By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com Red Sox InsiderFollow @sean_mcadam
NEW YORK -- Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein wouldn't react to comments made Thursday by Yankee GM Brian Cashman,who indicated that he had feigned interest in free agent Carl Crawfordin an effort to drive up the player's asking price with Boston.
"I'm not going to address any of that,'' said Epstein. "Our focus isright here on the field. A lot of things happened over the winter andthings were said about what happened over the winter. The Yankeesweren't really a factor for us anyway, but we're going to keep thefocus on the field.''
Of Crawford's disappointing season, Esptein said: "It's hard to explainwhy. Obviously, if you could pinpoint why it happened, someone would'vedone something to address it by now.
"But I'll say this: Crawford has never stopped working his tail off.He's never stepped fighting. And he's shown accountability, takenresponsibility for the year's he had.
"That's a great sign and a great indication that he's going to bounce back from this.''
Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam