Carl Crawford

[Gringo]

Do you think his terrible season was a fluke, or is this what we should expect from him year in, year out?

 

I personally think he could have a nice comeback season with a fresh start for the whole ball club.

 

What are acceptable numbers next year for you?

 

I'd be happy with .280/20HR/30SB

[SCM33]

Do you think his terrible season was a fluke, or is this what we should expect from him year in, year out?

 

I personally think he could have a nice comeback season with a fresh start for the whole ball club.

 

What are acceptable numbers next year for you?

 

I'd be happy with .280/20HR/30SB

 

20 Home Runs from a guy whos never hit 20 Home Runs??? You will be disappointed then.

 

.280/.333OB/.770 OPS.....15HR, 75 RBI and 40+ SB's works for me.

[Palodios]

Crawford has a career BAA of .293. His career minor league numbers are .294. This is a guy who was supposed to reach 3000 hits in a Red Sox uniform. He's going to get his s*** together, eventually.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

20 Home Runs from a guy whos never hit 20 Home Runs??? You will be disappointed then.

 

.280/.333OB/.770 OPS.....15HR, 75 RBI and 40+ SB's works for me.

 

Ellsbury made a big change in his HR count why can't Crawford?

 

I think this year he felt a lot of pressure. I say he performs much better next year.

[Emmz]

I think he's going to be right around .800 OPS, home runs idc much about. 15, 20 maybe. RBIs I care about, but it's a team stat so it's impossible to predict, or get on someone's ass if they don't produce enough RBIs, their OPS with RISP is a better way to measure their productivity than their RBIs.

 

I'd be surprised, and extremely worried (and depressed) if Crawford didn't have a bounce back to form next season.

[InfernoOrangeSS]

I think he will have a bounce back season.

[Derach]

He would benefit greatly from a good hitting coach. Before his SB #'s return to respectable levels, his walks need to go way up and his strikeouts down. I agree w/ Mikey Adam ... his eyes are too close together.

[jacksonianmarch]

Crawford looked slow in all phases of the game. His bat speed seemed to diminish and he developed a gaping hole in his swing. His quickness on the basepaths appeared to diminish, be it fear or actual loss of speed, who knows. And in the OF, he looked lost, especially with a gazelle to his left in Ellsbury. This guy needs a lot more than a hitting coach. He needs to remember that what made his game great was his hustle and his lack of fear. He looked like a timid little mouse out there, but in Tampa, he looked like a world beater. If he cannot regain that edge again, he'll be useless. And in terms of his hitting, he needs to close his stance a little and shorten his stroke. Father time seemed to slow the bat a little, and he needs to adjust

[BossSox]

The post that I am about to write will probably be put in someones signature for a while... You guys may think this sounds crazy but here it goes. Carl Crawford is more of an athlete, not a baseball player. He can run and all, but it just seems like he's a great athlete who needs to learn how to play baseball (judging him by how he played this year). Again, just my opinion...

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

I'm guessing you never saw him play with the Rays.

[FredLynn]

He would benefit greatly from a good hitting coach. Before his SB #'s return to respectable levels' date=' his walks need to go way up and his strikeouts down. I agree w/ Mikey Adam ... his eyes are too close together.[/quote']

 

A good surgeon could fix that

[FredLynn]

The post that I am about to write will probably be put in someones signature for a while... You guys may think this sounds crazy but here it goes. Carl Crawford is more of an athlete' date=' not a baseball player. He can run and all, but it just seems like he's a great athlete who needs to learn how to play baseball (judging him by how he played this year). Again, just my opinion...[/quote']

 

From what I read about the man, he is a very dedicated hard working athlete. He watched the team sink into the cesspool and lose all semblance of professionalism. For a hard worker who once slammed Pat Burrell against the wall for his misbehaving, this had to eat away at him. I think he will do much better next year, closer to his career numbers.

[BossSox]

I'm guessing you never saw him play with the Rays.

 

No I did. That's why I said, judging from this year.

[jung]

Once Crawford's confidence was gone I don't think there was much you could tell from his performance from that point on. Since his plate performance fell apart before anything else did I suspect that if they can fix that his confidence will return and everything else will improve with that.

[a700hitter]

Once Crawford's confidence was gone I don't think there was much you could tell from his performance from that point on. Since his plate performance fell apart before anything else did I suspect that if they can fix that his confidence will return and everything else will improve with that.

It should really help his confidence knowing that the owner was against signing him.

[Muggah]

It should really help his confidence knowing that the owner was against signing him.

 

Ya, that certainly doesn't help. But who knows, seeing as he's here for the next six years I guess the optimistic thing to do would be to hope that the toxic climate of the clubhouse had something to do with his s***** year, and that the 'sanitizing' that's anticipated may help things. Let's hope so. But boy, was that a s***** year he's coming off. He's really only got one way to go.

