Puffy said:
I agree. I'm not sure what good it is for him to go 0-4 every three days and then ground out once in a while in his occasional pinch hitting opportunities. I imagine the Craig situation is going to be sorted out in the next week or two depending on what's happening with Castillo and Victorino. Even then, they could just call JBJ back up in a week if he keeps playing well. Especially for a team that emphasizes defense, he now seems like an odd fit compared to the alternatives.
I suspect what happened is that in ST, Craig was informed of his bench status, and they "agreed" (not that he has a choice) to see how it plays out in a secondary role. At this stage, he hasn't exactly shown himself to be a solid bench player (I know, chicken/egg Catch-22, etc). He hasn't hit in his sporadic chances. Hanley is killing it. Craig can't/shouldn't play RF at Fenway. So a month in, here they are. Craig is neither blind nor stupid. Maybe he's asked to be released and the Sox said no. The first MLB waiver period expires on Day 30 of the season. The next one begins the 31st day through July 31. Maybe they put him out there to see if there's any interest?
There has been no public griping, which suggests to me that the relationship is reasonably solid and both sides are trying to make it work. Maybe that will include a trip to AAA to recapture his past or build his value. I think his veterann-ness gets overplayed a bit. He *is* 30 y/o, but he's also only had 2.5 successful MLB seasons, followed by one (perhaps injury-related) really crappy one. I'm not sure that gives him unlimited "dont ship the vet to AAA" cred.
While JBJ, for his defense alone, offers more to the Sox *right now* than Craig, I think the Sox see more value in JBJ raking at AAA -- either for trade or learning purposes -- than playing late-inning defense in Boston.
Ultimately, I agree that the Sox' hand will be forced by the health & success of Victorino and Castillo and how they view their starting pitching at whatever point they deem the sample size to be sufficient.