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 Granderson (5 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 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's, 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 had his first full season in 2003. In his 8 seasons with the Rays before coming to Boston he averaged 93 runs, 177 hits, 26 doubles, 13 triples, 13 home runs, 70 RBI's, 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 4 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 2nd 21 times, 3rd 22 times, 7th 63 times and 8th 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 2nd 60 times. In 2006 he hit 2nd 86 times, 3rd 41 times. In 2007 he hit 2nd 61 times, 3rd 71 times. In an injury shortened 2008, he hit 2nd 83 times. In 2009, he hit 2nd 150 times. In 2010, Carl Crawford hit 2nd 100 times, 3rd 48 times. In his first season with the Boston Red Sox in 2011, Carl Crawford hit lead off 7 times, 2nd 10 times, 6th 47 times, 7th 34 times and 8th 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 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's (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.

Playoff Baseball Rocks

Is there anything better than baseball in October? It is so unpredictable and intense. I love it. Watching the Division Series these past few nights have been pretty amazing. We've been able to watch October stars be born, others have come up short under the pressure. October is truly the time to separate the men from the boys.

A fine example came last night in the first inning, yes, FIRST inning of the New York Yankees/Detroit Tigers game. AJ Burnett looked awful. He managed to load the bases and could not seem to find the strike zone to save his life. Luckily, a guy named Curtis Granderson was playing in center field prepared to bail Burnett out.

Burnett had managed to walk the bases full and was about to face Detroit right fielder Don Kelley. In the mean time, the Yankees already had activity in the bull-pen, as Cory Wade was up and loosening to take over for what appeared to be a dead in the water Burnett. Burnett proceeded to throw a fastball right down the middle that Kelley appeared to have gotten a good piece of lumber on.

That is when Curtis Granderson changed the face of the game. Initially he sold out and came in on the fly ball. Watching the game it was going to be an inside the park grand slam if Granderson was unable to come up with the catch. He (Granderson) realized his judgement error in barely enough time to make a spectacular catch to save the inning for the Yankees and the game for Burnett. Let's face it, that ball gets down, Burnett is pulled, Wade is in and the Tigers go on to win the game and the series. I don't think you can really dispute that fact. Last night capped off (for me) the full transformation of Curtis Granderson being a good/solid player in Detroit, to being an all-star in New York.

Travel down South to Tropicana Field and another October superstar was born last night. Adrian Beltre belted 3 homeruns to put the

Texas Rangers into the ALCS for the second straight year in a row. Beltre has been an absolute BEAST for the Texas Rangers this season and I love the fact that it has paid off for him this far.

This season he batted .296 with 32 home runs and 105 runs batted in. His slugging percentage was .561 this season, which is second only to his best career season in 2004 when it was .629. The guy has been a consistently good hitter and an impeccable fielder for his career and it is nice to see him in an organization that allows him the opportunity to shine.

Tonight we get to see 2 potential elimination games in the National League. The Phillies will be in St. Louis tonight trying to boot the Cardinals from the post season. The probable pitchers for tonight are Roy Oswalt for the Phillies and Edwin Jackson for the Cards. This is going to be quite the matchup. The last time Oswalt pitched in St. Louis he took the Houston Astros to their first... and ONLY World Series birth. On the other hand, Edwin Jackson has easily been the Cards best starter since late July. He has allowed 2 or fewer runs in 9 of his 12 starts. He has also gone 6 or more innings in 10 of those 12 outings.

Travel across the country and we will see the Milwaukee Brewers visiting the Arizona Diamondbacks and try to take them out of the playoffs. The probables for this game are Randy Wolfe for the Brewers, whom, while not an exciting pitcher, is a horse and an inning eater; squaring off with Joe Saunders for the D'Backs. I'm not sure what to think of this game - I think it may be an offensive outing, ending in a 6-4 final score - and I am assuming that 6 will be at the hands of the Brew Crew.

God, I love baseball.

As of Today: Who is Your MVP?

(I apologize for the alignment, the editor on this site isn't that great....)

