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Rich Harden, Coco Crisp and Craig Breslow have all been placed on waivers by the Oakland Athletics. What does this have to do with Boston? Each of the aforementioned players have been tied to the Boston Red Sox.

Harden was nearly traded to the Red Sox prior to this year’s trade deadline, but the deal fell through after concerns arose regarding Harden’s medical records. Boston would have swapped Lars Anderson and a player to be named later in exchange for Harden.

As for Crisp and Breslow, both played for the Red Sox at different points in their respective careers. Crisp played in Boston from 2006 through 2008. In three seasons, Crisp batted .271 and hit 21 home runs, drove in 137 RBI and stole 70 bases. Breslow played in Boston for one season (2006), posting an 0-2 record with a 3.75 ERA in 13 appearances.

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The first time I heard anything about what Coco Crisp(notes) had going on his neck was early last week when the Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers. Tigers blogger Samara Pearlstein spotted what looked like a piercing and posted her observation on Twitter.

Since then, others have taken notice. It’s a tattoo! It’s a piercing! It’s both! Larry Brown Sports noticed it on Friday while the A’s were playing the New York Yankees. And of course, any time something happens within the Yankees’ big spotlight, it tends to draw more notice.

So we have what appears to be a piercing — or more specifically, as Sam noted, a surface piercing — in the middle of a neck tattoo. The question everyone is asking upon noticing is whether or not Crisp should be allowed to play with that thing in his neck.

It’s not something that would cause a distraction to opposing pitchers. Heck, Barry Bonds’ dangling cross earring arguably drew more attention back in its day. 

But what about safety? What if Crisp slides across grass or dirt, coming into contact with that area? What about a glove when a tag is being applied? Or how about just the normal sweat and dirt that results from playing baseball?

Not to mention (based on my minutes of Internet research) that the skin tends to reject surface piercings, pushing out what it perceives as a foreign object, much like what would happen with a splinter. As Pounded Ink points out, even a simple bump can kickstart the rejection process.

One would assume that the A’s front office and training staff has seen Crisp’s piercing and signed off on it. (There has been no comment from the team or Crisp himself.) Or they — along with MLB — figure Crisp is an adult and can do whatever he wants, as long as he’s aware of the possible repercussions. Surface piercings tend to be a temporary accessory anyway, due to the piercing eventually growing out.

Is this just a phase for Crisp, as his bountiful Afro was just three months ago?

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Related: Coco Crisp, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, BallMedia, injuries, Ballpark Mischief, Blown Calls

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Read More: Josh Outman (P – OAK), Coco Crisp (CF – OAK), Baltimore Orioles

The Oakland Athletics square off for one more game with the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night hoping to avoid a third straight series sweep. The A’s have lost eight straight games and are in danger of completely falling out of the AL West race before the All Star Break. The game airs at 4:05pm pacific and will be on CSN California.

The A’s will send out Josh Outman to face Zach Britton as Outman looks to bounce back from a tough outing against the Boston Red Sox. Outman lasted 2 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on five hits and a walk before being pulled. His limited pitch count is allowing him to swing back through the rotation again on three days rest.

The A’s are giving Jemile Weeks a second straight start as he’ll play second base and hit at the bottom of the order. Coco Crisp returns to the top of the batting order as the A’s look for some semblance of a spark. Really some semblance of life. The Orioles pitching staff has shut down the A’s in the first two games, while getting just enough run support to get the victories. The A’s are digging themselves a big hole

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Daric Barton 1B
3. Conor Jackson LF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Kurt Suzuki C
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Adam Rosales 3B
8. Cliff Pennington SS
9. Jemile Weeks 2B

Baltimore Orioles
1. Robert Andino 2B
2. Nick Markakis RF
3. Adam Jones CF
4. Vladimir Guerrero DH
5. Derrek Lee 1B
6. Matt Wieters C
7. J.J. Hardy SS
8. Mark Reynolds 3B
9. Nolan Reimold LF

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Gio Gonzalez has been on the right side of consecutive weather-impacted starts.

