<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>CLEVELAND -- The Indians are reportedly close to shipping outfielder Coco Crisp to the Red Sox for a package that includes reliever Guillermo Mota and third-base prospect Andy Marte. The Boston Herald and Boston Globe both had reports on the potential deal in their Sunday editions, with the Herald reporting it was agreed upon in principle, contingent on the Indians first finding a replacement for Crisp in the outfield. According to the Herald report, the Indians would spur the Crisp deal by sending left-hander Arthur Rhodes or right-hander Rafael Betancourt to the Phillies for outfielder Jason Michaels or by acquiring free agent Jeff DaVanon. An Indians team spokesman had no comment on the newspaper reports. Crisp has been the subject of trade rumors for months, and those rumors heated up when center fielder Johnny Damon left Boston to sign a free agent deal with the Yankees. The Red Sox have reportedly been aggressive in their pursuit of the switch-hitting Crisp, who hit .300 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs in 2005. The Indians, meanwhile, had been rumored to be talking to Crisp, who is eligible for arbitration, about a multiyear contract. For the Indians, the biggest acquisition in the rumored deal would be Marte, who was acquired by the Red Sox in last month's trade that sent Edgar Renteria to the Braves. Marte hit .275 with 20 home runs and 74 RBIs for Triple-A Richmond and saw 24 games of action with the Braves last season.In addition to Crisp, the Herald is also reporting that the Sox are on the verge of signing free agent Alex Gonzalez. The 28-year-old former Florida Marlin is expected to play shortstop and bat ninth for Boston.</div>http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...e2005&fext=.jsp
Red Sox agree to Crisp deal<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Red Sox, according to a source with knowledge of the deal, have reached agreement in principle with the Indians on a complex six-player deal centered upon 26-year-old Coco Crisp that also will bring to town a quality setup man in 28-year-old David Riske and young catcher Josh Bard.Boston will ship top prospect Andy Marte, reliever Guillermo Mota, and catcher Kelly Shoppach to Cleveland. The deal is contingent upon physicals. The only player in the deal with a known and recent injury issue is Mota, who missed a month last season with the Marlins because of inflammation in his throwing elbow.It's possible Mota's medical records could raise enough concern that the deal would be killed or reworked. However, consummating the deal has required more than 75 phone calls between the clubs in the last month, and it's likely, given the time and energy committed, that if a problem were to be detected during a physical, the teams would try to revise the package of players.Because of the need to exchange and carefully process medical records, the deal is unlikely to be announced any sooner than the middle or end of this week.Furthermore, the Indians don't have an-house successor to Crisp and are believed to have been working on a deal for the Phillies' fourth outfielder, Jason Michaels. If that were to fall through, or if the Indians were unable to get a left fielder to replace Crisp in a concurrent deal, that also could put in peril the Crisp deal, given that Cleveland then would have a gaping hole in his absence.The Red Sox, provided the deal goes through and they give up Marte, then figure to turn to free agent shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who at last check was believed to be seeking approximately $5 million per season for at least two seasons. The Sox had been pursuing Tampa Bay shortstop Julio Lugo, but Tampa Bay wanted Marte or young pitching in return.Provided the trade goes through, the Red Sox will have found a capable successor to Johnny Damon, in the field and atop the order, for at least the next four seasons. Crisp, who made $365,000 last season, is likely to land in the neighborhood of $3 million this coming year, either in arbitration or through negotiation, and is set up to earn about $20 million over the next four seasons if he performs as he has. He doesn't become a free agent until after the 2009 season.Last year, he hit .300 with 16 homers, 42 doubles, 69 RBIs, a .345 OBP, and a .810 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) and was named best defensive left fielder by the Hardball Times. He played left rather than center because the Indians have another young talent there in Grady Sizemore. Damon hit .316 with 10 homers, 35 doubles, 75 RBIs, a .366 OBP, and a .805 OPS last season.Riske, 29, was 3-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 58 games last season. In 72 2/3 innings, he struck out 48 and walked 15, though he did allow 11 home runs for the second consecutive season. He did have a fantastic WHIP -- walks plus hits per innings pitched -- of 0.96.Among American League relievers last season, only New York's Mariano Rivera (0.87), Cleveland's Bobby Howry (0.89), Chicago's Cliff Politte (0.94), and Toronto's Justin Speier (0.95) posted a better WHIP than Riske. Righties hit just .204 vs. Riske, while lefties didn't do much better, at .213. In six seasons with Cleveland, the righthander is 17-12 with a 3.55 ERA. Riske is signed for one year at $1.8 million and, like Mota, will become a free agent at season's end.The switching-hitting Bard, 27, has hit .238 with 13 homers and 61 RBIs in 156 major league games over four seasons, including 34 last year. He made just $318,000 last season and would be under the Red Sox' contractual control for several seasons.</div>http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2006..._to_crisp_deal/
Boston way overpaid, but they needed that center fielder.Too bad they didnt get that shortstop while they were at it too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 22 2006, 10:36 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'>Coco Crisp....the most awesome name in all of sports. </div> How about Stubby Clap? Or Albert "pooholes"
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KyleOrton18 @ Jan 23 2006, 01:36 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 22 2006, 10:36 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'> Coco Crisp....the most awesome name in all of sports. </div>How about Stubby Clap? Or Albert "pooholes" </div> Pooholes........you're real mature. Anyways, they got a good centre fielder and a good leadoff hitter......both replacing Damon......I really like him. When he was with the Indians last year and he was doing amazing......I said......this guy will be amazing.....let's hope the Sox get him.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 23 2006, 05:34 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>None of those names could hold Coco Crisp's jock. </div> frill!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Jan 23 2006, 07:03 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 23 2006, 05:34 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'> None of those names could hold Coco Crisp's jock. </div>frill! </div> Haha......nice post.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Jan 23 2006, 05:13 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>mines probably frosted wheaties, not to go off topic or anything </div> Golden Grahams for me.
