Coco Crisp



The world's greatest "haircut".

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

From Coco Crisp's Twitter account I learned that he likes to play World of Warcraft and that he has a pet Chihuahua. I'll never be able to look at Coco Crisp the same... The World Series of Poker is off and running. Just a reminder but the best place (in terms of writing, humor and updates) to follow the WSOP is at The Tao of Poker... Speaking of poker - when I first read this story I was disgusted. After a minute I was amused thinking about the irony of socialism on a small scale running smack dab into police state tactics (or in this case State Police tactics). A charity poker game run by a cooperative with proceeds from the event to feed the poor raided by the state police because the Sisters didn't have the proper papers - yup. Look out South Berwick Strawberry Festival Committee - you're next!... All week I've been meaning to write a review of Bottom of the Ninth: Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel, and the Daring Scheme to Save Baseball from Itself. I read the book over two days and could not put it down. Excellent history and insight into a period of baseball history which has largely gone overlooked. I recommend the book heartily...

Player Comparison

If you just looked at Jacoby Ellsbury's .307 batting average and his 21 stolen bases (not to mention his recent 22-game hitting streak) - you may think he was having a great season. However, comparing him to the person he replaced - Coco Crisp - may dampen that enthusiasm (numbers don't include yesterday's games).

Ellsbury - .307 BA/ .338 OBP/ .377 SLG/ .715 OPS/ 81 OPS+
Crisp - .233 BA/ .344 OBP/ .399 SLG/ .743 OPS/ 97 OPS+

Some other numbers:

Ellsbury - 1 HR/ 21 SB/ 6 CS/ 10 BB/ 19 SO/ 75 TB
Crisp - 3 HR/ 11 SB/ 2 CS/ 27 BB/ 19 SO/ 65 TB

I think you'd have to call this a draw or maybe even a slight advantage to Coco. Of course when you factor in that Ellsbury is just 25 and makes a fraction of what the 29-year old Crisp makes plus the trade of Crisp netted the Red Sox Ramon Ramirez and his 0.74 ERA - Ellsbury clearly becomes the better value.

Red Sox - Orioles Flotsam and Jetsam

Sci-Fi Connection: Pretty amazing game tonight. Brad Penny gives up 7 runs in the 2nd only to see the Red Sox came back to eventually take a 10-8 victory. The start by Penny made me wonder if the Red Sox front office is employing the Harkonnen Strategy. In the book Dune - the Baron Harkonnen first sends his ruthless nephew Glossu Rabban to rule Arrakis with the idea that he'd be so bad that the people would automatically welcome and love the Baron's nephew and heir Feyd Rautha. In this scenario - Brad Penny is playing the role of the grossly overweight Rabban and John Smoltz is being poised to look like a savior. Brad Penny's season ERA now stands at an even 11.00.

Playing the Role of Andruw Jones in 2009?: In the 7th inning with runners on 1st and 2nd with none out - I swear the Orioles pitched around Dustin Pedroia (4 straight balls) to get to David Ortiz. How the mighty have fallen. Ortiz then quickly struck out. The Orioles then got out of the jam by getting Kevin Youkilis to ground into a double play. I know its early but Ortiz is eerily reminding me of Jack Clark in his final year in Boston.

Because John Wasdin is not on the roster: Javy Lopez is really my least favorite player on the Red Sox roster right now. I get ill every time he comes in to pitch. Mike Timlin might be a better use of a roster spot - at least Timlin could get the bullpen guys doing that stomp-type music.

Prediction watch: I predicted that Coco Crisp would have as good or better numbers than Jacoby Ellsbury. Right now Crisp is hitting .235 but has 2 HR while Ellsbury is hitting .220 with no HR. Still a good trade for both teams - the Royals got a Gold Glove centerfielder and the Red Sox got Ramone Martinez who has been great in the bullpen for Boston.

