Ellsbury Awkwardly Introduced in New York

Via @JoeGiza

In one of the most awkward press conferences I can remember, Jacoby Ellsbury was just introduced to the New York media for the first time as a Yankee.

The awkwardness began when Yankees GM Brian Cashman presented Ellsbury's wife, Kelsey, with a bouquet of roses, looking a bit like he was asking her to prom.

Via @JoeGiza

Then, in his best impression of an eighth graders angsty poetry, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi told Ellsbury, "You no longer are a thorn in my side. You are a flower in our clubhouse."

To cap off the awkwardness, Ellsbury got up to put on his new pinstriped jersey (#22), and struggled with the buttons while the photographers took about a million pictures. 

Finally Ells got behind the podium and did his best to avoid answering any of the questions he was asked.

It's never been a secret that I'm not Jacoby Ellsbury's biggest fan - indeed, I gleefully referred to him as "D-Ellsbury" for months while he was a member of the Red Sox (and while that may have been in bad taste, I still maintain it was a clever nickname). I think New York made a mistake by overpaying Ellsbury, and I plan to gloat about it for the next seven years.

Limping Pinstripes

While the Red Sox are pondering what to do without David Ortiz for the first couple weeks of the season, the Yankees are having a similar problem - though multiplied in severity. We already knew that Alex Rodriguez was going to be out for at least half the season recovering from hip surgery, but his absence is just the tip of the iceberg.

Mark Teixeira is out at least until mid-May with a strained tendon in his right wrist, and he's lucky to be avoiding surgery. Curtis Granderson fractured his arm on February 24th when he was hit by a pitch, and will also be out more than a month.

Luckily for the Yankees, CC Sabathia has seemingly recovered from his offseason surgery, and is scheduled to return this Friday. Meanwhile, it's only due to Ichiro Suzuki's unique brand of badassery that he emerged from a car accident unscathed last week.

The Yankees are getting desperate as some of their most talented (and well-compensated) veterans succumb to freak accidents and the ravages of aging, apparently asking Chipper Jones to come out of retirement to shore up the roster (he declined). Kevin Millar, unable to resist a joke, had this to say:

But even GM Brian Cashman isn't content with contributing to the team by signing players. No, he felt the need to show his solidarity with his battered troops by earning a fracture of his own - while skydiving, of all things.

So while it's certainly a huge bummer to be missing David Ortiz for a little while, we can take comfort in the fact that things could always be worse - and that they're finally worse for the Yankees.

"A-fraud..."

According to ESPN.com, Dodgers Manager Joe Torre's new book The Yankee Years [written with SI's Tom Verducci] bashes several members of the New York Yankees organization, up to and including Owner George Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman.

Allegedly, the book details clubhouse tensions, most specifically Alex Rodriguez's "obsession" with shortstop and captain Derek Jeter.  Now, I think that the "A-rod is gay," talk is overdone, so I'm just going to clarify by telling you that the Yankees third baseman sees Jeter as a rival, not a lover... I think [sorry, couldn't resist].  This actually makes quite a bit of sense, when you think about it.  When A-rod came to the Yankees, he had been a shortstop for the Rangers for his whole career.  Since the Yankees had their home-grown golden-boy occupying that position, A-rod made the shift to the right.  However, the rivalry is long gone, for Jeter at least.  And if A-rod thinks he's competing with the beloved captain for fan affection, he's sorely mistaken, as there is NO contest.

Fans resent A-rod for being somewhat of a choker in important situations.  He puts up stellar numbers all season, but, come October, he's Julio Lugo batting left-handed.  Hence the nickname A-fraud, which I assumed was a fan invention.  Not according to Torre, who allegedly claims that it was common for Rodriguez's teammates to call him by that taunting name.

I'm actually looking forward to reading this book: I have a great deal of respect for Joe Torre, and I think that the Yankees gave him a raw deal after he guided them to twelve straight playoff appearances.  Plus, any reputable book that validates Rodriguez's "A-fraud" name is definitely worth the read.