Red Sox, Indians explore Crisp trade options<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Red Sox and Indians are trying to restructure the Coco Crisp-to-Boston deal Wednesday, while Cleveland's deal with Philadelphia (Jason Michaels for Arthur Rhodes) was described as being "in a holding pattern," according to a source involved in those discussions.The Indians' position for weeks has been that they couldn't trade either Crisp or Rhodes without getting big-league replacements. So when Guillermo Mota failed his physical in Cleveland on Tuesday, it endangered both deals.It's possible the Red Sox could substitute a reliever (perhaps highly regarded prospect Manny Delcarmen), which would allow both trades to take place basically as previously devised. But sources said that the Indians always preferred Reds outfielder Austin Kearns to Michaels.So it's also possible that, with the firing of Reds GM Dan O'Brien, the Indians and Red Sox will attempt to revive their much-discussed three-way trade with Cincinnati that would have sent Kearns to Cleveland, Crisp to Boston and Matt Clement to Cincinnati. It was O'Brien who killed the most recent version of that one last week.The Phillies, meanwhile, preferred reliever Rafael Betancourt to Rhodes. But Cleveland hasn't been willing to give up Betancourt.If Michaels does go to Cleveland, rookie Shane Victorino would become the Phillies' primary extra outfielder. And the team then would attempt to trade for a fifth outfielder in spring training.</div>http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2305550
BoSox, Tribe close to completing Crisp trade<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Coco Crisp looks like he's going to the Red Sox, after all.The Sox and Indians are close to completing their much-discussed, multi-player trade in which the Sox will acquire Crisp to be their new center fielder, FOXSports.com has learned.The Indians agreed Friday to send left-hander Arthur Rhodes to the Phillies for outfielder Jason Michaels, pending physicals, according to the Associated Press. That trade is necessary for the Indians only if they trade Crisp, who likely will be replaced by a platoon of Michaels and Todd Hollandsworth.The Red Sox are near completion with a deal that would make the Indians' Coco Crisp their new center fielder. (John Grieshop/MLB Photos / Getty Images)The exact particulars of the Red Sox-Indians trade are not known, but it is expected that the Indians will receive top third-base prospect Andy Marte and reliever Guillermo Mota.The original agreement between the teams reportedly had Marte, Mota and catcher Kelly Shoppach going to the Indians for Crisp, reliever David Riske and catcher Josh Bard, pending physicals.The Indians, troubled by the results of Mota's physical, asked that the deal be reworked, specifically requesting that the Red Sox include right-hander Manny Delcarmen.The completion of the Crisp trade also is expected to result in the Red Sox's signing of free-agent shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The Sox might have pursued a trade for Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo had they failed to acquire Crisp.In recent days, the Red Sox and Indians revived three-way discussions with the Reds about a deal that would have sent Crisp to the Red Sox, outfielder Austin Kearns to the Indians and Red Sox right-hander Matt Clement to the Reds, but those talks proved fruitless.The Reds, after giving indications that they would be aggressive in pursuing trades following the firing of general manager Dan O'Brien, are modifying that stance under orders from new owner Bob Castellini, according to a major-league source. Interim general manager Brad Kullman could still trade Kearns and others, but the team isn't as anxious to make a deal.</div>http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5282852
Done deal: Indians trade Crisp to Red Sox<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Coco Crisp trade is done.Left-hander Arthur Rhodes' physical was the only thing delaying the three-team deal, but the Phillies were expected to make the acquisition of the veteran reliever official at 8 p.m.The Indians received outfielder Jason Michaels in exchange for Rhodes.That allowed the Indians to send Crisp, switch-hitting catcher Josh Bard and right-hander David Riske to Boston for third base prospect Andy Marte, catcher Kelly Shoppach, right-hander Guillermo Mota, cash and a player to be named.Boston right-hander Manny Delcarmen was not included in the deal. The trade, which stalled in midweek, regained momentum Friday morning when Rhodes flew to Philadelphia for a physical.The Associated Press reported the Indians agreed to Rhodes for Michaels portion of the trade pending his physical. Michaels will replace Crisp in left field. The Indians believe Marte, scheduled to open the season at Class AAA Buffalo, will be their third baseman of the future.They think he could develop into the middle-of-the-order right-handed hitter they've lacked. Shoppach hit 26 homers at Class AAA Pawtucket last year. He will compete to be Victor Martinez's backup.The player to be named would come from a list of prospects made available to the Indians.</div>http://www.cleveland.com/newslogs/plaindea...2006_01_27.html