My wallet thanks you: Just as impressive was the San Diego Padres come back from a 5-0 deficit after the 1st inning on the road to beat the Phillies 8-7 in Philadelphia. The Padres were part of a improbable 4-team parlay with the Red Sox (coming back from 7 runs down), the Marlins (coming back to win in 10 innings) and the under in the Atlanta game. Woo-hoo! Did I mention I'm going to Vegas next week?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy 45th birthday to immortal hottie Elle McPherson...What? Peter Gammons had this puzzling statement in his last column: "Crisp was frightened by the death valley that is center and right-center field in Fenway Park." What? Crisp played Gold Glove defense at Fenway. Was I missing something? I'd look for Crisp to be among the favorites for a Gold Glove this year too... I've long wanted to read Shelby Foote's epic The Civil War: A Narrative (3 Vol. Set) and finally I've got the first volume in my hands. I've read about the first 200 pages and I must say this this may just be the best book of history I've ever laid eyes on... Speaking of Coco Crisp - Jacoby Ellsbury should go fairly high among outfielders in many fantasy baseball drafts. Think of Coco Crisp as a later round equivalent to Ellsbury. I'd look for Crisp and Ellsbury to put up similar numbers this season. Same is true of Joba Chamberlain and Seattle's Brandon Morrow. Both pitchers have about equal stuff but Joba probably goes a few rounds ahead of Morrow... Cy Young was born on this day in 1867. Young's record of 511 wins is often cited as one of the records that cannot be broken. To me, though, the real unbreakable record of Young's is his 749 complete games. Pud Galvin is in second place with 646 and Tim Keefe is third with 554. That's a difference of about 200 complete games between 1st and 3rd place. You won't find an entire pitching staff in baseball these days with a combined 200 complete games.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Ken Rosenthal raises the interesting question about the Red Sox NOT exercising their option on Manny Ramirez for 2009. I think the Red Sox will exercise the option but if Manny finishes the year with 30 HR, 100 RBI and an OPS+ of 130 - then they will definitely think about it. And if Manny acts up again between now and the end of the year - then they will think long and hard about whether having Manny around is worth it. Manny is lucky that there are no big name outfielders available in this year's free agent crop. I think Rosenthal is correct that the Red Sox will check with the Rockies about the availability of Matt Holliday before they re-up Manny.... LyfLines has a great review of the Red Sox performance in June. I had forgotten that the Red Sox entered June a game back of Tampa Bay. It also looks like the Red Sox were actually a better club with Coco Crisp in the line-up. Crisp had an OPS of .880 for the month (compared to Jacoby Ellsbury's anemic .592). Good stuff... David Pinto points out that Edgar Gonzalez has been a hit for the Padres. A 30-year old career minor leaguer making the most of his opportunity is always a great story. I would like to point out that the Red Sox also have a career minor leaguer playing second in Pawtucket who I think would do well with a shot at the bigs. Joe Thurston is leading Pawtucket with a .324 BA but at 29-years old - time is running out for him... Tom Verducci has an excellent article on Tim Lincecum. Well worth the read...

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

It's not so much that Detroit is 0-6 to start the season. It's that they are already 4 games back in the standings... Many Red Sox fans are frustrated with Coco Crisp and would like to see him traded already. But Terry Francona has shown an ability to get bench players their at bats and Coco at the least makes the best late inning defensive replacement in the game (moving Ellsbury to left for Manny Ramirez). However, the frustration Red Sox fans have with Crisp's situation must be nothing compared to how the Dodgers fans must be feeling about Juan Pierre. Both Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier deserve to start and both of those players make the Dodgers a better team than what Pierre brings to the table. Yet there's Pierre continually trotted out to take up valuable AB from Ethier and Kemp. Here's the catch - both Crisp and Pierre are light hitting defensive specialists but Pierre has $36.5 million left on his contract that runs through the 2011 season and the contract includes a limited no-trade clause. Meanwhile Crisp is a better defensive player and his contract calls for only $4.75 million in '08, $5.75 million in '09, with a $8 million club option in 2010. My guess is that it will be very tough for Ned Colletti to trade Pierre for any sort of value while Coco Crisp is also available on the market... It very could be that Derek Lowe will be the best free agent pitcher available after this season. Lowe has had two real solid starts to begin the season. It could also very well be that Lowe ends up trade bait for the Dodger since the Dodgers are pretty deep at starter if Estaban Loaiza remains steady and Jason Schmidt comes back healthy. Lowe could be traded mid-season for the simple fact that Scott Boras is his agent and Lowe will probably be going to the highest bidder at the end of the year... The season is less than 10 games in and already Oakland's Joe Blanton has two 2-1 losses on his record. I feel bad for the guy... My early season fascination with David Murphy continues as the ex-Red Sox farmhand had another 2 hits last night and is now hitting .409 on the season... The Colorado Rockies have only scored 10 runs so far this season and are only hitting .209 as a team. Yet it is the Cubs fans you hear complaining... Who knew? Gabe Kapler (2) now has more HR than either Manny Ramirez (1) or David Ortiz (1). I guess that year off really helped. Just the same - I wouldn't rush out to pick up Kapler for your fantasy baseball team nor would I drop either Manny or Big Papi from your line-up... John Smoltz just needs 19 more strikeouts for 3,000 in his career. Smoltz should be a first year selection for the Hall of Fame when he's done....

