Just a little tune up by Jared Carrabis
Sox look sharp, as Ellsbury closes in on 70 bags


Looking back on the Red Sox teams prior to the new ownership group, it's no wonder as to why they didn't share the same success that the Boston teams of recent memory have accomplished.

With that being said, the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury as a superstar in the game of baseball could be seen from a mile away. As we've all heard before, Red Sox teams of the past were built with right-handed power hitters to take advantage of the big green wall in left. However, only 81 of the 162 games during the regular season are played at Fenway Park.

Enter: Jacoby Ellsbury. The Sox's speedy center fielder is proof that the Red Sox front office sees the big picture when it comes to success. His presence on the base paths is enough to single-handedly control the outcome of a game with his gift of great speed.

Of course, this speed does the Red Sox no good if Ellsbury doesn't get on base, but as the fans of Boston have seen first hand, the left-handed hitter has had a breakout season. Much to the expectations that followed Ellsbury following his dominating postseason performance in 2007, the Red Sox's outfielder is two games away from completing his best season in his young Red Sox tenure.

Ellsbury quietly hit .280 in his first full season in Boston just a year ago, after boosting his average from .259 on August 29 to the .280 mark where he finished. His late season surge compensated for what most thought to be a disappointing year at the plate after all of the promise they had seen from him in 2007.

In 2009, there would be no inconsistency. Ellsbury has been at, over, or just under the .300 mark for the entire 2009 campaign, en route to shattering the Red Sox single season record for stolen bases.

In the bottom of the first of Friday night's game, Ellsbury rifled a changeup into right field that was played cleanly by Cleveland right fielder, Shin-Soo Choo. Any other player on the Red Sox roster would have pulled up at first, but Ellsbury was thinking two right out of the box and jetted his way into second, drawing a throw off line for his 27th double of the season.

With Dustin Pedroia at the plate, Ellsbury took off for third base, and with his speed in the back of the minds of starting pitcher Jeremy Sowers and catcher Kelly Shoppach, Shoppach's toss to third sailed into left field, as Ellsbury came in to score effortlessly. The stolen base was number 69 on the season for Ellsbury, as the outfielder single-handedly created a run with his speed.

He would finish the night, going 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of walks.

On the other side of the ball, Daisuke Matsuzaka was up to his old tricks again. The right-hander was cruising right along until he pitched his way into some trouble in the top of the fifth. Three hits and a pair of walks would allow two runs to cross home plate and Shin-Soo Choo to come to bat with the bases loaded. In typical Daisuke fashion, he struck out Choo with a slider to improve his numbers with the bases loaded.

As it stands right now, batters are 0-for-23 against Matsuzaka with the bases loaded; quite impressive.

"Heading into the playoffs, I had four starts, and not just in my start today, but throughout those starts, I was able to work on points that I felt were going to be important going into the playoffs," said Matsuzaka through an interpreter. "I'm not sure yet what my role will be during the playoffs, but I'm looking forward to them."

The middle of the lineup flexed their collective muscle on Friday night, as Victor Martinez had an RBI single and Jason Bay had an RBI double in the third, while Kevin Youkilis drove in a pair of runs after his 36th double of the season in the seventh.

Billy Wagner pitched in back-to-back games for the first time in his Red Sox career, as the left-hander combined with Ramon Ramirez, Daniel Bard and Takashi Saito to shut out the Tribe the rest of the way.

Final Score: Red Sox 6, Indians 2

Saturday's pitching match-up:

Josh Beckett will make his return to the mound after missing his previous start due to back spasms. This is not something to worry about, however, it would be if Beckett were to miss consecutive starts. Under the radar, Beckett has set a new career high in innings pitched, so maybe skipping a start wasn't such a bad thing after all. This will be his final start before the Sox enter postseason play, so all eyes will be on the right-hander, as fans and coaches alike will hope to see the performance that was saw out of him in 2007. Not that it matters, but his opponent will be Aaron Laffey.

-Jared Carrabis

Editor's note: I will be having a book signing on Saturday, October 3 at the Newbury Comics in Saugus from 2-3pm. If you can make it, I'd love to see you there!

To order my debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on October 03, 2009

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