The hard-throwing lefty pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, and the Oakland Athletics emerged from a rain-soaked start to hammer the Los Angeles Angels 14-0 Tuesday night.

“With the weather, it’s like hit or miss,” said Gonzalez, who allowed seven runs at Texas in his last outing before the game was washed away in the fourth because of rain. “Both times it’s been a big hit for me.”

Gonzalez (5-2) struck out seven and allowed only a line-drive single to Howie Kendrick leading off the fifth. He also walked one and cruised the rest of the way behind a dominant breaking ball and an offense that had its best game of the season.

Mark Ellis had three hits and four RBIs and Coco Crisp finished with three hits and two RBIs to chase starter Tyler Chatwood (2-2) in the third, handing the rookie the worst loss of his career. Oakland had season highs in runs scored and hits to move into a tie with Texas for first place in the AL West.

“I think when everybody starts feeling good about themselves, feeling better about how their swinging, the hits just roll on,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “Hitting is contagious. The opposite is true, too.

“You see a lot of Oh-fers on the bench it’s hard to gain some momentum. But a game like this can definitely catapult guys into feeling good about themselves and driving their numbers up and, ultimately winning more games.”

The only other hit for the Angels came on Jeff Mathis’ single leading off the ninth against Trystan Magnuson, who was making his major league debut. Craig Breslow also pitched a perfect eighth to send Los Angeles tumbling to its third straight loss.

“This was one of our worst games of the season,” Angels right fielder Torii Hunter said. “Gonzalez challenged us with the fastball. I don’t know why he doesn’t use that as much … He should use it more. We just couldn’t do nothing.”

Gonzalez has timed his last two starts to perfection.

He allowed seven runs in just 2 2-3 innings at Texas in his last appearance. But with the Rangers leading 7-0 in the middle of the fourth, the game was called for rain and didn’t count.

The start of the Angels game was delayed 42 minutes because of a rare May rainstorm in the Bay Area, and Gonzalez joked that once he got the lead he was just hoping to making it through five innings so the game would become official. With the clouds passing through in patches, the roughest of it never seemed to come with Gonzalez on the mound.

Instead, A’s hitters came through the rain first four innings to give Gonzalez all the cover he would need.

Ellis and Kevin Kouzmanoff had back-to-back RBI doubles, and Coco Crisp had a run-scoring single in the second inning to give Oakland a 3-0 lead. The rain subsided briefly for Gonzalez to work a perfect inning before a huge downpour.

One from the skies.

Another from Oakland’s bats.

Ellis added a two-run single and Crisp had another RBI single to highlight a four-run third that opened a 7-0 lead. Kurt Suzuki also hit an RBI double off reliever Trevor Bell to score Hideki Matsui in the fourth.

By the end of the fourth inning, every Oakland batter had reached base except for Daric Barton. Chatwood’s final line: seven runs allowed on seven hits and two walks in 2 1-3 innings, by far the worst start of the rookie’s career.

“We all just kind of came together at the right time,” Crisp said.

Gonzalez retired the first 11 batters with relative ease until walking Maicer Izturis. That spoiled the chance of matching the perfect game that teammate and friend Dallas Braden — who had season-ending shoulder surgery Tuesday, even texting Gonzalez from his hospital room after surgery to offer tips, per the usual — threw last May against Tampa Bay.

Kendrick took away the no-hitter with his single up the middle in the fifth. Gonzalez got him to ground into a double play, retiring the final seven batters he faced.

Gonzalez admitted he would’ve loved to have that fastball back, joking, “I’ll get you Howie.”

NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game for Minnesota Twins slugger and Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, who died Tuesday at 74 after battling esophageal cancer. Killebrew was part of Oakland’s TV broadcast in 1982, according to the team’s media guide. … Oakland closer Andrew Bailey allowed no hits in one inning of work in an extended spring training game in Arizona. The A’s two-time All-Star could begin a rehab assignment in the minors next week. … The A’s previous season high in hits was 13 against Toronto on April 5, and their previous high in runs scored was nine on April 23 against Seattle.

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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Out of the corner of his eye, Chicago reliever Matt Thornton saw Coco Crisp breaking for home plate, but the left-hander couldn’t stop his motion without committing a balk.

Good thing for the White Sox.

A.J. Pierzynski caught Thornton’s inside pitch and dove in front of the plate to cut down Crisp trying to score the tying run on a straight steal in the eighth inning, helping to preserve a 4-3 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

“He caught me off guard a little bit,” Thornton said. “You never know, if I flinch you might get a balk. Everyone thought he was just going to deke a little bit, fake in and come back out, but he kept on going.

“Two weeks ago that’s a game-tying run and who knows what happens? But we’re playing a little better baseball right now and getting some better results as a whole.”

The White Sox, winners of five of their last six, are definitely on the upswing following a 4-18 stretch that threatened to take them out of contention before the All-Star break.

Chicago is still nine games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central but the outlook is a lot more optimistic than it once was.

Omar Vizquel had an RBI double during a four-run second inning and Phil Humber (3-3) pitched well into the seventh. Chicago managed only five hits and did all its scoring in one inning but made several stellar defensive plays.

The biggest came when Crisp tried a rare straight steal of home, a play that had the White Sox clubhouse buzzing long after the game ended.

Crisp led off the inning with a single, stole second and went to third on Daric Barton’s groundout. The speedy outfielder faked as if he was going to steal, then broke for home while Thornton was in his windup. Pierzynski caught the pitch and reached out to tag Crisp on the shoulder as he dove for a corner of the plate.

“I was trying to make something happen, but it’s a play I have to make,” Crisp said. “I still believe if I don’t stutter step, I make it. If he (Pierzynski) hesitates, I’m in. It was a good pitch and a good play by him.”

Humber gave up three runs and six hits in six-plus innings, the fourth straight solid outing by the right-hander. He didn’t walk a batter for the first time in seven starts this season.

Sergio Santos worked the ninth for his fourth save in four chances.

Humber, claimed off waivers from Oakland in January, had his only bad inning in the seventh when the A’s chased him with four consecutive singles.

Humber’s wild pitch with the bases loaded scored Ryan Sweeney from third, and David DeJesus’ second hit of the night, a soft single to right, drove in Hideki Matsui. Jesse Crain struck out Mark Ellis, then gave up a sacrifice fly to Kevin Kouzmanoff that cut the White Sox lead to 4-3.

Crain avoided further damage by picking off DeJesus at first.

“I’ll take it,” Humber said. “I didn’t pitch that great out there. They hit a lot of balls hard right at guys. Fortunately we put some runs on the board early and then the bullpen came in and did a great job.”

DeJesus finished with two hits and needs one more to reach 1,000 for his career.

Oakland starter Brandon McCarthy had control problems in the second inning when the White Sox scored four times. He gave up a leadoff single to Paul Konerko, then issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. Alex Rios’ grounder scored one run and Vizquel followed with an RBI double.

Gordon Beckham’s sacrifice fly made it 3-0, and after Juan Pierre reached on an infield single, McCarthy threw wildly to first on a pickoff attempt. The ball rolled into Chicago’s bullpen as Vizquel raced in from third.

McCarthy (1-4) settled down and allowed only two hits over the next five innings but remains winless over his last six starts.

The right-hander had six strikeouts and two walks.

“We got down four but then (McCarthy) got it back quickly and got better as the game went along,” Oakland manager Bob Geren said. “It was right there for us, but we couldn’t overcome the early four-run deficit.”

