Hot Angels Get Burned by a Crisp

The player with the best name in the major leagues has been a major leaguer for only four days.

But the Angels are anything but kookoo for Coco Crisp. More like sick of seeing him.

The Cleveland Indians’ new leadoff hitter, who was recalled from double-A Akron on Wednesday, has been leaving his mark all over the Angels this series. Crisp, a switch-hitting center fielder, jump-started the Indians’ come-from-behind 9-4 victory Saturday night, a loss that kept the Angels from claiming first place in the American League West.

Instead, Anaheim’s six-game winning streak came to an end, the team remained a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners and the Angels’ lead in the AL wild-card race dropped to 1 1/2 games over the Oakland Athletics.

Crisp, whose name being announced drew some chuckles from the Edison Field crowd of 39,866, was the Indians’ catalyst in going three for five (for the second night in a row) with a double, two runs batted in and scoring a run.

“I’m just trying to take a deep breath and take it all in,” said Crisp, who graduated from Inglewood High, was drafted out of L.A. Pierce Junior College in 1999 by St. Louis and came to Cleveland on Aug. 6 as the player to be named in the July 19 trade that sent former Angel Chuck Finley from the Indians to the Cardinals.

“I’m just trying to do everything hard--run hard, hit the ball hard, play hard. Hopefully it works out.”

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia was impressed with the speedy Crisp.

“For a youngster coming into this league and getting an opportunity,” Scioscia said, “he’s opening some eyes. He has the makings of being an exciting player.”

When Crisp, 22, made his big league debut last week, he became the fourth member of the 13-year-old Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) program to make it to the major leagues, with Vic Darensbourg (Florida Marlins), Luis Matos (Baltimore Orioles) and James Lofton (Boston Red Sox).

“There’s some pride in that,” said Crisp, who played in the Los Angeles RBI program from 1994-97 and now lives in Desert Hot Springs. “I hope to one day be able to give back.”

Angel starter Jarrod Washburn probably wished that Crisp was as magnanimous against him.

Washburn (15-4) was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but couldn’t make it stand. The left-handed ace was charged with seven runs in 6 2/3 innings while giving up nine hits, striking out two and walking two.

“I wasn’t very good,” Washburn said. “I was missing my spots the whole game, my command wasn’t what I wanted and it took a while to bite me in the [behind] but it did.

“We can’t make the playoffs with me pitching like this.”

For the second consecutive game, the Angels jumped on the Indians with two runs in the first inning.

David Eckstein, who singled and then stole second and third to give him a team-leading 18 steals, scored on Garret Anderson’s one-out single up the middle. Orlando Palmeiro, who had walked, then came home on Troy Glaus’ sacrifice fly.

Cleveland got one run back in the third, on Crisp’s run-scoring double, tied it in the fifth, on a Crisp single, and took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on Jim Thome’s 37th home run.

Glaus got the Angels even in the sixth when he took Cleveland starter Jason Phillips halfway up the left-field foul pole for Glaus’ team-leading 21st homer.

Cleveland chased Washburn with a six-run seventh inning, in which the Indians sent nine batters to the plate and were helped by an Eckstein throwing error.

The Angels, who left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings, scored their final run in the ninth on Adam Kennedy’s home run off former Dodger reliever Terry Mulholland.

Crisp, meanwhile, was still adjusting to going six for 10 in his first two major league games in a stadium he often visited growing up. Having already collected the ball from his first hit and lineup cards, he had to hurry to meet the dozen or so friends and family members who were awaiting him.

“This is just unreal,” Crisp said. “It’s just so cool to be able to do this with my family and friends here. They called and told me I was on ESPN.”