While almost every media outlet is speculating how much money the Angels will pay Carl Crawford and attempting to guess just how hard Boston or Detroit will try to get into the conversation, The Sweet Spot’s Joey Matschulat over at Baseball Time in Arlington raises a depressing possibility.

How great is Google Image Search? Here is CC and Hammer eating at a Wendy's while members of the rookie-league Princeton Devil Rays in 1999. The phot is from the October 25, 1999 St. Petersburg Times. Click it, and you can read the story about these future All-Stars.

Crawford to the Rangers.

That stings.  Not because I have a particular grudge against the Rangers or because our recent ALDS tangle has created some kind of “rivalry.”  I really have no opinion about the Rangers or their fans.  CC to the Rangers would be painful because it would, at long last, create the outfield the Devil Rays drafted in 1999 that Rays fans waited for so patiently.

I can see it now, Crawford in left, Hamilton in center, and Cruz in right.  Actually, Joey makes a great argument that CF is not a good longterm home for Hammer.  So, why not sign Rocco, let him play CF with Crawford and Hamilton in the corners and make every longtime Rays fan take a long look at the inside of their ovens.

I don’t know how serious the Texas rumors really are but, I suspect not very serious because they have so many good outfield pieces already.  More likely, they are just trying to drive up the price their division rivals pay for CC’s services.

Either way, the possibility ruined my morning.