My initial reaction was that I was not in favor of Valentine to the Red Sox because of fit. I think he is a very good manager, but I have serious questions if he is the right manager for the Boston situation. Cherington is a new GM. Valentine is a veteran manager. Lucchino is a veteran baseball suit, and Red Sox ownership is meddling and hands-off depending on which way the wind is blowing. Valentine had not worked with anyone from this front office. We'll see how much they have his back when the Boston media inserts itself.
I really hope it works out as Valentine was the best manager available on the market. We'll see if he was the best available for the Red Sox situation. Maybe a roll of the dice is a good thing right now. I'm still a Francona fan. It is going to be a hard act to follow when Francona is the measuring stick.