Jacoby Ellsbury to Move Back to Center Field Full Time
by Randy Booth on May 25, 2010 10:54 AM EDT
in News
Email
PrintWith Mike Cameron coming off the disabled list today, we'll see a new Red Sox outfield: one with Jacoby Ellsbury in center field and Cameron moving to left:
Following the Red Sox' 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, Jacoby Ellsbury confirmed what was learned by WEEI.com earlier Monday night -- that he is slated to be manning center field on a regular basis for the Sox, even with the return of Mike Cameron from the 15-day disabled list.
Cameron, who will be activated from the D.L. Tuesday, had been identified as the Red Sox' starting center fielder prior to the season, but was sidelined with a lower abdominal strain after playing in just 11 games.
For Ellsbury, the news was welcomed with open arms.
"That's where I've always played, center," said Ellsbury, who has been playing centerfield since returning from the disabled list last Saturday, "So, yeah, I was pretty happy about that.
"I think that's definitely my natural position and where you would think I would play. So, yeah, they told me I was going to left and I told them basically whatever would help the team out, I would go to left. Now it's come back around and I'm fine with it."
I do not like this move by Terry Francona. Here is what I think happened: Ellsbury complained about playing left field. He said something along the lines of, "Gosh, Tito. It's really hard to play left field when I got guys like Beltre and Scutaro running on to my grass. I don't think I can handle this."
And Tito replied, "Uh, yeah. OK. Since we don't want you to get hurt again, and since you obviously don't know how to play with other people around you, we'll put you back in center field. Isolate you so you can only hurt yourself."
Another factor in all of this may be Cameron's mobility. Francona and company may not think Cameron would have the mobility -- at least not now -- after his injury to man all of center field. Perhaps this is a move to save Cameron a bit.
I think this is a stupid move and I don't think it's going to last long. Although we only saw Cameron in center for a short period of time, he was such a breath of fresh air out there. He was getting great jumps on the ball and he never looked fooled.
I liked having a center fielder that looked capable in center field. Now that's gone.
Gee, Tito, I hope you're right about all this.
86 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
This 100% has to do with Cameron's abdominal injury.
I don’t see this lasting too long. I love Cammy in center. He’s a TERRIFIC center fielder.
Playing LF is supposed to put less strain on him.
"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash
by BoldandBrash on May 25, 2010 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Yup. Its all about Cameron.
I seriously doubt theyre concerned about another freak play – which was Beltre’s fault, anyway. LF has the right of way there. The guy coming in gets to call off the infielder. Freak play anyway. 1 in a million.
Bullpen Banter
www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor
Yup. Call the ball, man.
Call the ball.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
Didn't get to see Cameron in center long enough to judge his capabilities
But I don’t think your assessment is fair of Ells. He clearly stated he’d do what it took to help the team, and he was willing to play there. I mean, obviously he’s used to center, so it’s going to take some time to get used to left if they switch him over there. It seems unfair to me to say that Ellsbury complained about being moved when he only got a few starts there and obviously wasn’t fully ready to take the position on. And I still say what happened was Beltre’s fault. Regardless, as Rockem said, with Cameron’s abdominal injury, it wouldn’t make sense to place him out in center right away until you know that he’s going to be able to deal with the strain. Playing left at Tropicana and some other larger left fields (as compared to Fenway) will give time to see how he’s doing. I’m plenty happy to see Ellsbury in center in the meantime, but more importantly he needs to get his bat back into things asap. We could use him on base.
That collision
Could have been avoided if Ells didn’t dive/slide BECAUSE HE DIDN’T HAVE TO. The guy is all about the dramatic in the outfield and he paid for it this time.
