In an effort to get Minnesota pitcher Johan Santana, the Red Sox have mentioned Jacoby Ellsbury in a potential deal for the 2-time Cy Young winner.

From ESPN.com:

That seems quite ridiculous to me. The Red Sox have great pitching, so the addition of another Cy Young-capable pitcher seems unnecessary. We saw what Jacoby gave the Red Sox in the World Series, and I can't possibly imagine that they would want to give him up.

That's about all that's been said so far-- with the Yankees setting a deadline for the Twins, we could get answers about Jacoby's destination today.

This is not good.

GO BEAVERS!

--JB--

It was free taco day at Taco Bell. Jacoby was first in line to get his taco in Boston. I didn't eat mine-- I decided to preserve it for the future.

Here's my taco:

Untouched. Unharmed. Uneaten.

Too good to eat. Lets preserve it!

Air-tight, ready to be autographed.

My personal favorite story from the day was that of Pure-Orange.net user "beavermobile." The manager of the Taco Bell he went to didn't even know that they were supposed to give out free tacos. Until beavermobile presented him with a full page ad from USA Today. Hilarious.

What will Jacoby do next?!?

--JB--

It's approaching the 2:00 hour on October 30, so that means it's time to go out to your local Taco Bell and pick up your free taco, courtesy of Tacoby.

Jacoby Ellsbury, that is, the one who stole a base in Game 2 of the World Series to earn everyone in the country a free taco.

You've got until 5:00 to head out to your neighborhood Taco Bell.

GO BEAVERS!

--JB--

Thanks in part to Jacoby's 4-for-5 performance last night, the Red Sox lead the World Series three game to none. The Red Sox are looking for a win to wrap the series up, and the Rockies need to win four games in a row. Jacoby will lead off for the second game in a row in center field. David Ortiz will be starting at first base, Lowell at third, and Youkilis will start off on the bench, but I would expect to see him later in the game.

Top 1

Jacoby took the first pitch from Aaron Cook for a ball, and drilled the second pitch down the left field line for... guess what... a double! That's his third double in five at bats, and Jacoby is on second with Dustin Pedroia at the plate.

Pedrioa grounded out sofly to third base, and Jacoby, realizing that there was nobody on third, took the base, bringing Big Papi to the plate with one out.

Ortiz drove the first pitch he saw between the first and second baseman, allowing Jacoby to score easily from third. Just like that, it's 1-0 Red Sox.

End 2

Jacoby's run is still the only one of the game, and he's due up third in the top of the third.

Top 3

Julio Lugo led off with a to second base, and the pitcher, Jon Lester, grounded out to third base, bringing Jacoby to the plate to try and get something started.

He took the first pitch from Aaron Cook low and inside, and the second pitch outside. He swung at the third pitch, moving the count to 2-1, and grounded the ensuing pitch to the Colorado second baseman. He's 1-2 on the night with a double, and the Red Sox still lead 1-0.

Top 5

With two on, two out, and a run already in in the fifth, Jacoby struck out looking, on a pitch that probably would have been called a ball, low and inside. He's now 1-3 on the night, and the score is Boston 2, Colorado 0.

End 7

Both teams lead-off men homered to start their respective seventh innings, and the scoer is now Boston 3, Colorado 1

Top 7

Bobby Kielty started things off for the Red Sox in the top of the eighth with a home run, a pinch hit home run in place of the pitcher, Mike Timlin.

Jacoby comes to the plate with no outs, and hits a slow roller first past the pitcher, then the third baseman, and that's a base hit for the speedy Jacoby. He's now on first with Dustin Pedroia at the plate. Pedroia grounded into a beautifully turned double play, and now there are two outs with the bases empty for David Ortiz.

Bottom 9:

The Red Sox are three defensive outs away from a World Series, and the Rockies need one run to tie and two to win. Papelbon is on the mound.

Yorvit Torrealba grounded out to Dustin Pedroia for the first out, then Jamey Carrol flew out on a deep fly ball to Jacoby Ellsbury up against the wall.

Seth Smith comes to the plate, two outs, needing some sort of production to keep his team alive.

Smith strikes out, and the RED SOX ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS! And Jacoby is right there in the middle of it!

Feel free to join in the discussion in the thread below.

The Beaver game last night prevented me from blogging the Red Sox game, but my god:

Three doubles, two in the same inning, and one single.

Two runs scored, two RBI's.

2007 World Series Game 3 MVP.

AP Photo/David J. Phillip (via ESPN)

Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Red Sox are up 3-0, and Game 4 is tonight.

--JB--

Click Read More for the Game 3 graphic, even though it doesn't matter.

Continue reading this post »

Just like last night, we'll take a look at Jacoby's performance inning-by-inning.

Bottom 3

Groundout, 4-3.

Bottom 4

Walk.

Bottom 5

Single up the middle. Would advances as far as third.

Bottom 8

Flyout to center field.

Final Score: Boston 2, Colorado 1

Like I did with the latter half of the ALCS, we'll follow Jacoby through the World Series. He'll start in center tonight, but bat last.

I don't have time for a pitch by pitch breakdown of each of his at-bats, I'll just post the results here. This thread is more for discussion, since I realize you could go to any mainstream sports site and get this information just as easily. So please, speak up in the comment section.

Bottom 2

Strikeout swinging

Bottom 4

Groundout

Bottom 5

Fielder's choice (bunt). Julio Lugo thrown out at second. Jacoby would score on a base hit by Kevin Youkilis. Boston leads 9-1.

Bottom 5

Yes, they batted around. Jacoby walked with the bases loaded, bringing in Jason Varitek from third.

Bottom 7

Jacoby grounds out into a force out (fielder's choice) again, and Lugo is thrown out at second. Jacoby isn't having a good night thus far, but the Red Sox are-- they lead 13-1.

Final Score: Boston 13, Colorado 1

The final out of Boston's 11-2 win last night came on a great catch by Coco Crisp in which he slammed into the center field wall. Coco was inserted into the game in center field for defensive reasons late in the game, and Jacoby Ellsbury was moved to left. In case you missed it, here's the catch, and the celebration:

This from MLB.com:

It is still unclear who will start Game 1 of the World Series in Centerfield. Vote for your choice in the poll to your right.

--JB--

Jacoby went 1-for-3 tonight in his second post-season start for the Red Sox, but that wasn't the big story out of Boston.

The Red Sox are headed for the World Series.

With an 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians which was much closer than the score suggests, the Red Sox will be returning to the World Series for thei first time since they won in 2004.

In 2004, Jacoby was a college student at Oregon State.

The Series begins Wednesday in Boston. It is unclear at this point whether Terry Francona will start Jacoby Ellsbury or Coco Crisp in center field for Game 1. Jacoby made a strong case in the two games he started-- 6 and 7, but Coco is the man with the most experience. However, Jacoby is a threat every time he comes to the plate and gets on base, and opposing teams have a hard time figuring out what to do with him.

Either way, it should be a fun ride.

--JB--

In just under an hour, Game 7 of the 2007 American League Championship Series will get underway. Daisuke Matsuzaka will start the game for Boston, and Jake Westbrook will start for the Indians. Since it's a Game 7, things could get very interesting with the pitching staffs. Here's the lineup:

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
9. Julio Lugo, SS

See you back here for the game.

--JB--