Friday Red Sox Lineup: Carl Crawford Moves Back Up

Carl Crawford is back up to hitting second as the Red Sox face off against the right-handed Phil Hughes in New York.

While it was a bit of a shock when Carl Crawford was moved down to seventh just a few days after the story on how uncomfortable he was having been dropped so quickly by Terry Francona (and how his relationship with Valentine was going better), it's no surprise to see him moving back up against a right-handed starter.

Deserving or not.

Carl, to be clear, hasn't been good against lefties or righties so far with the Red Sox, but in his short time he's at least been better against right-handers (predictably so given his career numbers), and with the Sox hoping against hope to salvage something from the wreckage of a player that is Crawford, they'll at least give him his opportunities in a prime offensive spot against the guys he might be able to hit. Maybe.

Otherwise it'll be Daniel Nava getting the start at DH, with Ryan Sweeney missing out and starting the game on the bench. Perhaps he will be the one earmarked for the late defensive replacement role.