Ellsbury? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Ellsbury

Ok, so that's total BS. While the Red Sox poured it on the Rays again on Saturday, to the tune of 13 runs including 5 home runs, Ellsbury's absence is going to have an effect. That's not to say it will be an overly negative effect though.

If you ask me, and again I'm totally biased, Ellsbury should've been the AL MVP last year. There is no way any team in all of baseball wouldn't miss a guy like him. He's great in the field, he's exactly what you want as a leadoff hitter, and he seems like a total team player. So yes, he will be missed for the 6-8 weeks he is presumed to be out. But it may not be as bad as it looks upon first glance. There are options.

So what are those options for centerfield? Saturday's lineup featured Darnell McDonald in left, Ryan Sweeney in Right, and Cody Ross in center. Personally, I think D-Mac would be better suited for center as I feel like he's a bit more mobile than Ross. But I understand putting the guy with the most Fenway experience in left to deal with the Monster. The Red Sox also called up Che-Hsuan Lin from Triple A, but I'd be shocked if he lasts long. While he's a good fielder with an above average arm, I'm concerned with his bat. He only hit .235 last year and his career minor-league average is .257 which just won't cut it in The Show. So I think the outfield that played today is just fine, and if we can get Ross a little more accustomed to left and switch him with D-Mac, I think we could be even better off. 

While Saturday was a great display by the Sox hitter that Ellsbury wasn't needed, it was just one game. I'm hoping they will band together and get through the next 2 months or so without him and still be in the race when he returns. Given the guys on the team right now, I do think this is possible. Cody Ross performed on the big stage in San Francisco and D-Mac has already played a season in Boston, so he knows what the pressure is like. Couple them with Ryan Sweeney, who was at one time the number 1 ranked prospect in the White Sox system, and we've got very capable outfield. 

What it really all boils down to is pitching. Shocker, I know. I'm a huge believe in the "good pitching will beat good hitting everytime" mantra. Outside of Buccholz shaky first, he looked pretty good. 104 pitches through 7 innings with 66 strikes isn't bad at all. While giving up 5 ER isn't great, consider that after that rough 1st inning, he only gave up 1. He'll be a work in progress, but he showed good potential today. He could have easily imploded and been done after 3 like David Price was yesterday. All in all, I think this is a game he can draw experience from as the season progresses. Also, the Red Sox bullpen was perfect today. Aceves threw 15 pitches, 10 for strikes, in a very clean 8th inning, and Morales followed suit by needing only 10 pitches to breeze through the 9th. 

Oh, remember all that talk about the Rays bullpen? Yeah, good job there analysts. Right now they're dead last in team ERA when it comes to relievers. I know it's still really early, but I think a lot of people jumped the gun on their entire pitching staff, especially the bullpen.

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Beckett Bounces Back Beautifully

Now that was the kind of pitching Red Sox fans have come to expect from Josh Beckett. 94 pitches over 8 innings, scattering just 5 hits, allowing 1 run, and walking just 1. Not too shabby. It would have been nice to see him strikeout a few more hitters, he only had 1 K, but I'm not complaining one bit.  His velocity did seem a bit down, but he located well so it wasn't really a problem.

The story of the game will of course be the hitting clinic the Sox put on in the bottom of the 8th. They scored 8 runs and actually batted around before making their first out. Why is this significant you might ask. Well, one of the Rays strong points is supposed to be their bullpen. In fact, their entire pitching staff was widely hailed as one of the best during Spring Training. I've never been all that impressed with David Price, though I admit there is probably some rivalry based bias there, but he did nothing today to improve my opinion of him. He struggled to get through 3 innings by throwing 83 pitches, with 3 walks, 3 K's, giving up 4 hits, and 3 runs. Not exactly what you want to see from your All-Star pitcher. Especially facing a division rival that has been struggling in the early part of the season.

The other big story to come out of the Red Sox home opener will be Jacoby Ellsbury and his shoulder. Ellsbury was hurt while trying to break up a double play at 2nd. The slide wasn't dirty, but Rays 2nd baseman Reid Brignac landed right on Ellsbury's back/shoulder. The play sounds worse than it looked, but it was quite obvious Jacoby was in a good deal of pain. He walked off the field under his own power, but was cradling his arm as if it were in a sling. So far the Red Sox have reported that he has a right shoulder injury and will need further evaluation. This could not have come at a worse time for the Sox or Ellsbury. The offense exploded today, which he was right in the middle of. He was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored before leaving the game. Just when it looks like he's about to pull himself out of this little season starting slump, he gets hurt. At best, my guess is this will be a mild shoulder sprain and he'll be out 4-5 games. At worst, he could have torn ligaments and/or a dislocation and he'll need surgery and likely miss the rest of the season. Let's all hope for the best.

I've still yet to be impressed with Mark Melancon. He came on to pitch the 9th inning, although it looked pretty certain Beckett would have been given the chance to pitch a complete game had the Sox not put 8 more runs on the board. He gave up a solo home run to Ben Zobrist and struck out 1. While 15 pitches is very efficient, I just don't see "it" yet. Hopefully that will change.  Also of note, Kelly Shoppach had himself a hell of a day. 3-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI, plus his first career stolen base. Although it must be mentioned his slide was less than graceful, to say the least. It will be on Not Top 10, guaranteed.

Final Box Score- Rays 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 error. Red Sox 12 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors.

Tomorrow the Sox send Buccholz to the mound to square off against reigning AL Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson. Hopefully Buccholz does like Beckett did today and rebounds after that ugly first start in Detroit. Would be nice if the offense kept firing on all cylinders too.

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