SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Right now I feel like Rod Tidwell screaming "SHOW ME THE MONEY" to Jerry Maguire because there is no other way to describe how I feel about Jacoby Ellsbury's performance so far this season. Is that cheesy? You betcha. Valid? Quite possibly. This season certainly looks a lot like the end of last season for Jacoby Ellsbury and quite frankly I am sick of it. I hear Red Sox fans laughing at us and I see a lot of wasted money going down the drain.

I usually don't pay much attention to when fans or the media start criticizing a player this early in the baseball season. I just brush it off as them getting warmed up still and getting into a routine. At the end of the season I will react because by then I know they are just plain tired. That is not the case here. It's the middle of April so I don't want to hear excuses. I think excuses are like assholes... everyone has one but when you are a major league baseball player making more money than I can even dream of you better suck it up buttercup and figure it out!

I don't understand what is going on with Jacoby Ellsbury. He is 32 and in the prime of his career. We are counting on him to be that impact young player. We signed him looking for numbers like what he had in 2011 with the Red Sox. We really wanted those 32 home runs, the speed and the offense. Instead, in two seasons we have 23 home runs, a bunch of missed playing time and below average offense. We need him to set the table with Brett Gardner and give us the defense in the outfield. Right now, he gives us nothing. Right now.....he is dead weight.

I am looking for the positives with Ellsbury. I know he is capable of giving us more! Right now though I have to wonder if the Yankees are losing confidence in him. Last year, in an elimination playoff game the Yankees benched him against the Astros. He is an everyday player who was benched in favor of Chris Young. He became the $153 million bench warmer in that game. Joe Girardi says the Yankees have not lost faith in him, but it's not like he would give us a different answer anyway. Sometimes you just have to read between the lines.

It's a new season and we shouldn't see a repeated pattern. On Tuesday night Ellsbury became the $153 million pinch runner that didn't even get that job accomplished because he was thrown out trying to steal second. Is it hard to be successful in this scenario when you are coming off of the bench cold and don't have a rhythm in the game? Sure, but when you are called upon you still have to be able to get the job done, especially with that kind of a paycheck.

So once again Ellsbury is benched. Is he earning a similar role as his former teammate David Ortiz? I hope not. His agent went so far as to question why the Red Sox would put Ortiz the "Ferrari" in the garage in favor of a Pinto recently. So do the Yankees see Aaron Hicks as the new Ferrari and Ellsbury as the Pinto? After his 105.5mph throw to gun down Danny Valencia last night....I doubt his .059BA helps his cause but that was one hell of a throw!

So where do Ellsbury and the Yankees go from here? Only time will tell but the Yankees have already proven that they can and will bench players who are not performing. Will they continue to bench their expensive outfielder who has a full no-trade clause?  With a promising young group of kids waiting for an opportunity to come up Ellsbury needs to get it together and fast. The Yankees cannot afford to bench Ellsbury for his poor performance or because he is facing a lefty pitcher.

This time last year we were writing about MUSTACHE MANIA! Maybe Ellsbury should consider growing that back because quite frankly fans are outgrowing their patience. Time is running out, Jacoby! It certainly isn't a bad idea and I am tired of referencing old movies when it comes to you. Think about it.

   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 





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