Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine plans to meet with outfielder Carl Crawford shortly after the new year. Valentine thinks that helping Crawford bounce back is a "front-burner" issue for the Red Sox. "I have [spoken to him] through his agent, yeah, and Carl is working his behind off as he usually does, I guess, in the offseason," Valentine said in an interview with WEEI radio in Boston. "From what I gather and what I've seen from afar, and what I've learned thirdhand and not firsthand, is that he's an athlete who loves to work. Speaking to his agent, he is working. We have a face-to-face [meeting] planned, hopefully right after the first of the year, when things settle down for him and he's going to give me a little time. "It's in the planning stages. But you know what, we're going to have a lot of time when the season starts, too, and I can't wait to meet this outstanding athlete."