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Kevin Millar on M&M: Carl Crawford needs to be mentally tough 07.13.12 at 7:21 pm ET
By Jashvina Shah

Kevin Millar

MLB analyst and former Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar made his weekly appearance on Mut & Merloni on Friday afternoon to discuss returning Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford and his mental toughness. To listen to the interview, visit the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.

“Cowboy up. This is a tough market,” Millar said. “And you know what? It’s time to step up and be tough. … That’s easier said than done. Some players are more mentally tough than others. We all have our own personalities and characters. … So Carl Crawford, before he signed this deal, wasn’t the strongest mental baseball player, but you’ve got to pay your due diligence and know this as a front office before you go out and get monster deals.”

The former Red Sox first baseman said Crawford is a speedy player who hits about 17 home runs per year, steals bases and flashes a decent glove in left field but can’t be anything more, regardless of his contract.

“The expectations [change once] he gets this big deal from Theo [Epstein],” Millar said. “Let’s hit him third [and] he’s going to hit 25 to 30 and drive in 120. Baloney. It’s not his fault he got $142 million. It wasn’t Jayson Werth‘s fault that he got $126 million.There are some bad deals out there. Was this a bad deal? Time will tell. As of right now it’s been a bad deal, it’s been a rough go. He hasn’t been worth whatever he signed for.

“But that’s not C.C.’s problem. His problem is to get back to the form of being Carl Crawford, being a game-changer. Hit him in that two hole, let him run around the bases, play some good defense and click a home run once in a while on a hitter’s count. But he’s not a home run hitter, he’s not going to drive in a whole bunch of runs. Let him be C.C.”

Millar praised injured Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury and the impact he’ll have when he returns to Boston. But Millar also noted Ellsbury’s flaws.

“At times I just question his toughness,” Millar said “Not the injuries, just the toughness. If you’re ready to play, play. Let’s roll. That’s the only thing, if you were going to ask me, I question.”

Added Millar: “I’m not challenging Ellsbury. I’m just telling you there are times I question, [like] when he went back to Arizona to rehab two years ago for the rib cage. You rehab with your teammates, so I’m challenging that part of it, the decision-making. Maybe it’s his crew that he has representing him, I don’t know. So I’m not challenging himself personally, there are just a few decisions that I’m thinking, ‘It’s time to be with the boys.’ “Crawford and Ellsbury are just two players with performance questions this season. John Lester is another, and Millar said it’s hard to pinpoint why Lester has struggled this season.

“This game’s about putting the ball where you have to put it and it’s about locating your pitches,” Millar said. “Maybe Lester hasn’t located his pitches exactly where they need to go, because this is a show. … He locates that cutter down and in like [Jonathan Papelbon's] done for years and the way Lester’s capable of, then [he'll be fine].”

The MLB analyst said Lester’s rotation-mate Josh Beckett will find the winning track again. Beckett is winless in his last five starts.

“You just need Josh to have his nose to the grindstone,” Millar said. “If this matters as much as it can matter, Josh can still win at this level. He doesn’t have 98 [mph] anymore, he doesn’t need to have 98 anymore. He still has a decent curveball, still has a great changeup. Once again, location is 90-93 mph, that’s all. It’s just like anything. You have to keep getting better at this game. … You have to execute. This is the major leagues.”

Read More: carl crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett Print  |  Email  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • Football101

    God this defense is terrible

  • MR.MAJESTIC

    That was the best defensive effort pat’s could come up with after a bye week??????

  • philyfriar

    Another sad defensive performance. They were very lucky to beat the Bills at home and after their bye week. Let’s hope the new defensive back will add some life to a defense which won’t cut it come playoff time without some major improvement.

  • http://www.facebook.com/JRyder6868 Japhy Ryder

    Totally exposed defense that would be responsible for yet another sordid loss had it not been alleviated by Buffalo’s awful football intuition. Am I the only one here who’s sick and tired of gift interceptions and convenient fumbles?

  • Titletown1

    Complete disarray, confusion, chaos….whatever word you want to use to describe this defense, and especially the defensive backfield, really can’t describe how bad they actually are.

    McCourty gets worse every week (and yes, I know he had a pick, so what). he was beaten like rented mule all day. He was out of position, missed tackles by wide margins, and once again, watched receivers make catches before he moved on the ball. Pathetic.

    Matt Patricia should be sacked, period. This defense looks completely lost out there.

    With the horrible effort by this defense today, it makes you wonder what the hell they worked on with so much time to prepare for this game coming off of a bye week.

  • glenn88

    Terrible tackling by the secondary.   Gregory took angles like he was a high schooler.  McCourty looked scared to stick his shoulder pads into a runner.  The Bills first scoring drive of the day was kept alive on a 3rd and 15 because McCourty didn’t have the heart to stick a runner before they crossed the first down marker.    The tackling by this secondary was just embarassing.

  • glenn88

    Terrible tackling by the secondary.   Gregory took angles like he was a high schooler.  McCourty looked scared to stick his shoulder pads into a runner.  The Bills first scoring drive of the day was kept alive on a 3rd and 15 because McCourty didn’t have the heart to stick a runner before they crossed the first down marker.    The tackling by this secondary was just embarassing.

  • Scarecrow

    McCourty missed some tackles, but also made some plays – the pick and the help on the goal line fumble.  You do know that he was playing safety this week, and that he isn’t a safety by trade, right?

  • Unclebuckrules

    Anyone else here feel that Luck and the Colts next week will carve this Pats secondary up??? Better hope for wind and rain to force a ground war, otherwise we could be looking at 6-4 after next week.

    Oh and Talib won’t be effective because it will take him a while to learn the Pats scheme (not that they have much of a scheme to begin with)…

  • Matth 3

    if it makes you feel better the Rams put on 500 yards on one of the best defenses in the NFL yesterday… put this in the win file, the defense performed terribly minus the 3 sacks and turn overs they’ll bounce back.

  • Rick F

    Listing to all the bad things about Patriots defence, maybe they should draft the winners and let them see if they can do better.they are still winning!!

  • David

     Seriously… the Colts, which he placed below the Cowboys, have won twice as many games as they lost.  Conversely, the Cowboys are a sub-.500 team.  This is my first time coming to this site and it is my last.  Who the hell is that stupid?

  • Anonymous

    It’s funny how we heard the same thing last year and the Pats went to the Superbowl. And that defense was worse. While this offense is better.  They have a legit running game that could keep the clock going and keep the other QB on the bench.

  • http://www.facebook.com/derek.lee.82 Derek Lee

    No it won’t.

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