Although Carl Crawford went 0-3 in his debut for the Red Sox on Sunday, Feb. 28 against the Minnesota Twins, there is nothing but optimism for the journey he is about to embark on. As any Red Sox fan will tell you, accepting a fan from a rival team isn’t an easy thing to do. However, the fan in attendance at the first full-squad game the other day welcomed him with cheers.

Maybe it was the butterflies that led him to his no-hit performance, but Crawford is still nothing but excited to get the season started with his new team.

“What’s the potential of it? Sky is the limit, in my mind,” Crawford said in an interview with mlb.com, “You’ve got all these guys who can hit really well and know what they’re doing at the plate. Once we all get clicking at the same time, it’s going to make it very tough on opposing pitchers.”

Crawford batted third in the Sox lineup on the 28th, behind Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, while David Ortiz batted cleanup.

While the rest of the team is also excited about the new addition, I don’t think anyone is as excited as manager Terry Francona. Francona was joking around with Crawford before the game, telling him he used to hate him because of all the success Crawford used to have against the Sox with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Another player on the Sox’s roster this year who comes from a rival team is pitcher Alfredo Aceves.

Aceves, formerly with the New York Yankees, can either start or relieve. He made his Red Sox debut last Tuesday with two innings of relief and didn’t give up any runs. Francona was impressed, giving him enough confidence to start Saturday.

Chelsey Sardello can be reached at [email protected].