Crawford surprised by switch to center

The lineup card Monday provided for plenty of conversation in the Rays clubhouse, with star leftfielder Carl Crawford being moved to centerfield for today's game with the Royals.

Crawford said he was "surprised," having found out this morning (two hours before gametime) of the move - which manager Joe Maddon said was made to both give CF B.J. Upton a day off and get Jonny Gomes in the lineup (he's in leftfield).

Crawford clearly wasn't excited about the switch, but accepted it to help the team and give Upton a day off. He said the move to center takes him out of his comfort zone, which is why he had hoped for a little more of a warning so he could prepare himself. Crawford last played CF June 18, 2006 in an interleague game in Philadelphia.

"(Maddon) ambushed me with it today," Crawford said when asked if he had received any warning.... "I wish I would have had a little more notice. But I don't know how that decision came about. But it is what it is. Just gonna run out to centerfield today."

Does it change his mindset?

"You're thinking about (it) - you're taking a conscious effort to think about what you're doing now," Crawford said. "My game is usually based on me not thinking at all, just more knowing that this is what I'm going to be doing. So today, I'm gonna be thinking a little bit more than what I normally do. And we'll see how that goes."

Maddon said with his current roster, Gabe Gross would be another option in centerfield.

As for Gomes, Maddon said he wanted to get the right-handed outfielder/DH in the lineup today partly because of his success against Royals starter Gil Meche (two homers in four at-bats) and also to get him in a rhythm as he's scheduled to start Tuesday as well against lefty Andy Pettitte. Maddon also wanted to get Eric Hinske in the lineup today too.

“I wanted to try to juggle – I wanted to give B.J. the day off, that was part of it also," Maddon said. "B.J. was going to get the day off, he knew about that in advance. I was just trying to decide again the best way to get everyone in the lineup that I wanted in the lineup. That’s the way it worked out.”

The tinkering with the lineup is something Maddon said he'll likely have to do the rest of the season, just to keep people fresh, and give other regulars, like Upton and Akinori Iwamura, a day off.

RAYS
Iwamura, 2b

Crawford, cf

Pena, 1b

Longoria, 3b

Floyd, dh

Gomes, lf

Navarro, c

Hinske, rf

Zobrist, ss

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Comments

[DirtbagFan]

Carl: If you value players who hustle, what's your take on Bossman Jr-who seems to constantly dog-it in CF?

Back to Gomes; he has exactly zero defensive talent, zero! The Rays need a DH like they need a hole in the head-- I love Jonny's work-ethic, i really do, I like my gardener's work-ethic too, but I'm not paying him MLB money for it.

[jeff]

ROCKN' WITH KAZMIR

[Carl]

Warren, Crawford hadn't earned it 3 years ago when he dogged it and moped in CF or when he was put in the leadoff spot. This isn't an isolated incident. Yes, he manned up and admitted it. This doesn't exonerate him for the other times when he didn't man up. My opinion is CC is a selfish jerk.

And no, DBF, I am not out of my mind. I think Crawford is superior in talent to Gomes. I have a different value system than you, that's all. I value team play, hustle, all out effort all the time. Not a star who half-*sses it when it suits his selfish needs. Gomes has had the fewest number of chances to contribute of all the outfielders. Last year, if you extended his numbers over a full season, I think it was 28 HRs and 85+ RBIs. His numbers were comparable a few years ago when Lou Pinella was manager and sending him out there all the time. One doesn't put up numbers like this in the major leagues with the talent of your 8 year old child. No disrespect to your kid! :) Gross is the most rounded, I will agree. I like the energy Gomes brings. Go Rays!

[DirtbagFan]

Carl: Are you out of your mind- Gomes?? Gomes has an addictive personality, but as much baseball skills as my 8 year old...

Warren: Do you watch the games at all? Gross is far and away the most well-rounded OF out of the Gomes/Hinske/Gross platoon, and Gomes is by far the worst of the 3.