NOTES: Injured Oakland closer Andrew Bailey played catch before leaving for Arizona, where he’s scheduled to pitch one inning in an extended spring training game Saturday. … The A’s played without OF Josh Willingham, who served a one-game suspension for bumping plate umpire Bill Miller while arguing a called third strike against Kansas City on May 6. … Playing 20 games without an off day, the White Sox are going with a six-man rotation and manager Ozzie Guillen isn’t ruling out using it beyond that. … Justine Siegel, a 36-year-old mother of one, threw batting practice to Geren and a few A’s players before the game. Siegel had previously pitched batting practice for Oakland in spring training and was extended an invitation to join the team at the Coliseum.

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Coco Crisp can be one of the more entertaining players in baseball when he is actually on the field. Regardless of whether or not he’s healthy, though, his hair is usually always something worth keeping an eye on.

The Oakland Athletics are taking advantage of their outfielder’s unique hairdos, and they are having their fans vote on what look he’ll don next.

The three choices are fairly logical.

First, there is the “shaved” cut. The clean-cut look is one that Red Sox fans got to see quite a bit of during Crisp’s run in Boston.

Also on the ballot is Crisp’s “braids” look. The braids look also is one that Sox fans saw in Crisp’s Boston tenure, including during perhaps Crisp’s most memorable moment — his fight with the Tampa Bay Rays.

However, the early clubhouse leader, and likely the runaway winner in the A’s contest, is Crisp’s afro. He’s dabbled with it over the years, but he took it to an entirely new level earlier this season.

See the photo below to understand what we’re talking about.

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April 20, 2011|Josh Dubow, AP Sports Writer

There is the quick update of the day.

Outfielder Coco Crisp of the Oakland A’s (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (CBS / AP) — Coco Crisp and Daric Barton homered off Mike Leake, lifting the Oakland Athletics over the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 on Tuesday.

Leake allowed seven runs in his worst spring outing. He also gave up two doubles among six Oakland hits in 2 1-3 innings.

Leake made the Reds’ rotation by default when an MRI exam revealed inflammation in Johnny Cueto’s right shoulder.

“I felt a little too good today,” Leake said. “I was just missing a little bit. I don’t like to walk people. I was trying a little too hard.”

Leake made the jump from college baseball to the major leagues last year without pitching in the minors, but was competing with Homer Bailey and Travis Wood for two open spots in the rotation this season. Cueto’s injury cleared his way, but Leake doesn’t feel settled.

“There’s still going to be a decision when he comes back. When the season starts I still have to compete,” Leake said.

Brett Anderson, in line to be Oakland’s opening-night starter, gave up four runs and four hits in six innings. NL MVP Joey Votto and Jonny Gomes homered for the Reds.

Anderson was scheduled to start Monday, but rain forced cancellation of his outing against the Dodgers.

“I felt good,” Anderson said after his longest stint of the spring. “Joey Vott is the best hitter of all-time and I have to get it through my head that I can’t beat Jonny Gomes with fastballs inside. I felt good it’s the best lineup I’ve faced yet and to go through it three times felt good.”

Oakland manager Bob Geren is still open-minded about who will be on the mound against Seattle on April 1.

“I’m leaving everything open right now,” Geren said. “I’ll see how everyone comes through the next start.”

Votto also doubled and singled and drove in four runs.

“It’s about that time. You have to have some of your big boys swinging well at the end of spring and the beginning of the season, especially (Jay) Bruce, Votto and (Brandon) Phillips. Our starting guys are swinging good. Jonny Gomes is starting to swing a little better,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said.

Votto, a notoriously slow starter, increased his spring average to .324 with three home runs and a team-high 13 RBIs.

Barton, Kurt Suzuki and Mark Ellis added doubles for the A’s.

Barton has nine hits in his last 22 at-bats.

NOTES: Oakland reliever Craig Breslow made his first Cactus League appearance. He had a strained left hamstring that had restricted him to minor league games. … Reds closer Francisco Cordero has six straight scoreless appearances. … Cincinnati’s projected starting lineup played all nine innings with the exception of Phillips, who played five. … Drew Stubbs struck out four times against Oakland. “Stubby’s struggling a bit,” Baker said. “We’re going to DH him in some minor league games to get him extra at-bats.”

