Before spring training, Coco Crisp said it would take "a demigod come down from the heavens" to be better in center field than he is.
Yoenis Céspedes might not be better than Crisp - A's manager Bob Melvin was quick to say Monday that he still believes Crisp is one of the best in baseball in center - but the rookie will man center field for Oakland on Opening Day and Crisp will play in left when the Athletics play against Seattle in Japan.
"Coco was a pro about it," Melvin said. "He certainly wants to play center field, and I don't blame him for being disappointed."
Since the day Céspedes agreed to a deal with the A's in mid-February, all indications were that the team intended this alignment, largely to increase Céspedes' comfort level as he adjusts to a new country and a new league.
Crisp said Monday he was a little hurt to learn that he'd be moving from center field; one reason he'd signed with the A's rather than Tampa Bay in January was because he believed that center-field job to be his.
He is resigned to the switch, though. "What's best for the team, that's what I want," Crisp said. "If I'm going to go play a Gold Glove left field, I'm going to do the best I can."
Céspedes said through coach Ariel Prieto that he's happy to be in center but he also would be OK moving to a corner spot "because I know how important Crisp is." Céspedes said that Crisp has been helping him in the outfield during drills and batting practice.
Crisp has played left field, 216 career games, but none since 2005.
"You grow accustomed to the reads in center field," Crisp said. "You have to recalibrate to take the right routes."
Crisp manned left during batting practice Monday and, he said, "It felt different, weird, I'm not going to lie. But I made all the reads, I caught all the balls. That's encouraging."
There was speculation that the A's might send Céspedes to Triple-A to start the season in order to help him get adjusted to pro baseball in the United States, but the team had suggested since inking Céspedes that he'd be on the Opening Day roster barring extremely poor results. The A's gave him a four-year, $36 million deal, and don't want him spending a day in the minors unless it's absolutely necessary.
Crisp will start in left field today. Céspedes will be in center.
