Bobby Valentine agrees ro deal to become Red Sox Manager

[MatParker116]

Sports Illustrated:

 

The Boston Red Sox and Bobby Valentine have reached a verbal agreement which would make Valentine the next manager of the team, according to WCVB TV’s Mike Lynch. ESPN has also reported that the deal is done.

 

Valentine and the Red Sox have been in discussions over the last few weeks, and it was previously reported that he had become the front-runner for the position. Earlier Tuesday, it was rumored that Gene Lamont was out of the running. The Red Sox denied that report.

 

Valentine, who managed both the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, was most recently an analyst for ESPN. He is currently in Japan but will be returning around midnight Wednesday.

[VA Sox Fan]

Really? Wow.

[wyo-sox]

I like it. Now they should be free to get a good pitching coach and another good pitcher or two. Let's move on.

[SCM33]

Who friggin cares.........this took way too long, we already knew this was coming. BIG f***ING SHOCKER!!!!

 

Lets start to take of the things that actually matter now.

 

PS. This move shows us that Ben Cherington is a puppet and pretty much worthless.

[User Name]

Yet according the reports, this took so much time because there was a fracture between who Ben wanted, and ownership wanted. He has enough power to drag on a negotiation like this for such a long time.

[SCM33]

Yet according the reports' date=' this took so much time because there was a fracture between who Ben wanted, and ownership wanted. He has enough power to drag on a negotiation like this for such a long time.[/quote']

 

Hes a puppet.

 

If he had any pull, he would have hired the guy he wanted (SINCE HE IS THE GM).....simple as that.

[User Name]

That's not how it works. It's not a black/white situation, and there was a middle ground they had to find.

 

If he didn't have any pull, they would have hired Valentine right away. Simple as that.

 

He's a rookie GM, not as much leverage as Epstein, but he's not a complete puppet either.

[Elktonnick]

Yet according the reports' date=' this took so much time because there was a fracture between who Ben wanted, and ownership wanted. He has enough power to drag on a negotiation like this for such a long time.[/quote']

 

Actually it doesn't. According to Felger and Mazz and numerous others who well reported this several days ago, the delay was a cover story by Lucchino to restore and rehabilitate Cherington's image after they effectively castrated him by vetoing his selection of Sveum. It was specificly designed to give the appearance of his having more influence then he does. Most of those experienced baseball analysts saw through this ploy days. ago. Hence their collective frustration over the delay as foolish and only demostrating how dysfunctional the FO really is.

[SCM33]

That's not how it works. It's not a black/white situation, and there was a middle ground they had to find.

 

If he didn't have any pull, they would have hired Valentine right away. Simple as that.

 

He's a rookie GM, not as much leverage as Epstein, but he's not a complete puppet either.

 

It was black and white though. There was no middle ground. LL wanted Valentine. LL played nice and let little Benny boy run around and think he was a real big league ballclub GM. In the end, LL got Valentine, and the whole thing was pretty embarrassing for little Benny, who in the end....had ZERO voice in the matter. The only reason it dragged was so that BC didnt look worse than he does now.

 

For all we know Valentine knew all along and he had to play along so that BC feelings werent hurt.

 

Come on User, this was embarrassing for BC......he had nothing to do with the hiring, he wanted nothing to do with the hiring....and in the end what he wanted didnt f***ing matter.

 

LL runs this team.

[Elktonnick]

That's not how it works. It's not a black/white situation, and there was a middle ground they had to find.

 

If he didn't have any pull, they would have hired Valentine right away. Simple as that.

 

He's a rookie GM, not as much leverage as Epstein, but he's not a complete puppet either.

 

No he is the organ grinder's monkey.

[FredLynn]

That's not how it works. It's not a black/white situation, and there was a middle ground they had to find.

 

If he didn't have any pull, they would have hired Valentine right away. Simple as that.

 

He's a rookie GM, not as much leverage as Epstein, but he's not a complete puppet either.

 

If the media reports are correct, Lucchino got his man and Cherington did not. I suspect that Cherington reluctantly agreed to this move. Don't forget that he was trained by Epstein and watched Epstein manipulate Francona like a marionette for years. If he didn't like the way things were done here he would have moved on. My guess is that Bobby V and BC are going to lock horns and the Cherington will be a short term GM with Valentine following him out the door shortly thereafter. By then the house will be clean and we will be relevant again.

