Although Coco Crisp says he could steal 50 bases this year, the Sox are traditionally conservative when it comes to running the bases.

01:00 AM EST on Monday, March 13, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Ask Coco Crisp how many stolen bases he's capable of and his eyes widen at the thought.

"I believe I'm capable of stealing over 50," he says without hesitation, a rather bold pronouncement for someone who's never compiled more than 20 steals in the big leagues.

But as Crisp may soon find out, there's often a considerable difference between what a Red Sox player can achieve and what the club allows. Consider Johnny Damon, his predecessor in center field and atop the Red Sox batting order.

Only two years before he signed with the Sox, Damon swiped 47 bases for the Kansas City Royals. But in his four seasons with the Sox, Damon's stats dipped with each season. He stole 31 in 2002, 30 in 2003, 19 in 2004 and just 18 last year.

The reasons were twofold. First, the Sox didn't want Damon to punish his body any further by stealing bases. Second, though Damon was a high-percentage base-stealer, safe on all but one of his 19 attempts last season, they were fearful an untimely out on the basepaths would short-circuit a potentially big inning.

"I just didn't want him running to run," said manager Terry Francona of Damon yesterday. "He could probably have run more, but with the hitters in our lineup, we want baserunners. I think Coco understands that."

He does indeed. In a conversation yesterday after the Sox' 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins, Crisp used the word "dictates" -- as in"the club dictates" how often he'll run -- no fewer than five times.

Immediately after stating his belief that he was capable of stealing, in fact, Crisp, as if prompted, scaled back his forecast.

"That's not my goal," he emphasized. "It all depends on the team's philosophy and how much they want me to run."

Crisp wasn't given much freedom in Cleveland, either, which may have been a reflection of his mediocre success rate. Two seasons ago, he stole a career-high 20 bases, but was also caught 13 times.

He insists that percentage is misleading, and that many of the unsuccessful attempts were actually delayed hit-and-runs.

"Once I go on my own," Crisp said, "my percentage is high, even if it doesn't seem like it in the numbers. But I'm a team player. However they want to handle it is fine."

To fine-tune his basestealing skills, Crisp has worked frequently with former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills, who led the National League in stole bases for six straight seasons in the early 1960s and finished with 586 career steals.

The two have worked on footwork, sliding and other components of the running game.

Crisp is one of two fastest players in camp -- reserve outfielder Adam Stern is the other -- and has demonstrated it from his very first Grapefruit League game with the Sox. Even if Crisp isn't given the green light often enough to rank among the league leaders at the end of the season, he can still have an impact.

"The one thing that I really have to be excited about," said Francona, "is when he hits the ball, he runs like his pants are on fire. I love that. When he comes out of the (batter's) box, they better get it in (quickly) from the outfield or he's going to go to second base. That's an aspect that we haven't had a lot of -- and that will be fun to watch."

Merely by being on base, Crisp can serve as an intimidating factor, giving the opposition one more thing to think about.

"If they want to completely stop him from running," Francona said, "there's going to be a lot of (pitchers utilizing) slide steps. Guys will throw some belt-high fastballs to (Mark) Loretta and David (Ortiz). That's fine."

The Sox have led the American League in runs scored the last three years, relying heavily on the potent duo of Ortiz and Manny Ramirez to power their offense. But Crisp's presence could make the team more multi-dimensional.

"When you're playing the Angels," said Francona, "it bothers us when Chone Figgins gets on. It gets in the way. You've got to control that part of the game. So it would be nice to have the other teams have to do that with us."

"I'm very aggressive," said Crisp. "I'm an aggressive player, and I'm no different on the basepaths. But it's all dictated by the team's philosophy. They're going to let me know."

In subtle ways, perhaps, they already have. When Francona was asked the same question posed to Crisp -- How many steals is Crisp capable of? -- his response spoke volumes.

"He could steal 30 easy," said Francona. "But we don't want him to be 30-for-60."

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340