I know that it may seem a bit premature to name an MVP. However, the fact of the matter is the season is winding down. True, there is still a month of baseball to be played and a lot can change in that time, however, I have narrowed down my field(s) for each league to 3 players that I think are very much deserving of the Most Valuable Player designation. So let's kick this thing off with my National League finalists:

Ryan Braun, the Hebrew Hammer, the man the Brewers locked up to a nice contract extension earlier this se

ason, is living up to his pay. What are his credentials? First of all, he is leading (okay, co-leading) a Milwaukee Brewers team to an 8.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. In doing so,

he has amassed a .333 batting average with 25 homers, 89 RBI's, 30 stolen bases and has scored 92 runs. The hard sell is that he is pretty much neck and neck with Prince Fielder as the MVP of his team! I give Braun the nod because I feel he is a more rounded player. Though Fielder has more home runs and

RBI's, Braun has a higher OPS and obviously has the speed that Fielder lac

ks.

Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers is doing something in LA that one has not observed in a few seasons now - playing exceptional baseball. While his team appears to be falling apart at the seems, Kemp has gone on to hit .319 with 31 home runs, 100 RBI's, 35 stolen bases and added 86 runs. The Dodgers, in my opinion, have a team that is capable of being great, especially anchored by Kemp. They just cannot seem to get their stuff together. Kemp is playing hardfor a team that is obviously going nowhere, but his numbers look as though, to him, every game is the 7th game of the World Series.

Jose Reyes of the New York Mets is my third nominee. Again, this is a player on a team going nowhere.

I mean, NOWHERE, yet he is still playing hard baseball. True, he is in a contract year, however, when healthy, Reyes always puts up tremendous numbers. This season he is batting a healthy .336 with 5 home runs, 37 RBI's, 34 stolen bases and has scored 82 runs. In essence, he is d

oing exactly what is asked of him. He is getting on base, advancing, and scoring. Not bad for a guy stuck on a team that is just... horrible. Okay, they aren't THAT bad, but when not a single player on your team has more than 50 RBI's this late in the season... well, things aren't exactly aces there, now are they?

In the American League we start things off with a player I find to be playing OUT OF HIS MIND this season, Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox. After only having played 18 re

gular season games last year, there is no way in hell you would have been able to tell me that Ellsbury would have transformed into a beast for the 2011 season. But, batting out of the lead

off spot he has managed to put up a .312 average adding 23 homeruns, 82 RBI's, 36 stolen bases and has scored 95 runs. I repeat, this is out of the lead off spot!!!! To put that in perspective

, arguably the greatest lead off hi

tter of all time, Rickey Henderson, maxed out at 28 home runs in a season (twice, 1986 and 1990), NEVER had 80 RBI's (coming closest with 74 in 1986), but did manage to blow away Ellsbury with dozens of bags swiped (obviously) and runs scored. However, this looks like this kids match has just been lit.

Next up, fellow member of the Boston Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzo was brought in to rake for the Sox. He is doing exactly that. Though many people had him pegged to unanimously win the AL MVP award, he has had a couple of slumps that have taken him out of that obvious selection. Having said that, he has still managed to bat .342 with 23 home runs, 103 RBI's and has scored 90 runs. Nobody really cares about the 1 stolen base he has. In fact, I think that may have been a courtesy stat. However, Gonzo is doing exactly what everyone expects him to do. Now, we just need to see if the power numbers take a spike in the month of September.

Last, but certainly not least is Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees. This man has been a pleasant surprise for the Yanks, much like some would say about Ellsbury in Boston. Granderson went from having a very disappointing 2010 campaign, to becoming a beast. Granderson comes into today batting .274 with an AL best 38 home runs, 107 RBI's, 123 runs scored and has swiped 24 bags. Another all-around player. Though he wears the pin stripes, I have a hard time disliking Granderson. He plays the game the right way and he plays it hard. Granderson has managed (in my opinion) to steal the spotlight in New York away from Jeter, A-Rod, Cano and even Texeira. I think this young man is the next face of the franchise, and the Steinbrenner family should be very pleased with that.

So, after giving my case for each of the above players, I had a fairly easy time with my selection for the NL, but a much more difficult time with the AL. In the NL, I think Matt Kemp is by far the best player this season. He is tops in most statistically categories and has not given up on a team that just doesn't seem to care. In the AL - my pick, like many at the start of the season was for Gonzo. However, Granderson has better numbers. On top of that argument, I think Ellsbury is playing far and away the most surprising baseball of all the nominees. I had to rule out A-Gon because of his lulls. Between Granderson and Ellsbury I have to go with Ellsbury. What this kid is doing right now and what he is capable of... well, he's gonna make a whole lot of money when he hits the free agent market. So there you have my picks - thoughts?

NL MVP: Matt Kemp

AL MVP: Jacoby Ellsbury