SB Nation's Boston Red Sox community:
OverTheMonster.com
Follow this guy on Twitter: @RCBooth
by Randy Booth on May 25, 2010 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions
you seem to jump to a lot of conclusions
About ellsbury’s motives … that doesn’t seem very fair to me. Regardless, Ellsbury had a better position to catch the ball than did Beltre. Beltre should’ve known that but he didn’t and thus the collision. Beltre has been less than reliable at 3rd this season, and this mistake is what cost Ellsbury. But I have a feeling we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that. :)
RE:
Jumping to conclusions is my job in running this blog. (I gotta’ get the conversation flowing somehow, right? ;-))
You have a valid point about Ells having the better position. Although, with that, I still think Ells should have known to hold up AND Beltre is used to being a “defense first” guy. He is used to saving other guys’ butts.
Regardless, let’s just pray everyone stays healthy now…
SB Nation's Boston Red Sox community:
OverTheMonster.com
Follow this guy on Twitter: @RCBooth
by Randy Booth on May 25, 2010 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Ellsbury had the better position on the ball
But he also was in position to see Beltre AND the ball. Beltre was not in a position where he could have checked on Ellsbury without losing the ball. So Ellsbury should have been able to have the ball, but he should have either seen that Beltre was looking in the air and running full force and let him try for it or called him off LOUDLY.
every little leaguer
knows that it’s the outfielder’s job to call for the ball if he’s going for it.
That wasn’t the first time Ellsbury crashed into somebody. He’s done it or had a near miss at least three other times that I recall.
Lets not get crazy
RM – I also feel Jake is a bit too flashy sometimes, but it’s really impossible to say he didn’t have to slide for that ball isn’t it?
This injury was really nothing more then 2 guys going hard after the ball and not communicating. That happens all the time in the MLB, lets not forget Cameron was involved in an even worse collision due to lack of communication.
Sure the CF always take priority vs other OF, and the OF over the IF – but just because the other guy can call you off, doesn’t mean you don’t call for the ball. All parties involved need to call for the ball.
nope
it’s the outfielder’s job to call for the ball. It’s not the infielder’s job to do that.
That’s basic baseball culture. Beltre is supposed to go for the ball up to the point he hears an outfielder call for it. There’s no reason for him to call for the ball at all. You call for the ball to tell other people not to go for the ball. But it’s not the infielder’s job (or place) to tell an outfielder to not go for the ball.
OF's can "call off" IFs, but all fielders should be calling for a ball they chase
Because Jake can call off Beltre doesn’t mean Beltre shouldn’t be calling for the ball. That’s the true fundamental, you chase after every ball and call for the ones you can get.
There’s a reason why certain positions can call off others that was derived as much from positional analysis as it was from the fact that at one point all players near the ball were calling for it as they were in pursuit and a hierarchy needed to be established.
The general MLB population seems to be forgotten this fundamental like many others and now simply wait to be called off. But you can’t be ‘called off’ if you never make a call in the first place…
All players going after a ball are mutually responsible for calling for it. If you don’t call for it, you shouldn’t be close enough to collide
But, if Beltre is going for it, but isn't 100% he can get it
…then why would he call off the fielder. It’s not like he’ll stop going for it if he’s less than 100%, either.
He has to operate under the assumption that he just back peddles after it until he is told someone else has a better play on it. That someone would be Ellsbury, since he’s coming straight in, and has a view of both the ball and the fielder.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
Right! But if Ellsbury isn't sure he can get to the ball....
does he call " I’m trying for it" or call for it anyway?
In the grey area that lies between a sure catch and a ball that drops in, I would argue more communication is better then none – yet most times these are not circumstances that either player are sure they should say anything
I would argue, however,
that it’s the obligation of the player coming in on the ball to keep an eye open for the collision, since he isn’t physically twisted around.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
we have years of data that simply, and clearly show both their capabilities
and Cameron is without question a better CF than Ellsbury.
concern about injury
if Cameron has limited mobility, I can see the thinking here. (Also, he’s 37 already, isn’t he?)
GOOD
Ellsbury is a CF
Join the NLL community at http://www.nationallacrosseleagueblog.blogspot.com/
Talk about Boston sports at http://www.bestbostonsports.com/
by bestbostonsports on May 25, 2010 11:20 AM EDT reply actions
Cameron is a CF as well...
