Results tagged ‘ Jacoby Ellsbury ’
Hairline fracture for Ellsbury; Dice-K is back
Further tests on Red Sox left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury revealed a hairline fracture in four of his left ribs. Needless to say, it now seems highly doubtful Ellsbury will return to the lineup when he is first eligible on Tuesday.
When asked if Tuesday would be a reach for Ellsbury to be back in the leadoff spot, he said, “Yeah, I would say so, but you never know. I’m pretty optimistic. I’m never going to say no on anything. “
Ellsbury said he can play as soon as he can swing without limitation. He is not to that point right now, and likely won’t swing a bat for a few more days.
Daisuke Matsuzaka is back in the rotation, but we won’t find out exactly when until, most likely, after the game. Meanwhile, Tim Wakefield, according to multiple reports, is headed to the bullpen, most likely after his start on Sunday. Francona said the Red Sox didn’t give much consideration to going with a six-man rotation.
A Minny matinee
It is a noon local time start out here in Minneapolis after a leisurely day off yesterday.
How was that off-day?
“I did nothing,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “It was good. I think the extent of my exercise was I opened my curtains.”
Some of his players had a day that was slightly more strenuous.
“We had a lot of guys come out there yesterday and do various things, some of the pitchers worked out. I know our catchers were out there with Tucks,” Francona said. “Some guys lifted.”
Jacoby Ellsbury is again out of the lineup with sore left ribs. He isn’t expected to return until the homestand, which starts on Friday night.
Boof Bonser will get looked at by Boston’s medical staff on Friday. This, a day after Bonser was shelled for the second straight time at Pawtucket.
Ellsbury dodges significant injury
The Red Sox caught a big break on Sunday afternoon, when X-rays taken on Jacoby Ellsbury’s left ribs came back negative. It is just a contusion.
Ellsbury and the Sox thought there was at least a chance there might have been some kind of break when he had a collision with Adrian Beltre on a foul ball in the bottom of the ninth inning of Sunday’s game.
“I mean, it’s sore, but I’ll be fine,” said Ellsbury. “He kneed me right in the ribs so that was the thing I was worried about is a broken rib or something like that. I’m sure there’s quite a bit of swelling because it is tough to breathe but I think I’ll be fine.”
Will Ellsbury play on Monday at Minnesota in the debut of Target Field? With it being a 3:10 p.m. CST game, it’s probably too early to say.
“I guess the thing is wake up tomorrow and see how I feel,” Ellsbury said. “As long as nothing is broke, I think … I guess it’s pain tolerance. I feel pretty good. I know it’s going to be really sore tomorrow. I also hit my hip pretty good. I think I’ll be alright.”
Friday tidbits from Bradenton
Daisuke Matsuzaka has returned to Fort Myers today after witnessing the birth of his third child — a daughter — in Boston last night. Matsuzaka will pitch in a Minor League game on either Sunday or Monday.
Jacoby Ellsbury, ill the last few days, will return to the lineup for Saturday’s home game.
Utilityman Gil Velazquez, likely ticketed for Pawtucket anyway, has a chipped bone in his left thumb and won’t play for several weeks. Add that to the fact that Jed Lowrie has mono, and Francona is finding himself light on backup shortstops. Bill Hall is getting the start there today in Bradenton, as Tito and the staff want to see if he is still capable of playing that position well enough to warrant regular-season action there.
Mike Lowell is not in Bradenton, but he was at the Minor League complex in Fort Myers, getting some at-bats. He went 2-for-4 with a homer, a walk and three RBIs. Lowell will make his first Grapefruit League start at the hot corner on Sunday, but not sure yet if he’s at home or with the split squad in Dunedin. I’m guessing it will be in the home game.
One player to continue to keep an eye on is Junichi Tazawa, who has great versatility.
“Very interesting,” Francona said. “He can do different things. he can relieve, he can start, he holds runners. He’s another guy who has come a long way in a year. last year, looking at him, all the history there of coming out of the industrial league. Now he’s a guy that should not only be in a fight maybe to make our team ,but someone we really think highly of. He can be useful as a reliever. He throws strikes, he holds runners. You don’t want to write off a guy being a starter. Depending on what our needs are, he could always be a reliever. Having guys that have the ability to throw maybe 180-200 innings is pretty important.”
Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell gets to see his son Jeremy play up close today. Jeremy Farrell is a Minor Leaguer with the Pirates, and the Bucs summoned young Jeremy as an extra for today’s game. Classy move.
Opening Day lineups set (in a way)
FORT MYERS, Fla. — OK, so it’s not really Opening Day, per se, but it is the first game of the 2010 season (never mind the fact that it doesn’t count, and it’s a doubleheader against two college programs). Anyway, the Red Sox finalized the lineup for that Wednesday exhibition-opening doubleheader at City of Palms Park. Victor Martinez will bat third in the opener, and captain Jason Varitek will make his spring debut in the nightcap. 
