Monday, April 27, 2009

Jacoby The Jet

Ok, I realize I'm supposed to be hard at work at the moment, but this is ridiculous (probably my favorite adjective). Updating my update from earlier this evening, the Red Sox beat the Yankees 4-1 to sweep the series. Let me set the stage for the best play of the game:

Bottom 5
2 outs
Bases loaded
Andy Pettitte pitching to JD Drew with a 1-0 count
Sox lead 2-1

And then Jacoby Ellsbury channels Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez


Reasons this play is RIDICULOUS:
1) You're in a tight game against your archrivals, in a situation where you have a chance to go up by 3, 4 or even 5 with one swing. (Don't forget, Drew is ahead in the count, probably expecting a decent pitch to hit, and has no idea Ellsbury is planning on stealing). You pull a move like that, you risk costing your team a lot of insurance runs and possibly getting your pitcher mad at you for being selfish and wanting to make a highlight-reel play.

2) You're running on a veteran pitcher/catcher battery AND the batter is left-handed. You have got to be incredibly lucky to pull that off without either party recognizing what's going on, especially Posada, who has an unobstructed view of the third base line. How they didn't pick up on that, I have no idea.

3) If you watch the slow-mo replay, Ellsbury practically falls down on his way to the plate, tripping just inside the batter's circle. If you're gonna attempt something like that, you better make sure you don't make a fool of yourself on national television, and he came perilously close.


All that said, my respect for Ellsbury just tripled. The man has serious cajones. Props, dude. As they say in Beantown, "That's wickid hahd."

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please be respectful.