Crawford to Boston, $142 Million, 7 Years

[Brian]

Holy crap.

[caulfield12]

That one's OK, but I think Crawford has more power than that (especially moving into Fenway). It's better saying Paul O'Neill than Roberto Clemente too, to whom B-R says Crawford compares pretty favorably.

 

 

That's a complete joke. Clemente had the best RF arm in the history of the game. Clemente also played a much more demanding defensive position at HOF level until he died at age 38...especially at Forbes Field.

 

Sure, the modern offensive statistics and the fact that he plays on turf have padded Crawford's doubles and triples numbers, but he's never had close to the raw explosive bat of Clemente (like Viciedo's laser beam liner at DET)....even though, like Ichiro, for most of his career he did what the Pirates most needed, which was hitting for a higher average and driving in runs. I think Clemente's career average was something like .317.

 

If he wasn't Hispanic and suffering from such an antagonistic relationship with the baseball writers who deliberately misquoted him phonetically....if there weren't Mays/Mantle/Aaron playing in bigger markets (the first two in particular), he would have been one of the most famous players of all-time. Playing in Pittsburgh for his entire career, I guess we'll never know.

 

Amazing to think what would have happened had the Brooklyn Dodgers been able to keep/hide him.

 

 

 

 

[SkokieSox]

K Law did writeups on the Crawford signing and the Konerko signing.

 

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?name=l...&id=5901522

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?name=l...&id=5899670

 

If you don't have insider I'll paraphrase for you. Boston made a great signing (Law gave it an A+) and Crawford will age very well and be worth every penny, Chicago overpaid and Konerko sucks.

 

Boston has Crawford signed though his age 35 season, unless he turns out to have the body of Ricky Henderson he will start slowing down very soon and probably be worth only 15-20 steals the last couple years of his contract, combine that with marginal power for a corner OF and a bad walk rate/OBP and you have a 35yo LF with an OPS around 700-750 getting paid 20 million. I think that they are going to be seriously disappointed in this deal a few years down the road, it won't be as bad as Vernon Wells or Soriano but close.

 

I don't understand this guy's logic, author not poster... How is PK a terrible first baseman? He picks everything! Now if you want to say his bat will come down some at 38, I wouldn't necessarily argue that. But to say he's a horrible first baseman? I don't get it...

 

[StrangeSox]

I don't understand this guy's logic, author not poster... How is PK a terrible first baseman? He picks everything! Now if you want to say his bat will come down some at 38, I wouldn't necessarily argue that. But to say he's a horrible first baseman? I don't get it...

 

Keith Law's Logic is that he hates the White Sox for some reason and bashes every move they make.

[Balta1701]

I have a sudden urge to say the phrase "I told you so..."

[iamshack]

I have a sudden urge to say the phrase "I told you so..."

Yeah, yeah...good call, Balta.

 

As late as 7pm Pacific last night, most people seemed to think Crawford was going to get screwed because the Yankees and Red Sox were not going to be big players for him, but rather, just bit players to make sure the other didn't get a steal because of lack of interest.

 

Surprise, surprise.

 

Edit: That being said, I like this signing in the grand scheme of things. Keeps the Bos-NYY dynamic going full-bore, a big bulky contract that has the potential to hamstring Boston a bit down the line, for a player who refuses to play a premium defensive positiion and whose value is based on his ability to run. I'm not sure how Keith Law can predict just how many steps CC will or will not lose as he passes his prime, but hey, he knows everything. Oh, and CC's on my keeper fantasy team

Edited December 9, 2010 by iamshack

[Balta1701]

Yeah, yeah...good call, Balta.

 

As late as 7pm Pacific last night, most people seemed to think Crawford was going to get screwed because the Yankees and Red Sox were not going to be big players for him, but rather, just bit players to make sure the other didn't get a steal because of lack of interest.

 

Surprise, surprise.

If you want to brag to me that I was wrong, I came into this offseason 100% convinced that Crawford would be a yankee.

[iamshack]

If you want to brag to me that I was wrong, I came into this offseason 100% convinced that Crawford would be a yankee.

I figured the emergence of Gardner would preclude that from happening. I did figure the Red Sox would be in on him, but their trade for AGon made me think they would shy away from handing out two nine-figure deals in such quick succession.

Edited December 9, 2010 by iamshack

[Balta1701]

I figured the emergence of Gardner would preclude that from happening. I did figure the Red Sox would be in on him, but their trade for AGon made me think they would shy away from handing out two nine-figure deals in such quick succession.

Having a decent player coming up at a position usually never prevented the Yankees from going after the big money guy.

[iamshack]

Having a decent player coming up at a position usually never prevented the Yankees from going after the big money guy.

You're absolutely right, but I think they have learned from a lot of their mistakes in the past. They're still the biggest spenders of all, but I think they have become smarter spenders in the last few years...

[southsider2k5]

I would bet money this contract was largely based on playing the Red Sox and Yankees 35ish times a year.

[chetkincaid]

Edit: That being said, I like this signing in the grand scheme of things. Keeps the Bos-NYY dynamic going full-bore, a big bulky contract that has the potential to hamstring Boston a bit down the line, for a player who refuses to play a premium defensive positiion and whose value is based on his ability to run. I'm not sure how Keith Law can predict just how many steps CC will or will not lose as he passes his prime, but hey, he knows everything. Oh, and CC's on my keeper fantasy team

 

I'm not so sure about that. It seems like NYY and Boston's pockets are infinitely deep. It wouldn't surprise me if they added even more payroll.

 

Does anyone know what the red cubs payroll is going to be this year if you added Adrian Gonzalez's and Carl Crawford's contracts to it? It's probably safe to assume that Gonzalez will get as much as Crawford.

