Go Away, Carl Crawford. Just Go Away.

The Boston Red Sox and their fans aren’t asking a lot. They just want the opportunity to forget all about Carl Crawford and his seven-year, $142 million contract. Last August, the team took measures to do just that when they sent the outfielder just about as far away as humanly possible. Crawford and that ridiculous contract were shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a mega-deal that involved eight other players and a whole lot of money. The feeling in Boston at the time was something along the lines of “there’s a sucker born every minute”.

So now, Crawford is a good 2,500 miles away from Boston, but somehow, he still won’t go away. The self-proclaimed victim of the Boston media took the opportunity on Thursday to fire back (again).

“Burying people in the media, they think that makes a person play better”, Crawford complained. “That media was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my life… That smile turned upside down quick. I think they want to see that in Boston. They love it when you’re miserable.”

No, Carl. Red Sox fans were the ones who were miserable. The worst thing you’ve ever experienced? Really? How about you cashing in better than $20 million in 2011, while batting .255 and stealing a grand total of 18 bases? How about you striking out at a higher rate in Boston than in any other time in your career? How about you missing 120 games due to injury while spending less than two seasons with the Red Sox? If your time in Boston was “the worst”, well, how do you think the Sox fans felt?

Now with the Dodgers, Crawford is injured once again, and his ability to start the 2013 season on the active roster is in doubt. But rather than concentrating on baseball and his recovery, the former all-star would rather moan about the past.  Why not just leave well enough alone?

Just go away, Carl. Red Sox fans don’t want to hear from you any more. They’re trying to forget about you. They’re trying to forget about your lackluster performance and your constant excuse-filled interviews. They’re trying to forget about your .227 average against the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays combined.

“I took so much of a beating in Boston”, Crawford continued. “They can say what they want—that I’m the worst free agent ever—and it won’t get to me. But it bothered me the whole time there.”

It won’t get to you? Then why are you still talking about it, Carl?

I won’t go so far as to say that Crawford was the “worst free agent ever”, but he was pretty darn close. And you know what? If he continues giving these types of interviews, he might just complain his way into earning that shameful title.

(JM Catellier is the author of the book Fixing Baseball, a guide to restructuring the Hall of Fame. Follow him on Twitter: @FixingBaseball and Facebook, and check out his site: www.fixingbaseball.com)