While many players entering their walk years opt to table contract talks until after the season, Jacoby Ellsbury says that negotiations on a new deal won't be a distraction for him, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. “I know that [the Red Sox] talk [to Scott Boras] not just about me but other guys [on the team]..If there’s something to be discussed regarding me and the future, that’s when it’s brought to my attention — not every little conversation,” said Ellsbury. “There might be talks that I won’t know every little detail, but if there’s something, a decision to be made, that’s when I would get involved and go from there.” Here's more out of the AL East..
- While some are pushing the panic button on the aging Yankees, Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger has five reasons to believe in the Bombers this season. Politi reasons that the Yankees always seem to get production from unlikely places, and the recently-acquired Vernon Wells could be the latest example.
- The Yankees are a team in turmoil, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. While the Yankees have been known to have a touch of frenzy as Opening Day approaches, the club's last-minute roster shuffling is cause for concern.
- More from Sherman, who makes an out-on-a-limb prediction for each New York team this season. For the Yankees, Sherman suggests a midseason deal sending Andre Ethier to the Bronx for Jose Ramirez and Mason Williams. Sherman reasons that the Yankees will want to boost their offense and find a replacement for Curtis Granderson while the Dodgers will have Yasiel Puig waiting in the wings.
