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| Back At Fenway In 2014? |
According to a report by Jon Heyman of
CBSSports.com,
the Red Sox have "keen interest in re-signing" Jacoby Ellsbury. However (and this is a
big "however"), if
Scott Boras demands a contract in the nine-figure range, there is less optimism about keeping the center fielder in Boston. With the success of their "mid-range" signings over last Winter, it remains to be seen whether ownership wants to re-enter the 'mega-free-agent' market. After shedding over a quarter of a billion dollars in salary in
The Great Punto Deal, they're probably a little gun shy about giving anyone—even Ellsbury—a multi-year, $100 million plus deal. Of course, Boras and Ellsbury could point out that the Red Sox just did that with
Dustin Pedroia. As Boras says,
"Free agency is like the Navy. You can have a number of mid-range missiles, but they only work as long as you have the aircraft carrier to put them on." We're not sure about the maritime analogy, but we
sort of see what he's saying. And don't scare him off with
Carl Crawford stories. Boras again,
"Carl Crawford never had success in Boston. And he never won a ring in Boston. Crawford never hit twenty home runs, and Jacoby hit 30." The bottom line is this baseball team is a far better one with Ellsbury leading off, stealing bases and playing a Gold Glove-caliber center field. End of story. Hey, it's not our money. Well, it
sort of is. Maybe lightning will strike again—
like it did to Jacoby's plane back on February 10th—and they will come to an agreement.