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)

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Outfielder Coco Crisp of the Oakland A’s (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (CBS / AP) — Coco Crisp and Daric Barton homered off Mike Leake, lifting the Oakland Athletics over the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 on Tuesday.

Leake allowed seven runs in his worst spring outing. He also gave up two doubles among six Oakland hits in 2 1-3 innings.

Leake made the Reds’ rotation by default when an MRI exam revealed inflammation in Johnny Cueto’s right shoulder.

“I felt a little too good today,” Leake said. “I was just missing a little bit. I don’t like to walk people. I was trying a little too hard.”

Leake made the jump from college baseball to the major leagues last year without pitching in the minors, but was competing with Homer Bailey and Travis Wood for two open spots in the rotation this season. Cueto’s injury cleared his way, but Leake doesn’t feel settled.

“There’s still going to be a decision when he comes back. When the season starts I still have to compete,” Leake said.

Brett Anderson, in line to be Oakland’s opening-night starter, gave up four runs and four hits in six innings. NL MVP Joey Votto and Jonny Gomes homered for the Reds.

Anderson was scheduled to start Monday, but rain forced cancellation of his outing against the Dodgers.

“I felt good,” Anderson said after his longest stint of the spring. “Joey Vott is the best hitter of all-time and I have to get it through my head that I can’t beat Jonny Gomes with fastballs inside. I felt good it’s the best lineup I’ve faced yet and to go through it three times felt good.”

Oakland manager Bob Geren is still open-minded about who will be on the mound against Seattle on April 1.

“I’m leaving everything open right now,” Geren said. “I’ll see how everyone comes through the next start.”

Votto also doubled and singled and drove in four runs.

“It’s about that time. You have to have some of your big boys swinging well at the end of spring and the beginning of the season, especially (Jay) Bruce, Votto and (Brandon) Phillips. Our starting guys are swinging good. Jonny Gomes is starting to swing a little better,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said.

Votto, a notoriously slow starter, increased his spring average to .324 with three home runs and a team-high 13 RBIs.

Barton, Kurt Suzuki and Mark Ellis added doubles for the A’s.

Barton has nine hits in his last 22 at-bats.

NOTES: Oakland reliever Craig Breslow made his first Cactus League appearance. He had a strained left hamstring that had restricted him to minor league games. … Reds closer Francisco Cordero has six straight scoreless appearances. … Cincinnati’s projected starting lineup played all nine innings with the exception of Phillips, who played five. … Drew Stubbs struck out four times against Oakland. “Stubby’s struggling a bit,” Baker said. “We’re going to DH him in some minor league games to get him extra at-bats.”

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)

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Read More: Coco Crisp (CF – OAK), Trevor Cahill (P – OAK)

The Oakland Athletics travel to face the Milwaukee Brewers at 12:05 p.m. pacific in Coco Crisp’s first game since he was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence on Tuesday. Crisp spoke to the media this morning upon arrival at the stadium and apologized for his actions. Thankfully it wasn’t one of the forced fake apologies, but seemed a bit more heartfelt:

“I can say how I feel about the whole situation and I guess, obviously embarrassed is one of the main feelings. And sorry….that’s genuine,” he said. “A lot of people look up to me, and the decision was not the right decision.”
….
Crisp has talked to team officials, and, he said, they provided him with some advice. Knowing how the A’s feel about driving while impaired, I would imagine that this “advice” was fairly forceful and possibly not too pleasant to receive.

“Obviously, this is a big deal,” Crisp said. “They’re not my parents, but they’re here for me.”

Crisp is expected to be a key table-setter for the 2011 Oakland A’s given his ability to get on base and his base-stealing capabilities. This still has to go through the legal system and it sounds like the A’s are waiting to see the results of that process before acting further.

