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October 21, 2007
BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON -- Red Sox rookie Jacoby Ellsbury made his postseason debut in Game Six on Saturday and played well as Boston blew out Clevleand at Fenway Park, 12-2.
A smart move on his part, Ellsbury wasn't available after the game to talk to the media, saying today he just wanted to get out of here. Meaning, he wanted to act as a classy individual and live by the moto of rookies should be seen and not heard, especially in the ALCS.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he was quite impressed with Ellsbury's performance.
''I thought he handled himself fine,'' said the manager. ''If you pick it apart a little bit, he probably could have got back to the wall [on a play in which he missed a ball hit off the wall] because he's athletic enough to make those plays. I didn't think he looked overwhelmed by what was asked of him, or we wouldn't have played him.''
Ellsbury went 1-for-5, including a RBI-single in the third inning.
''He had a real good at-bat against the left-hander and he didn't crush, but he stayed back and let the ball get to him,'' said Francona. "I think all the things we've talked about with Jake are true. He competes, and for a young player, put in that situation, I think that's pretty high praise. Just the fact we played him shows the amount of confidence in him.''
So much so, Ellsbury is back in the lineup tonight, replacing the struggling Coco Crisp again.
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 5:42 PM | Permalink