[Steve9347]

Carl Crawford, ages 34, 35, 36 will be making somewhere in the region of 20.3 million bucks per year. Those are going to be hilarious years.

[Balta1701]

Carl Crawford, ages 34, 35, 36 will be making somewhere in the region of 20.3 million bucks per year. Those are going to be hilarious years.

I think the Red Sox are getsing close to the point where they realize that they can count those seasons as net loss/writeoff seasons if they can win a WS or two in the first 4 years of the deal.

[qwerty]

When he's healthy, Crawford is a 6-7 win player, like he was last year. But a couple of years down the line, he might only be a 4-5. Eventually, he'll be average (2 wins) or less by the end of the contract. Who knows what stat we'll use by then...

 

And I'd say he's one of the best left fielders in all of baseball. I wouldn't take too many others before him in left.

 

 

From 2003-2007 he played 143 games or more. Zero times was he worth 6+ wins. No higher than 4.8 actually... and as low as 3. The past two seasons he stood at 5.7 and 6.9. I realize it could be argued that he is currently in his prime and will be for another few years... but to say his true talent level is that of a 6+ win player based on his state of health alone is inaccurate. This is easily his peak year as far as i'm concerned, which is not a knock againt him, it's hard for anyone to duplicate such a season other than pujols, who seemingly could do so in his sleep.

 

Btw, i hate the fact that he is a pansy and refuses to play center. It's pathetic.

Edited December 9, 2010 by qwerty

[ThunderBolt]

Btw, i hate the fact that he is a pansy and refuses to play center. It's pathetic.

I think that had more to do with BJ Upton being equally athletic and having a better arm then Crawford.

[SoxFan562004]

I wonder if JR and the Sox saw this spending spree from Bos coming and knew he had to up his payroll. Obviously no team can ever be in the payroll league of NYY and Bos, but the extra money helped.

 

They must be confident in bounce back years from Lackey and Beckett.

[qwerty]

I think that had more to do with BJ Upton being equally athletic and having a better arm then Crawford.

 

That is hardly the case. Crawford has only played 54 games in center in his career with 47 of those being starts. He has managed to moan after just about everyone of those games also. 54 games in center out of 1235? Crawford had 673 games under his belt after the 2006 season... while upton had a grand total of 95 at the same point. He simply just refuses to play center.

[witesoxfan]

From 2003-2007 he played 143 games or more. Zero times was he worth 6+ wins. No higher than 4.8 actually... and as low as 3. The past two seasons he stood at 5.7 and 6.9. I realize it could be argued that he is currently in his prime and will be for another few years... but to say his true talent level is that of a 6+ win player based on his state of health alone is inaccurate. This is easily his peak year as far as i'm concerned, which is not a knock againt him, it's hard for anyone to duplicate such a season other than pujols, who seemingly could do so in his sleep.

 

Btw, i hate the fact that he is a pansy and refuses to play center. It's pathetic.

 

I am interested to see how playing in LF at Fenway affects his defensive statistics. My initial thought was that it was going to hurt it due to the lack of size, but now I believe the opposite will happen. There will be several balls hit in his area that will be deemed uncatchable, and he will make several other plays that he normally makes. Beyond that, I think because how short the throw is from the Monster to home plate (and then 2B and 3B), he will add a couple more assists as well. I think you add it all up and it will say that Crawford is worth 20+ RAR in LF, which will artificially inflate his value, which will still give these asshole columnists their verbal "I told you so's."

 

I also think Crawford is going to be worth this contract, and I think he is going to become a better hitter as he ages. I still hate the deal though...way too much risk for such minimal gain.

[ThunderBolt]

That is hardly the case. Crawford has only played 54 games in center in his career with 47 of those being starts. He has managed to moan after just about everyone of those games also. 54 games in center out of 1235? Crawford had 673 games under his belt after the 2006 season... while upton had a grand total of 95 at the same point. He simply just refuses to play center.

The metrics suggest that Upton is the better Cf then Crawford. The fact that the Rays put both of those two guys in their statistically superior defensive postions suggests it as well. Crawford might have been reluctant to play center, but it's not like the Rays alternative was 2008 Ken Griffey JR.

[qwerty]

The metrics suggest that Upton is the better Cf then Crawford. The fact that the Rays put both of those two guys in their statistically superior defensive postions suggests it as well. Crawford might have been reluctant to play center, but it's not like the Rays alternative was 2008 Ken Griffey JR.

 

What metrics? You practically have nothing to work off in the case of crawford to suggest he would be worse.

 

Crawford has averaged a uzr of 14.525 in left field over the course of his career. Upton has averaged a 4.65 uzr in center for his career. There is absolutely zero chance crawford would take more than a 10 point hit ( yearly) transitioning over to center. That's not the going rate of a hit a player takes transitioning, and especially for the player of his caliber. Crawford very well could outplay upton defensively in center in my opinion, and if you watch the guy field, i don't know how anyone could say he would be worse than upton.

 

This is still a common complaint with many rays fans to this very day, and baseball fans in general.

[Real]

I love the irony here, the angels got torii huntered by crawford

[Chisoxfn]

I like the Angels if they are able to pick up a Adrian Beltre. They will probably go hard for Soriano too, but If I were them I'd see what I could do to pull Justin Upton.

[Balta1701]

I like the Angels if they are able to pick up a Adrian Beltre. They will probably go hard for Soriano too, but If I were them I'd see what I could do to pull Justin Upton.

Even with Beltre and Soriano, I'd say they're still at best in a dogfight for that division with the Rangers, and maybe the A's, right now. They've really been hurt by their prospects not turning into the All-stars that they looked like.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Even with Beltre and Soriano, I'd say they're still at best in a dogfight for that division with the Rangers, and maybe the A's, right now. They've really been hurt by their prospects not turning into the All-stars that they looked like.

 

A's? With that offense?