Big League Bargain

.312 AVG, 23 HR, 82 RBI, .889 OPS and 61 Extra Base Hits 

If I would have read you this stat line prior to the 2011 MLB season and told you to guess which outfielder those numbers belonged to through the month of August, the myriad of elite, super stars you would have rattled off would’ve been endless.  If the name Jacoby Ellsbury was even one of the first 25 names you uttered, I would have told you that you were crazy and suggested an immediate, comprehensive psychiatric evaluation simply out of concern for your mental well-being.

But the fact of the matter is, he has been as good, if not better, than any other outfielder in the entire league.  While cases could be made for a handful of other players, there’s certainly not another player providing the type of production for the money the Red Sox are paying him this season.

Ellsbury is currently making $2.4 million this year.  Now I’m sure most of us would take that type of money to play baseball, but when you compare his salary to those of the highest paid players at his position, it appears as though the Red Sox are making out like bandits.

A list of the top 25 highest paid MLB outfielders ranges from Vernon Wells of the Anaheim Angels at the top, pulling in $26.2 million, to a surprising Cleveland Indians outfielder, Kosuke Fukudome, who is making $14.5 million.  In all five of those aforementioned, critical offensive categories there is only one player who has a single statistic higher than Jacoby Ellsbury right now. 

 

Coming into this week Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals has an OPS of .949.  His salary for 2011-- just a shade over $16.3 million.  That’s a lot of cash to dish out for an extra 60 points in OPS.  Jacoby beats out every other single player on that list in every single one of those five offensive categories.  Did I mention that he also has 36 stolen bases this season?  That’s only one less than the American League leader.  So there’s that as well.

Delving even further into the comparisons, the Red Sox have two players on that list – Carl Crawford and J.D. Drew.  Crawford is the ninth highest paid outfield and Drew is the eleventh.  Boston will pay them a combined salary of $28.9 million this season.  If you were to cram the two players into one body and add both of their stats together in those five categories here is what “J.D. Crawfords” line would read -- .239 AVG, 13 HR, 68 RBI, .648 OPS with 44 XBH. 

 

Remember our old pal Jason Bay?  Well, after ditching Boston and running off to the New York Mets to become the sixth highest paid outfielder, he has been absolutely miserable.  While making over $18 million this year, Jacoby has an average that is 79 points higher.  He has hit 14 more home runs, driven in 39 more runs, has 40 more extra base hits and has an OPS 230 points higher.

Therefore consider this my official declaration to lead the campaign for Jacoby Ellsbury as the American League MVP.  If we’re truly talking “most valuable” then salary should be calculated into the equation; especially given the state of the current economy.

 

Yankee fans can scream Curtis Granderson’s stats at the top of their lungs until they’re blue in the face, but my response to their clamorous pleas will be a simple one.  The “Grandyman” might be having a great season but he is also making $8.25 million.  Since he is getting paid about four times as much as Ellsbury, his production should be four times greater than Jaboby’s. Since that is definitely not the case, my vote goes to Jacoby Ellsbury and his $2.4 million salary as the most truly “valuable” player in every sense of the word.

Two Thumbs Up

The good reviews continued for the Patriots as their recent stop in Tampa on their “Preseason of Punishment” tour yielded another healthy beat down of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

 

The final score of the game really didn’t reflect how unbalanced of a match up this truly was as the Patriots left town with 31-14 win.  However the game was pretty much over after the first quarter with the Patriots absolutely dominating and staking a 21-0 lead.

Despite this being a meaningless “practice” game in the preseason, it was a significant game for New England for a couple of different reasons.  In the first preseason game a majority of the starters did not even bother to dress, let alone play.  Therefore it was important in terms of beginning to build that rhythm and team chemistry that is inherent for success in the regular season.  Secondly, Tampa Bay, unlike their first opponent, Jacksonville, is considered to be a pretty good team.

