Jacoby Ellsbury

3-Boston Red Sox: RF-J.D. Drew, CF-Jacoby Ellsbury, LF-Jason Bay

This group has excellent balance. All three are fast and cover ground well at their respective positions, and they are astute baserunners as well. Drew's injury history is a slight concern, but when he's out there he's smooth, athletic, and immensely talented. He really seemed to settle in during his second year in Boston.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Outfields"

n is looking for major league talent in return.  There have been rumors of a Manny Ramirez and Jacoby Ellsbury for Carlos Beltran trade.  Beltran is not worth the money the Mets are paying him, he has not lived up to the expectations he created for himself in the 2005 playoffs, and he is very streaky offensively.  However, his millions of critics in the New York metropolitan area are usually irrational.  Beltran is one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball, and offensively, despite his cold streaks, he is still in the top three at his position.  Although he has struggled to a .145 batting average with runners in scoring position and two outs this year, he actually has been a very solid clutch performer in his career, hitting .306 with RISP.  With all that said, if that particular deal presents itself Omar Minaya would have to pull the trigger.  Ellsbury is a very good outfielder with a pretty good offensive upside, and Ramirez's bat is uncomparable.  However, drawbacks of Manny Ramirez include the possibility that he is just a rental player for the remainder of this season, and the inevitable headaches that come with Manny "being Manny."

Continue reading "Trade Market: Will The Mets Be Involved?"

After yesterday’s game, the Yankees held a closed-door meeting among coaches and players—reportedly, manager Joe Girardi spoke, followed by Johnny Damon and captain Derek Jeter. In a postgame news conference, Girardi repeatedly (and sometimes heatedly) refused to reveal what was said in the meeting, although the gist of the discussion was obvious: the can’t-lose Yankees have been losing.

Continue reading "More Bad Yankee Luck"

Both Lester and Masterson were prominent names in the trade talks, along with Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie (Clay Buchholz was deemed completely off limits). There was much debate over whether or not Boston would be better off going with the proven All-World pitcher in Santana, or sticking with the young prospects on the belief that they would develop into the prominent pieces of a championship franchise that they were projected to be. So often both front offices as well as fans fall in love with prospects who have never even played a Major League game based solely on their advertised potential. Almost as often, this ends up being an irrational love affair that falls short just as it has in the past with the likes of Brian Rose, Dernell Stenson and Steve Lomasney (anyone remember these guys?). In this case, Boston’s decision to hang on to its young talent has so far worked out very well to start the season.

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been at the bottom of the League.

Most notably the team is led in this category by rookie phenom Jacoby Ellsbury who has been successful in all 14 of his stolen base attempts and is on pace to steal 63 bases this season. Ellsbury’s speed effects the game constantly when he is on base. Everyone remembers when he scored from second base on a wild pitch during his first stint with the team last summer. Last night, he tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly to Twins rightfielder Michael Cuddyer (last year’s AL leader in outfield assists) on a ball that was hit not all that deep and few other players would have attempted to score.

Continue reading "The Go Go . . . Red Sox?"

Struggles like Jacoby Ellsbury experienced to begin this season are a more likely scenario. Just as pitchers adjusted to find weaknesses in Ellsbury’s game, they will certainly do so with Lowrie. The fact that Lowrie has already struck out 6 times in only 16 at bats makes the probability of prolonged struggles even more likely.

Continue reading "Despite Hot Start, Lowrie Still Not ..."

           Whew! We got that out of the way.

           Papelbon is signed. I’m not sure I would have survived an entire season without a glimpse of him in red socks, doing the Funky Chicken again. If I’m dating myself with the archaic dance, so be it. I’m convinced that if he were in pinstripes and did one of those dances, or any other form of eccentric behavior for which he’s known, on a Yankee mound, George Steinbrenner would go into cardiac arrest.

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Clay Buchholz pitched a no hitter in his second major league start, Jacoby Ellsbury stepped in when he was needed and became a vital part of the offense, and Jon Lester got the win in the World Series clincher. All are expected to be key contributors to the team this season. However, this influx of talent from the minors has not left this cupboard bare as Boston’s farm system still ranks in Baseball America’s top 5. Here are some of the next big prospects to keep an eye on in camp this spring and follow their progress this summer.

Continue reading "Boston Farm System Still Flush With Prospects"

ow?

Will Coco Crisp Still be in a Red Sox Uniform When the Season Starts?

With the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury and the re-signing of outfielder Bobby Kielty as a right handed bat off the bench, Coco Crisp has become expendable. Crisp has made it clear that he wants to start. With several teams still in need of a centerfielder, there is no lack of potential trade partners. Boston could always use reliable arms, especially in the bullpen, but they also need a young catcher to develop to eventually replace Jason Varitek, who is certainly not getting any younger. However, there does not appear to be any rush to trade Crisp and Theo Epstein seems content to wait for the right deal to come along, and it certainly will as one of these teams will eventually become desperate for a proven centerfielder. Will that happen before the Red Sox break camp or will they wait until during the season and they get a better sense of their pitching situation?

Continue reading "Boston Red Sox Spring Training Stories To Follow"

at center field as management works at a decision between Coco Crisp and the new kid on the block, Jacoby Ellsbury.

There are pros and cons on each side of the equation. On the surface, Crisp has the experience; 6 major league seasons, four with the Indians and the last two, with the Sox. On the Ellsbury side, you have a rookie who batted .353 playing in about 20% of last year's games. Then, too, he did bat .438 in the World Series (.360 overall in the post-season).

Continue reading "Is Coco 'crisp' enough?"