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Baseball Today: Friday, May 9 »

Stealing Down Three Runs?

In Wednesday night's game, Jacoby Ellsbury led off the seventh inning with a single.

The Red Sox were trailing, 8-5. The general rule of thumb in such a situation is to play it safe and not risk running into an out.

But Ellsbury didn't play it safe. He took off for second, even though Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, one of the best ever at throwing out base-stealers, was behind the plate. Ellsbury was safe by a relatively close margin, stealing the base because of his speed and the fact that the Tigers pitcher, Zach Miner, was slow to the plate, as timed by first-base coach Luis Alicea.

The Sox really didn't see it as a gamble. The stolen base was Ellsbury's second of the game and 13th of the season, running his string to 22 in a row without being caught at the start of his career. Boston eventually scored three runs in the inning, on a homer by Mike Lowell, pulling even at that stage.

"If the numbers don't add up, it's hard to do it," said Francona, referring to Miner's time to the plate.

"Pudge made a phenomenal throw, but with the numbers, why not (send him)? He made the good throw but didn't get him. If something like that helps us win a game we're going to do it."

Besides, while Ellsbury's career still is in its formative stages, Francona has seen enough to know that the rookie outfielder knows how to run the bases.

"He's only got two months in the major leagues, but he is a good basestealer," said Francona. "He does a good job. he's not just fast. I do think he's pretty smart, too. He's confident."

Ellsbury didn't see the danger of taking off even though the Sox were down three runs late in the game with the big boppers coming up.

"It's a situation where if I think I can make it I'll go," said Ellsbury. "Maybe we can stay out of the double play. That way David (Ortiz) and Manny (Ramirez) are coming up with runners in scoring position."

Tim Raines has the major league record for most successful steals at the start of a career -- 27.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:57 PM | Permalink