Red Sox Game 2 in Japan Live Blog

6:00 - Tokyo is the world's largest city? I hadn't realized that. I'm looking forward to seeing how Jon Lester looks tonight. I haven't always been a believer in Lester but I'm coming around.

6:09 - I just realized that I wrote "tonight" when it's actually morning. I guess the fact that it's night in Japan coupled with the fact that the sun hasn't risen yet coupled with the fact that I haven't had any coffee yet has me confused.

6:16 - Rich Harden has a no-hitter going! He lost the perfect game by walking Ortiz though.

6:25 - Jon Lester has a no-hitter going too! He lost his perfect game with a walk in the first too though.

6:33 - Rich Harden keeps his no-hitter bid alive with a 1-2-3 second inning. This may only interest me and it's no secret that Kevin Cash is no wizard at the plate but I found it interesting that last year in Pawtucket (AAA) he hit just .176 in 176 at bats. Symmetry.

6:48 - Jon Lester loses both his no-hitter and shut-out as the A's take a 1-0 lead. I was reading Alex Beam's review of the HBO series John Adams during the inning. Glad to see he mentioned John Bell's blog Boston 1775. I've had that blog on my blogroll for over a year.

7:03 - Rich Harden has his no-hitter still intact after 3 innings and I have my first cup of coffee in the morning.

7:10 - I should note that Coco Crisp is playing today in place of Jacoby Ellsbury. I think this is because Terry Francona wants to get Crisp a start and also because Crisp has had some success against Harden in the past (2-6). Emil Brown hits a 3-run blast and the A's take a 4-0 lead. I'm going to take this opportunity to see if Emil Brown is taken in any of my fantasy baseball leagues.

7:29 - Harden loses his no-hitter but now has 7 K's. He's looking sharp. I can't wait for the Sox to get into the A's bullpen.

7:33 - I'm assuming that if I were listening to ESPN2's broadcast of the game that I would have heard Steve Phillips talk about how Harden has this year's Cy Young Award wrapped up by now. Middle of the 4th and both pitchers have thrown 73 pitches.

7:48 - Should I be worried that Jason Varitek may be taking batting tips from Kevin Cash? I've been impressed with what I've seen of David Aardsma who has come into the game in relief of Lester. The guy is only 26 and was a top draft pick (22nd pick of the 2003 draft). Manny hits a HR and wins me $20 in my home run pool. Thanks Manny. A's lead 4-1.

8:15 - I'm not sorry to see Rich Harden go. His final line was 6 IP, 1 ER and 9 K's. I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate the UMass basketball team on a great come from behind victory at Syracuse last night. That was an exciting game to watch. My guess is that UMass coach Travis Ford gets a job offer from a bigger program after the season is over. If Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was a MLB GM - he'd be the White Sox's Kenny Williams.

8:35 - I would not be surprised in the least if Huston Street is either traded or demoted to set-up duty by the A's and that Keith Foulke takes over as closer. I admit that I was surprised both to learn that Foulke is only 11th on the all-time list for saves for the A's (with 43) and that Hall of Famer Left Grove is above him on the list (with 51). Foulke is probably the early favorite for come-back player of the year. A's take a 5-1 lead as we head into the 9th.

9:01 - Alan Embree pitches a scoreless 9th and the Red Sox lose 5-1. For the record - yesterday I had a bacon and cheese omelet and today I had brown bread toast and a banana.

