Ellsbury Doesn't Want To Play?

Interesting article today in the Globe by Tony Massarotti. The article is about Ellsbury and his "reputation" of not wanting to play baseball.

"Before we go any further, we all need to understand something here. This is not solely about this season and about whether Ellsbury has bruised ribs or hairline fractures. This goes well beyond that. During his rookie season of 2008, Ellsbury missed small chunks of time with various assorted ailments. He came to the Red Sox having earned a reputation in the minor leagues of being someone who required a great deal of, well, maintenance. Last year, during a rock-solid season in which Ellsbury batted .301, stole 70 bases, and played in 153 games, manager Terry Francona spoke of how Ellsbury was beginning to understand the "responsibility" of playing in the major leagues, which was a nice way of saying that Ellsbury had an obligation to his manager and teammates to play through minor issues and be in the lineup.

Then came last offseason, the departure of Jason Bay, and the acquisition of Mike Cameron. Ellsbury was bumped from center field to left, a change that clearly did not sit well with him. In Kansas City April 11, Ellsbury collided with third baseman Adrian Beltre and suffered his existing rib injury, and you could hear all the pink hats in Camp Jacoby groan simultaneously (Boston Globe)."

I had no idea he had this "reputation" in the minors. I really hope it isn't true, and that Ellsbury is hurt, but I respect a lot of what Tony Mazz writes, and this scares me a bit. He also goes on to say that Boras is now his agent, and he doesn't like his players playing at less then 100%.

In the end, the Sox can't afford to have another JD Drew. Ellsbury changes this lineup so much when he is in it, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on.