"First, you cheer. Don't you?

You cheer for the man, and you cheer for the memories, and you cheer for the sweat and effort and years.

You cheer for the hits and all of the catches. You cheer because he became something special, and he allowed the franchise to do the same. You cheer because it is the classy thing to do, and he always was a classy player.

Tonight, you should cheer for Carl Crawford.

Once.

After that, you are on your own.

The natural tendency, of course, will be to boo on first sight. After all, Crawford will be in the wrong uniform, and a Boston Red Sox uniform at that. It might be easier if Crawford were with, say, the Angels or the Astros or the Dodgers.

But the Red Sox? The Rays have never swapped acrimony with any team as much as with the Red Sox. To Rays fans, that's a difficult piece of laundry to reconcile.

Besides, Crawford left. He took the money, and he shifted his loyalties, so how can he expect yours? Tonight, he will try to push the Rays further back in the race. This time, he will try to steal their doubles and rob them of their hits. This time, he is one of the bad guys.

It will be unusual to see Crawford on the wrong side of the passion of Rays fans. It is a safe bet that some fans will be willing to boo Crawford as soon as he gets off the team bus. After all, Carl doesn't live here anymore.

On the other hand, this is Crawford, the best player in the history of the Rays franchise. He gave this franchise nine seasons, and in five of them he hit .300 or better, and in four of them he was an All-Star. He gave fans 1,480 hits, and he stole 409 bases, and he was good enough that he outlasted the days of wretchedness.

"Looking back, I played as hard as I could," Crawford says. "I gave them everything I had. It was all about trying to turn things around, and I felt I helped to do that. I enjoyed my days there."

Was Crawford's contribution worth a cheer? Absolutely.

Tonight? We'll see. It would probably help Crawford's popularity if he walked onto the field wearing jeans and a Matt Joyce T-shirt. It would help if he announced he would buy Cracker Jack for all kids younger than 10. It would help if he were willing to join in the booing of the rest of the Red Sox players. At least, it would help some.

"I really don't know what the reaction will be," Crawford says softly into the phone. "That's what I'm waiting to see.

"I understand if they want to boo. I understand all the reasons. I wouldn't take it personally. There really isn't anything I can do but try to understand. If that's what makes them feel better, then go right ahead and boo."