Projo Sox Blog

BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When Dustin Pedroia was asked about Jacoby Ellsbury's ability on a baseball diamond at Angel Stadium late Wednesday night, he could barely contain himself.

"He's phenomenal. He's electric," Pedroia said. "He takes games over with his speed."

After a night to sleep on a 4-1 Red Sox victory that was filled with Ellsbury highlights, Pedroia wasn't backing off.

"To see Jacoby play like that is a treat," he said. "He's one of the most talented players in this league."

That may be saying an awful lot, but anyone who watched Boston's victory over the Angels in Game One of the ALDS can't disagree. Ellsbury truly did it all, cracking out three hits, stealing two bases, scoring a run and making a spectacular diving catch at a key juncture of the game in the eighth inning.

It was a performance Red Sox fans should be familiar with. As a playoff rookie last fall, Ellsbury hit .360 with eight runs scored and four RBI to spark the Red Sox offense to a world championship. In the World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies, Ellsbury hit .438 with four runs scored and gave Mike Lowell a hearty challenge for series MVP honors.

Now the 25-year-old is back in the postseason and shining again. That his hits in Game One included a rocket shot double high off the right-centerfield wall to lead off the game, a bunt single and an RBI single to right speaks to his all-around skills. So does a hot liner in the seventh inning that Gary Matthews, Jr., misplayed for an error. As the ball rolled to the outfield fence, Ellsbury turned on the jets and cruised into third easily.

"I thought he was going to score on that ball. He's such an exciting player," said Pedroia.

Ellsbury says that despite his youth, he sees playoff games as golden opportunities. The world is watching, so a player might as well go for broke.

"The biggest thing is feeling comfortable out there and feeling confident," he said. "When you're confident, I think you let your talent and your abilities show on the field."

While Ellsbury enjoyed a meteoric rise through the Red Sox farm system and into the big leagues for the final 33 games of the 2007 season, he experienced the full grind of the big leagues in `08. Ellsbury got off to a solid start but slumped in June (.245) and July (.247) and forced Terry Francona to move him around the lineup in search of a spark.

"I think it's been pretty much a typical season for a kid playing his first full season in the major leagues," said Francona. "First time through, I don't want to say you have a free pass but teams don't have a scouting report on you and then they have the ability to make adjustments and you see the player have their chance to make adjustments. It's pretty unlikely that a young player is going to go through a full season and never hit any bumps in the road.

"All along we talked about wanting to go get him in that leadoff spot. There were times when it didn't seem practical, and we got him down in the nine hole and he started swinging better and we got him up there and that's how we envisioned it. We wanted it to work out that way and it has.''

Ellsbury seems to sense that the biggest games come late in the year. He hit .340 in September and finished the season with an American League-best 50 steals. Just as importantly, he did not commit an error in 334 chances over 145 games.

"He's playing great," said Francona. "You've kind of seen it in the last three, four weeks of the season where he's swinging the bat a lot better. When he gets on base he's a pest for the other team.''

Ellsbury's veteran teammates kidded with him last October that he shouldn't get used to winning World Series so easily. He says that Mike Lowell told him he was "spoiled," but Ellsbury simply wants to flash his skills and keep on winning.

"You know, I just feel very fortunate, especially coming up last year to be in that situation and being put on the playoff roster when I told myself, just have fun, go out there, play hard, leave it all on the field," he said. "Seems pretty simple, but that's been my approach. Just to enjoy it. You never know what's going to happen again. This year, I kind of know what to expect in a playoff atmosphere, but you just have fun with it, go out there and have fun.''

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury

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