Good luck with all that... 1.0

-Keefe

In the words of the great Jerry Seinfeld after George Costanza told him all his deep dark secrets and everything he was capable of, “good luck with all that.” It was an episode in which Jerry had become way to emotional and affectionate, and George “scared him straight.” That phrase became one of my all time favorites. I use it 5-10 times in a given week. You say “good luck,” but its in regard to an impossible situation, like thank God I don’t have to deal with (insert your problem here). So without further ado I would like to “wish” the following people, places, and things, a warm “good luck.”

To Aaron Rodgers for taking over as starting QB in Green Bay for Brett “I wouldn’t be surprised if they waived the 5 year rule to induct players in the Hall of Fame, because of how much everyone is in love with him” Favre. But take solace in the fact that Dan Marino was replaced in Miami… by Jay Fielder, Damon Huard, Ray Lucas, Brian Griese, A.J. Feely, Sage Rosenfels, Gus Frerotte, Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington, Cleo Lemon, Trent Green, and John Beck. Oh yeah and Favre broke all of Marino’s records, won a Super Bowl, and is the only attraction in Green Bay. Good luck with all that.

To the Oakland Raiders for spending $105 million on 2 players coming off knee surgeries. Javon Walker and Tommy Kelly missed a combined 17 games last season, and you want to pay them 105 million bucks? Good luck with all that.

To the next poor guy who has to fight Anderson Silva. Even if you have body armor, a chain gun, or a light saber, good luck with all that.

To Bill Parcells for coming back and leading the Miami Dolphins from the front office. Trying to get the Fish back to the playoffs? (Scroll up to see QBs they’ve used since Marino.) Well at least their first round pick from last year, Ted Ginn, doesn’t suck. Will they take a return man with the #1 overall this year? Good luck with all that.

To Coco Crisp who thinks he’s battling for the starting centerfield job. It’s hard enough to find a way to start over someone who is better, Jacoby Ellsbury, but to go into spring training with a bum groin and a root canal? That’s brutal. Good luck with all that. (At least he’s got something to fall back on; make sure your sound is on.) http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=155900964

To the Sports Brief with Besse and Keefe for taking nearly 6 months off and then returning to action at the start of 2008. You think retooling with the addition of pictures and polls will make up for the fact that you walked out on all of your fans like Bobby Petrino? Good luck with all that.

Speaking of walking out on your fans, to all the sitcoms returning from the writers strike. Am I the only one who has lost interest in these shows? Good luck with all that.

To the Phoenix Suns trying to host a 1st round playoff series. The Suns are currently just as close to missing out on the postseason as they are to the top spot in the West, which they had at the time of the awful Shaq trade. With the Diesel in the lineup they are 4-5. (Note: when I first wrote this it was prior to their win over the Spurs, and they were 3-5, but I still feel very much the same way.) As soon as the trade happened I went on record and said they would fall out of the top 4, now they might just fall out of the playoffs all together. In the wide open West they were better off with the nucleus from last year’s team, (Nash, Amare, Marion), and if they really wanted to deal Marion get something in return. Top 4 spot in the conference may be a lost cause; they need to work on staying in the top 8. Good luck with all of that.

To Britney Spears… she’s 26 years old right now, if I set the over/under at 27.5 anyone taking the over? Good luck with all of that.

Keep reading the Brief and tell your friends. Coming soon we’ll have fantasy baseball outlooks, MLB predictions, NCAA tournament preview, NFL 1st round mock draft, and much much more.

Crisp trade is necessary but can wait...a little while.

Coco Crisp addressed the media today at the Red Sox spring training facility, speaking on his team’s current CF controversy. QB controversies seem to pop up everywhere in the NFL, but in baseball, legitimate position controversies are few and far between. Perhaps it’s because of the flexibility of athletes in MLB compared to the NFL, switching positions or use of the DH. In the NBA and NHL, there are plenty of minutes to go around because guys often need to catch a blow on the bench, so they are fairly rare there, as well.

