Ellsbury swipes his way into record book

Two batters into the game, Jacoby Ellsbury had two steals; this theft of third base came immediately after he broke the Sox rookie record of 31 steals. (David Kohl/Associated Press)

CINCINNATI - It took one pitch after his first-inning single for Jacoby Ellsbury to break the record for stolen bases by a Red Sox rookie. One pitch later, he was standing on third, after another stolen base, and moments later he had scored on a sacrifice fly by Dustin Pedroia.

Seventy-two games into the season, Ellsbury has 33 stolen bases, two more than the previous record-holder, Amby McConnell, who set his record over 140 games in 1908.

So, Ellsbury was asked after yesterday's 9-0 trouncing of the Reds, how many steals did he expect to end up with this season? "It depends on the situation. I let the game dictate what's going to happen," he said. "The numbers are going to pile up, and at the end of the year I'm going to look at 'em. I try to get as many as I can. Stealing bases, you've got to get on base. I run to steal to get in scoring position."

Ellsbury has a long way to go to challenge the major league record for most steals by a rookie. Vince Coleman was 23 when he stole 110 bases for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985.

The AL record certainly appears within reach - Kenny Lofton's 66 with the Indians in 1992. The most steals by a rookie this decade are the 56 by the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki in 2001; of course, Ichiro was a fully developed star when he made his debut on this side of the pond.

It is apparent the Sox are giving Ellsbury a lot of latitude about when he runs. "They have a lot more trust in me [than earlier in the season]," he said. "You have to show them you can make the right decisions and steal at a high success rate. There's no point in just going to go. I could steal a lot more bases, no question. But you want to make them quality steals."

History lesson

So who was McConnell? Ambrose Moses McConnell was a second baseman, one of 37 big leaguers born in Vermont (North Pownal). Listed at 5 feet 7 inches and 150 pounds, McConnell led the Sox in stolen bases that season, and according to the Utica (N.Y.) Observer Dispatch, was voted the team's most popular player.

McConnell is credited with reviving baseball in Utica by building a ballpark in 1937 that bore his name, and bringing a minor league team there two years later after a 15-year absence. McConnell Field was home of the Utica Blue Sox, an affiliate of the Phillies, and many players who became the NL pennant-winning "Whiz Kids" in 1950 played there, including Richie Ashburn. The Hall of Famer wasn't very fond of the field, especially because it was laid out with center field to the west. "The sun would set over it," Ashburn once said. "I never got a hit up there in the first five innings in 150 games, and I still hit .300."

The park no longer stands, but McConnell recently was inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame.

June swoon

Through the end of May, Hideki Okajima had a 1-0 record and 0.72 ERA, with opposing batters hitting .191. The biggest mark against him was his performance when he entered the game with runners on base: Of the 14 runners he inherited, 11 scored.

The Sox have not brought him into a game with runners on base this month, but now Okajima is getting pounded: In five games, spanning 3 1/3 innings, Okajima has allowed 8 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks and has posted an ERA of 21.60. Opposing batters are hitting .471 and slugging .588.

Saturday, after Okajima gave up a broken-bat single to Paul Bako and walked Jay Bruce on four pitches with the Sox ahead, 4-2, in the eighth, manager Terry Francona replaced him with Manny Delcarmen. That would have been unthinkable last season, when Okajima was spectacular as setup man to Jonathan Papelbon.

"This isn't last year," Francona said. "He set the bar high - he didn't give up any runs, ever. We're supposed to win this year."

Asked if Okajima's command was the principal issue, Francona said: "That's some of it. He needs to command because he's not a power pitcher. His split at times has been more of a changeup than a splitter. His numbers are still pretty damn good. He's had a couple of rocky outings, but he'll be fine."

Until he gets straightened out, however, don't be surprised to see more of Delcarmen or even Craig Hansen in the eighth inning.

Wristy business

Francona was very upbeat about the condition of David Ortiz's left wrist, and the tear in the sheath covering his wrist tendon. "The pain level is actually gone, which is good news," Francona said. "We were told that was kind of the criteria, and that the sheath will heal over. It's not like anybody is hiding anything. We'll go off the pain. If the pain is gone away, he'll be OK. The doctors say he should be OK."

Ortiz's wrist is still in a cast, and Francona said that the medical staff may choose to have him wear it for a few days beyond the original three-week window just to be safe.

Justin's case

One thing that is not under consideration as the Sox ponder their options with rookie Justin Masterson is a six-man rotation. Masterson is scheduled to start Wednesday afternoon against the Phillies, and assuming Daisuke Matsuzaka's scheduled rehab start for Pawtucket tonight proceeds without a hitch, Masterson appears headed back to Triple A. The Phillies, with lefthanded sluggers Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, may prove to be the toughest test yet for Masterson, who has been death to righthanded batters (.130, 7 for 54) over his five major league starts, while lefties are batting .208 (11 for 53) but slugging .509 against him, with four home runs and four doubles. He has allowed just one home run to righthanded batters . . . Clay Buchholz took a significant step toward pitching his way back to Boston with an impressive outing Saturday night in his fifth start for the PawSox. Buchholz went six innings for the first time and allowed just one run (unearned) while striking out eight and displaying good command of his fastball . . . Yesterday was the 70th anniversary of the second of back-to-back no-hitters by Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer, the only big leaguer in history to accomplish that feat . . . Bill Werber, who played for both the Sox and Reds, turns 100 June 20. Baseball's oldest living major leaguer lives in Charlotte, N.C.

Low times at bottom

The Sox began the day fourth in the AL in batting out of the No. 9 slot with a .265 average, with Julio Lugo getting the majority of at-bats. With pitchers taking their hacks in interleague play, the Sox' No. 9 batters were 0 for 11 with a sacrifice (Josh Beckett got the bunt down yesterday) and seven whiffs this weekend. They hit bottom Saturday, when Tim Wakefield struck out three times and pinch hitters Brandon Moss and Manny Ramírez whiffed once apiece. Beckett, who has two career homers, one in Philadelphia for the Sox, also lined out and hit into a force play before striking out. "That last time I wasn't too interested in being up there," he said. "I swung in the same place three times hoping it would hit my bat."

Fading glory

Sox fans who made the trip hoping to catch a glimpse of what made Ken Griffey Jr. great went home disappointed. Griffey went hitless in 10 at-bats this weekend before coming out after five innings yesterday. He struck out three times and grounded into a rally-killing double play on a 3-and-0 pitch Saturday. Griffey is 1 for 21 since hitting his 600th career home run off Florida lefthander Mark Hendrickson last Monday night . . . Jason Varitek returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with strep throat, while Lugo was back after a day's absence with what was termed an upset stomach. Varitek wore a blue catcher's mask and chest protector that will be auctioned off to promote prostate cancer awareness, in conjunction with MLB and the Prostate Cancer Foundation . . . The top three of the Sox lineup all went deep: Ellsbury in the third, Pedroia in the sixth, and J.D. Drew in the third. The last time the first three hitters in the Sox order homered in the same game was July 10, 1997, when Nomar Garciaparra, John Valentin, and Mo Vaughn did it in Toronto.