Valentine Fired

[jung]

V did a terrible job....no question....should have been fired....no question....never should have been hired in the first place.

 

However, Sox starting pitching has been deteriorating year after year after year to a low point this year that was beyond belief. Can't win without starting pitching...just can't.

 

I do think V did almost exactly what LL wanted him to do...just did it even more than LL had estimated. As bad a job of managing or coaching (depending on sport) that we have seen in this town.

[v2freak]

Sorry, but I don't agree. The Sox had a very similar team to 2011, and that team was 90-72. Granted, Gonzalez, Crawford, and Beckett disappeared in August, but this was still a talented and expensive team.

 

The team had problems. There was no doubt about that...and that is exactly why, without question, Bobby Valentine was brought to Boston to manage. There was never a time in which we were told Valentine would have it easy. Actually, I can't think of a time a manager was ever brought in to replace a fired manager when anyone thought it would be easy. That is not how it works.

 

Bobby Valentine was hired to right the ship, and he absolutely failed to do it. I think the "no one could have done better" theory is absolutely wrong. The Red Sox were talented and in no way a last place team.

 

No way. The 2011 Sox were much better. A closer who blew saves but was more reliable than not. Beckett was in tip-top shape and so was Lester. Ellsbury was out of this world. Gonzalez, Pedroia - all those guys lit it up. Varitek called good game after good game.

 

Enter 2012. 6 games in and the 2011 runner up MVP gets his shoulder separated. The two aces can't get their s*** together. Bard goes 7 innings once during his tenure as a starter. Gonzalez has a massive early season slump. Youkilis has a slow as sin start. Then injuries to Pedroia, Ortiz and Middlebrooks happens. By September, more than half the line up is from the PawSox.

 

The rosters may not have changed as much but those were NOT the same guys out there in 2012.

 

Who is the best manager in the game right now? I doubt he would have been able to fix this mess. Maybe the Sox would be closer to .500 but what good would that do? If they're gonna miss the playoffs, they should at least get a high draft pick.

[Spitball]

The rosters may not have changed as much but those were NOT the same guys out there in 2012.

 

Huh? Are you kidding? It is the manager's job to get the best out of the "same guys." That is why he was hired. Francona was a winning manager, but didn't get to the playoffs. Valentine was brought in to get the best out of the "same guys." If the same guys are "NOT the same guys" complete BS is acceptable, why fire

Francona???

[v2freak]

Francona shouldn't have been fired either. That's my stance on it, and I don't think 2012 is on Valentine. It's a very consistent view point. It almost sounds to me like you're saying Bobby Valentine is responsible for all those things I mentioned. Lester and Beckett pitching badly. Aceves and Bailey blowing saves. Nobody on the team getting hits and scoring runs. You really can only do so much as a manager, and you have nothing to work with offensively and no one can get on base.

 

I think management just scapegoated Bobby V. Sure he said stupid things, he fanned some fires. I won't deny these things. But now, with all the rebuilding the Sox have to do, they also have to get a new manager. It's going to be one mess of an offseason. Where have we seen them do this all before? Oh that's right, last ^@*!^#$(@&ing year

[InfernoOrangeSS]

I'll admit I liked the hiring of Valentine. I thought he would have done much better than what he did. Not sorry to see him go. I just hope it's not Farrell replacing him.