EDIT: Lyford was up and blogging this morning as well.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Not for nothing but I'd look for the Red Sox to get much better offensive production across the board from their outfielders in 2008. Manny had an off year last season but supposedly is working out like a madman. I don't think it is out of line to expect a 30 HR 110 RBI season from the ManRam. In center - Coco Crisp hit just .268 with a .712 OPS last year. I'd expect those numbers to improve with either Jacoby Ellsbury taking over or Coco winning back his job. I also think that this year will see JD Drew hit 20 HR and drive in 100 runs for the Sox. Drew had to adjust to Boston last year and the health problems his son had must have effected his performance. Drew was Boston's hottest hitter in September last year (.342 BA and 1.072 OPS) and I'm hoping that carries over to the start of this season... The LaDainian Tomlinson action figure. I'm sorry but I can't help but think of Tomlinson as a spoiled diva. Remind me again - what's any of his teams ever won?... Interesting look back at the Andy Marte / Edgar Renteria / Coco Crisp deals. I must point out that the analysis of the trade made here at the time is pretty spot on:

The key player from the Indians side is Andy Marte who is rated by Baseball America as the 9th best prospect in baseball. I have no problem saying that I hope Donald B. our expert on all things related to Georgia sports (especially Braves baseball) is right when he says that Marte is nothing but the second coming of Melvin Nieves.

Nice call by Donald. Melvin Nieves indeed!

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being

Johan Santana to the Red Sox is all but done. Jon Lester, a center fielder, Justin Masterson and Ryan Kalish are the package. More details now.

--Will Carroll, 5:15 p.m.

Last night that was the announcement that makes me think that the Red Sox will be getting Johan Santana. As I mentioned before - a trade like this won't be announced for hours or days after an agreement has been made because the team trading for Santana will have a 72-hour window to get him signed to a new contract. The deal could have been done last night and now the Red Sox and Santana are just getting the physical done and contract details hammered out.

It will be awesome if the Red Sox get Santana for the rumored package of players. It will make them prohibitive favorites to win multiple World Series over the next few years. However, there is one aspect of the proposed package that bears closer examination.

Almost every Red Sox fan hopes that center fielder mentioned will be Coco Crisp and not Jacoby Ellsbury. However, if it is Coco Crisp then that means there is a very good chance that the Boston Red Sox's Opening Day 25-man roster will have ZERO African Americans. I know, I know - who cares? I care only that the Red Sox field the most competitive team possible but I bring this up because some people will make an issue out of it. Make no mistake. And yes I'm talking about the Boston Globe here.

It's a stupid issue but something the Boston Globe made a big deal out of 4-years ago. If Coco Crisp is traded - I'm betting they make it an issue once again.

Torii Hunter and the Centerfield Market

Torii Hunter was signed to a 5-year $90 million contract yesterday that has sent shock waves through the market for centerfielders.

The Angels had agreed to a $50 million, five-year deal with [Gary] Matthews last November, so Hunter was surprised they were even interested in him.

"They shocked me. I didn't think they needed a center fielder," Hunter said. "They shocked the world."

The Hunter signing has a number of implications and ramifications.

First - this signing will make Aaron Rowand a very rich man. There are a number of GM's out there who have cash on hand and who need to make a splash in the offseason to justify their job to the fans. I would look for Rowand to get some "Hunter-like" offers from the White Sox, Dodgers and Phillies.

Second - the team who misses out on Rowand may be forced into overpaying for Andruw Jones (who is surprisingly 3rd on the centerfielder wish list for most teams). I have to wonder if the Braves are nervous about offering Jones arbitration because it may become a Greg Maddux-like situation from a couple of years ago where they thought Maddux was leaving as a free agent but when he didn't get any big multi-year offers he ended up taking the arbitration from the Braves and breaking their piggy bank (forcing them to trade Kevin Millwod to the Phillies in a salary dump). It should be recalled that Scott Boras was Maddux's agent and is also Andruw Jones' agent. Boras must be praying that the Phillies or Dodgers sign Rowand because I have to think that Kenny Williams and the White Sox are Boras' big chance to get Jones a mega contract.

