You're Outta Here!

Shank's favorite Red Sox whipping post, Jacoby Ellsbury, is in the final year of his contract. Shank's 100 percent sure Ellsbury will test the free agent market when the 2013 season's over. So sure, in fact...

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jacoby Ellsbury is the greatest flight risk in the history of baseball. There is no way he will be playing for the Red Sox next spring.

I’d bet my hair on it.

I tell him so in the clubhouse at JetBlue Park.

“Everybody knows you are gone,’’ I say. “If you’re still here next year, I’ll shave my head.’’

“Go for it,’’ says Ellsbury.

No problem. My hair is safe. Like everybody else around here, I know there is no chance Ellsbury will be with the Red Sox next year.

Nothing wrong with that. It’s just a fact.

Ellsbury is polite, but he’s weary of the contract question. It must be weird to go into a season when you know . . . and your teammates know . . . and all of the fans know that you are gone at the end of the year.

I don't quite buy these assertions, but Ellsbury's agent is Scott Boras, who's known for playing hardball and testing the free agent market (this is mentioned later in the column).

We know the negatives. Ellsbury gets hurt and he’s slow to come back from injuries. He missed 144 games with broken ribs in 2010. He injured his shoulder and missed 88 games last year. Both injuries were results of collisions from playing hard, but he’s stuck with the image of a pampered baseball softy.

It's difficult to understand exactly how Jacoby Ellsbury got stuck with the label of a pampered baseball softy. A complete mystery...