Jacoby Ellsbury...not a gamer?

[dorje3]

I'm not sure if this exerpt was taking completely out of context, but it seemed to be a strange thing for Francona to say - espescially if Ellsbury indeed was suffering from a sore groin. Why push him back like this?
May 3 Ellsbury (groin) returned to the starting lineup Friday, going 1-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and a stolen base in Boston's victory over Tampa Bay.
Recommendation: Ellsbury, who had missed three games because of the injury, was back in the leadoff spot for Boston. Red Sox manager Terry Francona hinted that Ellsbury was being over-protective of his groin injury, the Boston Herald reports. "I’m not pointing a finger at Ellsbury because I think he’s a pretty tough kid," Francona said. "I guess my point is you’re not always going to be 100 percent. I don’t know if we can wait for guys always to be 100 percent or we won’t ever be able to field a team."

A very strange motivational speach imo, and one that seems completely unwarranted and unnecessary. Doesn't Tito want the oportunity to showcase Crisp anyway?

[Sea Dog Fan]

Tito loves Crisp, just like he loves Timlin.

[theclefe]

I'm pretty sure Crisp is battling some type of injury too, as is Drew. That is leaving the OF corps rather thin.

[bigken117]

I'd guess Tito isn't taking shots at Ellsbury through the media. For a guy like Ellsbury, where so much of his value to the Red Sox lies in his speed, sometimes it's better to be overprotective than shrug off the player's concerns about how he's feeling.