Carl Crawford: 'Sorry for the year I've had' - 美國職棒

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I know these games against the Rays have been important this weekend.
Saturday's game was a little frustrating. You come up to the plate at the end
and you definitely want to do something and come up big. You obviously want
to come up big in a clutch situation, especially when the game is against my
former team, which I really want to beat. We were definitely a little
disappointed not to get the win that day. Also in that game, I had the run
where I wasn't sure whether to slide or not at home. I figured I could get in
standing up, but it was kind of close. I definitely want Marco Scutaro next
time to let me know if it’s going to be that close and I told him that. He
said he was telling me to slide but I didn't see him.

Having played for Tampa for so long they definitely know how to pitch to me a
little bit. It's then up to me to make the adjustments. I've had a full
season of seeing how they want to pitch to me, how they want to get me out. I
think over the years, you'll see me get better hitting their pitching because
I've had to think about and figure out what they're trying to do with me.

Now that I am in a Red Sox uniform, I definitely hear the boos when I go back
to Tampa, like our recent trip we made there. When I was in left field, I
definitely heard heckling there. It was a bunch of haters in left field
pretty much. Hey, it's cool. I understand. The thing is, they've got to
realize they've got to deal with me for another six years. I struggled this
year and I'll give them this year. But I am definitely, definitely going to
remember all that has happened when I'm trying to work out and get better in
the offseason, those haters will be on my mind -- just know they have another
six years to deal with me.

As far as my game is going, I'm just trying to grind it out the rest of the
season. I've felt a little bit better, but it just doesn't feel the same as I
normally feel. I'm trying to do everything I can to do something positive
whenever I get a chance to. The best moment I've had on the field over the
past month was my grand slam against the Rangers at the beginning of
September when the game had been tied. It feels really good especially when
you do it here in Boston in front of the home crowd. Hitting a grand slam is
always a fun thing, and to do it at an important time, it definitely felt
really good.

Something else that was good was seeing Tim Wakefield finally get his 200th
career win last week. We had been trying for so long to get the win for him.
Everybody was just happy that he finally got the 200th win. He had been
working so hard to get to that one. We were all happy for him. It was just
like ... FINALLY! It says something about perseverance. He stayed in there
and kept trying. We knew he would get it at some point, but we just wanted to
speed up the process.

In that game as well, we had Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury become the
first Red Sox teammates with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season.
That's really impressive, especially when you consider all the great players
that have played here. That's a nice tribute to the guys they are and all the
hard work they put in. Hopefully we can add another player to that list one
day ... not mentioning any names but he plays in front of the Monster. I will
tell you, I won't let the everlasting memory of that Wakefield game be the
home run I had taken away from me when Adam Loewen of the Blue Jays caught
the ball before it could go into the bullpen area. I couldn't believe it;
Loewen, a former pitcher no less, but it's cool. We're just going to call it
the 2011 season, that's what I've been doing.

Friday's win with Josh Beckett on the mound was something else that was nice
to see. We had him back on the hill and we won. Most of our guys who had been
banged up were back. It's been tough with Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis and
[David] Ortiz all missing games, that's the heart of our lineup. Those are
the guys that have been producing for us all year. We definitely need them at
this time. It's a little hard without them, but you still have to find a way
to win when they are not in the lineup. But we definitely want them in the
lineup.

It was good to see Daniel Bard get back on track too in this game. He had a
few bad outings and that happens. We knew he was going to be all right and be
the dominant pitcher he's always been. So it was good to have Bard back to
the pitcher we know him to be and Beckett back out there. Having good
pitching is really important, especially this late in the season. We want to
get those guys back going because they are definitely a big part of
everything that we do. You can't win without good pitching. With the win on
Friday night, everybody's spirits were high, feeling good. We were hoping
that game would change the misfortune we've been having.

Unfortunately, we did not get on the roll we were hoping for after Friday's
victory. Ortiz said recently he thought we should panic. I try not to panic
at all. But as you're coming to the end of the regular season, you definitely
get a little worried. You definitely have to worry a little bit. We have a
team like the Rays who wants our spot. At this time of year, they're a real
dangerous team because they're young and they're playing with the house's
money. It's like if they lose, they'll say they weren't supposed to win. If
they win, then they say “Look what we did.” They get to play real relaxed
that way. Either way it goes, it's a win for them, that definitely makes a
team dangerous, especially when you have young and talented players like that.

Why can't we be consistent? I don't know. This time of year it gets hard and
guys are banged up. All kind of little things are happening. I wish I had the
answer to that. Maybe we'll win seven in a row. Be good to get that rolling
when we go to Yankee Stadium.

I'm with everyone who says those games are pretty long, but what can you do
really? There's nothing you really can do. You play the games and the pitcher
is focusing and trying to make their pitch. So they take their time a little
bit more. Then the hitter is taking his time and not swinging at everything.
Normally the umpires call a lot of balls and strikes. But when we play the
Yankees, they try to focus a little harder too and don't call a lot of stuff.
All that is a combination that makes the game longer. I don't see that there
is anything they can do. It's going to always be like that.

You want to know what this team has to do over the final week and a half of
the season? One word: Win. I hope that we can turn it up a notch. I hope that
we can go ahead and finish strong and win these next games we have coming up.
I hope we get into the playoffs and go off to the World Series like we
planned on doing. Winning the World Series will definitely be my happy ending
to the season. At this point right now, we just want to get into the
playoffs, whether that is as the wild card or division winner. You like to
win the division because you like to be able to win that, but at this point,
we know it's going to be a little tough to do that. So we'll take the wild
card and go from there.

I'm sure you know I went to the World Series with Tampa in 2008. I got to
learn through that what postseason baseball is like. I learned it's really
intense. Everybody's focused on every pitch and every little moment that
happens. You try not to make mistakes. The crowd is into it and you're into
it and your heart is racing. There's just a lot of intense moments going on.
I like my routine before a game, but you adjust to it being different in the
postseason. You try and give the media what they need and knock that stuff
out of the way early. That way, you can get to what you need to do and stay
focused on your routine.

If Tampa makes a miracle comeback and takes the wild card from us, I will be
devastated. I definitely wouldn't want to lose to those guys and watch them
get into the playoffs while we go home. That would just be devastating to me.
Now as far as teams we might meet, both the Rangers and Tigers are two pretty
good teams. They've both got a little pitching and can hit the ball. Either
them or the Angels would be a tough matchup for us. Believe me, I'm not
trying to get ahead of myself, but if it got to a Red Sox-Yankees ALCS I
think that would be really fun. Just because of all the history and how
special it was when it did happen in the past. I think just to have those two
cities meet up again in that position of seeing who goes to the World Series,
that's what everybody would like to see.

I have to mention since it's that time of year, yes, I am in a fantasy
football league. I'm in one against my teammates. It's me and my brother,
Cory, as co-owners of our team. I did pretty good to start off. I hope to
keep that rolling. My first pick I drafted was LeSean McCoy, the running back
for the Eagles. I feel very good about my team.

I want to end the diary saying something to the fans of Boston. I just want
to say I'm sorry for the year I've had. You guys have been really supportive
and I appreciate that. Hopefully when we get into these playoffs, I can be
the real Carl Crawford that I know I am. We'll see.

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