[Warren]

For what it's worth - Carl manned up & admitted he played that one badly. And no way I take Gomes over Crawford! I love Jonny - wish he played more than Gabe Gross. However - it's a manager's job to know his players & treat them as individuals. Carl's earned the right to his preferences. If Maddon had bunted in the 8th after Navvy's double, we might have won anyway.

[Carl]

Carl Crawford presumably doesn't read these posts. I suggest we ride his butt at the stadium where he can't hide. Of course we can then anticipate his trade demands in the off season. He is overrated. I'll take Gomes and his hustle and team play over Crawford and his "me first" attitude.

[Joe]

I oughta pull down Crawford's pants and spank his butt raw.

[Jesse]

Bill I agree with you 100%

We will rebound from this going into NY!!!!

[Bill]

I want to preface everything by saying that I am VERY happy that we can complain about losses in July and I'm proud of our team.......

But that is what made me so mad......we are supposed to be a team on 'one'.........and the team that plays hard and does it the right way........and that is why Crawfords selfishness hurts so much.

[md]

Crawford cost the the Rays on both sides today. Not sure why you play center in slow motion on the play that scored K C's 3rd run.

[ben]

typical carl today. if he doesn't get his way he dogs it.

[Jesse]

CC lost the game for us by letting the runner score from first on that weak grounder up the middle..There was NO hustle there and when he realized the runner was rounding third he realized he messed up..Sp Pena's blast in the 9th would have been a walkoff if not for CC's lethargic effort..

[Bill]

That's the point, it did affect his play........in the early part of the game a runner scored from 1st on a SINGLE because he was so slow jogging after the ball.

[Warren]

Please - enough with the Crawford bashing. He's a great player - please allow him to be human, with human preferences. And don't pile on him when he expresses them. That said - if it affected his play - bash away!

[Bill]

He was Major dogging it out there today......I noticed that before I got home and read the blog about him crying about.....without knowing he was crying about it...........I could just tell he was not happy.

[max]

We don't need a crybaby, Carl. You're a professional that plays a child's game for a living. Get out there and play. Unbelievable.

[flsportsfan83]

figures a UCF fan would say something so stupid.

[ucfrocks]

This season is over, The Rays will win the world series, and also win 125 games in the regular season

[Bill]

I just got home from the game and it's now very clear that he was very 'lazy' out there just to be spiteful........his 'laziness' cost the Rays a run..............Crawford has always cried about not wanting to play Centerfield.......this really bothers me..........

[flsportsfan83]

7-10 games

[Warren]

C'mon flsportsfan83 - step up. "With ease"? Will 2 games be "with ease"? 5 games? 10 games?

[flsportsfan83]

Rays have a good shot at the wildcard. Boston will take this divison with ease.

[Joe Maddon]

Pena bails me out - thanks Carlos!!!!!!

[Warren]

Navy leads of the 8th with a double and we DON'T bunt him to third? What is Maddon thinking!!!!!!

[James]

Oh and btw, having CC only want to play LF is nothing new either. Anyone hear of Barry Bonds? He could've played anywhere including RF because he had a cannon arm but instead felt LF to be his best served position.

Personally, I'd like Crawford in CF with Upton in RF while having LF reserved for defensive liabilities like Gomes or Hinske and hopefully soon Jason Bay.

[James]

Crawford only wants to bat 2nd because of one reason: He knows he's a groundball hitter and having a runner on 1st allows Crawford to pull many hits through the hole that is created by having to hold said runner on.

And don't fret, there's plenty of ML'ers who feel this way. I can remember a few off the top in Jeter, Edgar Renteria and Rafael Furcal.

[Ben is Full of Shiite]

how do you "know him" Ben?
changed the oil in his car?
trim his bushes?
take care of his pool?

LOL

[Ben]

Carl is very selfish. He only wants to play left and hit second. Not leadoff. People who really know him ( as I have since 2001) know this about him. Not surprising to hear these comments about being ambushed.

