Carl Crawford Will Be 2012's Curtis Granderson

With all of the other drama surrounding the 2011 Boston Red Sox, it seems that the criticism of Carl Crawford has died down quite a bit.

Rightfully so.

Since the beginning of the 2011 season, I maintained that Carl Crawford would most likely under-perform in Boston while adapting here. Sure enough, he did.

Let's just get a couple of things out of the way before I make my case for the man. You cannot blame him for the contract he signed. It was the same deal with J.D. Drew—the man signed on for what was offered to him. However, Crawford, unlike Drew, will have a tremendous career in Boston. Here is why: Carl Crawford is too good of a player NOT to do well here. Is he worth $142 million? Probably not. Is he a hell of a ballplayer and athlete? You bet he is.

I want to take a look back at another very similar player before we get into Carl Crawford. In 2010, the New York Yankees tossed a bunch of money at Curtis Granderson (five years, $30 million, in that ballpark.) It is safe to say at this point that the Yankees got Granderson for a steal, considering the numbers he put up in 2011. However, they probably were not feeling that way after his 2010 campaign. The reason why nobody is talking about this obvious comparison is literally because of the dollars involved. I don't care about that.

I care about production, so that is what I want to show my audience.

Curtis Granderson is 30 years old, same as Carl Crawford. Granderson came up with the Detroit Tigers in 2004 and 2005 sporadically, but he had his first full season in 2006. While with the Tigers in his four full seasons, he averaged 104 runs, 163 hits, 30 doubles, 13 triples, 24 home runs, 70 RBI, 17 stolen bases, a .272 batting average, a .347 on-base percentage, a .484 slugging percentage and and OPS of .831. Pretty solid numbers for you starting center fielder.

Carl Crawford came up with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2002 part time, and he had his first full season in 2003. In his eight seasons with the Rays before coming to Boston, he averaged 93 runs, 177 hits, 26 doubles, 13 triples, 13 home runs, 70 RBI, 49 stolen bases, a .298 batting average, a .339 on-base percentage, a .447 slugging percentage and an OPS of .786.

For both men, something changed when they arrived at their new teams.

Obviously, both were facing the tremendous pressure of playing in a major market. Curtis Granderson put up career low numbers in runs scored (76), hits (115), doubles (17), triples (7), batting average (.247) and on-base percentage (.324).

Carl Crawford put up career lows in runs scored (65), triples (7), stolen bases (18), batting average (.255) and on-base percentage (.289). Could this be all related to major market pressure?

Nope.

One thing that has been glaringly overlooked in both instances is the fact that in his four years in Detroit, Curtis Granderson led off in 2006 139 times. In 2007, he led off 132 times. In 2008, he led off 124 times. Finally in 2009, he led off 130 times. In 2010 with the New York Yankees, Granderson hit second 21 times, third 22 times, seventh 63 times and eighth 32 times.

For Carl Crawford, in 2003 with the Rays, he led off 112 times. In 2004. he led off 144 times. In 2005, he led off 78 times, batted second 60 times. In 2006, he hit second 86 times, third 41 times. In 2007, he hit second 61 times, third 71 times. In an injury-shortened 2008, he hit second 83 times. In 2009, he hit second 150 times. In 2010, Carl Crawford hit second 100 times, third 48 times. In his first season with the Boston Red Sox in 2011, Carl Crawford hit leadoff seven times, second 10 times, sixth 47 times, seventh 34 times and eighth 27 times.

The problem facing these prolific players was not necessarily the pressure of playing in the major market.

The problem was inconsistency in the batting order.

In 2011, the New York Yankees finally found a home for Granderson in the lineup. He did a majority of his hitting from the No. 2 spot. As we all know, it brought forth a level of comfort that allowed for him to have an MVP-caliber season, bringing about career highs in runs scored (136), home runs (41), RBI (119), slugging percentage (.552) and OPS (.916).

What the Boston Red Sox need to do is put Carl Crawford in the 2-hole behind Jacoby Ellsbury and before Dustin Pedroia. Let that lineup live and watch Carl Crawford flourish in Boston.

He may never live up to the contract he signed but remember, that is not his fault. What he will do is give you a legitimate outfielder with speed on the bags and a great ability to score some runs.