Carl Crawford played miserably last year. The Red Sox, considering expectations, also played miserably. Those two things are intimately linked. But Crawford has struggled before, and the best thing for both him and the Red Sox was to shake it off and start the next season anew, fresh with optimism.

Which is what makes his lingering elbow injury that much more frustrating. There might not be a player in the game who would have benefitted from a clean start more than Crawford. Even worse, it's an injury that's hard to pin down and create exact timetables for.

But he's making progress:

Crawford said elbow was diagnosed as a strain. Cropped up a few weeks ago, hopes to be hitting in Fort Myers by next week.

— Tim Britton (@TBritton_Projo) April 13, 2012

Crawford said elbow feeling better and hopes to play in rehab games next week. Also said wrist feels good too.

— Joe McDonald (@ESPNJoeyMac) April 13, 2012

If the rehab goes well, he could be back in Boston by the beginning of May. And he'll have time to rebuild his reputation with his new team. A long time. Like, until 2017.