Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Day 248: Jacoby Ellsbury: From Beantown to the Big Apple

I've never been a big Jacoby Ellsbury fan. I don't know him personally, but he always appears a little douchey to me. He's like a personality-less lump banking on his looks to make him appear charming. Sorry dude, even good looks don't make you likable. So needless to say, I'm not sad to see him go.

Now he's someone else's problem—and that someone just happens to be my favorite big-money-multi-year-epic-fail-contract team, the New York Yankees. Ellsbury signed a mega deal on Tuesday for seven years and $153 million. He just turned 30 and 30 + 7 = 37 and we all know the older you get, the more ouchies you get. And this is a guy who has had quite a few ouchies over his seven years in the bigs. So the Yankees have just agreed to pay nearly $22 million a year for a guy who most likely won't play seven full seasons.

Jacoby Ellsbury, when he's healthy, is a great asset to any team. His speed and ability to get on base make him a hot commodity. He has a career batting average of .297 and has lead the American League three times in stolen bases—three years that he actually played, that is. I'm not going to lie... if the Red Sox found a way to sign this guy to a short-term contract for less than ridiculous money, I would've been happy to see him back in center field. I'm glad Ben Cherington was able to show restraint and not spend money for essentially a part-time player.

The Yankees will find out real fast that this is a guy who won't play hurt. He's not a Pedroia-type player who works through injuries and really needs to be broken to sit out. He's a milker. Ellsbury needs to be 125% sure he's better before he'll risk going back in the game. We shall see...

I can't wait to see that classic Boston welcome back the first time he steps back onto the field at Fenway. I'm guessing there might be some booing. Maybe.

No comments:

Post a Comment