McAdam: Crawford hit signals a fresh start

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By SeanMcAdam
CSNNE.com

BOSTON -- Carl Crawford was basking in the afterglow of his walk-off hit, a single to center which sent the Red Sox home with a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners, and reflecting on his nightmarish first month with the Red Sox.

"Everything I hit,'' said Crawford, "it seemed like an out.''

That wasn't merely Crawford's imagination at work. As the numbers indicate, in fact, it was only a slight exaggeration.

In his 97 at-bats in April, Crawford made 82 outs, resulting in a .155 batting average, by far the worst month of his major league career, and one of the worst in recent Red Sox history.

So when Crawford came to the plate with two outs and Jed Lowrie on third base in the bottom of the ninth, his batting average might not have predicted success.

But the law of averages did.

While Crawford has been the one to bear the burden of his poor first month, his teammates have taken it upon themselves to know that he has their support.

They pounded him playfully in the dugout last weekend in Anaheim when he hit his first -- and, to date, only -- homer of the season. When he pieced together back-to-back multihit games in that series, they predicted a quick end to his struggles.

But Baltimore saw him regress, with just one hit in 12 at-bats.

So when the ball shot through the infield in the ninth off Jamey Wright and Crawford triumphantly touched first, he was soon mobbed by a conga line of teammates, eager to congratulate him.

Producers of walk-off hits, of course, are always celebrated. But the eagerness with which Crawford was feted was something else. There was genuine joy for Crawford and, just maybe, a little bit of relief, too. Dustin Pedroia went after Crawford in-between first and second, hopeful of a friendly take-down.

"That's not a show,'' maintained Terry Francona. "That emotion is real. The guys see what he's doing to break out of his slump. They see how much he cares, how hard he's worked.''

Indeed, nearly every day on the recent 10-game road trip, Crawford would be coming off the field and into the clubhouse as the rest of his teammates arrived, dripping with sweat from another session of extra batting practice.

However much Crawford has failed in Boston, it hasn't been for lack of effort.

"He's a great guy and a great teammate,'' said Tim Wakefield, who was stuck with a no-decision.

Crawford has been amazed by the support he's received.

"It means the guys here have my back,'' he said, "and that they really care about trying to get me going.''

Adrian Gonzalez, Boston's other marquee acquisition in the off-season, has tried the power of positive thinking with Crawford. He reminds him that, because of his April strggles, Crawford has that many more hits coming to him the rest of the way.

It may seem like curious logic, but in the minds of players who must grind out a six-month marathon, the rationale makes sense. No one, after all, believes Crawford is bound to remain under .200 for the entire season. Thus, to finish with the kind of numbers he typically accrues, Crawford can expect a turnaround in his fortune at the plate any day now.

Crawford, too, has been trying to tell himself the same thing. Just Sunday morning, in fact, he and some teamamtes were talking about the calendar page being turned from the end of April to the start of May and how that represented a clean start -- not just for Crawford individually, but also, the Red Sox collectively.

Together, the players, Crawford included, vowed to "act like last month never happened."

That's not possible, of course. The Red Sox are saddled with their losses, and Crawford, in particular, has a long way to go just to reach .200.

But perhaps yesterday was a signpost. New month, new start. The hit, he said, felt "like a weight off my shoulder.''

April was heavy, draped around him, dragging him down. So far, May is so light, it feels like nothing at all.

Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com.Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam

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