JaCoco Crispbury

All the talk in Boston this weekend is about our two centerfielders. There’s no debate among the Fenway Faithful as to who should get the job; Coco Crisp has had two years to establish himself in the position, and has failed to do so. Jacoby Ellsbury came up big in the pennant race, and proved himself such a spark plug that manager Terry Francona had no choice but to keep playing him—especially after Coco posted a .182 average in the postseason.

We feel for Coco, no doubt. We know a broken finger can really mess with a guy’s swing, and we love to watch him fling himself all over the outfield. But at the end of the day, Covelli Loyce Crisp did not live up to our (admittedly high) expectations. Coco’s last two years in Cleveland looked like this:

139 G/15 HR/.297 AVG/.344 OBP/.446 SLG/.790 OPS
145 G/ 16 HR/.300 AVG/.345 OBP/.465 SLG/.810 OPS

His two years in Boston? Like this:

105 G/8 HR/.264 AVG/.317 OBP/.385 SLG/.702 OPS
145 G/6 HR/.268 AVG/.330 OPB/.382 SLG/.712 OPS

Even though Boston’s fourth outfielder is likely to get at least fifty starts with Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew at the corners, Coco is a professional and wants the starting job. And naturally, so does Ellsbury. Yet despite Coco’s stated preference for a trade over a bench role, the media circus swirling around them, and the mutually exclusive desires of both, there seem to be no hard feelings between the two. In fact, they seem nigh inseparable….

They warm up together…

They run sprints together…

They talk about gloves together…

Bert and Ernie even sign autographs together!

Schlemiel, Schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!