[jung]

It should really help his confidence knowing that the owner was against signing him.

 

Yea I know. JH should not have touched that with a 10' pole. He contradicted LL and took a swipe at Crawford that I don't even think he intended to take. I think JH was just trying to say that he was opposed but that his opposition was not based on performance or the player's potential or anything other than what has been said elsewhere,. At the time the deal was under consideration, Sox had plenty of left handed bats going into the season and a speedy left handed bat to boot, Ells.

 

The absolute only shot JH had of pulling off making a comment like he made would have been to preface it or complete it with something positive like "I know Crawford will be a great player for us".

 

Still and all there are no throw away lines from an owner. He just should have left this particular topic alone as I don't see what there was to be gained other than an attempt at taking a swipe at Theo, hanging full responsibility for the Crawford deal around his neck. Once again though why should an attempt to hang this on Theo be so important that you contradict your President and you throw a player you are committed to paying $20M a year under the bus.

 

"A spinning we must go....A spinning we must go....High ho the Dare-io....A spinning we must go"

 

God these guys just don't stop.

[iortiz]

It should really help his confidence knowing that the owner was against signing him.

 

Exactly.

 

The heat around this team is already at its maximum level, why go out there and say that about CC?, why? anyway...

 

When he was signed I was very excited about his arrival, very exited! (even never agreed about his cost), but passing the time, This guy went from unconcerned and indifferent at plate to look like if he had never played this game; he was very often behind the count (0-2).

 

He better put his s*** together and at least put .290/.330/.800 next season; something below these numbers given his contract would be another failure at FA.

[Palodios]

It should really help his confidence knowing that the owner was against signing him.

 

So the guy paying for Crawford was opposed to writing a second $140-200 million dollar check? I'm shocked.

 

This is being blown out. John Henry did not say anything bad about Crawford, and he did not pin the signing to Theo.

[3rdManOut]

It should really help his confidence knowing that the owner was against signing him.

 

Oh I know what you mean. However, do you think JH said what he did only because Crawford didnt do as good as anyone expected his first season here. If he put up great numbers during this season do you think JH would have sung a different toon towards him?

[jung]

Ya' know what if JH did not say anything then he should have literally said nothing cause he is cutting Crawford's checks at this point which does take me back to where I started. JH should have just avoided the topic of the signing all together because it does not make a rats ass worth of difference whether he was "personally opposed" or not. He is the principle owner of the team. Had he said "my position at the time as principle owner was......etc", that would have been a worthwhile comment. I would have advised against that as well but at least he would not have just added another layer of meaningless gobbledygook.

 

JH being "personally opposed" is as meaningless as my being personally opposed. In fact I find it interesting that he said that "as any member of Sox upper management knows I was personally opposed" because had he made that known at the time to a subordinate, that subordinate whether LL or Tom or Theo for that matter would have been forced to ask JH if the organization was to infer anything from JH's personal opposition to his position as principle owner. if not what would the purpose have been in making his personal opinion known even within the organization. What utter BS.

[SoxSport]

Ya' know what if JH did not say anything then he should have literally said nothing cause he is cutting Crawford's checks at this point which does take me back to where I started. JH should have just avoided the topic of the signing all together because it does not make a rats ass worth of difference whether he was "personally opposed" or not. He is the principle owner of the team. Had he said "my position at the time as principle owner was......etc", that would have been a worthwhile comment. I would have advised against that as well but at least he would not have just added another layer of meaningless gobbledygook.

 

JH being "personally opposed" is as meaningless as my being personally opposed. In fact I find it interesting that he said that "as any member of Sox upper management knows I was personally opposed" because had he made that known at the time to a subordinate, that subordinate whether LL or Tom or Theo for that matter would have been forced to ask JH if the organization was to infer anything from JH's personal opposition to his position as principle owner. if not what would the purpose have been in making his personal opinion known even within the organization. What utter BS.

 

bingo.

 

Henry needs to stay away from the media and newsgoups. And hire a PR spokesperson.

[a700hitter]

So the guy paying for Crawford was opposed to writing a second $140-200 million dollar check? I'm shocked.

 

This is being blown out. John Henry did not say anything bad about Crawford, and he did not pin the signing to Theo.

It was a stupid and pointless move by JH. If Crawford was feeling pressure to perform, knowing that the owner thinks he is overpaid isn't going to help him.

[VA Sox Fan]

It was a stupid and pointless move by JH. If Crawford was feeling pressure to perform' date=' knowing that the owner thinks he is overpaid isn't going to help him.[/quote']

 

 

His remarks were inexcusable. I like Crawford and have hopes for him to rebound next season. He manned up at the end of the season with no ******** excuses. Don't want him to be another Renteria.

[a700hitter]

His remarks were inexcusable. I like Crawford and have hopes for him to rebound next season. He manned up at the end of the season with no ******** excuses. Don't want him to be another Renteria.