Last season they finish with a 10-6 record, barely missing the playoffs.  And, in the first game of their preseason, they demolished and shut out a Kansas City Chiefs team who won their division a year ago and hosted a playoff game.  So going into the game many people thought it would be a good test to better gauge the Patriots’ early-season progress.  That was not the case however, because the Buccaneers were no match for New England.

It’s difficult to really glean anything too substantial from these first two contests given that they are basically in place for coaches to play players who normally wouldn’t play in order to help determine who will make the roster, but their were a couple of positive signs worth mentioning.

The defense, which was terrible last year, has been especially impressive.  Through the first two games the Patriots have outscored their opponents 78-26.  Even more remarkable is the fact that the defense has only allowed one touchdown to opposing offenses over the first 120 minutes of the preseason, and that came with 9:28 to go in the 4^th quarter of the blowout against Tampa Bay.

The inability for the other teams to score has been a direct result of a ferociously intense pass rush.  This was a facet of the game that was nearly nonexistent for the Pats last season.  New England has tallied seven sacks in their first two games and the transition by Bill Belichick to the 4-3 defense appears as if it will pay huge dividends for them this year.

 

The well-oiled machine, known as the Patriots offense, is running as smoothly as possible this early on.  Tom Brady looked sharp in his first start as he was eager to get on the field and tinker with his new toy in the wide receiving corps – Chad Ochocinco.  The two of them have been working relentlessly to get down their timing and become familiar with one another this preseason.

 The hard work paid off as they connected for beautiful, play action touchdown pass as part of the first quarter rout doled out by the Pats.  This should be the first of many to come for this tandem and the Patriots look like they have pulled off another steal from a desperate organization eager to unload their disgruntled talent.

Next up for the Patriots is the Detroit Lions on Saturday.  A rematch from last year’s Thanksgiving shootout, it should be another good opportunity to continue to build that chemistry and confidence in preparation for week one.  Look for defensive newcomers Shaun Ellis and Albert Haynesworth to possibly make their highly anticipated debuts for the team as their contribution should further fortify an already formidable defensive front.

While these games might not mean anything, it’s hard not to get excited from what the Patriots have shown us so far.  Last year was a great regular season, but the playoff flop left the fans and players with a very bitter taste in their mouths.  Hopefully that taste will remain and serve as motivation for the Patriots as they begin the quest for their first championship since 2004.   It’s an extremely long road until we reach that point, but it’s certainly a really good start.

Delonte's Depot

It’s probably a fairly common scenario to walk into to a hardware store and find an employee who would like to play in the NBA one day.  On the other hand, it’s probably fairly rare that you would ever find those roles reversed.  But, with the current NBA lockout threatening to erase the upcoming season, that is exactly what Delonte West is planning on doing.

Still suffering from the penalties of several indictments on various weapon charges back in 2009, West’s probation prevents him from travelling outside the United States.  With these restrictions, the Celtics’ guard will be unable to seek out an international team to play for this winter as many of his colleagues have indicated they would do if the lockout does indeed wipeout next year’s season.

The combination of his extensive criminal record and highly-publicized psychological issues has left his employment opportunities away from the basketball court severely limited.  But that has not dampened Delonte’s spirits one bit and he is ready to trade in that green jersey for an orange apron.

West never really struck me as the handyman type, but along with being able to handle his firearms he can also apparently handle a few power tools as he announced on his Twitter account he has applied to work at a Home Depot in Washington D.C. near his childhood home.  I knew the economy was bad, but… Really?

It’s difficult to even begin to try and dissect the decision process that led him to this solution, but where would the fun be in all of that?  So let’s just do what Delonte seems to do and just go with it.

Imagine walking into your local Home Depot, to-do list in hand, and you find yourself in need of a little professional assistance.  In steps Delonte West -- neck tattoos and all.  I mean, who better to help solve the domestic dilemma of which shade of lavender would better facilitate the flow between your living and dining room.  

