Boston Red Sox: Is Daniel Nava the Answer over Carl Crawford in Left Field?

I get it. 

Carl Crawford is a four-time All-Star, Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger winner and a $20 million per year man, but the truth is, he's not been all that good in Boston.

True, he has been injured for roughly half the time he's been under contract with the Red Sox. He has appeared in just 130 games for Boston.

In that time he has hit just .255, which is roughly 40 points less than his career average. Oddly enough, his batting line across the board is down roughly 40 points.

Have a look:

	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Career	.293	.333	.441	.773
Boston	.255	.289	.405	.694

You can argue that Crawford may not have ever been healthy, comfortable, yadda, yadda, yadda in Boston, but the fact of the matter is: 130 games is no small sample.

On the flip side, Daniel Nava has appeared in 87 total games for Boston. A larger portion of his sample size came in 2010 when he was getting his first taste of the big leagues. Unfortunately for Nava, that drives down his excellent numbers from 2012.

However, those numbers are still better than that of Carl Crawfords.

He owns a batting line of .264/.386/.411/.796. He also has 44 total RBI to Crawford 56 in 43 fewer games. More so, Nava has show steady improvement while playing in Boston. 

Take a look:

	G	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2010	60	.242	.351	.360	.711
2012	27	.306	.445	.506	.951

The problem is, the Red Sox are likely hamstrung with Crawford's rich contract. Not too many people are calling for the return of Crawford, unfortunately.

It really is a shame. Crawford could come back and be an All-Star caliber player for Boston, but it may not be enough for the Fenway Faithful. He may already be a victim of his own under-performance.

The truth is, the Red Sox would be just fine without the services of Carl Crawford. In fact, Crawford may be better off without the Red Sox just as well.