Coco Crisp Enhances His Performance, Hits Home Runs, Gets Into Fights, I Love This Guy!

Coco Crisp had a pair of home runs this weekeRd. That seems like it rarely happens.

And when he’s not being covered in milk by David Ortiz he seems to be lashing out against this season’s Yankees, the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays.

One might say that Coco has enhanced his performance because he wants to be traded or wants to retain a starting job with the Red Sox. Maybe. One might also say that Coco’s arms look bigger than usual, he is more aggressive than ever before and he seems to be going through a power surge similar to what he did in Cleveland in 2004 and 2005.

My real question is, where did the power go?

It has taken Crisp 3 seasons with the Red Sox (two and half to be exact) to surpass the total number of Home runs he hit in 2005 with the Indians. Yes. Really.

Coco has hit 18 homeruns in a Red Sox uniform. He hit 15 in 2004 and 16 in 2005. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

True, his steals have gone up, but his On Base Percentage, Batting Average, RBI, Hits and Slugging Percentage have all gone down. Hard.

Typically guys don’t go from hitting .297 and .300 when they are 24-25 to hitting .256 when they are 28. His career stats make him look like he’s had the shortest “prime” career arc of anyone in baseball history (ok…maybe not as short as Brady Anderson, whose 1996 campaign is still inexplicable…sort of).

Is Coco just not that good? Is he getting old when most guys get better? Does the Boston Sports media just drive him crazy?

I don’t think we’ll know for sure until his days in Boston are over.

Me, I’ve always defended Coco. I had no problem defending him in 2006 when most fans hated him. That type of response is a knee-jerk reaction to his not being Johnny Damon. 

But at this point, he’s been here long enough that it seems like we know what to expect. He looks like a Jay Payton type hitter (though it should be mentioned that Payton also had a few mysterious “power years” that surpass Coco’s best seasons). Someone who could definitely be an everyday player on a team that either isn’t constantly trying to win it all or that has dynamic needs. He is a great fielder. He’ll do fine somewhere.

Probably not in Boston.

But then days like Saturday and Sunday come out and all of the sudden Coco Crisp’s performance is greatly enhanced.

What if he hits 15 home runs this year? What if this is the breakout year everyone has been waiting for?

That’s why I hate steroids. Because you start questioning guys who hit .261 and 15 home runs a season. Thanks a lot Bud Selig. You’ve ruined baseball for me. You and David Stern should both be fired immediately if not sooner.

Coco, just keep punching!