…a better one
by RockEmSoxEm on May 25, 2010 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions
+1
SB Nation's Boston Red Sox community:
OverTheMonster.com
Follow this guy on Twitter: @RCBooth
by Randy Booth on May 25, 2010 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
i'll reserve judgment until he gets back into playing
but i have my doubts … he’s 37, Jacoby’s 26 … this injury to Cameron is going to be one of many in my mind, as he’s getting kind of old for main fielding positions.
a very good center fielder
Cameron is right up there with Hunter and Beltran and the top CF in the game
by Rickfansince76 on May 25, 2010 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions
From what I understand from the ESPN broadcast last night
this has to do with Cameron’s playing time coming back from the injury. Supposedly because of both the nature of the injury and Cameron’s age he is going to need a decent amount of time off for a while as he comes back. That means significant PT for Hermedia. Tito wanted to play LBJ in center for now just to add stability in the OF if Cameron is only going to play 4 games a week (as opposed to constantly moving positions around the OF). I assume this will only last until Cameron is 100%, unless age limits him coming back strong. Either way, its nice having some speed back in the lineup.
by RyanBeingManny on May 25, 2010 11:30 AM EDT reply actions
Exactly.
They want to keep Cameron healthy, rest his injury a little bit, and finally make it so that we have some consistency in our outfield. And Ellsbury gets a chance to keep working on those jumps.
Ellsbury needs to be able to play CF to maximize his value, and he has all the tools to do so, so as long as we still have some control over him it’s good to keep trying to develop him there.
LBJ being confused with JVE being confused with Ells?
Hmm.
SB Nation's Boston Red Sox community:
OverTheMonster.com
Follow this guy on Twitter: @RCBooth
Yeah....
Honestly I just mixed up which site I was on. I meant Ells, of course, though President Johnson COULD get things done.
by RyanBeingManny on May 25, 2010 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't care for this much.
If Cameron were really healthy enough to rejoin the big club he’d play center. If he’s not healthy enough to play center he offers this team very little though not likely less than Darnell McDonald so I suppose it’s a wash. I guess I’m surprised the brass didn’t let him rehab until he was ready to claim his position for real.
This is all about Cameron returning from an injury
Nothing more. Nothing less.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
I agree - i just don't like the language used
as it implies that even if Cameron were fully healthy they would keep Ells in CF.
It is possible that is simply the media translation – and they like to stir things up – but I don’t like it.
If they had said, “on a regular basis, until Cameron is at full speed” then I wouldn’t worry about it.
it's also language coming from ellsbury, not the management
so it may be his optimistic interpretation
Indeed
I’m pretty confident it will all be contingent on how Cameron’s health is and how the overall OF defense is. I mean, if the Ellsbury in center/Cameron in left thing ends up working, then I can’ t see them messing with it.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
Does anybody have any updates on Ryan Westmoreland?
How is he doing in his rehab?
they released a statement saying he was going home to continue rehab a while ago
but haven’t said anything since, and probably won’t. If he plays again (which may not happen), I doubt it’ll be this year.
I havent heard anything in a while
Join the NLL community at http://www.nationallacrosseleagueblog.blogspot.com/
Talk about Boston sports at http://www.bestbostonsports.com/
by bestbostonsports on May 25, 2010 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I am surprised to see Ells back in center, after agreeing to play LF during the offseason.
Also, remember, that the collision occurred very early in the season before Beltre and Ellsbury settled into their new positions/new team. Ellsbury is used to diving for the ball in center, so that’s his mindset. Diving for the ball in left is unnecessary, especially in Fenway with such a short field, thus leading to the collision.
It will be interesting to see what happens as the season progresses… if this move is actually permanent.
I think the dive
may have been defensive instinct when he saw Beltre not giving up on it. In other words, he bailed, trying to avoid a more serious collision. He got hurt in the end, but it could have been far worse.
Also this happened in KC, so whether or not diving at Fenway is necessary doesn’t apply to this collision.
David Ortiz 2010: 120 RBIs, 35+ HRs. Jason who?