[User Name]

Actually it doesn't. According to Felger and Mazz and numerous others who well reported this several days ago' date=' the delay was a cover story by Lucchino to restore and rehabilitate Cherington's image after they effectively castrated him by vetoing his selection of Sveum. It was specificly designed to give the appearance of his having more influence then he does. Most of those experienced baseball analysts saw through this ploy days. ago. Hence their collective frustration over the delay as foolish and only demostrating how dysfunctional the FO really is.[/quote']

 

The writers are torn on this. I remember posting a couple stories about a week back about how Cherington's input was very important in this decision, and that was partly why the process had dragged on for so long.

 

On the Sveum front, he could be our manager today had the Cubs not pounced.

 

Again, he doesn't have as much leverage as Epstein, but he definitely has some power.

[redsoxrules]

Hes a puppet.

 

If he had any pull, he would have hired the guy he wanted (SINCE HE IS THE GM).....simple as that.

 

Yup, its the same when Theo was there, Theo never had full control of the team .

[alphilip77]

And so...it begins....

[iortiz]

I had my doubts about Cherington's role in this organization. After this move, it confirms me that he is a puppet.

 

There is no other way to see it. Maybe with time his role could change, but now, LL is the chief in command. ( I guess he has always been)

[User Name]

It was black and white though. There was no middle ground. LL wanted Valentine. LL played nice and let little Benny boy run around and think he was a real big league ballclub GM. In the end, LL got Valentine, and the whole thing was pretty embarrassing for little Benny, who in the end....had ZERO voice in the matter. The only reason it dragged was so that BC didnt look worse than he does now.

 

For all we know Valentine knew all along and he had to play along so that BC feelings werent hurt.

 

Come on User, this was embarrassing for BC......he had nothing to do with the hiring, he wanted nothing to do with the hiring....and in the end what he wanted didnt f***ing matter.

 

LL runs this team.

 

We all know LL's running the team. What i'm trying to convey here is that BC is a rookie GM who should have little to no pull but held up the hiring for a long time because his input is valued.

 

LL's the big boss, but Cherington's his own man. If this situation was handled incorrectly, that's all on JH's end.

[FredLynn]

We all know LL's running the team. What i'm trying to convey here is that BC is a rookie GM who should have little to no pull but held up the hiring for a long time because his input is valued.

 

LL's the big boss, but Cherington's his own man. If this situation was handled incorrectly, that's all on JH's end.

 

Thats your take on it. I think that LL delayed the hiring of Valentine because it wouldn't look good if his newly appointed GM resigned in protest. Of course he has SOME power.

This whole thing looked bad and IMO has hurt the team this year in terms of FA who might be considering signing here.

[User Name]

Yup, let's watch all of those FA ditch the Sox and take half the money to go to the Pirates because of a lack of manager.

[SCM33]

We all know LL's running the team. What i'm trying to convey here is that BC is a rookie GM who should have little to no pull but held up the hiring for a long time because his input is valued.

 

LL's the big boss, but Cherington's his own man. If this situation was handled incorrectly, that's all on JH's end.

 

Honestly, it really doesnt matter who hired who.....who the manager is, who the GM is.....

 

Doesnt matter.

 

LL runs this team.

 

Finally this s*** is over, biggest question.....whats next? How can they make this team better?

 

Finally, we can move on.

[User Name]

Sign a RHH OF, a starting pitcher, and a couple of relievers.

 

Cuddyer/Beltran, Jackson/Buehrle, several options.

[FredLynn]

Yup' date=' let's watch all of those FA ditch the Sox and take half the money to go to the Pirates because of a lack of manager.[/quote']

 

Let me put it this way: if all other things were about equal, including the $$ involved, would you rather be hired by a company that has its act together and treats its employees well or by a company that clearly is in disarray and full of uncertainty? Of COURSE if they paid you a lot more to go to the company in disarray you might take that chance. But if you had the chance to win a ring and be involved with a truly professional organization. ....can you honestly say that makes no difference?

[SCM33]

Let me put it this way: if all other things were about equal' date=' including the $$ involved, would you rather be hired by a company that has its act together and treats its employees well or by a company that clearly is in disarray and full of uncertainty? Of COURSE if they paid you a lot more to go to the company in disarray you might take that chance. But if you had the chance to win a ring and be involved with a truly professional organization. ....can you honestly say that makes no difference?[/quote']

 

You really think people in baseball think about this?

 

The Sox hired who they wanted to. Ben Cherington.

 

LL hired who he wanted to. Bobby Valentine.

 

All the other s*** has no weight. The only thing that matters was the battle between LL and Cherington about who would manage. In the end, we saw who had more pull.