Okay, maybe paint wouldn’t be the most suitable department for him.  So where would his skills be utilized best?  Customer Service?  No.  Something tells me his severe bipolar disorder might inhibit his ability to reason with disgruntled employees.  Cashier?  Maybe.  But his math skills might need a little brushing up since he left St. Joseph’s College before earning a degree in order to enter the NBA draft.  The more I think about it, the more difficult it is to envision him in any specific department.

I’ve got it!  What if he just ran around the store getting things off of shelves that are too high for people to reach?  Sure, there’s ladders lying around, but that is such a boring and conventional method.  At 6’3” tall with a 6’6” wingspan and a 35” vertical jump, how awesome would it be too watch him rise up and snag a box of assorted thumb tacks off the fourth shelf in the middle of completing a 360 degree turn? 

You know what?  Now I’m surprised that more players aren’t looking into this line of work more seriously.  I apologize to Delonte for the condescending tone with which I began this article.  I think he might be on to something here.  He would have people from all over coming in to get their favorite, hard-to-reach home improvement items.

He’s sitting on a gold mine.  Well, not quite.  I think the starting salary at Home Depot is somewhere around $10 an hour.  That is a hefty pay cut from the $850,000 he earned last year.  Perhaps that is the reason this backup career choice isn’t catching on so fast.  Money isn’t everything though.  I hear they’ve got a great a union there at the Home Depot and that is a lot more than the NBA can claim right now.  So for Delonte’s sake and for the sake of NBA fans, let’s hope this lockout ends before Delonte has to go from making plays on the hardwood floor to installing them.

Date with Destiny?

After a game that almost lasted longer than the NFL lockout, the Boston Red Sox pulled off a thrilling victory in extra innings to pull ahead of the Yankees back atop the American League East standings once again late Sunday night.  Taking a page from Ellsbury’s recent playbook, Josh Reddick decided he would play the role of late-game hero for the Sox this time.  It was the 70th victory for the Sox as they are the first team in the AL to reach that win total.

It was a remarkable, come-from-behind triumph that included yet another blown save in the career of Mariano Rivera.  The blown save was the 14^th against Boston for the reliever anointed as baseball’s greatest closer ever.  That number is, by far, the most against any one team and along with the continued dominance against ace pitcher, C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees have to be worried about this match up moving forward.  But, apart from all the theatrics and late-game heroics, there could be something much more significant behind this early-August, regular season win against the hated rivals.

With the victory the Red Sox are now 10-2 through the first twelve games against the New York Yankees.  This means that regardless of how the final six games of this series play out, the Red Sox have clinched the season series.  This is noteworthy for two reasons. 

 

Because of the razor thin, close race in the division, if the two teams were to end the year with identical records, the tie breaker would be owned by Boston and they would then clinch the division along with home field advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs and potentially for the second round as well.  Secondly, and more importantly, the last time Boston won the regular season series against the Yanks was all the way back in 2004… And I think we all know how that season ended up working out.

There’s an almost undeniable air that surrounds this team.  It’s a mystique that has been attached to them ever since the signing of Carl Crawford and the acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez this winter.  There was a sense that this team could be something really special and so far they are right on track.

At their current pace with a record of 70-43 after 113 games, the Boston Red Sox are on course to win 101 games.  In their storied franchise history this has only happened three other times and has not occurred since 1946.  That year they won 104 games.  The other two instances were in 1915, when they won 101 games, and their best regular season record of all time was in 1912 with 105 wins.

While it would be difficult to draw comparisons from records nearly a century old, the Red Sox made it to the World Series in each of those seasons and won the World Series in two of three years in which the feat was accomplished.  The only season that did not produce a title was in 1946 when they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.  Take it for what it may be worth, but when talking about potentially historic seasons, history can be your only reference. 

The bottom line is there is a lot of baseball left to be played – 49 games to be exact.  Through the agonizing lows and euphoric highs experienced cheering for the Red Sox, we have learned that nothing is certain and only to expect the unexpected.  Therefore enjoy this team and celebrate in the excitement that will surround the anticipation of their championship aspirations.  Though hope has always endured among the Fenway faithful, unlike before the 2004 season, history also now appears to be on our side.