But the position the Red Sox are currently in is a unique one. On the surface, you might ask what the problem is; the team has a talent-rich outfield that is arguably six deep (Ramirez, Drew, Ellsbury, Crisp, Kielty and Moss). Obviously they’ll only keep four, maybe five, so there’s going to be some shifting around come the end of spring training. But when four of those players are legitimate starters in this league, with only three positions in-game and the DH spot already tied up in Ortiz, that can be an adverse problem.

After Crisp’s comments today, it’s the clear that’s what the Red Sox have.

Here’s my solution:

Three years ago, a solid MLB outfield by the nombre Jay Payton was “that guy”, sitting fourth on the depth chart of another talent rich outfield including Ramirez, Damon and Nixon. The reality was Payton can start in this league. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be in Boston. While the team insisted he was vital as a fourth outfielder in case someone went down or as a late game replacement, he wanted to start. For the record, Payton played 142 games for Oakland in ’06, hitting .296, and 131 games for Baltimore last year, hitting .256. Again, he can start in this league.

Basically, Payton didn’t want to be in Boston given those circumstances. He voiced his concern and after nothing was done, tension built up and boiled over during a dugout confrontation with Francona leading to his dismissal and subsequent trade for Chad Bradford.

Fast forward to ’07 and the emergence of Ellsbury in the Red Sox lineup. Given, this is more of a controversy with the amount of talent between Ellsbury and Crisp. Both possess terrific speed (edge to Ellsbury), outstanding defense (edge to Crisp on experience), mediocre throwing arms (push) and great baserunning ability (edge to Ellsbury based on going 2nd to home on a pastball). At the plate, Crisp has not been the same since injuring his finger two years ago. His average and power have taken a nose dive, and quite simply, he just hasn’t gotten better.

But let’s not forget, he young and has played over 100 games in only four seasons. His first two years in Cleveland were still as a rising prospect, but in ’04 and ’05, he absolutely broke out, leading the Sox to acquire his services as the successor to Damon. But it hasn’t panned out, and while there is still time in his young career to turn things around, it’s also time for the Sox to begin the Ellsbury era in CF.
Last season, he hit .353 in 33 games with nine stolen bases. While there was no significant power numbers nor were the SB’s eye-opening, it was his game speed that really impressed. I saw first hand how his speed could change a game, whether beating out an infield grounder, the aforementioned 2nd to home or running down a fly ball in the gap like a seasoned vet, this kid showed he’s a serious gamer. Raw as he may be, he’s got the tools, poise and moxy to be a formidable player at the major league level.

Not to mention he hit .438 in the World Series and was my pick to be WS MVP over Mike Lowell. But that’s a whole other article…

Moving forward, the Red Sox should continue to see how Ellsbury develops in spring training. As long as he doesn’t take a nose dive, use Crisp as trade bait for a team looking to add a starting outfielder right before opening day. You can keep him as insurance throughout spring training, but once Ellsbury pans out, deal away Crisp to fill another void that has opened and become more apparent before the team breaks camp. Much like Payton did in ’05, Crisp has voiced that he will not settle for a non-starting role. He wants to play, and because both are full of talent, it’s going to be hard to keep one out of the lineup. Ellsbury brings more to the table in my opinion and should be handed the reigns.

And so, come Opening Day Coco Crisp should no longer be a member of this team. His patience has worn thin with the media, and while he claims to understand the decrease in PT at the end of last season, he wasn’t happy with it. He’s bitter and will not tolerate being a 4th outfielder on this team. Simply put, that’s not a guy you don’t want in your clubhouse. I don’t care if we’re talking about the most dysfunctional clubhouse in the game, no team needs a player venting about his situation publicly. Jay Payton did it in 2005 and eventually forced the hand of the Red Sox. It wasn’t good, but they were able to use him to fill a void. Theo should do the same thing, but with less agony.

Ideally, Ellsbury and Crisp will both be in the lineup on Opening Day. Except that they should be starting for different teams.