In the meantime, the A’s send out Trevor Cahill to make his second 2011 spring training start. The A’s starters have been up and down thus far and will look to settle down as we move further into March. Cahill surprised a lot of people with a monster 2010 campaign and will be looking to build on that and show he isn’t a one-year wonder. In his first start against the Cubs Cahill lasted 1/3 of an inning and gave up four runs on five hits and a walk. It’s nothing to be concerned about at this point, but he’ll be looking to settle down in his second start of the Cactus League schedule.

The A’s will send out the following lineup:

1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Daric Barton, 1B
3. Josh Willingham, LF
4. Conor Jackson, DH
5. Andy LaRoche, 3B
6. Matt Carson, RF
7. Wes Timmons, 2B
8. Josh Donaldson, C
9. Eric Sogard, SS

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PHOENIX — Oakland Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp [stats] has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, the third major league player to be charged with DUI during spring training.

The A’s said in a statement that Crisp was arrested early Wednesday in Scottsdale. He was released from jail and arrived at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on time to take part in pre-game drills before Oakland’s exhibition against the Cleveland Indians.

Crisp was in the clubhouse before the game but did not speak with reporters.

The team said it is taking Crisp’s situation “seriously” and will have no further comment “until further details are available.”

Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera was arrested last month in Florida on DUI charges, and Cleveland’s Austin Kearns is facing a similar charge after being pulled over in Kentucky and arrested on Feb. 12.

© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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By Steve Silva, Boston.com Staff

The Oakland Athletics today confirmed a report that outfielder Coco Crisp was arrested and detained early Wednesday morning in Scottsdale on suspicion of drunk driving.

The A’s released the following statement on the matter:

Coco Crisp was arrested and detained early this morning under the suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was released from the City of Scottsdale Jail this morning and arrived at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on time for team pre-game drills. The A’s are aware of the situation and take such matters seriously. The team and Coco will have no further comment until further details are available.

Crisp, a former Red Sox center fielder, was pulled over by Scottsdale police while driving his 2009 Rolls Royce Phantom, according to TMZ, who also has the mug shot following Crisp’s arrest. According to TMZ, police said Crisp was stopped after officers noticed him “failing to stay in one lane of traffic.”

The 31-year-old Crisp, who agreed to and performed field sobriety tests at the scene, was released from jail and arrived at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in time to take part in pregame drills before the Athletics’ Cactus League game against the Cleveland Indians. He was in the A’s clubhouse before the game but did not speak with reporters, nor did he play in today’s game.

Crisp is in his second season with the A’s and is expected to play center field and be the team’s leadoff hitter. Crisp signed with Oakland as a free agent in December 2009. He hit .279 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs in 2010 but played in just 75 games because of a fractured pinkie and strained rib cage muscle.

After Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees, the Red Sox traded with the Cleveland Indians to acquire Crisp in Jan. 2006. The deal sent the center fielder along with catcher Josh Bard and reliever David Riske to Boston in exchange for third base prospect Andy Marte, reliever Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named later, and cash.

In 2006, Crisp broke his left index finger attempting to steal third base and spent the next 42 games on the disabled list. Crisp played in 145 games for the Red Sox in 2007, batting .268 and scoring 85 runs. While Crisp was the team’s starting center fielder throughout the 2007 season, he was benched mid-series during the ALCS for rookie outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Crisp remained benched for the 2007 World Series, only appearing late in games for defensive substitutions. In Nov. 2008, Crisp was traded to the Kansas City Royals for relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez.

Crisp is the third major league player to be charged with DUI during spring training.
The Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera was arrested last month in Florida on DUI charges, and the Indians’ Austin Kearns is facing a similar charge after being pulled over in Kentucky and arrested on Feb. 12.

In other Coco news, Crisp was in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago taking a little batting practice with ubiquitous newsmaker and baseball fan Charlie Sheen.

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