BOSTON — Coco Crisp is in a major slump. That is not news to anyone who follows the Red Sox.

He went 0-for-3 yesterday, dropping his average to .111 (4-for-36) after 10 games.

It’s the prototypical slump. He’s swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. He’s taking pitches over the plate. He has been fed some nasty, unhittable pitches.

In short, nothing is going right for him at the plate, which he acknowledges.

Slumps come and go. Every hitter goes through a dry spell at some point during a season. Crisp clearly is better than a .111 hitter.

But the larger question is whether Crisp will ever find comfort as a player in Boston.

You learn the most about a player during times of adversity. Last year, Crisp’s offensive troubles turned off his disarming smile. He was withdrawn in the clubhouse at times, counter to the charming, well-spoken side he showed upon first joining the Red Sox.

It seemed a very human reaction given the fact that a broken finger he suffered in the first week of the season kept him from performing the way both he and the Sox thought he’d be able to perform when they obtained him from Cleveland. He deserves credit for trying to play through the pain last year.

Now there’s this year. Crisp again is struggling. And again, he has been withdrawn in the clubhouse.

Of course, there could be issues on his mind. Maybe he’s hurt. Maybe something else is bothering him. The media isn’t privy to that information, if it even is the case.

Or maybe, and most likely, Crisp is putting too much pressure on himself, trying to show people that the Coco of last year isn’t the real Coco.

Catcher and team captain Jason Varitek said in spring training that it takes a special kind of person and player to thrive in Boston, where the media glare is intense, matched by the fans’ emotional attachment to the team.

This season is only 10 games old. Crisp’s slump could vanish in a 4-for-4 performance in game 11, and the smile could return to his face and he’ll have fun playing this game.

But can Crisp thrive in Boston? That is a question with no answer 10 games into the season.

Luck is no friend of Varitek’s

When you’re hot, you’re hot. And when you’re not, you hit into the bad luck that kept Varitek’s batting average plunging.

In the third inning, with the bases full and two outs yesterday, Varitek scorched a line drive — right at center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. Matthews misplayed the knuckling liner, the ball smacking against his glove and falling to the ground, permitting two runs to score.

But the play was ruled an error, and rightly so. So it was just another empty at-bat for Varitek.

Then in the fifth, Varitek sizzled an opposite-field liner that third baseman Macier Izturis somehow managed to snare with a backhanded lunge toward the line. Another empty AB for the Sox’ catcher.

Finally, though, Varitek found a hole in his final at-bat. He grounded a 1-and-2 pitch up the middle for a single. His 1-for-4 day actually lifted his average from .217 to .222.

No sense in wasting pitches

The Angels, apparently, were in a hurry yesterday.

Or maybe their eagerness to swing once they got into the batter’s box against Boston starter Curt Schilling had more to do with the fact that the ace right-hander is always around the plate and doesn’t walk many.

In other words, why wait around and fall into 0-and-1 and 0-and-2 holes against a quality pitcher such as Schilling?

In any event, over the first six innings, there were five first-pitch outs and five second-pitch outs, meaning it took Schilling only 15 pitches to record 10 of the first 18 outs.

Through six innings, Schilling had thrown only 64 pitches. He had three seven-pitch innings.

The Angels finally made Schilling work, in particular Jose Molina, forcing him to throw 28 pitches in the seventh, 11 of them to Molina, who ultimately struck out for the final out.

But they still weren’t able to dent him for a run. And after eight innings, having blanked the Angels on four hits, Schilling called it a day. His final pitch total was 103.

‘Double play’ but a single out

The Sox were retired in the first inning — four up, four down.

Or maybe Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick thought extra outs could carry over into the next inning.

Or maybe, if the truth be told, Kendrick forgot how many outs there were.

With a runner at first and two outs in the first, Manny Ramirez bounced one to third baseman Maicer Izturis, who threw to Kendrick at second base for the inning-ending forceout.

But Kendrick wasn’t done. He “turned” the unnecessary double play, firing a relay throw to a no-doubt surprised first baseman Casey Kotchman. The Angels still only got credit for three outs in the inning, but at least Kendrick got in some practice making the pivot.

Not the best day for Molina

Angels catcher Jose Molina outsmarted himself in the second inning.

With runners at first and second and two outs, Molina shifted as he got set to receive Hector Carrasco’s 0-and-1 pitch to Dustin Pedroia, turning his body so he’d be able to throw to first base in an attempt to pick off Coco Crisp, who had gotten a large secondary lead on the first pitch of the at-bat.

The ball clanged off Molina’s mitt as he took his eyes off the pitch and looked toward first, where Kotchman had tried to sneak in behind Crisp.

The ball rolled away far enough for Mike Lowell, running at second, to make it to third base. Molina was charged with a passed ball. Boston, though, didn’t score in the inning.

skrasner@projo.com