Cleveland Got Enough of That Coco Crisp
Published January 30, 2006
I'm not shocked that a lot of people are talking about the Indians shipping outfielder Coco Crisp to the Red Sox — who need him badly — along with reliever David Riske and catcher Josh Bard for reliever Guillermo Mota, prospect Andy Marte, and catcher Kelly Shoppach.
But I'm surprised that not a lot of that talk is from the Red Sox perspective. This is the guy who will replace Johnny Damon in center field, but not his mane of hair.
After a remarkable second half of 2005, the Indians have high hopes for a successful 2006 campaign with the team that Shapiro built, and that team is praying that they are the third consecutive cursed team to taste October glory.
But Mark Shapiro wasn't content, it seems. And rather than keeping the deck on the table until next year, he shuffled it up a couple times and dealt a few cards away, which can only put Indians fans on pins and needles this winter.
The blogs are talking about it:
- Let's go Tribe analyzes a left field with Coco Crisp vs. Jason Michaels. They say it's pretty similar. What they point out is that when Coco Crisp and Grady Sizemore batted 1-2, they were extremely vulnerable against left-handed pitching, and Jason Michaels — a righthander — eats up lefties and has well over a .400 on-base percentage against them.
- Erik Cassano highlights the pluses and minuses of the deal as a whole, noting that the bullpen looks very different fron the 2.80 ERA squad that squashed late-inning rallies.
- Deadspin doesn't say much, but just enough to warrant a Koko B. Ware reference.
To better understand the Coco Crisp trade, think of Cleveland as a bowl of milk. He won't stay crunchy in Cleveland forever, so while his value is high, you trade Coco to a team like Boston, represented by a bowl of clam chowder. Honestly, Coco Crisp in Boston just doesn't sound appetizing. It may sound adventurous. It could even become a delicacy. But it won't stay fresh — not in the unforgiving light of the Boston media and fans, who want to taste that World Series again. Coco could become spoiled and stale.
But Mark Shapiro is playing games with the outfield — although some may argue he's out of games the minute he traded Milton Bradley to the Dodgers — but something told him that the net sum of all his trades strengthened the team as a whole. It may be hard to believe, but hearing Mark Shapiro saying "trust me" might look like the plea is coming from Dory in Finding Nemo: "Come on, trust me on this one."
So while most of the focus will be on that left field switch, it seems like Jason Michaels in left field is just as good as Coco Crisp. What should really be seen is Mark Shapiro's moves this offseason has changed the face of his bullpen. For better or worse? We'll find out.
Matt Sussman is the former sports editor of BC Magazine and also writes for Deadspin, SPORTSbyBROOKS, The Futon Report, and the Toledo Free Press. Catch him with Tuffy on Treehouse Fort, the official show of BC Sports. Feed the feedback back to matt.sussman@blogcritics.org.
- Cleveland Got Enough of That Coco Crisp
- Published: January 30, 2006
- Type: News
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Baseball
- Part of a feature: MLB Report
- Writer: Matthew T. Sussman
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It used to be a great punch line that the most reliable bullpen member in Cleveland was named Riske. (That "E" ain't silent, either.) But that dude was a great setup man.
Rhodes had a great year last year too. His ERA dropped three points. But that's true -- his years fluctuate.
The net bullpen change: lose Riske, lose Rhodes, gain Guillermo Mota.
Shapiro's straddling this line between winning now and building for the future. Andy Marte is gonna start the season in AAA Buffalo. He won't help out this year, which may be their best chance to sneak through the high-payroll teams and into the World Series.
Marte won't start in April. Raise your hand if you think Boone makes it through the full season. Raise your hand if you think Marte won't get the shot when/if Boone gets hurt.
The Riske/Mota exchange has some potential for fallout. Riske's numbers are solid in setup, quite solid. Mota, if his arm reattaches, is pretty solid in a setup role.
It is hard for me to believe Rhodes will duplicate last year regardless where he pitches. Michaels should be strong in LF. I like that part of the equation.
It looks like Cleveland is going to have to look within the farm system to replace some bullpen innnings. If they have any relief in the farm system, Shapiro has done a masterful job (and I say this as a Red Sox fan).
This post was added to the Blogcritics sports blog on Cleveland.com.
As a Phillies fan I've had the oppertounity to watch Jason Michaels for the past couple of years. My only concern for Cleveland regarding him is how he's had precious few chances to play every day for any extended period of time. So it'll be interesting to see how the riggors of a full season will go. But overall he's a great, solid player who will eat up balls in the outfield... and dish out the balls at the plate.
This is definitely a great trade from Michaels' viewpoint, since he's going from a city with a surplus of good outfielders (where he'd probably end up being the odd-man out) to a starting position. And Cleveland is a good baseball city, so as long as he performs well things should go a-ok.
This deal isn't done yet. The Indians picked up $3.5 million in salary and $1 million in cash from Boston as part of this trade and will get a "player to be named" or more cash.
What Mark Shapiro does with this $4.5+ will determine how this works out in the short run. Maybe a replacement for Casey Blake in right field? One that will hit? How Marte performs in 2007 and beyond will determine how this deal plays out in the long run.
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The key to this one to me is they keep a quality young guy in LF and got a top-flight 3B prospect. 3B is a concern for them. Aaron Boone likely has one GOOD productive year left in him (if that). Andy Marte is a strong prospect. There can be some legitimate question of the bullpen but they managed to likely get a hold in LF and potentially upgrade 3B this year or next.
As for that bullpen, Wedge reportedly had little faith in Riske and Arthur Rhodes is... well... Arthur Rhodes. Consistency is not his calling card. Cleveland traded an old reliever with injury history to get a young guy with upside in LF.