Comments on: Manny Ramirez: Declining, maybe, but far from done.

By: Jeff W

Jeff W — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:43:55 +0000

Sometimes not getting a lot of attention and fanfare is a good thing. It puts on less pressure. I expect Kendrick to have another great season.

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By: Nick Kapur

Nick Kapur — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:41:30 +0000

Well, I’m just wondering, because while Moss or Kielty might fly as bench guys, now that the Sox have traded away Murphy and Pena, if they trade away Crisp too and somebody gets hurt (always a possibility with JD Drew), you definitely wouldn’t want either of those guys starting everyday at a corner outfield spot, and midseason is a long time to wait until…

At this point, if I were the Sox, I’d just hold onto Crisp. I think they actually really need him. I mean, Wily Mo had no business being a bench player either, but the Sox had no qualms about using him as such. I don’t think the Sox really care whose career they set back – they can afford to overpay guys who would easily be starters elsewhere to be glorified bench players at the Fens, and that is what they do.

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By: Sarah Green

Sarah Green — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:19:49 +0000

Coco Crisp has gotten over 400 ABs every year but his rookie year. He would be a GREAT bench player for the Red Sox, but that’s because he’s not really a bench player. What are their other options? Well, Brandon Moss got some ABs at the end of the season as an outfielder, and has been learning first base in the offseason to enhance his usefulness as a bench player. And Bobby Kielty is still available. Besides, there’s always someone who fits the fourth-OFer profile available at midseason.

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By: Nick Kapur

Nick Kapur — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:45:57 +0000

Wait, I’m just curious, but if the Sox did trade Crisp, who becomes the new 4th outfielder? Because between injuries and Manny being Manny and JD Drew being JD Drew, I’m guessing that Crisp would still get a lot of playing time. And if not Crisp, then you are going to want someone fairly competent, because you can still expect them to get 250 ABs or so, and you are going to want someone who can pull their weight…

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By: Sarah Green

Sarah Green — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:35:07 +0000

Ghosty, I’ll agree with Paul’s devil’s advocacy, that it’s hard to increase a man’s trade value without giving him more playing time, and I doubt Crisp will see much of that if he stays with Boston.

I’m a bit confused by Coco Crisp. I really expected him to bounce back, offensively, last season. But he didn’t. I, too, would consider myself bullish on Coco, but I don’t think him staying with the Red Sox is necessarily in his best interests, or in the best interests of the team. He’s in a weird place now where he’s too good to really be a bench player, but not quite good enough to have the starting spot on the Boston Red Sox (unless you want to kidnap JD Drew, stick Ellsbury in right, and leave Coco in center—I’d be down with that). I don’t want him to get all grumpy, Jay Payton-style, and yet if he’s cool being the backup, hey, I’ll take a fourth OF with speed and a great glove. But you’ve got to start Jacoby Ellsbury. You’ve simply got to. And you don’t want *too* many games without either Ortiz or Ramirez. And we seem to be stuck with Drew. So that just makes Crisp the odd man out. I’d rather get something for him than nothing. And since what the Red Sox really need is a catching prospect, I’d rather see them get one of those. Before the Rangers got Josh Hamilton at the end of December, I dreamed up quite a nice little scenario involving Coco Crisp and Texas prospect Taylor Teagarden. Oh well.

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By: Paul Moro

Paul Moro — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:53:31 +0000

Dude, don’t kill El Guapo.

Anyhow, you make a fair point regarding CoCo. But to play devil’s advocate a bit, it’s going to be difficult to up his trade value if you can’t find him the at-bats and innings needed to show off his skills. It’s definitely not impossible, but it’s harder.

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By: El Guapo's Ghost

El Guapo's Ghost — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:47:32 +0000

On Coco and Manny:

The Sox would be better off targeting a prospect with pop (only Lars Anderson has homer potential) for Coco rather than a catcher in a trade. No club is going to move a legit catching prospect for a light hitting CF. With that being said, they should not deal Coco for two reasons. 1) His value can’t be any lower right now – terrible year at the plate and most contending clubs have filled their centerfield voids. Even though Coco was great in the field, hitters usually don’t fall off the table in their mid-to-late 20’s without some kind of reason. Maybe Coco still isn’t over his finger injury? I’m bullish on Coco. 2) As you mentioned, Manny will need some M-B-M time. The most opportune time would be on the road against RHSP and with a flyball Sox starter on the mound. Ellsbury in a bigger left would be a nice upgrade defensively. Manny getting a day off or DHing thereby giving Ortiz, Youk or Lowell a blow works too.

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By: Paul Moro

Paul Moro — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:13:07 +0000

Forgot about that. Yeah. That’s just terrible.

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By: Sarah Green

Sarah Green — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:01:57 +0000

@ Nick, he didn’t retire with Boston. And there seems to be sufficiently bad blood between him and the Sox that he wouldn’t take one of those yearlong “advisory” positions. Still, they might have reached some kind of agreement had he not made that rather tacky deal with the Rays.

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By: Sarah Green

Sarah Green — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:47:13 +0000

Oh, but Paul, that was their Devil’s bargain. They agreed to retire his number, and he’d go into the Hall in a Tampa Bay hat. They worked out the deal when he signed with them! That’s what led the HOF to decide players wouldn’t be able to choose which hats they wore on their plaques.

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