Ellsbury takes over in CF for Red Sox in Game Six

Oct 21, 2007 - 4:52 AM BOSTON (Ticker) -- With all the fireworks supplied by J.D. Drew in the Boston Red Sox's 12-2 triumph over the Cleveland Indians to even the American League Championship Series at three games apiece Saturday, a subtle lineup change made by Boston manager Terry Francona went unnoticed.

The Red Sox skipper benched slumping center fielder Coco Crisp in favor of fellow speedster Jacoby Ellsbury.

"I kind of thought we were going to do that (after Thursday's game) ... but I hadn't talked to Coco yet and I didn't want to announce something like that and have him get bombarded," Francona said. "So I went down and talked to him after the workout and explained to him what we were doing.

"You get to a point where - I always talk about doing the right thing, and I felt like this was in the best interest of our ballclub."

Ellsbury, a first-round pick in 2005, had drawn comparisons to former Boston center fielder Johnny Damon. The rookie tore through the two highest levels of the minor leagues to provide a valuable contribution down the stretch, especially when left fielder Manny Ramirez missed a big chunk of time in September with an oblique strain.

The 23-year-old Ellsbury hit .353 (41-of-120) with seven doubles, a triple, three homers, 18 RBI and nine stolen bases in just 33 games. But despite the performance that matched the hype, Ellsbury found himself on the bench when the postseason started.

"He's got a chance to be a great player. He does a lot of things," Francona said. "He can really run. We don't know if he's going to hit for power. He only hits a couple home runs in the minor leagues, and then he comes up here and hits a few right away.

"But I think the biggest thing of all, (special assistant) Allard Baird said in one of our meetings, 'This kid has survival skills.' I think what he meant by that is kind of like a (Dustin) Pedroia; he's not up here for the ride, he's up here to win. When you get a young player like that, that's pretty special. You can get a guy playing and maybe get some hits that help you. But when you get a young kid that seems to understand Boston, what every game means, that has a chance to make him even a better player."

But Francona made the switch to Ellsbury after Crisp recorded just three hits in 21 at-bats with no walks and six strikeouts in the series.

"Anybody that sits there and says they can't wait to tell somebody something they know is going to crush him I think is crazy," Francona said. "I don't enjoy doing that. I don't think anybody does. But we always try to do the right thing. We try to do it in the right way. That's what we do.

"I didn't expect Coco to jump up and hug me. If I was him, I wouldn't, either. So we try to do it correctly and with respect and give him reasons why."

Ellsbury didn't looked fazed at all against 19-game winner Fausto Carmona. After grounding out in his first at-bat, the lefthanded hitter lined an RBI single to left field in the third inning and showed off his speed while scoring on a ground double down the left field line by Julio Lugo.

Ellsbury finished 1-for-5 and likely will get the start in Game Seven against Jake Westbrook.