The game-changer: There are two aspects of Carl Crawford that engender a great deal of confidence in Red Sox management and his teammates.
For one, Crawford is an American League East icon, having been one of the powerful division's best players for nearly a decade. It has allowed him to play 142 games between Boston and New York, plus a handful more in heated postseason environments. The aura of the division, packed houses, all of the expectations — none of it will have an impact on Crawford.
Additionally, Crawford has gained plenty of respect from his new Red Sox teammates, not only for running all over them for the past nine years, but for everything they knew of him off the field. A gamer with a reputation as an extremely intelligent baseball player, Crawford is already a perfect fit in the clubhouse.
"His instincts are tremendous, his work ethic is tremendous, his will to want to win is tremendous," manager Terry Francona said of Crawford on Friday. "I could go on. If you want me to I'd be happy to."
To reinforce Crawford's comprehension of what is important, consider the themes of his meeting with the media Friday. He talked about staying in shape to make sure he could steal bases deep into his playing career, his willingness to hit anywhere in the lineup if it satisfies Francona and his number one love — defense.
Crawford has long had a reputation as a top-notch left fielder but it wasn't until 2010, his eighth full season in the majors, that he won a Gold Glove Award. Some critics slam the award as a popularity contest with little scientific support, but Crawford was extremely proud to gain some recognition for his hard work.
"That award, everybody knows in Tampa that meant the world to me," he said. "I had been trying so long to get it, playing so hard to get it. I was kind of surprised that it took this long, but that's something that I set out for every year. I play defense because I love playing defense. I take a lot of pride playing defense because that's something I can do every day.
"Playing left field it kind of held me back a little bit, but it was still a goal of mine to win and I'm still trying to win them because I just love to play defense."
Consider that defense was one of the secondary items that people raved about when Crawford was brought on board and you realize how complete a player he is. The 29-year-old has hit better than .300 in five of the last six seasons. Four times he has led the AL in stolen bases, and four times in triples. He is coming off a season in which he recorded career highs in home runs (19) and RBIs (90), so he is no slouch in the run production departments.
While speed dominates discussions of Crawford, he knew that to be a guy who could one day make $142 million, he would need to diversify. He did, with remarkable success.
"I never imagined that I would command this kind of contract," he said. "I never hit 20 home runs. I was always looked at as a speed guy. I knew that speed guys weren't really looked as highly upon as a home run hitter, but I figure if I can add speed and do everything else right at a high level I'd have a chance to be just as valuable. I knew I wasn't going to hit a lot of home runs in my career so I just worked on everything else and tried to be the best at every other little thing."
The blinding speed will get all the attention. Those other little things are what makes Crawford a near-perfect addition to the Red Sox.
Other options: There will be multiple players available to Francona if and when Crawford goes down or just needs a day off. Mike Cameron may get a few looks in left field in spring. He has played only 3 2/3 innings there his entire career but is an exceptional outfielder when healthy and shouldn't have any major issues in that role. Darnell McDonald appeared in 30 games in left last year.
Obviously, Jacoby Ellsbury has experience in front of the Green Monster, but Francona has given every indication that he doesn't want to mess around much with Ellsbury in terms of positioning. He'd just assume leave Ellsbury in center, he said.
If all else fails: Daniel Nava had more starts (44) in left field than any other player last season. He will likely begin the season in Pawtucket, but if there are some injuries with the big club, Nava can fill in. Ryan Kalish and Josh Reddick are younger and more intriguing names, but they are still prospects and won't necessarily be called up if their playing time will be compromised at the major league level.
