New York Yankees Editorial: What is Going on With Jacoby Ellsbury?

Back in December of 2013 the New York Yankees pried Jacoby Ellsbury away from the Boston Red Sox with a lucrative $153 million dollar deal over seven years.

Ellsbury was signed to provide the Yankees with stellar fielding and consistency out of the lead-off role. While he has provided the Yankees with great defense, his hitting has never lived up to expectation, and he’s struggling now more than ever.

During the Yankees 5-0 victory yesterday in the Bronx, Ellsbury wen’t 0-for-4 with a strikeout. During Saturday’s double-header sweep at the hands of the first place Blue Jays, Ellsbury wen’t a combined 0-for-10. To make matters worse, Ellsbury is 1-for-25, and his batting average has plummeted to .257. His last multi-hit game was on September 6th and his last extra-base hit was a home run on August 30th.

So what exactly is wrong with the Yankees $153 million dollar center fielder?

Well according to the New York Post, skipper Joe Girardi said;

"“He’s just not squaring the ball up,” he wen’t on to defend his center fielder by saying “It’s hard to say against a knuckleballer.[R.A. Dickey] We need to get him going.”"

The Yankees certainly do need to get him going. With his OPS slipping to .666, Ellsbury is single-handedly crippling the top half of the Yankees lineup. With his partner-in-crime Brett Gardner starting to find his stroke, a revamped Jacoby Ellsbury might just be what this team needs to get back in the AL East Race.

"“He’s got too much history of being one of the better leadoff hitters in the game,” Girardi said. “He had a tremendous start and then went through the [knee] injury. He’s had his ups and downs. To me, he’s due to turn and have an up.”"

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