Nobody is happier than Coco Crisp

by Randy Booth on Jun 5, 2008 6:00 AM EDT in News

Ever since David Ortiz was put on the disabled list, it seems like everyone in Red Sox Nation has been buzzing about what the future holds. What should the Sox do? Should they sign Barry Bonds? Is the world officially over?

Have no fear, because there may be more positives to this situation than the giant, glaring negative staring back at us.

The biggest and best positive is the fact that Coco Crisp is going to be getting a lot of playing time over the month or so. He's said since the season started that he isn't comfortable not playing every day. He's had a good amount of playing time, but it hasn't been consistent. As long as Manny Ramirez is DH'ing for the most part, then Crisp is going to essentially become an everyday player.

But this is good for the Sox. With Coco playing every day, that means he'll be able to show his goods day-in and day-out. His stats aren't great (.261/.303/.396) but they should only get better with consistent playing time. Playing every day means this: trade bait.

It's no secret the Sox have been shopping around Coco since March, maybe even before that (it's all a blur at this point). And despite what Terry Francona and Theo Epstein might say, they want to trade him. They want to give Jacoby Ellsbury the starting gig and not have to worry about this center field fiasco any more.

Coco is a good player, but his time in Boston has to be coming to a close pretty soon. There wouldn't be a problem if he didn't mind being a bench player, but he knows he could start in center for a few teams out there. He has won his ring and now he wants to play every day. Understandable.

So we'll watch Coco for awhile, but as soon as Papi is back in that batter's box (as long as it's before July 31) I think Coco's time will be done. The only question left is: where does he go?

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