Serving Coco at The Trading Deadline

We all saw Coco Crisp soar through the air and crash into the centerfield wall in Anaheim the other day. We were all in awe of the catch he made - the latest in a long line of remarkable highlights - and we all shouted out loud in our living room even though nobody but family members and perhaps a dog or two were present. (It's OK to admit it. You know you did it).

The whole scene prompted one obvious and now over-asked question: Will that be Coco's last gold glove memory in a Red Sox uniform?

As July melts away and the magical afternoon of the 31st approaches, every team is assessing their needs and shopping their wares, and given the shakiness of the Red Sox bullpen (I like to keep a bottle of Jack Daniels on hand for the seventh and eighth innings, just to take the edge off) Boston is no doubt dangling Crisp as trade bait.

But I don't think it's quite that simple.

To be honest, I'm not sure the Red Sox are better without Crisp. Facing facts, they aren't going to get a solid reliever for him alone - anyone getting rid of a legitimate pitcher will be asking for at least one and maybe two prospects along with him. To that I have three words for you: Eric Bleeping Gagne. The Sox had to give up two Major League-ready prospects for two months of sweaty hats and an ERA north of 100.

And Crisp brings more to the table than the .255 average he's struggled to maintain. He is the best defensive outfielder the Sox have had since I've been old enough to watch, he's a switch hitter, and he provides a tantalizing speed element off the bench late in games. Anyone questioning the value of that role should look up the following: Roberts, Dave.

As for Crisp's griping about playing time and being traded, I say the heck with him. He opened his mouth before any spring training games were even played, asking the Red Sox to ship him out of town if he didn't win the centerfield job. It takes a certain kind of arrogance to say to your boss: "You know what, I might not be good enough to win the job I personally feel should be mine. But in the event I come up short, could you accomodate only my needs and find a better home for me. Just make sure they don't have anyone better than me, either."


To be honest, Crisp has yet to prove himself to be more than a solid back-up outfielder anyway. He came to Boston touted as a near-.300 hitter with solid pop, and all we've seen is almost three years of continued offensive struggles. I don't think he's earned the right to claim to be a starting centerfielder. At least not in Boston.

But he can be of value. And, to be honest, he's most valuable in the role that's already his. When Manny needs a day at DH, you slot Coco in center, move Ellsbury to left, and along with Drew in right you have the best defensive alignment possible with the current roster. Need a pinch-runner in the eighth or a defensive replacement in the ninth? Coco's your man. And, as has been mentioned ad nauseum, both by me and plenty of others, the cost of solid middle relief is likely to be prohibitive. So why bother. I'd rather not throw prospects away in hopes of finding a diamond in the middle relief rough.

The only way trading him makes sense is if Theo can wrangle the perfect deal. Forgive me, given the current market, if I don't hold my breath.

So it may be to Crisp's own chagrin, but to me it's a no-brainer. Keep Coco in Boston, so we all can see some more crashing into walls and diving on the grass and sliding into second. And maybe at the end of the year we can see some corks popping.

As for Crisp, if the chance to win another World Series isn't important enough to him to tough it out as a role player for a few more months, that's his own problem. He has to ask himself - would he be happier as the Nationals' starting centerfielder or the Red Sox 10th man?

As far as trading-deadline decisions go, it doesn't get much easier than that.