[Jonny "the windmill" Gomes]

hey fans ... I need to get my chance to play once a week
I can pop up sometimes ... it's not always all about swinging at balls in the dirt 3 feet in front of home plate

did I mention that I can run bases ?

hey, at least I cut my Jonny-Curl off

[steve]

Why is Jonny Gomes still playing? I thought we had a deep farm system so I would think they could bring someone else up that could hit better than .195

[David]

CF is a pretty tough position to play. CC is used to having LF being his area, and he isn't really used to playing QB out there meaning he hasn't really had to manage center and sometimes left and right center. So I understand where CC is coming from. But I'm sure come game time he was ready.

[Jeff Gilbert]

Well said Mike! I'm glad that we don't still hear from arm-chair managers belly aching about Maddon's strategic maneuvers such as resting players or not bringing this or that guy in to pitch. I guess winning at a .620 clip quiets the crickets. If anything, seeing Crawford in CF should allow us to appreciate just how good BJ is out there. Notice how balls hit to the wall in center tend to go for triples quite a bit no matter who is out there? It happened to CC already today. Was he dogging it like BJ too? Seems like people have been piling on Upton at the games. Unless you can beat BJ in a foot race, I think you should cut him a break.

[BJ Uptown]

I don't think CC's comments were blown out of proportion at all. I'm actually tired of hearing him talk about his "comfort zone". He's been doing it for years now. Every time a manager wants him hit first, he complains about it. Same with playing center. He clearly should have been playing center last year when BJ was hurt, but Maddon didn't want to mess with CC's "comfort zone", so he put Young out there and Gomes in right field. That move made no sense at all except that CC would be upset if he had to play center for a month. If CC was a team player, he would have been in center. Their defense with Gomes in right and Young in center was significantly weaker than it should have been.

[Mariano]

Today's an important day for Garza, we need him to be a stud in the second half of the year, and a quality start against Kansas City today would be great

[Mike]

CC's comments I'm sure have been blown out of proportion. He's fine playing Center. As for the strategies Maddon is playing here, I think he's doing a brilliant managing job. I just was thinking the other day that he needs to manage this team, now that it has a 4.5 game lead, with their eyes on the playoff prize. Maddon clearly has his long-term priorities straight by mixing up the lineup (which helps a team in the postseason), resting key players (major injuries must be prevented), and playing conservative. The Rays have 25 men who can all play great baseball and get paid to do so- I'm glad to seeing him making use of their depth.

[justin]

"Ambushed" into playing a different position in the outfield for one game? Wow, the arrogance of professional athletes sometimes. Quit your crying.

[Ray of Sunshine]

At the beginning of the season I thought the Rays' motto- "We are one team" was about the stupidest thing I'd ever heard. Of course they're one team, how many teams would they be? Then after seeing how this team has played, with ALL the players no matter their role, stepping up to achieve the common goal of winning I can't think of a more appropriate slogan. I thought Maddon's comments about not having any glaring All Star candidates, but the team as a whole being an All Star was right on point. Aki has made a seamless shift to 2B, J.P. has moved to the bullpen and proven to be a reliable stopper, Hinske has played a seviceable OF, Aybar has been great at 1B and even 2B and Zobrist has learned to play all over the field as a super utility man. So it's a bit disappointing to hear CC whine about having to play a game in CF. Maddon "ambushed" him? STFU and play ball.

[Question]

Sorry about the multiple posts - not sure what happened there. Thanks for the clarification - it's that time of year when a mention of All-Star makes one think that maybe he was added due to an injury, etc. Got excited there.

[Joe Smith]

It's been clarified. He has been an All-Star in LF, but not one this season.

[Question]

All-Star leftfielder Carl Crawford ? Joe do you need to correct this or clarify?

[Question]

All-Star leftfielder Carl Crawford? Joe - do you need to correct this or clarify?

[Question]

All-Star leftfielder Carl Crawford? Is that a typo or something that needs to be clarified?