FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Coco Crisp showed up at spring training with a new hairdo and the same big smile he had a year ago before a broken finger hurt his spirit and his swing.

The speedy center fielder broke his left index finger in his fifth game with the Boston Red Sox and had trouble gripping the bat properly after that. He underwent surgery on Sept. 26 and said he had no problem taking batting practice after arriving Tuesday.

He just had to adjust to the bright sky.

“In California, it’s not as bright as it is out here,” Crisp said. “It’s just getting back used to that out here. Other than that, it feels fine.”

He worked out in the offseason in Manhattan Beach, Calif., running two miles forward and one mile backward each day and sprinting up and down sand dunes. So he should be able to show the speed that produced 22 stolen bases after he was traded from Cleveland before last season.

But he’s sporting a different look after he stopped shaving his head and let his hair grow into a small Afro style that sticks out below his cap.

“I’m trying to go youthful,” he said with his usual broad grin.

After batting .264, the lowest average of his four full pro seasons, he’s expected to hit eighth in the lineup after starting last season in the leadoff spot.

“In the beginning of your career, maybe it is a little tougher to hit at the top of the order,” Crisp said.

Especially with a broken finger.

Crisp missed the next 41 games after being injured. He returned and played a total of 105 games, but the condition of the finger got worse and he finished with 8 homers and 36 RBIs. The switch-hitter had more trouble swinging right-handed and felt pain when he hit the ball off the end of the bat, which he did frequently.

“I’ve still got the little lump there. It’s just the inflammation. It’s just the stiffness,” he said. “So when I wake up in the morning, you run the hot water and you splash it on your face and it starts to loosen up.”

If Crisp returns to the hitting form he showed before breaking the finger on a slide into third base in Baltimore, the Red Sox outfield should be considerably better with Manny Ramirez in left field and J.D. Drew, signed as a free agent, in right.

Manager Terry Francona walked by Crisp as he was finishing batting practice.

“We have six weeks (before the season) and I don’t think there’s anything holding him back now,” Francona said.

Crisp worked out before arriving in camp and felt the finger didn’t affect his hitting or catching, but “that’s not full speed,” he said. “Come the season, no excuses. Never any excuses.”

During last season – “definitely a rough year” – he was reluctant to emphasize the condition of his finger.

“I don’t want pitchers to have the upper hand,” he said. “I’m going up and (they think) this guy has nine fingers.”

All 10 appear to be working well now, and the Red Sox may finally have the player they thought they were getting before he was hurt.