Will Carl Crawford or Jacoby Ellsbury Finish the Season With More Steals?

by NESN Staff on Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 12:00PM

With Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford returning to the Red Sox lineup recently, there will certainly be more speed. Both of them make a living stealing bases and causing havoc on the basepaths.

The dynamic duo has been tearing it up at the top of the order with Dustin Pedrioa out of the lineup, but with Pedroia set to return soon, they could shake things up.

As long as he stays healthy, it's likely Ellsbury will be locked in at the Sox leadoff spot. With Crawford's spot in the lineup in limbo, Ells could get a jump on some additional opportunities batting consistently higher in the order.

Ellsbury already has a 70-steal season on his resume from back in 2009, but during last year's MVP runner-up campaign, he seemingly sacrificed some speed for power at the plate. While Ellsbury hasn't lost a step, if he's getting on second with a double or rounding the bases after a home run, that's fewer stolen base opportunities.

Crawford has never stolen 70 bases in a season, but he does have five seasons with 50-plus stolen bags. Last season's 18 was an outlier, but considering the injuries Carl is battling along with his uncertain spot in the lineup, it might be closer to the norm for him going forward. Then again, if he keeps stealing three bases per night like he did on Tuesday, the sky's the limit.

Who will finish this season with more stolen bases?