Silverman: Enigmatic Ellsbury Must Come Through If Yankees Are To Go On Playoff Run
By Steve Silverman
» More Columns
As the New York Yankees limp towards the postseason, there are many reasons why they are going to be a wild-card team and not a division champion.
If we are examining all the factors, we have to start out by giving the victors their due. The Toronto Blue Jays are the best power-hitting team in baseball and they also have superior depth in the bullpen. Those are factors that not only win regular season division titles but also lead to World Series championships.
As far as the Yankees are concerned, they played this powerhouse opponent on nearly even terms for a majority of the season despite a substandard starting pitching staff, a key injury down the stretch to Mark Teixera and a rather disappointing season from Jacoby Ellsbury.
When the Yankees signed Ellsbury shortly after the Boston Red Sox won the 2013 World Series, it was seen as a move that would impact the balance of power in the AL East.
It certainly seems to have hampered the Red Sox, as they finished last in the division in 2014 and were in that same position for the majority of the 2015 season. A late surge has them playing respectable baseball right now, but September hot streaks do not tend to carry over to the following season.
Ellsbury had the tools to become an MVP contender with the Yankees. He is an All-Star-caliber defensive player. He hits line drives, he finds the gaps and he can run like a gazelle.
We are not going to say he hits for power. Ellsbury hit 31 home runs in 2011 and nearly won the MVP for Boston, but he has never hit more than 16 in any season before or since, so that one year of explosive power is unreliable.
The specter of power is the main reason the Yankees gave Ellsbury a seven-year, $153 million contract. General manager Brian Cashman thought the Yankee Stadium short right field porch would transform Ellsbury back into that 2011 monster.
He had a reasonable season in 2014, with a .271/.328./.419 slash line along with 16 home runs, 70 RBIs and 39 stolen bases (caught just five times), but the Yankees were not a playoff team.
This year, Ellsbury has struggled with injuries and his numbers are a major disappointment. His slash line of .262/.322./.351 is accompanied by a home run total of seven and 33 RBIs. The stolen base figures are no longer gaudy. He has 21 and has been caught eight times.
As the playoffs beckon, it's getting worse for Ellsbury. Joe Girardi has sat him down on occasion against left-handed pitching.
The spark has not been there for Ellsbury since returning from a seven-week midseason stint on the disabled list due to a knee injury.
However, if the Yankees are going to do anything substantial in the postseason, Ellsbury has to return to the form he had with the Red Sox when they played October baseball.
Ellsbury was a major spark for the Red Sox in 2007 and 2013, both championship years in Boston. Ellsbury was a rookie who played just 33 regular season games in 2007, but Terry Francona started him in center field in the World Series. Ellsbury batted .438 with four doubles and three RBIs in a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies.
The next year, Ellsbury hit .333 (6-of-18) with six RBIs in a division series win over the Angels. While he struggled badly in the ALCS against Tampa Bay, he hit .500 (9-of-18) in the 2013 ALDS series against the Rays and then hit .318 in the ALCS against the Tigers.
He has scored 26 runs, driven in 17 and has 11 stolen bases during his postseason career. His slash line is .301/.361/.414.
The point is that Ellsbury has regularly been a positive factor in the playoffs, and he will get another chance in a matter of days.
The Yankees certainly wanted more from him than they have gotten so far in the regular season, but he can go a long way towards paying back their massive investment with a memorable postseason run.
Ellsbury has to put the second half of the season behind him and show his manager, teammates and fans that he knows how to perform when the spotlight shines brightest.
He has done it before and it's time for him to do it again.
Follow Steve on Twitter at @ProFootballBoy