Boras on Beltre, Ellsbury
Say what you will about agent Scott Boras, but it can be interesting to hear what he has to say. At today’s Adrian Beltre press conference, Boras spoke about how his client’s deal came to fruition with the Red Sox.
“We had to sit down and kind of marshall through the competitive balance tax, which I learned more phases to it. There’s a signing bonus aspect to it, a plate appearance aspect to it,” said Boras.
This contract, in the eyes of Boras, was a “pillow contract” because there is a soft landing to it that will keep the player comfortable for the short term.
“We have tremendous respect for his abilities. For that reason, I approached Theo and said, ‘I don’t want a three-year deal. I understand your situation. Let’s see if we can work something else.’ I said, ‘I need a pillow contract, some sort of back end on this, but basically it’s going to be a one-year deal.’ Theo, I think, I was on the phone with him, but I think a smile came to his face.”
Boras also spoke of another one of his clients — Jacoby Ellsbury — being moved to center field.
“He’s been a center fielder his whole life. On the other hand, Mike Cameron is clearly a guy who has been a center fielder his whole life. He’s a veteran. To make an adjustment at this point in his career, we agreed that it’s probably better for the Red Sox to keep Mike in centerfield. Jacoby’s a good teammate and said, ‘I understand that.’
“The other thing is, [Ellsbury] is an intense offensive player. When you’re out there, with that body type, banging 60, 70 stolen bases… I studied who has 60, 70 stolen bases, who scores 100 runs and who plays centerfield long term. Check it out. The metrics don’t work. It’s a lot. It’s a lot. So the idea was, there is benefit and detriment to it. The idea was that your contribution to this team is so important to us, and the stress [centerfield] puts on your body is extraordinary.”
Bay in an unfamiliar spot
It appeared there was a misprint in the lineup card for Saturday night’s game. Left fielder Jason Bay was batting in the No. 2 spot in the batting order, hardly where you’d expect the team’s best home run hitter to be.
Bay had fun with Francona after seeing his slot in the lineup. “He goes, you’ve finally come to your senses.”
Before the game, Bay joked that he had told Francona it was about time the team started utilizing his on-base capabilities.
With Jacoby Ellsbury getting the night off, Dustin Pedroia moved to the leadoff spot. That move paid immediate dividends when Pedroia unloaded for a solo shot that went on to Lansdowne Street in the bottom of the first. Bay also looked fine in a spot he will probably never hit in again, nailing an RBI single in the second that tied the game.
Getting Ellsbury some time off was something Francona loved having the opportunity to do. The speedy center fielder has 621 at-bats, topped only by Dustin Pedroia.
Full Circle with the lineup
Why is tonight’s Red Sox starting lineup — Ellsbury-Pedroia-Youkilis-Ortiz-Bay-Drew-Lowell-Varitek-Lowrie — significant?
The obvious answer is that it marks the return of Jacoby to the leadoff spot, where he has been slotted just once sinceMay 31.
But the true answer is that this is just the third time all season — and first since the third game of the season on April 9 — that the Sox have had this combination of nine players in the lineup.
Obviously the Lowrie injury is the big reason why. But the order is also similar. It’s almost as if Tito has come full circle.
Only differences between today and Opening Day? Ortiz (third on Opening Day) and Youkilis are flip-flopped, as are Drew (fifth on Opening Day) and Bay.
The Red Sox obviously need to get a spark offensively, where they have struggled to have consistency of late.
Frankie singing Sweet Music
A different kind of Sunday morning in the Red Sox clubhouse today, as Frank Sinatra’s legendary voice replaced the usual mix of country, rap and hip hop. Good stuff, though some players — particularly Kevin Youkilis — seemed perplexed by the choice.
In actual baseball news, not a whole lot going on. Jacoby Ellsbury, who likely didn’t eat much beyond soup and jello this weekend in his rehab from intestinal turmoil, is back in the lineup, batting sixth.
What happened to him?
“I don’t know, but I felt terrible — absolutely terrible,” said Ellsbury. “But I feel better today.”
In lineup news, Kevin Youkilis moved over to third for the day, as Mark Kotsay — the brains behind the Sinatra selection — got the start at first. Mike Lowell and Jed Lowrie got the day off, but you could see one or both off the bench.
Roy Halladay liftime against the Red Sox: 12-12, 4.46 ERA. How is that possible? Don’t all of you feel like we’ve watched this guy throw a ton of gems against Boston?
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Jacoby from all angles
Getting a couple of days off, ladies and gentleman, which is why there has been no thread since Friday.
At any rate, I did work on an extensive piece on Jacoby Ellsbury that ran on the website last night, looking at this unique player from a variety of angles, looking at his past and examining his future. Here it is.
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