Red Sox CF Ellsbury Has Fractured Ribs, Return Date In Doubt

During this afternoon’s media briefing, Red Sox manager Terry Francona announced that CF Jacoby Ellsbury (at center in photo) has been diagnosed with a hairline fracture in each of four ribs.

Tito didn’t know whether recovery from the newly diagnosed injuries would delay Ellsbury’s return to the active roster. He was placed on the DL on April 20, retroactive to April 12— that makes him eligible to be activated on the 27th (next Tuesday) in Toronto.

Francona said the team did the scans because the centerfielder wasn’t “making that last hurdle,” but based on comments from the player it appears Tito was being disingenuous.

Incredibly, the team didn’t send him for the scan. According to Ellsbury, HE REQUESTED that the club send him for the scans when the pain hadn’t subsided more than a week after his collision with Adrian Beltre in Kansas City on April 11.

Amazing!

After all of the incidents where the Red Sox have been taken to task by players for not being conscientious in treating injuries, they had to be asked to do a scan by the ballplayer.

Lessons not learned.

Francona explained the club’s inexcuable delay this way: “The medical people assured us that this is the protocol— you treat the symptoms. But once he wasn’t able to play, then we needed to go back and do the CT scan. Nothing is displaced.

"We had four people read the X-rays. When an X-ray comes back negative it means you treat the symptoms. It threw us all for a loop a little bit. It may not even effect his timetable or return. It’s going to be all symptomatic and how he feels.”

Hmmm, interesting explanation, Tito. Even my neglectful doctors called for a CT scan when the x-rays came back negative after my car accident. My scans showed a cracked femur, a hairline fracture to my tibia, and torn ligaments in my knee, among other things.

Wake up and smell the coffee, boys! You have millions of dollars invested in your players, why are you being penny wise and pound foolish?