It’s uncanny when you peruse the numbers.

The perpetually perspiring, slightly unorthodox Kevin Youkilis has basically stepped into the clean-up spot and is ably filling in for the dreadlocked leftfielder formerly known as Manny Ramirez.

Since the Manny Being Manny circus took the first jet plane headed for La-La Land, Youkilis is hitting at a .409 clip with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs in 44 at bats and has stabilized the middle of Boston’s batting order. 

The all-important on base percentage has remained consistent with what it’s been throughout his three plus big league seasons, but Youk’s slugging percentage has spiked over .100 points this summer. And, more importantly, he’s been able to avoid the second-half sag that plagued his last two seasons in Red Stockings.

The cold, hard Youk statistics aren’t so far off the otherworldly .467 batting average, five home runs and 16 RBIs that Man-Ram has pounded out in Dodger Blue since heading out west on July 31

“He’s strong as hell and I think he’s always had it in him,” said Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan. “He’s probably – when he gets in those hitter’s counts – he’s looking to do some damage now. Maybe in the past he’d be looking for that perfect pitch or he’d be in a 3-1 count and let a pitch go by that he could have handled.

“Now if he gets a pitch in one of those counts he’s looking to do some damage,” added Magadan. “His walks are down and he’s doing what he’s doing when he’s swinging the bat; I don’t mind that at all. He’s driving in runs and I think there isn’t a spot in the lineup that we’re not comfortable having him in.”

Youkilis is naturally tired of talking about which spot he’s taking up within the Boston batting order, and – typical of his grinding, intense nature – simply wants to focus on the game at hand.

Either way, it’s unmistakable how much Youkilis has meant to the Sox in a season that’s beginning to garner MVP consideration.

“Whether people perceive me as a guy that’s hitting more home runs or a guy that walks all the time and gets on base, it’s something new every year when you’re under the microscope playing in Boston,” said Youkilis. “You want to go out and improve your stats every year and not get caught behind.

“If you go out and hit 30 home runs then you’ve got to be able do it consistently,” added Youk, who has already clocked a career-high 22 home runs this season and is on pace for 30 long balls. “You can’t be a guy that just goes out there and does it one season. The great thing now is that the drug tests are really good and people can’t make allegations that I’m doing…you know…HGH or steroids. That’s definitely not the case. Just look at my physique.” 

The 29-year-old Sox first baseman might not be a bronzed Kapler-esque Adonis, but he’s been letting his muscled up stats do all the PR work for him lately.

The results, as they say, are speaking volumes all by themselves.

It’s no coincidence that the grassroots MVP discussion is coinciding with the first true power binge of his career, and the extra pop has made Youk a far more dangerous threat when he steps to the plate. The increased power and production have made people around the game of baseball take notice. 

There’s a reason why Nike built an entire marketing campaign in the mid-90’s around the slogan ‘Chicks Dig the Long Ball.’ 

Mashing home runs and pushing up gaudy RBI and run totals earn any baseball player notoriety and nets them the big money – a situation that the young first baseman is careening closer toward as he approaches the final two years of arbitration eligibility.

That’s a story for another day, though, as the Sox currently have themselves the rarest of commodities: a burgeoning, affordable power threat that just keeps improving at the plate while flashing Gold Glove caliber defense at either corner infield spot.  

“He gives you everything thing he has every single time that he goes out there, and we appreciate that,” said Sox Manager Terry Francona. “I think he is learning a little bit in every single at bat. 

“Part of what makes him good is the way that he reacts to things, and he moves on – but he’s not killing himself as much as he used to,” added Francona. “I think that will help as we get later in the year.”