Sources close to Boston Red Sox's Carl Crawford have come forward and said the outfielder would like to have surgery to repair the damage on his left elbow.
He has yet to express these ideas directly to management as he fears the way everybody in Red Sox Nation will perceive him.
Part of Crawford's hesitation stems from his lackluster debut with the Red Sox in 2011. He was signed to one of the most ridiculous contracts for a player of his caliber and skill sets. He received a seven-year $142 million contract and had the worst season of his 10-year career at the time.
In 2011, he hit .255 with 11 home runs 56 RBI and only 18 stolen bases. He never performed to expectation throughout the entire season. Manager Terry Francona tried placing him in different parts of the order but nothing worked.
General Manager Ben Cherington had a conversation with the Boston oufielder, but nothing was mentioned about Crawford wanting to shut down for the rest of the season to take time for the surgery.
Cherington commented on the rumors of Crawford's injury and his lack of straightforwardness with the GM, "He knows if he ever feels that way, there is an open door to come in. The last thing we could ask him to do is anything he's not comfortable with. It's open to him."
He later said, "We have to protect him."
Crawford missed a good portion of the beginning of the 2012 season. He had wrist surgery over the offseason and then sprained his ulnar collateral ligament, missing the team's first 89 games. His contributions thus far have been minor.
Right before activation about a month ago, the idea of getting Tommy John surgery was not out of his mind. "I thought about it, but at this point if I can play, I think they want me on the field, so I'm just trying to do everything I can to get back ont he field."
Dr. James Andrews, famous for performing the Tommy John procedure acknowledged that Crawford could use the surgery, but manage Bobby Valentine and Cherington said he did not.
So far in the season, it seems not worth risking his career. The Red Sox are 12.5 games from first place. Whether Crawford is in the lineup or not will not answer the issues for Boston, especially since the problem is their pitching.
Crawford is hitting.283 in 30 games with 3 home runs and 19 RBI. He also has five stolen bases.
