Boston Red Sox: Where Should Carl Crawford Hit in the Lineup?

Carl Crawford was not happy last year. His .255 batting average was 40 points below his career mark. He only scored 65 runs and managed to steal just 18 bases. His poor performance, and the successes of the hitters above him, pushed him down in the lineup.

In Tampa Bay, Crawford had spent his entire career hitting leadoff or second. In his first season in Boston, though, he hit in the top five positions in only 20 games, while racking up 110 appearances in the 6, 7 and 8 spots.

He wasn't happy with what he viewed as a demotion and will want to hit higher this year. Boston's regular No. 2 guy, Dustin Pedroia, yesterday told WEEI's Dennis and Callahan Show that he would be happy hitting elsewhere if Crawford took his spot in the order.

Of course, Pedey was just playing the teammate, and was hardly going to say anything else. But it does raise the question of where else Crawford could hit in 2012.

Leadoff

Carl Crawford's skill set is very well-suited to a leadoff hitter. He can get on base reasonably often (although his walk rate is very poor) and can steal over 50 bases a season.

The only thing stopping him from being the leadoff guy is that the Red Sox already have one, and he's better than Crawford. Jacoby Ellsbury, the de facto MVP among position players last year, has emerged as one of Boston's best offensive threats. His 30-100 season last year gives him the power numbers of a three or four hitter, but there's nowhere you'd want him other than right at the top.

Second

In his 6,000 plate appearances, Carl Crawford has hit second in just under half of them. Going by the numbers, that is where he is most comfortable: His .303 batting average hitting second is higher than at any other position.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine could move the incumbent Dustin Pedroia to right field and ask him to hit ninth, and Pedey would likely do it. But just because he would be willing to move isn't reason enough to move him. Pedroia might have a staggeringly impressive record batting cleanup (.397/.439/.678 line, seven HR in 31 games) but the most logical decision is to keep him batting at second.

Moving him to fourth is an option, but would probably only be used if Kevin Youkilis was injured or traded.

Third

Carl Crawford has more than 850 career plate appearances in the three-hole, but he's very unlikely to displace Adrian Gonzalez, who has 500 games played at the three-spot and hit there in all but 12 games last season.

Cleanup

With only one career plate appearance and no at-bats, it would be shocking to see Carl Crawford play any significant time in the cleanup hole.

Kevin Youkilis will hit fourth to begin the season and even if he got injured, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia are the natural replacements.

Fifth

David Ortiz has gone through a number of changes in his time with Boston. He was a great cleanup hitter in the 2004 World Series run. In the years after that, he became a mainstay in the three-hole with Manny Ramirez behind him for protection. In the last few seasons, with his slight decline and the arrival and emergence of players like Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis, he has had to move down, spending most of his time in the five and occasionally six spots.

If someone above him gets injured, Papi could easily move up and Crawford could move to bat fifth. He has hit there only three times, though.

Sixth

At least to start the season, sixth is the most logical place for Carl Crawford to hit. It's where he spent most of 2011 and the top five spots are already filled by Boston's five best offensive players.

Crawford might not have been happy in sixth, but he still performed reasonably well there. His .280 average last year was low by his standards but was still 25 points better than his season as a whole. Unless he starts tearing the cover off the ball, this is where he will likely be.

Seventh, Eighth or Ninth

If he struggles again in 2012, batting in the bottom third of the order is a possibility. If he plays well, he might still find himself here, as hitting him ninth effectively means you have your two speedsters back-to-back.

The eight spot is to be avoided, though, if you pay any attention to his track record. Lifetime, he has hit .238 there and last year he was just .241. There's probably good reason for that, though, because he would only be that low if he were performing poorly anyway.