Jacoby Ellsbury played in just six games this season before colliding with Adrian Beltre on April 11, a hard crash that resulted in four fractured ribs on Ellsbury's left side. More than a month went by before he was back on the field, making his triumphant return to the Red Sox lineup on Saturday (he went 0-for-4). He played in Boston's next two games as well, but has not appeared since Monday's win over the Rays. Why? Well, that's a good question.
Ellsbury is complaining of soreness in his left side, and an X-ray and CT scan showed inflammation near those still-healing ribs, but no one's really sure just where the inflammation is coming from. Really, it seems that no one knows anything.
While Terry Francona indicated Tuesday that the soreness was in a "different area" than where he suffered four hairline fractures of his left ribcage, Ellsbury said it was "along the same ribs that I had my fractures in."
He said the discomfort he's experiencing is similar when he swings he feels "a sharper sensation like I had, but we're all comfortable it's not cracked."
"I don't know that anybody knows what's going on," conceded Francona. "Rather than hurt him, we won't play him and try to get to the bottom of it [Thursday]."
Glad we're all on the same page here, guys. It's only a starting outfielder, no reason to figure it out. Amazingly, the story does not end there.
Ellsbury thinks that the Red Sox are claiming the pain and discomfort he is feeling is not associated with his rib injury because the medical staff misdiagnosed it from the beginning.
"I think they downplay it because they misdiagnosed it. They said you treat it all the same way. Remember that comment? How do you treat a bruise the same as a break?"
The doctors have ruled out any fracture in the ribs, so that's something, at least. It's not sure when Ellsbury will be back in the lineup, but when he is, he will be roaming center field going forward.