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Yeah, he sealed his own fate when he threw all his coaches under the boat. Not a good move Bobby.
Wow, I thought it would be an interesting year but I didn't foresee the absolute train wreck of a season, that's for sure!
I'm very disappointed Valentine got the ax. I wanted to see him continue as manager.
A problem has been resolved. Many, many problems remain. The Red Sox will blame all of this on Valentine, but this season is on the front office specifically Lucchino IMHO. Lucchino was responsible for chasing Francona out (yes, I'm still bitter about that) and hiring Valentine. I understand the strategy of going young, purging the contracts and payroll but you have to hire a manager that can work with PEOPLE (yes, I know what a concept). They had the best manager the franshise has EVER seen, and they chased him out. Lucchino is the biggest problem.
I agree that Lucchino shares blame. Exhibit A, Reddick for Bailey. The newest Beane strategy is to trade closers because they are over-valued. Lucchino took the bait.
There is plenty of blame to spread around. Bobby V deserved his share. As a veteran manager he was expected to stop the bleeding, not sever a few more arteries. Our (Red Sox) national nightmare is over.
Andrew Bailey is useless. He will be dealt. The Red Sox got hosed on that deal.
quote:Originally posted by web's dad:
I agree that Lucchino shares blame. Exhibit A, Reddick for Bailey. The newest Beane strategy is to trade closers because they are over-valued. Lucchino took the bait.
Andrew Bailey is useless. He will be dealt. The Red Sox got hosed on that deal.
Tomorrow Terry Francona will interview with the Indians. If they offer him the position, I will forever be a fan of the Red Sox front office for showing Terry the door. The only thing that could eclipse the stupidity of letting him go would be if the Indians somehow lost their sanity and didn't offer him the job.
Bobby V. is a great baseball manager.......in Japan.
Bobby V. is a great baseball manager.......in Japan.
I disagree. There is only one place Bobby V is a great manager.....in his own mind.quote:Bobby V. is a great baseball manager.......in Japan
A long time buddy (lives in Boston) called me yesterday to give me the news. I thought something life threatening was wrong with him or his family as we chat a couple times a year. No, he just wanted to tell me Bobby V is gone. He said it was the "end of an error". Very much so.
We agreed that owner John Henry and Larry Lucchino need to stay the h-e-c-k away from this next Boston manager search and let Cherrington do this job. He told me he's never seen the city get so excited, and he honestly believes there is not one person in Boston that wanted to see Valentine stay. Valentine found a way to p-i-s-s off an entire city? Impressive.
Yankees have been doing that for decades...quote:Originally posted by fenwaysouth:
[QUOTE]Valentine found a way to p-i-s-s off an entire city? Impressive.
In his next-to-last day with the Red Sox, Bobby claimed that his coaches turned against him. Yesterday, he termed his season there a "great experience," implying that it had been a sort of character-building experience.
If true that his coaches turned against him (and there seems to be no reason to doubt him), he succeeded in alienating both his players and his coaches. I'd term that "quite an accomplishment" in the same, twisted way that he characterized his "great experience."
"Great manager in his own mind" couldn't seem to be closer to the truth. Yesterday, he predicted that he'd manage a team again. Woe be to the fans of the team whose owner makes that prediction come true.
If true that his coaches turned against him (and there seems to be no reason to doubt him), he succeeded in alienating both his players and his coaches. I'd term that "quite an accomplishment" in the same, twisted way that he characterized his "great experience."
"Great manager in his own mind" couldn't seem to be closer to the truth. Yesterday, he predicted that he'd manage a team again. Woe be to the fans of the team whose owner makes that prediction come true.
quote:Originally posted by Prepster:
"Great manager in his own mind" couldn't seem to be closer to the truth. Yesterday, he predicted that he'd manage a team again. Woe be to the fans of the team whose owner makes that prediction come true.
**SIGH** I guess that means he will be managing the Cubs in a year or two.
There's enough blame to go around. After winning two championships ownership lost focus and moved on to other endevors (s0ccer and NASCAR). I've always questioned Lucchino. Lucchino forced Valentine on Cherrington. While Epstein was great selecting role playing free agents, he was a bust signing big time free agents. Francona did have to go. He had run out of ways to motivate the players. He may have been distracted by his health and marriage problems.
As for Valentine, he was a poor selection for manager. He's never led a team to even a division title. He's ten years removed from managing the personalities of today's players and their egos. He couldn't manage egos since he's the biggest ego in the room. With Valentine I never felt it was about the players. I felt it was all about him.
