Deebs

I don't argue that Bailey comes with some injury risk. Bailey will get fair market value, for an arbitration eligible player. But that market value is much less than the market value of a player in free agency. That was my point. He and Melancon are costing the Red Sox 1/3 of the price of Papelbon. No, neither one is as good as Papelbon is, but IMO, Bailey is a far better deal at $3.5 mil than Paps is at $12 mil. Paps is not worth $8 mil more than the two of those players put together. As far as Papi is concerned, he will be overpaid next year, but I don't really have any issue with paying him roughly $14 mil for ONE year. Based on his production last year, he was worth it. I prefer overpaying him some for one year rather than signing him to a multi-year deal. If he declines, the Sox get 2 draft picks.

I don't think Cherington needs to rush into signing a #4 starter and thereby, likely overpaying. The patient approach seems to have worked for him so far. Other than that, I completely agree with your post. Trying to go into a season with two relievers converted to starters is far too risky. Adding a #4 starter not only would make a difference in the rotation, but it would also add depth, and it would improve the bullpen directly by allowing Aceves to stay there where he fills a vital role, and indirectly by having starters who would (hopefully) get deeper into the games. I think the addition of a good #4 takes this team from having just a fair shot at making the playoffs to being a favorite for the division. On paper, of course.

Out of curiousity, I'm wondering how those you who don't see anything wrong with how Valentine handled Crawford's situation feel about the way he handled Beckett's situation. Do you think it was okay for him to state that Beckett wanted the conversation to remain private, then go on to discuss parts of that conversation?

Maybe not, but do you think the player's aren't going to think twice before confiding in him about something? We all know that almost everything in the Boston media gets blown way out of proportion to begin with. I just can't see things working out for the best if Valentine continues to make private team matters public. We'll see. I have no choice but to hope that whatever approach he chooses to take will work for the team. He has a talented enough team (less on good SP currently) to make it to the playoffs. Let's hope his personality and ego don't get in the way.

Read example1's reply #194 regarding the handling of Crawford and Beckett. That sums it up pretty well.

Just wait until the first time the FO makes a move that Valentine disagrees with or that Valentine wasn't consulted about. Then we may see some first class whining and pouting.

The 2011 Red Sox are not the only team that ever had problems in the clubhouse. Every team, every season has some problems, be it insubordination or fighting between players, or whatever. We just don't hear about the vast majority of them because FO's prefer to keep those matters out of the press, and for good reason. As others have said, Francona's approach in handling his team worked very well, up until this past season, and even then, it worked until September. Whipping the players in line isn't going to work if the players end up not trusting or respecting the manager. Players don't necessarily have to like their manager, but their has to be respect and trust. If I were a player on this team, even someone like Pedroia who is not part of the problem, I would not trust Valentine based on what I've seen and heard so far. A really good manager would be able to keep the players in line without having to make the issues public.