I'm OK with this
Sure, over the course of his very, very long career with many teams, Cameron has shown to be an excellent CF But Ellsbury is about the future while Cameron is a short-timer, stop-gap veteran with no claim to any position on the Red Sox. Why mess with Ellsbury? I believe the Sox don’t want to risk further injury an place him back in CF where he calls for all balls and the opportunity for collisions is minimized. The Sox need Ellsbury productive at the top of the order and can certainly live with his glove in CF. I’m not sure when exactly Ellsbury became a defensive liability as he is described by some on this board.
Agree - Cameron may be a better CF now, but that doesn't mean Ellsbury isn't going to improve either
Bad reads, etc the things that ail Ellsbury in left should get better in time – and while the Sox may not have the luxury of waiting too long, he is quite passable in CF, so this makes tremendous sense especially considering Cam’s injury.
The thing is,
the Sox aren’t starting Ells in center over a healthy Cameron, which would be like admitting that the Cameron signing was a total mistake. Cameron’s value is mostly from being a defensive wiz in CF, but he doesn’t look so good as a corner OF especially for the Sox who can get away with hiding a Manny or Bay out there playing half the games in Fenway. Also, a center-fielder has as much of a chance to collide with someone as a corner OF (remember Damon and D.Jackson?)
by SendEmHomeKim on May 25, 2010 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions
"Ellsbury is about the future"
Prior to Westmoreland’s surgery, I would have simply quipped “Westmoreland is about the future”. He may still be, but we won’t know until (if) he comes back.
The problem is, there is little evidence that Ellsbury will improve much at CF.
The main thing that makes CF different from LF & RF is the ball flight perspective. Because it is straight on, it requires a finer sense of depth perspective to ‘read’ the ball off the bat. This is not really a learned skill. This is why some really fast CFs always end up diving and racing frantically for balls that some slower CFs might just be ready for – the latter may have a better read and get a much better jump. Ellsbury has consistently shown he doesn’t get great jumps in CF. Cameron is world-class at that.
The other thing that makes CF different from LF is the distance required for throws. CF requires longer throws for assists so benefits from a better arm. Ells is not a weak spaghetti arm like Damon had, but he doesn’t have near the arm of Cameron. I suppose in theory strength training could improve Ellsbury’s arm, but I don’t know of many cases where a ball player has gone from having a so-so arm to having a great one.
Its not a disaster to have Ells in CF and Cam in LF. But it is a sub-optimal use of their skills.
His throwing motion is slightly less feminine vs Damon's
not that there’s anything wrong with a feminine through motion….in softball.
I would suggest that getting a better read on the ball is a skill that can be learned to a certain degree – there is a question of Ellsbury’s desire to learn though.
I think it's impossible to judge this move until we see Cameron in center
And since it’s not the job of the team to throw guys into bad situations for us to see if they’re healthy or not, that won’t likely happen until it’s too late for us to make a decision.
I’ll put enough faith in the team to have correctly diagnosed Cameron’s ability to go all-out in center at the moment. They had the sensibility to put him in center earlier, after all, so presumably something has changed.
USG
Either way, it's better than what we've had lately.
Too bad we can’t have 3 J.D. Drews, though. It’d be like a stone-cold, robotic outfield of awesome (can we pay them at Ellsbury’s salary?).
Drew is the anti-Ellsbury as far as OF plays go. You never expect him to be in a position to make a play (let’s face it, he doesn’t seem fast out there), but when the ball comes down, Drew is under it. It’s all very boring.
"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.
While we're at it...
My wishlist:
An outfield of 3 Drew’s
A rotation of 2 Lesters and 3 Buchholz’s
A bullpen of 2 Papelbon’s, 3 Bard’s, 2 Okajima’s
2 Youkilis’s, one at third and one at first
2 Pedroia’s, one at short and one at second (he can handle short)
4 Varitek’s, so we can keep them all rested
Too bad we don’t have a better lefty reliever. Having Thornton on my fantasy team makes me wish so bad we had someone like him.
