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.