Ellsbury Vs Crisp: Who Should Be the Red Sox Starting CF?

It was the one lingering question throughout Spring Training this year for the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox: who would roam centerfield? The two players vying to be penciled in to manager Terry Francona's lineup were rookie sensation and World Series star Jacoby Ellsbury and incumbent for much of the 07 season Coco Crisp. Many people thought the decision was easy: Ellsbury had passed Crisp last season in September with his timely hitting, speed on the basepaths and stellar defense. Crisp, who probably should've won the Gold Glove last season with what seemed like a nightly highlight reel play, couldn't hit a lick last season and Francona made a change in the playoffs, which paid immediate dividends. In 11 postseason games in 2007, Ellsbury batted .360 (9-for-25) with 8 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. In the four-game sweep of the Rockies in the World Series, Ellsbury went 7-for-16 (.438) with four doubles and combined with Dustin Pedroia to basically lead the Sox to a game ... [link]