Excuse me while I puke ...

From the Providence Journal profile on Jacoby Ellsbury (who, as we all well know, hit 2 long home runs and a stunning .298 last year at Pawtucket.)


The best hitters make outs 70 percent of the time. The best teams lose 40 percent of their games. The grinding, day-after-day nature demands commitment while virtually guaranteeing disappointment.

But try telling that to Jacoby Ellsbury, who has a knack for making a difficult game look easy.

What may be challenging to others looks natural for Ellsbury

. . . It’s a long-held belief among player development people that players can’t truly be evaluated until they experience failure. So, where does that leave Jacoby Ellsbury?

“Maybe,” said manager Terry Francona with a smile, “he already has and we just didn’t notice it.”

Regardless of the evidence, Ellsbury swears the game isn’t easy.

“I know how tough it is,” Ellsbury said on a recent morning. “It’s a very difficult game. You’re going to go through some tough times. The game definitely humbles you.”

He says the words earnestly, with conviction. And yet, the results belie his beliefs.

. . . Some day — maybe next month, maybe in midseason — Ellsbury will encounter a slump that lasts longer than a game or two. Then the test will begin.

. . . Ellsbury terms his game “a work in progress. I’m trying to get better. I don’t know everything yet.”

So far, however, he could have fooled everyone else.