Crawford on time with Sox: "it would never get better for me"

Nobody should be shocked that Carl Crawford basically told the LA Times that his time with the Red Sox was miserable. In an interview, he opened up about his experience in Boston, and he did not hold back. Labeling it as "the toughest two years . . . by far" he continued to be truthful in the interview. He did not necessarily criticize Red Sox Nation, but essentially said that he was never comfortable.

-"I knew with the struggles I was having, it would never get better for me. I just didn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. It puts you in kind of a depression stage. You just don't see a way out," he said.  

-"From the outside, you watch guys playing over there and you think you can go and play. But you realize, once you get there, it's a little tougher than you expected," he said.  

-"It was just everything," he said. "Me not playing well. Me being in an unfamiliar area in an environment that was toxic. Just all those things combined. You start to say, 'Is this ever going to end?' " 

After signing a seven-year, $142 million dollar contract, things basically went as bad as they could have possibly gone for Crawford and the Sox. He struggled right off the bat, which could in part be blamed on a minor injury that he sustained during the offseason. After a brutal start, Crawford never seemed to settle in. The struggles continued, and every time there was a glimpse of hope, it all went sour yet again.

When Crawford failed to be anything more than an average player (if that), all hell broke loose. The media and fans were relentless to the new acquisition, some even claiming that he was a historic bust. All of this took a huge toll on him. His physical injury that haunted his debut turned into the emotional torment that he was receiving left and right. Crawford admits not that he had at times regretted the huge deal he signed:

"A lot of times I did. You hear a lot of talk about how I just wanted money. At some point, you just wondered if you made the right decision." 

 Well, he is clearly no longer a Red Sox player. The argument could actually be made that he never truly was. It is really unfortunate, but he simply failed to mesh with the team and all of Red Sox Nation. A true shame, because he is a fantastic player with serious talent. As for his new home in LA with the Dodgers, Crawford says that his comfort level is vastly greater than it was in Boston:

"I'm in a place now where I feel a lot better about myself," he said. "I just feel like the player I once was."

Anthony Aidonidis
@aidonidis18