I don't think the Dodgers or Phillies will be players for Andruw Jones because he has historically done awful at Dodger Stadium (.735 OPS in 36 games) and at Citizen's Bank Park (.638 OPS in 35 games).

Third - once Rowand lands somewhere - teams that still need a centerfielder will be knocking on the Red Sox door to make a deal for Coco Crisp. Besides the teams mentioned above - you will also have the Rangers, Twins and a couple other teams. The Red Sox had to give up a top prospect (Andy Marte) to get Coco - so I'd look for them to get one back in return.

Forth - the Angels have been very active this offseason (acquiring Jon Garland and now signing Hunter) and I don't think they are done. Many people put them as the front-runners for Miguel Cabrera (or Miguel Tejada as a Plan B). The Angels activity already will send some teams into a tizzy - for instance I would not be surprised to see the Dodgers make a very big push on Aaron Rowand to get the back pages back from their metropolitan rivals the Angels. Also - with the "win it now" approach by the Angels many have speculated will put the A's into a rebuilding and trading mode. I don't see that happening. If the A's can keep Rich Harden, Dan Haren and Joe Blanton healthy then they can compete with anyone. The A's have a reasonable payroll and their key players are signed at reasonable terms. I don't see them being sellers.

Cleveland Indians

Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports has a "hot stove" look at the Cleveland Indians. I got a good chuckle out of this part:

The versatile Casey Blake also is a year from free agency, and nobody recognizes his value more than Shapiro. So expect a serious attempt to keep Blake in the fold as well. Maybe that's why the Indians announced Monday they have raised prime season ticket prices by 11 percent.

Yeah - sure. Good luck to the Indians trying to justify a big ticket increase so that they can re-sign Casey Blake. To be fair - Henson had just got done saying that CC Sabathia will be a free agent after 2008 and I think he meant to justify the ticket price increase on the re-signing of both players. The way its written is ambiguous and I chose to chuckle at the idea of re-signing Casey Blake to a mega-contract causing the ducat inflation.

It's also amusing to see the love for Casey Blake when everyone was ready to give 3rd base to prospect Andy Marte before the season started.

The Indians two big needs are a starting corner outfielder and a closer. I would go after Japanese free agent outfielder Kosuke Fukodome but I'm not sure about what they can do about a closer. Francisco Cordero coming over to the AL would be just as big a risk as sticking with Joe Borowski. And Cordero would be looking for Casey Blake type money.

If the Red Sox were to lose out on Mike Lowell it would be pretty ironic that the Indians would need an outfielder (Coco Crisp) while the Red Sox big need would be a 3rd baseman (Andy Marte). I chuckle at that almost as much as Casey Blake's contract necessitating an 11% hike in ticket prices.

Baseball GM Meetings Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous hot stove baseball thoughts and observations.

The Texas Rangers need a centerfielder. The Red Sox have two. If the Rangers lose out on the top centerfield free agents then a Coco Crisp for Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade could be good for both teams (good for the Red Sox at least). The Red Sox big needs are a corner infielder (if Mike Lowell is not re-signed) and a back-up catcher. Saltalamacchia could fill both those needs. Note - I wouldn't be against keeping Coco as a 4th outfielder or as insurance that Jacoby Ellsbury doesn't have a sophomore slump but I think Salty is going to be the real deal... Greg Maddux has reportedly re-signed with the Padres for a 1-year deal worth $10 million. Maddux is a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Last season he managed 34 starts and almost 200 IP. I REALLY hope that Roger Clemens doesn't come back next season and that Maddux wins at least 8 games to pass Clemens and take over 8th place on the all-time wins list. Maddux would need 14 wins to tie Kid Nichols in 7th place. I think the low key way Maddux went about re-signing with the Padres compared to the mercenary "look at me" way Clemens operates speaks volumes about the two pitchers as people... With the Yankees picking up the option on Bobby Abreu - it seems to me they have a logjam in the outfield. Melky Cabrera should be the starting CF and now with Abreu back in RF - that leaves Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui to fight it out for LF at bats and time at DH. Do they trade Damon (as has been rumored to the White Sox) or do they try to trade Jason Giambi? It seems to me that something has to give... Keep in mind that the Blue Jays collect their revenue in Canadian dollars but pay the players in US dollars. That means that the Canadian dollar going above a 1 for 1 exchange rate creates a windfall for the Blue Jays. Will they use this extra fiscal muscle to sign a big name player this offseason? I wouldn't recommend it but it should be noted that short is their big need and they have the money to take on a Miguel Tejada contract. I know Tejada is diminishing skills incarnate but he's also a big name and the Blue Jays could actually use a gate attraction...

