The Baseball Reporters Show Recap 5/26

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe joined Tony Massarotti on today's edition of the Baseball Reporters Show. The guys discuss what exactly is the identity of this Red Sox team? Are they the team we have seen the past 8 games or the previous 39? Also, they wonder what's going on with Jacoby Ellsbury and his ribs as he is out of the lineup for the second consecutive night.The Red Sox have played 47 games this season and Jacoby Ellsbury has played in only 9 of them. Tony and Nick wonder what the heck is going on? Jacoby has shown that he is not willing to play unless he is 100% healthy, which is tough to be in any sport. Ellsbury is a Scott Boras client. Maybe Boras has gotten in his head a little bit by telling Jacoby if he does play and isn't producing, his value goes down.

Tony feels that the team is getting frustrated with Jacoby and his rib injury. "They didn't put him on the DL right away so there seems to be some disconnect there with regard to what the team perceives is the injury and what Ellsbury perceives is the injury because there was a lag there."

Tony and Nick don't make light of rib injuries either. Nick Cafardo, having broken his ribs in the past, says that it is very painful. But didn't Tom Brady play with broken ribs last season? The guys believe it's all about your ability to play through pain. Cafardo, "It's all up to the individual player and how much you can tolerate. And Jacoby has decided that he's not going to tolerate that much and he needs to be 100%."

So what exactly is the identity of this Red Sox team? Well, the guys discussed this on the show today. Cafardo, "I just think that they are now what I thought they were going to be. They're a starting pitching machine that can hold down the opponent on any given night. They have a good bullpen, and they'll score enough runs."

Nick Cafardo believes that this team is World Championship caliber as constructed whereas Tony still believes they're a wildcard team. Tony still has some concerns about this Red Sox team. "The bullpen still worries me a little bit. I'd like to see them get another set-up man in there. And I still worry about their ability to hit good pitching consistently."