Kevin Youkilis: the Japanese God of Walks?

There has officially been player movement between Nippon Professional Baseball's Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and the Yankees. No, Yanks fans, you aren't getting Masahiro Tanaka (it's possible he might not be coming to MLB at all this year) -- it's Kevin Youkilis going the other direction to join Rakuten.

Youk is joining the defending Japan Series champions on a one-year deal. While he had expressed a desire to play on the West Coast to be closer to his family, that problem was solved by his family agreeing to come to Tohoku with him. It was, he said, a "life experience that was too good to pass up."

Another thing to consider: When written in Japanese kana, Youkilis' name would be transliterated as Yūkirisu. In Japanese, yuki means "snow" while risu means "squirrel."

So move over, "Greek God of Walks." I hereby declare "Snow Squirrel" to be Youkilis' nickname for as long as he's with the Golden Eagles.