KANSAS CITY -- For Covelli Loyce Crisp, better known as Coco, the day started early in California. Even before he could dip his spoon into cereal, he got a call from the East Coast. He'd been traded to the Kansas City Royals.

"It kind of woke me up. It was early out here, about 7 o'clock in the morning," Crisp said by phone. "Usually my kids don't wake me up until about 9, coming into the room and slap me in the face or something and wake me up. I wasn't fully awake yet, and we got the news and called a few people and heard them get excited as well."

Crisp, dealt by the Red Sox after three seasons in Boston, said he knew a possible trade was in the works, and he'd been on edge all week.

"When I finally got the news that I was going to Kansas City, it was exciting," he said.

Even though it meant going from playoff team to a fourth-place team, Crisp saw the deal as a plus.

"I play hard and pretty much stay within myself. I know what I can and can not do. With that, I think that makes me a good fit for their ballclub," he said. "I hope to help the team and bring a presence into the clubhouse that will help us win -- an attitude of winning, to go along with the attitude that's already inside their clubhouse. Hopefully things will go well and we can move up the ladder in our division."

Obtained by Boston from Cleveland to replace Johnny Damon in 2006, Crisp got off to a rough start in 2006, when he suffered a broken finger in the fifth game of the season. He struggled offensively that year but rebounded to have a solid season for the 2007 World Series champions. This past season, he essentially was replaced by Jacoby Ellsbury, although he played enough to get 361 at-bats, posting a .283 average.

"It was a learning experience, definitely. I had a lot of fun. It's been a great experience for me coming from a contending team like Cleveland to a team that was already in the mix playoff-wise, I've learned on the field and off the field. It's helped me grow. The one negative aspect that came out of the whole thing was that I was plagued by nagging injuries, primarily the whole time I was there," Crisp said.

Crisp replaced the slumping Ellsbury in this year's postseason and had 10 hits. In the fifth game of the American League Championship Series against Tampa Bay, he had a memorable at-bat. In the eighth inning, he hit a game-tying single as the Red Sox fought back from a 7-0 deficit.

His ability to cover center field was an important factor for the Royals, and Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein figures KC will get its money's worth.

"During the '07 season, when he was our everyday center fielder for the longest stretch, he was a phenomenal defensive center fielder. In a way, that more than made up for the lack of offense," Epstein said.

"I hope to help the team and bring a presence into the clubhouse that will help us win -- an attitude of winning, to go along with the attitude that's already inside their clubhouse."

-- Coco Crisp

"When you look back on it, I feel like the Coco Crisp we had for those three seasons was a pretty darn good player."

Crisp figures to take over the leadoff spot from David DeJesus, although general manager Dayton Moore didn't commit to that, nor did manager Trey Hillman.

"We've got two very good leadoff candidates in DeJesus and Coco," Moore said. "Trey will make that call on any given day, but we've got two guys that potentially can be very good in that role."

Crisp swiped 20 bases in 27 attempts last season and was 28-for-34 the previous year. His speed should fit right in with Hillman's desire to do more running.

"He has the ability, he's a threat anytime he's on," Hillman said.

Epstein was asked if Crisp played with a sort of chip-on-his-shoulder style.

"Yeah he does. I think Coco plays with a chip on his shoulder in a good way," Esptein said. "He was a late-round Draft pick, and he was always second-fiddle to Grady Sizemore in Cleveland, he felt like he had something to prove out on the baseball field. He used that to his advantage. He always played the game hard, always played like he had to prove something to somebody. I think that's reflected in his all-out style of play."