World Series Notes

Miscellaneous World Series thoughts and observations.

The Red Sox now lead the series 3-0 and in the past when a team goes up 3-0 they win the series (22 out of 22 times)... With the series all but over in most people's minds - it is understandable that some folks like myself can't help but think of next year already. I have to say that I feel for Coco Crisp. Sure his offense was so-so this year but his defense was stellar. Every night it seemed you'd see Coco on ESPN's web gems. It is clear though that Jacoby Ellsbury is going to be the starting centerfielder from here on out. Coco has two more years on his contract (with and option for 2010) at reasonable prices - $4.75 million in 2008 and $5.75 million in 2009. Everyone will point to Atlanta, Minnesota and the Phillies as natural trading partners because those teams will likely be losing their centerfielders to free agency. The Red Sox will most likely trade Coco for prospects but why not shoot for the moon and offer Crisp, Jon Lester and a prospect to the Twins for Johan Santana?... I think Eric Gangne may even be booed during the celebration parade... I'm hoping that the Red Sox sweep and that Jon Lester gets the win. Can you imagine how inspirational that will be (not that Lester isn't already inspirational) to cancer patients all over the country (and world)? Even if you hate "Red Sox Nation" - you have to root for this guy... Its at the point now that when I see Mike Lowell on TV - I hear the Teddy KGB character from Rounders say, "Pay that man his money"... Professional sports journalists at work:

Reporter (to Francona): Since you came back from down 3 games to the Yankees, what advice... ummm... even though you don't want to help them... could you give Colorado?

Francona: I don't know how to answer this... I really don't want them to win. (laughter) I mean really, what kind of a question is that?

Everybody on the Red Sox has played so well that it will be difficult to pick an MVP. Let me just throw this out there but Jacoby Ellsbury just may be the front runner for the award right now. Of course if it gets to a game 5 and Josh Beckett shuts the Rockies down again - then there will be no question at all about who gets the award... Assuming the Red Sox re-sign Lowell and Curt Schilling ($13 million one-year) then the two biggest needs are another reliever and a back-up catcher. There is a good chance that Boston could turn to Japan to fill those two positions. Boston is getting to be very big in Japan.... Howard Bryant has a nice column up on the current state of the Red Sox.

Dumb Rumor of the Week

Buster Olney supposedly mentioned a potential trade between the Red Sox and Braves that would send Coco Crisp to the Braves and 2nd baseman Kelly Johnson to the Sox. This is dumb on several levels - let me count the ways.

1. Does anyone think that the Red Sox aren't kinda occupied at the moment? Sure maybe Coco Crisp will be trade bait in the offseason but the Red Sox are currently busy trying to win the World Series. Would Olney have us believe that Theo Epstein is making trade offers between innings?

2. The Red Sox already have Dustin Pedroia at 2nd and Julio Lugo at short. Where would Kelly Johnson play? Does Olney suggest that Johnson be an utility infielder? Or does he suggest that he would start at short and Lugo would ride the pine at $9 million a year? If that's the case - why not just keep Coco and have him ride the pine at $4.75 million?

3. If a blogger had float this as a legitimate trade rumor they would be rightly ridiculed. I know that Olney has to fill time on his radio show but wouldn't he be better served by not floating rumors that make him look like a moron?

I have to admit that I'm biased against Olney. I think he's biased towards the Yankees (but to be fair - he likes the Yankees of old - say late 1990's - and can be a cranky pants toward the Yankees as well).

