.393!

[pwd72s]

Just reading the stats in this morn's sports page...

Jacoby Ellsbury, the pride of Madras, Oregon, a member of the Oregon State 2006 national championship team, currently a rookie with the Red Sox has quite a batting average. .393! His fielding is very good, and man is he ever fast around the bags!

CJ Fusco..look like the Sox Sox has a real player on their hands!

A tip of my hat to the Red Sox scouts...

[CJFusco]

ONE real youngster on their hands? How about Clay Buchholtz, who pitched a no-hitter in his 2nd ever major league start? Or Jon Lester, who is 3-0 since coming back from cancer treatment? Or Dustin Pedroia, who will probably win rookie of the year this year, and is in the top 3 in batting? Or Jonathan Papelbon? I'm assuming everyone knows him by now. And then there are the "non-drafted rookies" Okajima and Matsuzaka - one is among the best relievers in the league, and although Dice-K is going through a transitional period, it looks like he will end the season with over 15 wins. Of course, there is also Josh Beckett, 26 and already a WS MVP, who is a potential Cy Young winner this year.

All of these guys are under the age of 26, and (except Beckett and the two Japanese pitchers) all of them are Red Sox draftees, which means they are under their 6-year minor league contracts. In other words, the Sox are getting all-star production from a number of positions for relative pocket change.

Don't forget that Kevin Youkilis, who has been on the ML roster for a couple years now, is also a product of their system. He is batting over .300 this year, is a legit power threat, gets on base more than pretty much everyone except A-Rod and Ortiz, and might win a Gold Glove this year.

To say that the Red Sox talent evaluation is among the tops in the majors would be a drastic understatement. Those guys Freddy Sanchez and Hanley Ramirez who are tearing up the NL - they are Red Sox farm system products as well. According to ESPN radio, the Red Sox farm/talent evaluation team is considered the toast of MLB.

[pwd72s]

I figured you'd fill me in on the rest of it.

I guess I'm not sophisticated enough in Baseball...wondering why the Sox didn't use many of these guys earlier?

TV coverage here is regional, ESPN. I don't get to watch the Red Sox often. Sure enjoyed seeing Jacoby's homer and great catch...on the highlights show.

[TyFenn]

That boy is on FIRE!!!

These last two games he's been the one-man-wrecking-crew! ...kinda' reminds me of myself. Hahahaa. Just kidding. As much as I would like to, I don't think I can hit the ball out of Fenway.

But, my boy Ellsbury, 'say hello to my little friend!'

[pwd72s]

Yep! Beware of guys from small towns in Eastern Oregon...

We may be witnessing a baseball star being born.

[TyFenn]

In 436 at-bats in the minors - 2 homers

In 30 at-bats in the MAJORS - 2 homers.


We might have a new Mr. October!

[pwd72s]

With many thanks to John Fusco...I have a Jacoby autographed hat...a Portland Maine Seadogs hat...he played 16 games for them, batting .454, IIRC.

Oregonians knew he was special long ago. He was very instrumental in the Beavers winning the 2006 College world series. Yup, the kid has talent!

Of course, everybody playing in the bigs has talent. They prove it every day...because they are there.

[TyFenn]

guess who just scored Boston's first run of the day?

[pwd72s]

You think it might be a spell before Boston sends Jacoby back to the minors?

Damn...just asked Cindy to turn on the tube. We're not getting the Red Sox game up here...2 others instead.

[CJFusco]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

wondering why the Sox didn't use many of these guys earlier?

Just part of the development process, really. The easy answer is that these guys weren't ready until they were ready, and the Red Sox didn't NEED to use these guys this year until now because they've had the best record in the majors since mid April. Now that the rosters are expanded for September, they can bring up these kids, give them playing time, get them ready for the future, and rest guys that are a little banged up like Manny and Wakefield, so THOSE guys might be ready for the playoffs.

The rosters shrink again once the playoffs start. I would be willing to bet that Ellsbury, Buchholtz, and Lester make the playoff roster with guys like Javy Lopez and Eric Hinske left off. They probably won't start Ellsbury much in the playoffs, but he gives outstanding speed off the bench, and covers a lot of ground in all three outfield positions. With a 4-man playoff rotation of Schilling, Beckett, Wakefield (if he is healthy), and Matsuzaka, Then you have Okajima (whom they need to start resting more often) Papelbon, Timlin, and Gagne from the bullpen in tight situations, Lester and Buchholtz represent OUTSTANDING long relief or spot-starting options. It just remains to be seen what other pitchers will make it onto the roster. Snyder, Lopez, Delcarmen, and Tavarez have all been good in spurts, but I'm not sure how much I would trust them in close games.

