Saturday Red Sox Lineup: Carl Crawford Sits

So it's come to this.

Demoted to seventh against southpaws, pulled in late-game defensive situations, and now out of the lineup against CC Sabathia. It's been a rough week for Carl Crawford.

It is, of course, a "scheduled day off," but one I expect scheduled with Sabathia in mind. The thing is, Carl has hit Sabathia fairly well over the course of his career, and given that he just hit a homer yesterday, if there was ever a chance to get his confidence up, today would seem to be the game.

Don't just tell him that you need him in the lineup and not taking the day off against a tough lefty, tell him he's batting second. Make a thing of it. If the Sox aren't going to make a real run at the World Series this year--and it is increasingly the consensus that they shouldn't even try--then they've got nothing to lose here but one game, and the hope that maybe Carl can believe he's Carl again.

Instead, we've got Daniel Nava in left, batting ninth. Then again, he is the only player in the lineup with an OBP over .357 (that particular figure belongs to Kelly Shoppach, batting seventh).