Crawford tortured Varitek and other Red Sox catchers over the years, stealing 62 bases in 66 attempts, including the last 35 in a row since Tim Wakefield caught him leaning back in 2005.
It’s time for Crawford to torture someone else.
“When I went up to Boston, we talked about it,” Crawford said of meeting up with Varitek after signing with the Red Sox. “We just gave each other a hug, kind of bury the hatchet a little bit. Let him know I’m on your side and all, so he won’t have to worry about that anymore.”
Manager Terry Francona indicated Friday that no matter where he bats Crawford in the lineup, he will not restrict him in any way. The Red Sox have been known in years past to be a lumbering club, but Francona is quick to point out that it was just because of the personnel at his disposal. Jacoby Ellsbury had 70 steals two years ago, evidence of the club’s flexibility in such realms.
Francona is eager to turn Crawford loose and sees no problems with having both speedsters going full tilt at all times.
“We’ll try all the things that used to aggravate us when [Crawford] was in a Tampa uniform,” Francona said. “It will excite us now that he’s in a Red Sox uniform.
“We’ve always tried to play to our players’ strengths and those are two guys that can change the game with their legs, so we’ll let them. Hopefully they’ll drive other teams crazy. We’ve been on the other side where there’s been some games where teams have run all over us. Hopefully we can do that with other teams now.”
One game, in specific, comes to mind. On May 3, 2009, Crawford tied a modern-day record with six stolen bases against the Red Sox. It got to a point in their meetings over the years where he would sometimes tell first baseman Kevin Youkilis when he planned to go, just to make it a bit more challenging.
Because he won’t have Boston to pick on anymore, could Crawford’s stolen base totals go down?
“I don’t think so. I’ll try to get as many as I can,” he said Friday in Fort Myers. “That’s my goal, to come out and put pressure on other teams and steal bags and try to get into scoring position. I’m not sure, I hope [I don’t run less] because that’s something I try to get to a high level every year.”
As for how he and Ellsbury will impact one another, Crawford said that as one goes, so goes the other.
“He’s a guy that is kind of like myself, so if I can I want to help him and encourage him and try to get him as many stolen bases as possible. We can run together,” Crawford said. “I want him to do as good as he can because I think the better he does, [the more] it’s going to help everybody out.”
Crawford admitted that his first full day in camp on Thursday was a bit awkward. He said he was “daydreaming” a lot and all the new faces. Both players and staff had his head on a swivel. By Friday, he was much more comfortable and already picking up the necessary tidbits.
He had spoken with Red Sox minor league coach Tom Goodwin, a pretty good base stealer in his day, about running regimens. Hall of Famer Jim Rice has already offered up some tips on playing left field at Fenway Park. His early talks with David Ortiz have him aiming for the Green Monster when he’s up to bat.
“He said if you can hit that Green Monster, try to, because a lot of times the wind might be blowing in a lot so you might hit the ball good and it won’t go anywhere,” Crawford said. “So he was like, ‘If you have a chance to go for that wall, go for it.’ That’s pretty much the plan I had already but to hear him say it makes me more comfortable when I’m trying to do it.”
Comfort is the key. Crawford’s has already gone up. With the Red Sox’ speed game being given the green light, that of the opponents will soon be going down.