I hope Crawford is home in Houston and not reading the Boston press. The Boston Press is as out of control as I can remember them. It's like a feeding frenzy. This is not good for the franchise. The team had a terrible organizational failure with plenty of blame to go around. The organization needs to figure out how to fix itself. The ownership group is a savvy group that built the franchise into a gold mine. They'll figure it out. The press just can't resist stabbing these guys in the back as they leave. It's despicable and cowardly, because they kiss their asses while they are here.

[seabeachfred]

Whether Henry threw Crawford under the bus or not the burden of proof is on Carl Crawford to rectify his sad and sorry performance on 2010. If he has the heart and guts to go with the ability he has shown before he could make a big comeback and help the team regain its self-respect. If he is a namby pamby who takes what Henry said personally and goes into a shell next year he will only be a self fullfilling prophecy and make Henry looks smart. Have a big year Carl and in your own way stick to your stumbling and bumbling owner

[jung]

I really don't fault the media or the fans here. Virtually all of the stories are based on actual quotes from named sources that keep tripping over their yo-yo's and would be better served just keeping quiet.

 

The one really ugly ugly story was the one with all that Tito dirt in it that the author claims is coming from a legitimate all-be-it unnamed source within the franchise. Given the stuff that can be attributed to a named source I am inclined to think the leak is from within the Sox organization. In fact I would bet money on it because much of that stuff would be stuff easy to access from a company HR or Admin department but hard to get to otherwise. Yet I have the hardest time believing that some underling just leaked it on his or her own initiative.

 

Sox brass cannot resist the temptation to spin and I understand why they believe in their branding and marketing initiatives and their insistence on spinning everything. However this would have been a good period to just depart from that for once because things were ugly enough as they were. But no, not gonna' do that. Tough to blame the media for doing their jobs.

 

During this whole mess the Sox PR machine and Brass have been both proactive in its interaction with the press and at other times have taken the media's bait in media insistence that so and so MUST make a comment. No....so and so does not have to say a damned thing and probably should not have. The hole they keep digging just gets deeper and deeper and the stink gets worse.

 

Honestly, while some of this has been fun to watch, if it were me advising them, I would have gone to formal press releases completely under my control long ago. If that meant that the Sox could not spin something because spinning often takes a more subtle hand than you can exercise in a formal release then so be it. Let it go. All of these press conferences have been ******** from day 1, right from the day when they insisted on carting Tito out there with Theo, then Tito by himself followed by Tom, Larry and Theo, all the way up to the JH interview. Now the horse is way out of the barn but even at this point if I were their media consultant advising them I would go to formal press releases exclusively for the present leaving the media and the rest of us that might find this somewhat humorous on some level (other than the Tito thing which I think is despicable) to just go suck eggs.

[SCM33]

It should really help his confidence knowing that the owner was against signing him.

 

Yup.

 

I wonder how those "white papers" are looking these days. Instead of following him around taking notes about how often he ate at taco bell and "scoring" his personality/character, they should have been trying to figure out if the guy could play baseball in Boston.

 

Since when did they give a s*** about character guys? I guess John Lackey and his divorce of a wife with cancer and drinking beers in the clubhouse during games and the fact that Eric Bedard hasnt paid child support in months slipped through the "white papers".

 

Yeah, "white papers".....I wipe my ass with white paper.

[Cairns_Sox]

His comments weren't great and have in fact dragged this on longer. If his comments were about John Lackey I don't think this would be a big deal. I'm not sold on Crawford and the same can be said for Salty, Scutaro and Reddick. Only difference is Crawford is on a huge contract and sucked more then anyone barring John Lackey.

 

He will be here for another 3 years minimum so we have no choice but to give benefit of the doubt.

[iortiz]

Crawford’s return-on-investment is easily the worst in the past decade

 

Worst return in first season of free-agent contract, since 2001

 

(Average annual value of at least $15 million)

 

Player/ AAV/ Year 1 Value/ Net difference

 

Carl Crawford (2011)/ $20.3M /$0.9M /-$19.4M

Barry Zito (2007)/ $18.0M /$6.9M /-$11.1M

Jason Bay (2010)/ $16.5M /$6.0M /-$10.5M

Carlos Beltran (2006)/ $17.0M /$9.1M /-$7.9M

Derek Jeter (2011)/ $17.0M /$10.3M /-$6.7M

Jayson Werth (2011)/ $18.0M /$11.4M /-$6.6M

Torii Hunter (2008)/ $18.0M /$11.7M /-$6.3M

Derek Lowe (2009)/ $15.0M /$11.8M /-$3.2M

Carlos Lee (2007)/ $16.7M /$13.9M /-$2.8M

A.J. Burnett (2009)/ $16.5M /$15.9M /-$0.6M

John Lackey (2010)/ $16.5M /$16.4M /-$0.1M

 

 

>>Among contracts of at least $50 million total value

 

OUCH!