TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Crisp Keeps His Spot

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Around Tampa Bay, Red Sox CF Coco Crisp will forever be known as the fire starter, the man whose actions ignited a bench-clearing brawl with the Rays on June 5.

But lately, Crisp has become Boston's spark plug.

For the third straight time, Crisp got the start in center as the Red Sox tried to stave off elimination in Saturday night's Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field, Crisp had developed a spark plug reputation for a lineup badly in need of sparks.

Riding the bench - again - was Jacoby Ellsbury (0-for-14 in the ALCS heading into Saturday night's game). Through five games, Crisp was batting .417 (5-for-12) in the ALCS. He singled on three of his first four at-bats Saturday.

"Coco and Ellsbury are a little bit different for me this year because they both played so much," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We tried to make it so nobody ever really sat. We thought of both of them as everyday players, but they both couldn't always play every day."

Another Fine Mess
When the Red Sox rallied from a seven-run deficit to win Game 5, it was the latest example of Boston's ability to avoid elimination. Three times, the Red Sox have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the ALCS - 1986 against the Angels, 2004 against the Yankees (when it was actually 3-0) and 2007 against the Indians.

"We've gotten ourselves into a lot of predicaments," Francona said. "Fortunately, we've had the ability to get out of them. There's no other choice. But that gets a little big picture-ish.

"The best way to go about it is play the game at hand. We do it all year, and there's no reason to change that philosophy now, because it's the only way."

Papelbon's Dominance

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who pitched two innings of scoreless relief in Game 5, entered Saturday night with the postseason record for consecutive scoreless innings (24 innings in 15 outings). Papelbon has two wins and six saves in that span. Of the 82 batters he has faced, only 16 reached base with a hit or walk.

"What makes him good is his mentality," Red Sox LHP Jon Lester said. "He basically tells the hitters, 'I'm going to throw it here, and you're not going to hit it.' And most of the time, that happens."

Ortiz: Boston's Homer King

Red Sox DH David Ortiz ended his postseason homerless skid (0-for-61, 15 games) with a three-run shot in Thursday night's Game 5. Ortiz now has 12 career postseason homers, the most in Red Sox history, passing Manny Ramirez (11).

Joey Johnston

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT