Good ol’ Bobby Valentine. Can we trust him? Is he the right fit for the job? Is he to blame for this horrendous start by the Boston Red Sox. I can really only answer the last question with any certainty, the answer is no, but he is a good scapegoat. Quite frankly I just don’t like the guy, he is arrogant and he succeeds one of the most likable guys ever in Terry Francona. He comes into a bad situation media wise and playing around with the media is the last thing the Sox need from him.
To me he seems like a guy that is trying to do to much just to say he did. The Sox have a bunch of great players and they don’t need Bobby V to do much for them to win. They don’t need him coming in here changing up the lineup and making a bunch of weird bullpen decisions, he hasn’t earned that right. In Francona’s final years as Sox manager he would make a small tweak in the lineup when the Sox were slumping, but the difference one he had proven himself and they always seemed to work. Had he been doing that for seven years and not one a championship he wouldn’t have lasted. Sure the Sox need a little spice from him, but he is doing way to much which is why the blame is being placed on him. Managers are the face of franchises and they are the easiest to blame and that is the case here. He can’t go out there and toss a shutout or hit home runs, but if the Sox guys aren’t doing that then fans get cranky and all eyes look to the new guy who happens to also now be the face of the franchise.
For the past decade Boston fans have been treated with three of the best coaches in their respective sports and arguably the top in their sports. It is no surprise that all of them have brought home at least one championship in their respective sports during their coaching reigns. Sox fans know what a good coach is and that is why they aren’t putting up with all of Valentine’s bullshit. He comes into Boston acting like he owns the place, but fans aren’t going to deal with that if he isn’t winning games. He has a cocky attitude which can work if you have proven track record and your ballclub is winning games, he has neither of those things going for him. He and Cherington haven’t been the best of friends since their arrivals this summer and it won’t be long until people put him on the hot seat if the Sox don’t start winning games.
He has done two things that I just can’t even comprehend. First he calls out Kevin Youkilis for not putting in the effort he thinks he should be getting from him. He is the last guy on the Sox I would call out for a lack of effort. He wears his heart on his sleeve and despite being in a slump, every Sox fan out there knows Youk is working his tail off for the Sox. He is one of the few veterans left on this team and he is not the guy to call out. I don’t know if Valentine thought saying that would set a spark off for the Sox, but it didn’t and it just got both Sox fans and players very upset with Valentine. He also said that Derek Jeter was overrated. Don’t get me wrong I hate the Yankees and I hate Jeter, but I have respect for Jeter, he is one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen. I hate him because he plays for the Sox rival and he is one of the main reasons why the Yankees are good not because he is overrated. I have never been a fan of coaches talking trash about the other team before a game or series and if anything that sparked the Yankees not the Sox as you saw in the result of the series. Bobby V had better hope the Sox start winning and he keeps his mouth shut or else his stay in Boston could be very short.
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