In any case, the Red Sox have been getting better while getting younger (and less expensive!). This bodes well for a team that is coming up on the termination of a few large contracts (Schilling, Manny, Lowell) - it gives them a lot of bargaining room with agents, and a lot of money to play with if they want to sign one of these guys or another big name.

[pwd72s]

CJ? I do indeed believe that your knowledge of baseball far exceeds that of anybody on this board. I thank you for the education you have given so far...

[CJFusco]

Hah. Thanks. Baseball is the only pro sport I follow closely, and to be honest, baseball is the background noise to my life for 6 months a year. Doing my writing/desk work, I have a game on the TV; Working in the yard or in the garage, I have WEEI on the radio. I do pay attention, but most of the time it's background noise. Then, of course, there is Roto/Fantasy... It just comes from growing up in a house where if there was a TV on, most of the time it was on a baseball or football game. If the family was out in the car in the evening, you can bet we were listening to the game on the radio.

I'm nowhere near as "passionate" as I used to be, though. When I was living in Boston, and for a couple years after that, my moods depended greatly on the fortunes of the Red Sox and the Yankees. Nowadays, I have more important things to worry about.. although I'm sure my moods will depend greatly on what happens in the playoff games this year...

In all honesty, though, I tend to absorb a lot of information, and I am the kind of person who doesn't have interests, he has obsessions. Literature, Movies, Music, Baseball, Cars, and (more recently) outdoor sports - I can't get enough of whatever I am "into".

Anyhow, thanks for the nice words. Baseball is a fascinating game, and this is looking to be like an interesting stretch run for a lot of teams.

[CJFusco]

A couple of pics from the most recent game I attended:

[pwd72s]

I'm jealous...my confession here. I've only been to ONE major league game. A Yankees game. It was a side trip for us, the 1957 Boy Scouts Jamboree.

Wow! The young lady in the pic sure knows how to wear a ball cap!

[CJFusco]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

I'm jealous...my confession here. I've only been to ONE major league game. A Yankees game. It was a side trip for us, the 1957 Boy Scouts Jamboree.

Wow! The young lady in the pic sure knows how to wear a ball cap!

Yeah, that's my on-again-off-again girlfriend... it's a complicated thing

Only one ballgame?!? Wow... when I lived in Boston, my address was 74 The Fenway; it was hard to study when through your bedroom window, you could hear "Now batting, Nomar Garciaparra"... these were the days when you could actually BUY tickets to whatever Red Sox tickets you wanted, before they started selling out every single game.

My most recent game was a Mets-Braves game at Shea in August, but I fully expect to be at Fenway Park (and probably Yankee Stadium) in October.

[pwd72s]

CJ, many different ways to develop a liking for the game. For me, it was growing up in an era when baseball was still the game. No TV's in the neighborhood I grew up in...early 50's, I'd listen to games played by the old Pacific Coast League Portland Beavers on a 5 tube radio in my room...then we'd hear the bigs...my grade school imagination would run wild, picturing the scene...Hell, I'm older than dirt, still mad at the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn.
Williams, Dimaggio, that era of baseball. Baseball, steeped in tradition that other USA sports can only dream of. Still have my childhood glove...a Bob Feller model.



On again, off again? She's a cutie! This old romantic hoping the two of you decide to make it an on thing.

[CJFusco]

That's pretty cool; my dad has his childhood glove still, as well - a Reggie Jackson model. I think it's the glove he used in HS, and I used it in Little League and in Junior HS until the coaches made me get a new one. Alas, I think the days of having a player-sponsored glove are over.

[CJFusco]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

On again, off again? She's a cutie! This old romantic hoping the two of you decide to make it an on thing.

She's more than a cutie, to my eyes she is drop-dead gorgeous... but she is also a pain in the azz. We both see a future with one another, but we also both have some things to work out first.

[TyFenn]

I got hit on the head and I don't remember who is starting center field for the Red Sox in the World Series tonight. (just kidding).

Anybody know?

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by CJFusco

Yeah, that's my on-again-off-again girlfriend... it's a complicated thing ...

It's not that complicated...if you want some, get on She's a cutie, and has beautiful eyes...