Foley: Thank you. You backed up with stats what I've been trying to say. Coco is having a career year defensively. Everyone assumes he has achieved a new level of play and that he'll be this great from here on out. I just don't see it.
In Cleveland he was a good/great defensive LF but average or below average CF. He came to Boston and performed similarly in CF last year. I just don't see how his performance this year is how he should be judged going forward.
My calendar says it's not 2006.
I will say this very slowly for you and the other who cannot grasp it.
This... is... Drew's... first... year... in... Boston. New... players... sometimes... need... a... year... to... adjust. Last... year... was... Coco's... first... year... in... Boston. Coco... was... far... worse... last... year... than... Drew... is... this... year. Therefore (watch out, I'm using logic)... Drew... will... be... much... better... than... Coco... after... adjusting.
This is about next year. We're trying to predict future performance. Coco's 2006 vs. Drew's 2007 is relevant.
I understand all of the "I hate Drew, he doesn't care" stuff. My brother is the leader of the "J D Drew has no heart" club. I myself hate Drew because he sucks this year. I don't care if he has no heart. I care that he can't knock a guy in from 2nd.
Also, I'm pretty much ready to say that Coco will never again be the offensive player he was in Cleveland (you know, the good player we traded for). What we see here is what we'll get, a guy who'll hit 260 and get on-base at a .330 rate. Maybe his Slug% will get a little better and he'll approach .400. He'll steal some bases when he actually gets on base. Oh, and he might play stellar defense.
His hot streak is over. Coco has regressed to the same awful player he was at the beginning of the year. I too had hoped he had figured something out and "bad Coco" was behind him. It isn't.
That's who J D Drew is this year. At his absolute worst, during his adjustment to the AL and Boston, J D Drew is Coco Crisp. His defense isn't as good but he gets on base more. The difference between the two is that Drew is likely to be better next year, perhaps even much better. Let's look at a bad year for Drew, 2002 with StL. .252/.349/.429. I'd kill for that from Coco (and it won't be happening).
So basically, Drew has been awful this year and I've hated his play as much as the rest of you. Unlike many Sox fans, I'm not entranced by Coco and see the fact that he's a bad player. Coco's value is as high as it will be (thanks to his CF defense) and the Sox have a replacement ready to play next year. Drew's value is at an all-time low and trading him will involve eating a lot of salary, and the Sox don't have a good replacement (Ellsbury doesn't have the arm for right long-term, nor the power you want from a right fielder). Coco isn't likely to be any better next year while Drew is.
So, looking at next year, why would the team hold onto Coco over Drew?