Valentine lost the players in spring training. He incorrectly called out Youkilis. He ripped on rookie Middleton publicly. He publicly said Ciriaco would fail as an every day player. Really? He's hitting .290 playing every day for half a season while not knowing what position he'll play from day to day. He aliented the closer to the point where they don't talk. He pinch hit for struggling rookie Iglesis with an 0-2 count. In a lost season that's nothing but humilation for a rookie. He started the end of the bench in September then ripped the front office for the worst September roster in the history of baseball. If you've seen Valentine's post game press conferences they were pure arrogance.
Valentine is disliked by nearly everyone. The players don't like him. The fans don't like him. The media can't stand him. He threatened to punch out one sportswriter for asking a question that was a reasonable question.
The net: The Red Sox had their worst season since 1965. You're fired.
As for Valentine, he was a poor selection for manager. He's never led a team to even a division title. He's ten years removed from managing the personalities of today's players and their egos. He couldn't manage egos since he's the biggest ego in the room. With Valentine I never felt it was about the players. I felt it was all about him.
Valentine lost the players in spring training. He incorrectly called out Youkilis. He ripped on rookie Middleton publicly. He publicly said Ciriaco would fail as an every day player. Really? He's hitting .290 playing every day for half a season while not knowing what position he'll play from day to day. He aliented the closer to the point where they don't talk. He pinch hit for struggling rookie Iglesis with an 0-2 count. In a lost season that's nothing but humilation for a rookie. He started the end of the bench in September then ripped the front office for the worst September roster in the history of baseball. If you've seen Valentine's post game press conferences they were pure arrogance.
Valentine is disliked by nearly everyone. The players don't like him. The fans don't like him. The media can't stand him. He threatened to punch out one sportswriter for asking a question that was a reasonable question.
The net: The Red Sox had their worst season since 1965. You're fired.
Reddick was very inconsistant for two years with the Sox. He wasn't in their plans. Had Crawford worked out and Kalish not got injured no one would care Reddick got away. The Sox needed a closer. It was a good trade that went bad.quote:Originally posted by web's dad:
I agree that Lucchino shares blame. Exhibit A, Reddick for Bailey. The newest Beane strategy is to trade closers because they are over-valued. Lucchino took the bait.
After leading the Lakers to several championships Pat Riley said he ran out of ways to motivate the players, they were tuning him out and it was time to go. Francona got to that point with his players.quote:Originally posted by PA Dino:
Tomorrow Terry Francona will interview with the Indians. If they offer him the position, I will forever be a fan of the Red Sox front office for showing Terry the door. The only thing that could eclipse the stupidity of letting him go would be if the Indians somehow lost their sanity and didn't offer him the job.
Bobby V. is a great baseball manager.......in Japan.
I'm generally someone who is going to give a person the benefit of the doubt. As an admitted Red Sox homer, I extended Bobby V the same courtesy, and I was waiting for anything that resembled "good" to come out of the clubhouse this spring, summer and fall. 0 for 3. It never happened. As someone who lived a majority of the their growing up years in the Northeast I know how quickly Red Sox fans can turn, and the Boston media can lose their minds....some would say the Boston sports media is ridculous. I tried my best not to listen to the media, friends and family who were "trapped" in New England during the baseball season and held hostage by Valentine and his shenanigans. I feel like a dope.
Turn the page...Bobby V's departure has given me new hope for the Red Sox future. If the new manager has a mustache, we may want to tug on it to make sure it isn't Bobby V coming back incognito.
Red Sox Nation - give me your best - I told you so!
Turn the page...Bobby V's departure has given me new hope for the Red Sox future. If the new manager has a mustache, we may want to tug on it to make sure it isn't Bobby V coming back incognito.
Red Sox Nation - give me your best - I told you so!
quote:After leading the Lakers to several championships Pat Riley said he ran out of ways to motivate the players, they were tuning him out and it was time to go. Francona got to that point with his players.
A professional baseball manager knows his team is in trouble when he is relied upon to "motivate" his players. Ownership dismantles a team like that starting with the manager (who usually is not at fault) and then moving players who are not cost effective or are a cancer to the team. If you get rid of the dead wood in Boston and put a quality manager back in place....you should be having winning seasons quickly again. Managers get too much credit for success and too much blame for failure.
In the case of Bobby Valentine, he took a chainsaw to work with him when all he needed was an axe. Look around the league, all the successful managers, the ones who everyone respect, are very quiet in the locker room and on the field. If they have to deliver some discipline, it is done in private without so much as a hint of it to the media or public.
The Red Sox fell apart because the players allowed it to get that way. You can be losers and still do it honorably. Instead, there was lots of backstabbing and complaining. I never liked Bobby V. as a manager because of his style but I still hang the blame on the team for the misery this year. It was already smoldering when Bobby V. got there, he just tossed kerosene on it and got it over with. Now they can begin with a clean slate.