Before Saturday afternoon’s game in Toronto, many questions and issues rose to the surface surrounding the Jacoby Ellsbury injury saga. There appears to be 2 different plot lines progressing at the same time, the 1st related to the Red Sox’s mis-handling and mis-diagnosis of the Ellsbury injury and the 2nd related to where Ellsbury was rehabbing and the length of time he has spent there. The 1st is a topic that has been discussed in the media and Ellsbury has made some very pointed comments directly about it, but the 2nd is a new issue that has been bubbling to the surface.
"One thing I can say is there’s a lot of guys here that are hurt and supporting the team. We wish Jacoby was here supporting us, too. -Kevin Youkilis on Jacoby Ellsbury’s rehab location"
The one thing we know is that Kevin Youkilis will speak his mind and is not shy. Although he was civil to a reporter when responding to the odd nature of Ellsbury’s rehab, he made clear reference questioning why Ellsbury is staying away from the team at the Performance Institute in Arizona. His quote above eludes to all of the other players injured on the club and they are still in the dugout and clubhouse cheering on their teammates. Although it is hard to tell how many players are int he same boat as Youk, it is clear Youk is not alone.
As we have seen with Dice-K in the past, when a player questions their team’s approach when rehabbing from an injury, it creates some discomfort among players and in some ways feels as if the player insulted them directly by questioning the team. It appears Ellsbury will go back to Arizona for a bit longer, although no final decision has been made, which will only continue to build the unrest for when he finally returns.
I don’t have any answers or have any idea what will happen when Ellsbury returns, but this is certainly a headline and sub-plot that the Red Sox do not need going forward. Only time will tell if this is truly an issue or something being blown out of proportion.