Jacoby Ellsbury reported to camp today, along with the rest of the position players, and was greeted by reporters who couldn't wait to ask him questions about the upcoming season, as well as last season.
The last time Ellsbury was in pinstripes was when he was left out of the Wild Card game after Joe Girardi ultimately decided to go with Brett Gardner in the starting lineup. When asked about the decision, Ellsbury had no hard-feelings towards his manager. "I talked to Joe that day," Ellsbury said. “I talked to him on the field and he knows how bad I want to play, and he knows how much time I put into playing to be the player that I am. We left it at that."
He was also asked about his time spent on the disabled list last year and if he was ever back to 100%.
“Obviously I knew my team needed me to play. When I came back, you convince yourself that you’re 100 percent, you’re ready to go. I thought I was pretty close, but it wasn’t until the offseason when I started working out, training, getting back, maybe I wasn’t where I thought I was. But you don’t have time for that during the season to wait to get there. I tried to get back as soon as I could, but it wasn’t really until the offseason when I started working out. Now I feel 100 percent.”
The Yankees look to Ellsbury as a key contributor to their offense. When Ellsbury is getting on base and scoring runs, the Yankee lineup is one of the best in the American League East.