Boston’s and Ellsbury’s Futures Intertwined and Heading For a Showdown
Jacoby Ellsbury is in the prime of his baseball life. Discounting his 2007 rookie and injury riddled 2010 seasons in which he played a total of 51 games, Ellsbury has been steadily climbing the MLB ladder with and eye on becoming an elite outfielder. After a breakout and frankly absolutely beastly 2011 season in which all his numbers with the exception of stolen bases were up (.321, .376, .552, .928) , Ellsbury at 28-years-old stands on the precipice of stardom if things go according to plan over the next two years. And therein lies the problem.
The Red Sox control Ellsbury’s contract through 2013. After that, agent Scott Boras (man, you can really have a lot of fun misspelling that last name in a number of ways – think about it) will start weaving his evil black magic spells with nothing less than the face and future of the franchise on the line.
While it’s true that the Red Sox value Ellsbury’s emerging leadership, work ethic and talent, there was a time not too long ago in the dark days of 2010 that Boston management, teammates and the media for that matter took a decidedly different tack. After an early April collision with then Sox third baseman and brahma bull, Adrian Beltre, Ellsbury went down and stayed out of the lineup for nearly the entirety of the 2010 season with only a short-lived and ill-advised return in July.
"There is no one else that Boston management has to retain on this club in order to lay the next cornerstone upon which the franchise will be built. Ellsbury is it, period."
As the media questioned Ellsbury’s toughness and teammate Kevin Youkilis openly questioned his prolonged absence from the club, it became apparent after a July 10 press conference in Toronto that Boston’s medical staff had possibly mussed Ellsbury’s medical treatment . Ellsbury and Boston management agreed to a second opinion from Orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum in California. After a second MRI, Slocum determined that Ellsbury indeed had a broken rib and a number of other smaller fractures and in the process of compensating for the injury, a strained lat.
Ellsbury’s physical injuries healed over the winter but I suspect the damage to his pride, psyche and ego continued and Scott Boras was and is right there to whisper in his ear just how he was disrespected and undervalued by The Sox. Why? Because if Ellsbury continues to produce, his payday at 30-years-old will be massive whether he stays in Boston or not. There are two ways to look at Ellsbury’s 2011 comeback performance; 1. A man possessed to win back the respect of teammates, fans and management; 2. A man on a mission starting a three-year tear with a mind to cash out big time after 2013 with anyone else but Boston.
Ellsbury’s a smart guy. He talks about what he’s very good at – baseball. WEEI reported on February 26 that he and Boras were willing to listen to extension offers. After Ellsbury and the Red Sox avoided arbitration this year by inking an $8.05 million contract in January, he said when talking about free agency, “There’s always that possibility. I kind of leave that up to my agent. I was just happy we could get everything worked out this year. As far as future contracts and stuff like that, I let them take care of that and inform me if there’s a decision to be made,” Ellsbury is smart. Boras is a snake of the highest order.
Over the next two years, I’m going to enjoy watching Ells run down balls and make catches that other center fielders can only dream of catching. If his alarming 2011 power surge continues, Sox fans are going to have a lot to cheer about when he’s in the lineup. If the Red Sox are as smart as Ellsbury, they’ll keep him very happy and ensure that the future face of the franchise continues to help Boston win games and make the business of baseball in Boston go boom.
oooh, yeah
(ahh!) runnin’ with the devil (ahh-hah! yeah!)
(woo-hoo-oo!) runnin’ with the devil
i’m gonna tell ya all about it
– Van Halen
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