Crawford on DL; Baldelli activated

Carl Crawford owners may be wincing louder today than Crawford himself.

OK. Maybe not. But I bet it's close.

The Rays left fielder suffered what is being called a right middle finger tendon subluxation and is being put on the 15-day DL. The Mariners team doc says it could be a six-to-eight week deal.

Talk about painful.

If Crawford's substandard season wasn't enough. He was hitting.273 with 8 HR, 57 RBI, 69 runs and 25 SB.

These isn't horrible production, but considering you likely paid a 2nd-round price, you should be feeling a little buyer's remorse. Not that you can control injuries. But a dozen HR and mid-30 SB is not at all what Crawford owners were hoping for.

For years, Crawford has been living off hype and upside. We've read so many times that this is the year Crawford develops into a 25-30 HR guy that you'd have to think Roto magazines have it on a save string.

But after 18 HR in 2006, the year Crawford turned 25, we saw 11 last year and likely single digits this season. Of course, when you're consistently churning out double nickles in the SB department, you can overlook the power outage.

But this year, the steals haven't come and while part of that can be blamed to hamstring issues, you can't help but wonder if CC will ever regain his elite status.

Speaking of CC, check out this borderline funny clip on the speed demon:




Good news for Rays fans is that Rocco Baldelli has been activated from the disabled list. Of course, Tampa doesn't know what to expect from Baldelli who has missed all season with Mitochondrial (or fatigue) disorder.

But emotionally, it has to be a shot in the arm, especially after losing Crawford.

Add Baldelli in AL-only leagues and keep the expectations low.

But you never know. After all, how many predicted the Rays being in first place on Aug. 10?