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Coco Crisp - the best centerfielder in baseball?... The NL West is virtually a dead heat among three teams with the Rockies not too far behind. Colorado is easily the best hitting team of the four but they will need another starter like Mark Buerhle or Dontrelle Willis if they are to make a run at the division. The Dodgers are the most balanced team in the division (8th in runs scored per game and 3rd in runs allowed per game in the NL) and the addition of James Loney to the lineup may just prove to be the move that puts the Dodgers over the top... Changing of the guard? It is very possible that the best shortstops in baseball today are Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramizez in the NL and Orlando Cabrera in the AL. Gone are the days of A-Rod, Tejada, Jeter and Nomar ruling the roost (with Omar Vizquel tossed in for you leather fans). Only Jeter among the "big 4" is still playing shortstop at a high level. Is the Golden Age of Shortstops over? Or is the Golden Age continuing with a new generation of slugging shortstops?... Happy 64th birthday to Red Sox great Rico Petrocelli. If you want to win a bar trivia bet - ask "Who is the only major league player with a first name of Americo to start in the All-Star game?" The answer of course is Rico Petrocelli...

Coco vs the Caveman

Not making any editorial comment here - I just thought this comparison between what Johnny Damon has done this year vs what Coco Crisp has done was interesting and good for some perspective:

Damon - .255 BA / 4 HR / 23 RBI / 35 R / 11 SB
Crisp - .247 BA / 3 HR / 18 RBI / 35 R / 13 SB

The numbers are very close although Damon clearly has the slight edge.

Three very big differences to note though:

1. Damon has an OBP of .345 which is just OK for a leadoff hitter but the OBP looks great compared to Crisp's .302 OBP (although to be fair - Coco is a bottom of the order guy and not a leadoff hitter like Damon).

2. Crisp has been great in the field this year whereas Damon's injuries have precluded him from making any significant contributions in the field.

3. Crisp is 27-years old while Damon is 33-years old. Crisp is also owed $10.5 million over the next two years while Damon will take home $26 million over the same period.

Red Sox fans have been very down on Coco Crisp this season but I think if you look at the facts that you have to conclude that the Red Sox did make the right move in not bringing back Johnny Damon.

Coco vs Wily Mo

Around Boston there is a brewing argument over who should be starting in the outfield for the Red Sox - Coco Crisp or Wily Mo Pena. I mention this because earlier today while I was driving I heard both Dale and Holley from WEEI continually dismiss the idea with the "its only been six-games" logic - even though caller after caller was bringing it up. Seldom have I heard two radio guys more tone deaf to what the callers were saying.

Now I'm not saying that I agree that Crisp should be dumped for Wily Mo but what I am saying is that the argument has some valid points and should not be dismissed out of hand.

1. Its not just six games - Crisp was with the Red Sox for 105 games last year while Wily Mo played 84 for the Red Sox (both had injury issues). Here's how they compared:

Crisp: .264 BA / .317 OBP / .702 OPS / 22 SB / 8 HR
Pena: .301 BA / .349 OBP / .838 OPS / 0 SB / 11 HR

The raw offensive numbers clearly favor Wily Mo (with the exception of stolen bases). So its not just six games - it was the whole sample size from last season that is in many people's minds.

2. Defensively - yes Crisp can track down more balls in centerfield but his arm is so weak that runners almost always take the extra base on him. Wily Mo has a pretty good arm - so the balls he wouldn't reach would be made up by keeping runners from automatically advancing. Defense is a wash in my mind.

3. The Red Sox gave up Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena and there are many fans who want Wily Mo to get the at bats to see if that trade was worth it. Whereas, there is a bit of an undercurrent of unhappiness regarding Crisp because his arrival was so heralded and Crisp cashed in with a number of commercials right off the bat. Skeptical New England fans are wondering if they were sold a bill of goods with Coco Crisp and there is some resentment building against the guy.

4. The bottom half of the batting order is pretty average. Last year Mike Lowell has a bit above league average as far as hitting (106 OPS+), Jason Varitek was below average (85 OPS+) and Coco Crisp was the worst of the trio (80 OPS+). (Dustin Pedroia is a rookie but he's batting 9th for a reason). Wily Mo had an OPS+ of 112 and his presence instead of Crisp could really kick start the second half of the offense. The second half of the batting order is a problem that is a sleeping giant for Red Sox Nation.

So it may be early in the season to make a change - but the argument for change in the outfield for the Red Sox can definitely be made.