Red Sox notebook: Francona acknowledges Crisp's troubles

It's a wail that has been heard through New England ever since the playoffs began, and Red Sox manager Terry Francona might finally be ready to listen.

Addressing the media on Friday afternoon, Francona wouldn't commit to starting Jacoby Ellsbury in center field for Coco Crisp, but he sounded like a guy who is ready to make the move.

First, the sidestep.

"Today was actually supposed to be an off day," Francona said. "We don't have a lineup yet."

Then, the elaboration. Asked about Coco Crisp's troubles during the division series against the Angels and championship series against the Indians, Francona was surprisingly upfront.

"He's really having a tough time," Francona said. "Even trying to get the bunt down (in Game 5), you could see him trying to maybe be too fine, do too much. He's gotten himself into some things mechanically where he's not been able to make some adjustments. Any time the ball is moving, this is with any hitter, when the ball is moving and the hitter is moving, it's tough to make adjustments."

Crisp is hitting just .143 (3-for-21) in the first five games of the ALCS, 0 for his last 12, and has struck out six times. He's hitting .161 in the postseason.

Ellsbury, used extensively as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement in the two series, is 0-for-1 in the postseason.

"I think he understands what Mags (hitting coach Dave Magadan) is telling him," said Francona of Crisp. "I think sometimes taking it to the game gets a little tougher than people realize."

Sticking with Daisuke

Daisuke Matsuzaka has struggled in his two playoff appearances this season, but Francona made it clear that if there's a Game 7, Matsuzaka will get the start.

"I understand the question, but you have to have a legitimate reason for asking it," Francona said. "I mean, it's not like we're going to go pull somebody off the Dodgers.

"This is our team. We set it up the way we set it up, and now we need to go win."

Matsuzaka is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA this postseason. In both starts, he's failed to get out of the fifth inning.

End of the line?

Curt Schilling hopes it's not the case, but he realizes tonight's start could be his last for the Red Sox.

"Last night, it did dawn on me," Schilling said. "I'd hate to think I've made my last start with the Boston Red Sox. I don't dwell on it. It's not something that worries me or that I think about beyond just the initial thought of it could be all over for me."

Schilling came to the Red Sox before the 2004 season and was instrumental in them winning the World Series that year. In four years with the team, he's gone 53-29 with a 3.95 ERA.

The Sox declined to offer him a contract extension at the beginning of the year, and he'll be a free agent when the World Series ends.

"No matter how badly I want to come back here and how badly I want to be a part of this, it takes two to tango," Schilling said. "If it's not in the cards on their end, then it's not going to happen. It really is kind of easy in that sense.

"I want to be here. I hope they want me here. If not, then I could be making one of my last two starts of my career here."

Feeling for Joe

Francona watched former Yankees manager Joe Torre's news conference on Friday afternoon and said he felt for his former rival.

"You're watching something unfold that's just unbelievable," he said. "I hope Joe is very content and happy moving forward.

"In this game, organizations not only have the right, but they have the responsibility to do whatever they want with their teams. That's the way it goes.

"But to do it very publicly, which Joe had to endure, I think was very difficult. I'm sure it was difficult, and I feel for him."

Francona knows that what's expected of Torre in New York - and Francona in Boston - is different than what's expected of other managers.

"Things have gotten a little bit skewed around here, and sometimes the big fight for me is not losing sight of what's important, what's meaningful to you," he said. "Sometimes, that's a fight. It's a fight sometimes to keep the perspective.

"I mean, we're sitting at 101 wins and people don't seem to be very happy very much of the time. That is a little perplexing, but that's the way it is.

"You deal with it the best you can, and sometimes it is a fight to deal with it correctly. That's our responsibility."

-- The Enterprise