Sox take 3 out of 4 from the Tigers

Jacoby hitting the sac fly in the 2nd inning

1st inning- Jacoby Ellsbury had a 9 pitch at bat and singled.

2nd inning- Jacoby hit a sac fly that scored Jason Varitek.

5th inning- Ellsbury singled to right field.
5th inning- Dustin Pedroia was robbed of a base hit by diving left fielder, Matt Joyce.
5th inning- Kevin Youkilus hit a 2 run homerun which scored Ellsbury.

6th inning- Jacoby grounded to shortstop and the Tigers got the force out in Crisp at 2nd base.
6th inning- Beckett struck out Brandon Inge, which makes it 1000 strikeouts for Josh in his career.

7th inning- Jacoby got a single which bounced off of the pitcher's leg and was not playable for any of the Tiger's infielders. Tek got to 3rd safely; Crisp got to 2nd safely.
7th inning- Ortiz grounded out and the Sox left the bases loaded.

Beckett had 8 K's, no walks and gets the win. Final score- 5-1 Red Sox.

Jacoby Ellsbury still perfect

Jacoby Ellsbury still perfect

DETROIT - There is a good reason why Jacoby Ellsbury [stats] would have no recollection of being caught stealing in a Red Sox [team stats] uniform: It hasn’t happened.
With a pair of steals last night at Comerica Park, Ellsbury improved to 22-for-22 in the majors. He is tied with Minnesota’s Carlos Gomez and Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki for the AL lead this season, with 13.
Close calls? Only one attempt, from last season, stood out in his mind.

“Nothing really,” Ellsbury said before the Sox’ 10-9 loss to the Detroit Tigers. “I went on Andy Pettitte last year. I think that was the closest one.”
Just hours after the declaration, the center fielder was forced to amend the assessment. He came dangerously close to being thrown out by Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez on steal No. 2.
“That one,” Ellsbury said, “takes over as the closest.”
Other than the swipe against the New York Yankees’ Pettitte, which is one of three steals the rookie has against lefties, there is one lifetime attempt that stands out. Playing for Madras (Ore.) High, Ellsbury was caught stealing for the only time in his high school career against rival Culver.
“I still think I was safe,” he said.
The out call evidently was such an aberration that a photo of the play was plastered on the front of the local sports page, with those who witnessed the moment, such as Jim Ellsbury, the player’s father, able to analyze the failed execution.
“Our field was like cement, so the coach always had to remind the kids to slide because it would just tear you up,” Jim Ellsbury said. “That might have factored into it.” - Boston Herald

Boston phenom Ellsbury too good not to be an everyday player

Boston phenom Ellsbury too good not to be an everyday player

DETROIT -- Jacoby Ellsbury went 0-for-5 here Monday night, showed up Tuesday and wasn't in Boston's lineup.

No benching. No punishment. No orders for extra work.

Jacoby Ellsbury hasn't done much wrong since reaching the bigs, yet he occasionally gets benched. (US Presswire)
It's just, well, that Coco Crisp guy is still around, Ellsbury has been battling a slight groin strain and, as Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, "It doesn't hurt to use your whole team."

Boston's Embarrassment of Riches program continues. You win with depth, and the Red Sox, who whomped Detroit again Tuesday 5-0, are deep. Really deep. Clubs like San Diego and Florida can't find a decent center fielder, and the Red Sox push forward with two.

They've yet to trade Crisp, which makes not enough innings for him and Ellsbury and keeps Francona on his toes finding enough playing time for the two.

In many other places, Ellsbury, 24, would be well on his way toward becoming a star by now. Are you kidding? This kid is as natural as a Whole Foods market.

Red Sox fans developed a crush on him last September and completely fell in love when he batted .438 during the World Series. Red Sox players wish they had his tools. Red Sox legends swoon.

"Ellsbury could be the next Ted Williams," Johnny Pesky, a former teammate of Williams, told me this spring. "He runs better. He throws better. I like his makeup. He wants to do everything properly.

"The thing with him is he works on stuff he needs to work on. You look at him and think he's the perfect player. He runs good, he's got a good bat, he's a great outfielder. But he works."

Take Tuesday. Not in the lineup, Ellsbury took his normal rounds of early hitting. A video junkie, he studied each of his at-bats from the night before (a pop to short, ground ball to third, two whiffs and a fly ball to deep center he absolutely crushed).

"I look at the game film to see what I did right and what didn't go so well," he said. "And you build from there."

When he isn't playing, he spends his time in the dugout intently studying the opposing pitcher -- Tuesday, it was Detroit's Nate Robertson -- because he figures he'll be facing the guy later in the season. He also studies the positioning of the outfielders, whether the defense shifts at all -- however slightly -- with two strikes on the hitter, is the hitter trying to move the runner over and assorted other things.

"Subtle adjustments," he said. "That's what's going to separate the average guy from the great guy." - cbs.sportsline.com

May 7th Game Review [Sox lose 10-9]

1st inning- Jacoby singled to center. Jed then hit a grounder but fell out of the batters box which resulted in a double play which erased Jacoby from the bases.

3rd inning- Jacoby struck out looking.

4th inning- Youkilus hit a 2 run homeR.

4th inning- Ellsbury hit a single to second base. He then stole 2nd. Ellsbury then scored on a single from Ortiz.

6th inning- Kevin Youkilus hit another homer which brought the score up to 8-5 Tigers. Youk now has 6 homeruns on the year.

7th inning- Jacoby had a line drive single to left field. He then stole his 22nd base in the big leagues, and has still not been caught.

7th inning- Mike Lowell hit a 3 run homer which scored Jacoby from 3rd base and Manny from 1st.

8th inning- Jacoby struck out swinging.

8th inning- Dustin Pedroia pinch hit for Jed Lowrie and got a single which scored Drew and gave the sox the 9-8 lead.

9th inning- Lugo makes another freakin error and blows a save for Paps because of it. Polanco got a walk off base hit which gave the Tigers a 10-9 win

Jacoby Ellsbury-- Rookie of the month! (April)

Please click on the picture of Jacoby above to be redirected to MLB.com where you can vote for Jacoby as the Rookie of the month for April!

Deprived of Jacoby until the 9th inning...

Unfortunately, Jacoby Ellsbury was not in the lineup tonight. Instead, Coco was in center field and Jacoby had the day off. However, in the bottom of the 9th inning Manny came out of the came and Ellsbury came into left field. He also made the final catch that ended the game.

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez also hit back-to-back homers, which was the 47th time that they have hit home runs in the same game. Manny's homer also brings him to HR number 497 of his career.

Wakefield had a great night only giving up 2 hits, no walks and had 6 strikeouts. Wake left after the 8th after throwing 98 pitched and Timlin came in to finish the game; Wakefield got the win.

Sox won 5-0.

Ellsbury continues to be pace-setter for Sox

Jacoby Ellsbury continues to be the pace-setter for the Sox at the top of their lineup and ranks among the AL's top 10 in runs scored (second with 25), stolen bases (third with 11) and on-base percentage (fourth with .415) this season. The Sox are also an amazing 12-2 when Ellsbury scores at least one run this season, and are also averaging a scant 2.13 runs per game when the speedy outfielder is missing from the lineup card.