"Honestly, I think so," Crisp said. " 'Cause I want to play. Like I said, I wouldn't be happy sitting on the bench."
Losing didn't seem to be an option for Crisp. He already lost a starting center-field job to Grady Sizemore in Cleveland, but in that case, there was an open left-field spot to fall back on. This time, there is only a reserve role.
"I want to play every day," Crisp said. "I think everybody wants to play every day. If you don't, I think there's something wrong with you. I don't want to sit on the bench. I mean, I can cheerlead with the best of them. That's not where I want to be, though. I would honestly rather be somewhere else and play than be on the bench, but like I said, I'll take whatever comes and deal with it."
Manager Terry Francona has reiterated that Crisp is the incumbent and there will be a competition, but Crisp seemed unconvinced. Does he think he will get a fair shot?
"I'm not sure," he said. "I'm not sure how everything's going to break down. I'm really unsure of a lot of things this year, and with that, all I can do is just go out there and, like I said, try to have fun like I did in the past."
When Francona was apprised of Crisp's comments, he said, "I have no interest in discussing that right now. We want Coco on our team. I've been very open about that, very honest. We have two good center fielders. Our intent is to win and we'll handle it.
"Whoever starts Opening Day, they're going to play. They're too good not to play and they're too valuable. We talked about Wily Mo [Peña] last year and how are you going to get him the at-bats? I couldn't figure out how to do that. This will be different. Because of their speed, their defensive ability, it will be a lot easier."