I like it
But I don’t think we have the roster space for four catchers.
I think 2, maaaybe 3 Teks, with an extra Drew, Youk, and Pedrioa, or two extra Drews if you go with just 2 Teks.
I dunno, I'd go for a Hall instead of one of the Drews
Why? Because we need somebody to blame for the couple of games that they’d lose…
Also:
My batting order would be
Pedrioa, SS; Pedrioa, 2B; Youk, DH; Drew, LF; Youk, 3B; Drew, CF; Youk, 1B; Drew, RF; Tek, C
Maybe swap Pedroia 2B w/ Drew RF
So you have the R/L alternation going all the way down to the 8 hole.
quantum catchers?
Perhaps if the Sox had four quantum catchers, they wouldn’t all exist at the same time, so there would be enough roster space.
Bench
Clearly we’d need one, possibly two Ellsburys on the bench for Dave Roberts-like situations. Perhaps an extra Pedroia to pinch hit as well. Why Pedroia to pinch hit? Obviously, it’s because he’ll trash talk the rest of the Pedroias playing the field for the entire game.
"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.
Heres mine:
Bard, Pedroia, Lester play every position
Join the NLL community at http://www.nationallacrosseleagueblog.blogspot.com/
Talk about Boston sports at http://www.bestbostonsports.com/
by bestbostonsports on May 25, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
haha
but the rest of the season would be great
Join the NLL community at http://www.nationallacrosseleagueblog.blogspot.com/
Talk about Boston sports at http://www.bestbostonsports.com/
by bestbostonsports on May 25, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Ellsbury is like a cheetah!
He is going to run and run and run! If you put him in center, he has room to run without likely crashing too much. If you put him in left, especially in Fenway, and he is going to crash and crash and crash and get hurt. That is what I think this is all about!
Cheetah's always run toward the green plains....
that’s where are the gazelle’s chill.
if there were a lake or oasis painting on the walls anywhere, it would be really, really ugly.
He likes to run and can run fast, but
he depends on his speed to make up for ? judgements. Therefore you must give him more leaway than less impulsive fielders with better judgements. That is better done in center field.
by NG on May 25, 2010 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Cammy's in CF tonight. Hermida in Left
Ells the night off.
Scoot batting first, Hermida 7th, Cameron 9th
I know we got Cam for CF,
but Ells is gonna eventually be our CF, so I don’t mind too much.
"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash
I don't expect this to last long
once Cameron proves he is able to play every day with full mobility (assuming that can come without offseason surgery). Let’s be reasonable- this offseason, the Sox reportedly only really looked into two outfielders via trade or FA- Cameron and Granderson. It seems pretty clear that they don’t view Ells in center as ideal to me.
Cameron's history in CF is outstanding.
Right now I’m happy to see them both on the 25 man roster. Having both coming off injuries, I’m fine with Francona evaluating on a day to day basis as to who is most ready to go full tilt in CF on that day. When both are 100% later this year, I favor Cameron in CF.
Not seeing Hall, McLovin, or JVE starting, has my knuckles less white.
Latest news on this is that Ells may still be injured.
Apparently has hairline fractures. ’Also has an unrelated sore hip.
DMac has NOT been placed on waivers and is retained on the club. Atcheson instead has been put out.
Looks like the Ells CenterField reign has been postponed.
Interesting...
Hey Randy, you have a “jump to conclusions mat” somewhere? Just sayin’. ;-)
Regardless, this seems more so Cam doesn’t have to strain himself too much while he heals while playing. Ells clearly would heal faster although with him being out of the lineup tonight has me wondering though…
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Over the Monster
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- The Juice: Nelson Cruz matches career high eight RBIs, Pujols stays hot in Seattle
- Benches clear at Fenway as Red Sox-Rays rivalry heats up
- Keeping good company: Albert Pujols becomes fourth-youngest player to hit 450 home runs
- Giancarlo Stanton misses cutoff man, and Logan Morrison is thankful he did (Video)
- Snoop Dogg delivers memorable first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field
