Understand that this is not how Carl Crawford wanted it.
After a first season in Boston that was so disappointing Crawford felt obligated to apologize for it before it was even over, Crawford was hoping for a fresh start to Year Two.
He was hoping to show up to spring training, wipe the slate clean, and get started on hitting the re-set button on his time with the Red Sox, a do-over if you will -- if such a thing is allowed for players who have signed a seven-year, 142 million contracts.
His body, of course, had other ideas. First, there was a wrist injury, requiring January surgery and a projected late start to his season. Perhaps Crawford wouldn't be in the Opening Day lineup, the Red Sox acknowledged, but he'd back on the field "sometime in April.''
Gone was the chance to begin the season fresh.
That was bad enough, but an elbow injury which developed during his rehab period in the spring, was more serious. There were some setbacks along the way there, too.
Now, more than halfway through the season, past the All-Star break and just before the non-waiver trading deadline, Crawford's 2012 begins Monday night. Exactly what's in store is anybody's guess.
Boston Red Sox
Already, there are concerns that the sprained ulnar collateral ligament -- slightly torn already -- will eventually tear completely, forcing Crawford to undergo Tommy John surgery, with an expected recovery time of about 10 months.
Crawford himself seems resigned to such a fate. He candidly admits that the elbow is still not 100 percent, and that, even with an altered throwing motion and reliance on cut-off men, he'll be somewhat restricted.
The elbow seems to impact him mostly in the field. In theory, there shouldn't be much effect at the plate or on the bases.
Manager Bobby Valentine said he wasn't sure where Crawford would hit in the lineup, but particularly with Dustin Pedroia sidelined until at least Thursday, the second spot in the order would seem to be the most logical spot for him.
If the Sox learned anything about Crawford last year, it should be that he's not comfortable hitting in the bottom third of the order. Stuck hitting sixth or seventh last year, Crawford admitted in September that he had spent much of the year trying to hit home runs.
(This, like most everything he tried in his first season in Boston, he did unsuccessfully, hitting just 11.)
It seems more than a little odd that some 18 months after lavishing him with what was then the second-biggest contract in franchise history, the Sox still aren't entirely sure how to use him.
Crawford wasn't signed to hit homers. He was signed to be a top-of-the-order presence. The Sox wanted him to get on base, steal bases and score runs, all of which are tough to do from the lower third of the lineup.
But from where in the lineup will he hit? That remains unanswered for the long-term.
His return Monday night has been so long anticipated that, now that it's here, it's almost anticlimactic. It comes days after Jacoby Ellsbury returned from an injury that cost him most of the first half, too, and it comes in the shadow of the return of Kevin Youkilis, which figures to be a spectacle all itself.
In the short-term, Crawford can blend in and not have the focus solely on himself. Given that Crawford tends to try too hard -- which surely contributed greatly to his subpar 2011 -- that's not a bad thing.
Eventually, though, Ellsbury's return will be old news and Youkilis will leave town Thursday night with the rest of the White Sox and Crawford will be on his own, shouldering the expectations that he couldn't meet a year ago, burdened by the prospect of a more serious injury.
It's far from perfect, this Carl Crawford 2.0, but it's all he has. Crawford has a lot to prove and a lot seems stacked against him before he steps on the field.
No, this is not how Carl Crawford wanted it. Not by a long shot.