 2003 in the midst of an incredible on-base streak, which lasted 71 straight games and spanned parts of four months. He recalled all the attention he received because of the streak and the “Greek God of Walks” moniker that became his calling card.
“I think that was my first glimpse of people on me every day,” Youkilis said with a chuckle.
It’s a glare Carter someday hopes follows him.
“I’m not thinking negatively,” said Carter. “I’m going to find a way to make myself better so the Red Sox recognize it.”