Comments on: Ellsbury’s time to stand up and deliver

By: Dante

Dante — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:44:12 +0000

I agree that Ellsbury has been a disappointment offensively thus far in his MLB career
but I wouldnt categorize him with willie harris, willy tavares or brett gardner..
i do think the sox will need to upgrade their everyday lineup before next season, and if ellsbury can rebound this season to hit around .300 with a .355 OBP, play Gold Glove caliber defense in CF and steal 80 bases…i think he could be packaged with a top prospect to net a very good everyday player…maybe not a grady sizemore, but someone the sox can build around
maybe like ellsbury and bowden to cincy (they dont seem to value OBP that much) for a Jay Bruce

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:00:20 +0000

These are the guys we’ve got and probably the guys were gonna have for the playoff run, and either they’ll adjust or the offense won’t be enough. Bay is starting to look like little more than a mistake hitter. Just like Ellsbury, he can’t seem to lay off breaking balls in the dirt, though he gets pitched on the outer half. The word is out on these guys and every pitcher in the AL smells blood in the water. They both need to shorten up the swings, hit some balls the other way and most importantly, protect the plate on 2 strikes.

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:43:07 +0000

Ellsbury’s trade value is likely not very high at all. The minor leagues are full of guys with great speed and good defense who can’t get on base. How much would Willy Tavares, Willie Harris, Brett Gardener fetch in a trade? Not much. Ellsbury should be better than all of those guys, but he’s not. If he did the things that would make him valuable in a trade, there would be no need to trade him.

By: Dante

Dante — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:17:41 +0000

I usually dont agree with Sean O because I think he’s irrationally negative for the most part
but I wouldnt mind trading ellsbury either…if packaged with a high-ceiling pitching prospect, i wonder if he could net a Grady Sizemore type.
maybe a stretch, but I think his trade value is prob high and I have doubts about him ever walking enough to be a consistent .370-.380 obp guy, which is where the sox need their leadoff hitter to be

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:41:00 +0000

I’d like to see more of what Baldelli could do with more starts in center.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:22:47 +0000

Ellsbury is a fine hitter and has done well in the bottom third. Leave him there.
His speed is more valuable with non-sluggers batting behind him and his low OBP doesn’t hurt the team’s scoring. We don’t need to give a low OBP guy the most plate appearances on the team.
Put him in position to succeed. If he develops patience and OBP move him to the leadoff spot then if that is really his future with the team.

By: Sean O

Sean O — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:27:09 +0000

traaaaaade hiiiiiiiim.

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:22:53 +0000

Ellsbury’s biggest problem is his inability or perhaps unwillingness to shorten his swing with 2 strikes. He should be using his speed to become a tougher out, put the ball on the ground and pressure the defense, foul off more pitches… These are things good lead-off men do, but Ellsbury looks like he’s swinging for the fences all the time, and as a result is constantly fishing for breaking balls in the dirt when he should be protecting the plate.