 

Stop thinking about it so much.

[User Name]

Let me put it this way: if all other things were about equal' date=' including the $$ involved, would you rather be hired by a company that has its act together and treats its employees well or by a company that clearly is in disarray and full of uncertainty? Of COURSE if they paid you a lot more to go to the company in disarray you might take that chance. But if you had the chance to win a ring and be involved with a truly professional organization. ....can you honestly say that makes no difference?[/quote']

 

But that's the point. The money will never be the same. With some notable exceptions that prove the rule (Cliff Lee) the agent and the player will turn to the place with the most money. In this regard, only two-three teams have an advantage over the Red Sox, and they don't have the same needs.

[seabeachfred]

Who friggin cares.........this took way too long, we already knew this was coming. BIG f***ING SHOCKER!!!!

 

Lets start to take of the things that actually matter now.

 

PS. This move shows us that Ben Cherington is a puppet and pretty much worthless.

 

I don't mean to be sarcastic about this because I am not, but I would like to know how you were so sure we were going to get Valentine as the manager of the Red Sox? With all the ******** going down the past two months it seemed like one day it was Bobby, the next it was Lamont, and Lovullo might still be in it, and then maybe some phantom guy none of knew who. I had actually predicted Lamont would get the job because I was still convinced that both Lucchino and Cherington wanted a skipper they would have some control of as Epstein did with Francona.

 

I think we all agree that we need to get moving now to sign a few decent relievers, get a RH hitting outfielder and a decent starting pitcher or two. As for Cherington I think that was clear from the beginning. He is nothing more than a straw man, but how will it play with other GM's in trade talks or with agents of FA? If they think of the guy as we do will that impede our chances of making the trades and signings we need? Or will Lucchino and Valentine be in on the ground floor in those talks?

[redsoxbeatz]

Who friggin cares.........this took way too long, we already knew this was coming. BIG f***ING SHOCKER!!!!

 

Lets start to take of the things that actually matter now.

 

PS. This move shows us that Ben Cherington is a puppet and pretty much worthless.

you're right, they shouldn't of announced it all... we all knew it was coming.

 

time for pitching improvement.

[User Name]

Lucchino has always been lurking in the shadows regarding trades/ FA signings.(/In response to Fred)

[seabeachfred]

The writers are torn on this. I remember posting a couple stories about a week back about how Cherington's input was very important in this decision, and that was partly why the process had dragged on for so long.

 

On the Sveum front, he could be our manager today had the Cubs not pounced.

 

Again, he doesn't have as much leverage as Epstein, but he definitely has some power.

 

Let's face it, some of us weren't sure where this would end up and I guess you might have been one of them as I was. I gave kuddos to SCM because he apparently had it pegged all along but I still don't know how he knew since the scenes seemed to change almost hourly.

You say BC has some power, SCM says he has none. I think the middle ground is that he is limited in what he can do and that makes him at least a semi-sap in my book.

 

Now on to more important things like getting our team settled for next season.

[SCM33]

I don't mean to be sarcastic about this because I am not' date=' but I would like to know how you were so sure we were going to get Valentine as the manager of the Red Sox? [/quote']

 

Because LL wanted him.

 

He wanted him in 2004 in favor of Tito, but Valentine was stubborn and said he would have left Pedro in, just as Grady did against the Yankees.

 

Valentine was 1 statement away from managing this club 8 years ago.

 

You were really shocked? The shocking thing is that you didnt know this was going to happen.

 

Like I said, who cares.....time to actually do something that actually helps the team, like getting on with the offseason moves besides manager.

[User Name]

Let's face it, some of us weren't sure where this would end up and I guess you might have been one of them as I was. I gave kuddos to SCM because he apparently had it pegged all along but I still don't know how he knew since the scenes seemed to change almost hourly.

You say BC has some power, SCM says he has none. I think the middle ground is that he is limited in what he can do and that makes him at least a semi-sap in my book.

 

Now on to more important things like getting our team settled for next season.

 

To be honest, i expected Valentine to be named manager after the Sveum fiasco, but kept the possibility of a surprise coming along as a viable scenario in my head. What i found interesting was how long BC actually managed to drag this out.

[Elktonnick]

To be honest' date=' i expected Valentine to be named manager after the Sveum fiasco, but kept the possibility of a surprise coming along as a viable scenario in my head. What i found interesting was how long BC actually managed to drag this out.[/quote']

 

and you think that was a good thing!!!!???