Stats of the Day: Igniting the Offense

A bit of an unplanned day off to the blog yesterday. Never got the chance to sit down long enough to type up an entry. Sorry to those who were looking for it!

Between Tuesday and Wednesday's games there were two leadoff men igniting their teams' offense. Jacoby Ellsbury kept the Sox in the game even though Josh Beckett was out and Curtis Granderson sparked the biggest offensive day of the year for the Tigers, getting on base four times. It's like I said all along: all that offense was missing was Granderson.

Detroit	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Granderson, CF	4	3	2	2	2	0	2	.500

Granderson picked up right where he left off last year, picking up two hits along with two RBIs and three runs scored. He was a huge surprise contributor to the Tigers last season and after a DL stint he is back at the top of the lineup.

While Granderson did strikeout a lot for a leadoff hitter last year, his other skills more than made up for it. He probably won't hit .300 again but I could see him being close. The real thing to watch is his power. After breaking his finger this spring he needs to show he has no lingering effects and is able to hit doubles, triples, and home runs like he did last year. That was a huge part of his game, so if he continues putting up singles he might not be the same player he was until he heals completely.

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, CF	5	3	3	2	0	0	3	.308

The savior of Red Sox Nation and fantasy teams alike, Jacoby Ellsbury came through big Tuesday night with two home runs after stealing four bases in his previous two games. Fantasy owners were hesitant to draft him due to Coco Crisp's apparent starting job in center, but Coco's hamstring injury has opened up playing time for Ellsbury.

Since being the starter in center field Jacoby has gone 10 for 32 with eleven runs scored and six stolen bases. Coco will probably challenge for playing time once he is healthy, but the Sox can't keep Ellsbury out of the lineup much. The only real issue here is that while Coco Crisp has been mentioned in numerous trade talks, his leg issues have likely kept teams at bay. With Crisp still on the team Jacoby won't show his true potential, but it's clear he's ready for The Show.