Larry Brown Sports

Can you think of a more appropriate ending to the disastrous season the Red Sox have had than Bobby Valentine crashing his bicycle while reading a text message from Dustin Pedroia? Neither can we. While we certainly don’t want to see anyone get hurt, that’s the situation the world has presented us with.

According to the New York Times, Valentine — an avid cyclist — was riding on a slippery path in Central Park when he got a text from his second baseman. He looked up after reading it and realized he had swerve to avoid two tourists who were walking in front of him, which caused him to lose his balance and crash into a ditch next to the Central Park Reservoir. He suffered minor injuries to his knees and hips.

“I shouldn’t have been reading a text while I was riding,” he said. “That’s the wrong thing to do. But at least I was wearing my helmet.”

If you shouldn’t text and drive, you shouldn’t text and ride. As for the text, Bobby V. said Pedroia was informing him that he would play in Tuesday night’s game against the Yankees despite a broken ring finger on his left hand. Although the season is a lost cause for Boston, Pedroia has said he is trying to set an example for the team’s younger players by letting them know being in the majors means playing through injuries.

“Hey, if he can play with that, I can certainly manage with this,” Valentine said.

Not to mention, he should enjoy his managerial career while it lasts. After a season in which he made some mind-boggling coaching decisions, Tuesday and Wednesday night are likely the last two times Bobby V. will ever manage an MLB team.

H/T WEEI.com

Jose Iglesias is the most promising fielding prospect in the Red Sox farm system, but the shortstop can’t hit. His bat is nowhere close to major league-ready, but Boston’s roster is thin enough right now amid their lost season that guys like Iglesias are being given a chance to prove their worth. After he worked a 2-2 count with a man on base in the top of the seventh on Sunday, Bobby Valentine took that chance away from the young prospect.

The Red Sox manager opted to sit Iglesias down for pinch-hitter Daniel Nava. Again, the count was 2-2 when the move was made. Pedro Ciriaco was on first when Iglesias’ at-bat began but Valentine decided to go with Nava once Ciriaco stole second to get into scoring position.

“Just trying to get a run for Jon (Lester), obviously,” Valentine explained according to WEEI.com. “I told Daniel, if we steal second, you got it. Otherwise, I was all set to play defense in a nothing-nothing game. Once a guy gets to second base, I figured take a shot on a base hit. It’s tough. Jon’s pitching such a good game is what it is. You get him a run there and he wins a ballgame. He’s battling, too. It’s not about one guy. It’s about a whole group of guys.”

Read The Rest of the Story…

Bobby Valentine seems determined to use his last days as Red Sox manager to make sure no team hires him in the future.

When asked on Friday about the status of the team’s roster, Valentine took the question as an opportunity to bash his team.

“Are you kidding?” Valentine responded when asked if the Red Sox could use roster help. “This is the weakest roster we’ve ever had in September in the history of baseball. It could use help everywhere.”

The Red Sox were last in the AL East when he made that remark, and they went on to win two straight at Toronto. Valentine tried “clarifying” his remarks before Sunday’s game.

“The other day when I made a comment about a September roster, that wasn’t meant to be a criticism of any players or anything in the organization,” Valentine said, per the Boston Herald. “It was just a statement of fact because of the injuries and our Triple-A team in the playoffs. This is different. We have less people than most September rosters. We have less positions filled than any September roster I’ve ever seen. If you thought that to be anything other than a statement of what it was, stand corrected on that.

“Usually a September roster has some starting pitchers who are waiting in the wings. Ours doesn’t. Usually a September roster has left-handed pinch-hitter types or pinch runners or five or six outfielders. We have four outfielders. That’s not like a September roster.”

As a result of injuries and trades, Boston’s current roster hardly resembles the opening day starting lineup. Kevin Youkilis was traded to the White Sox, and his replacement, Will Middlebrooks, is out for the season with an injury. So is David Ortiz. Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, and Josh Beckett were all traded to the Dodgers. Ryan Sweeney and Franklin Morales are also on the shelf. And former MVP Dustin Pedroia was not with the team at the time Valentine made his remarks because his wife had given birth.

But here’s the thing: even with those players, the Red Sox weren’t dominating. That’s why they made the trades. They still have enough players and pitching to win even without all those guys, and it’s Bobby Valentine’s job to try and make that happen, not to sit back and complain about things. He’s the manager and it’s his job to inspire his players. I’m not so sure trashing his roster is the best way to go about it. And saying that his comments were not a criticism doesn’t even make sense; they were a criticism.

Bobby Valentine dragged Joe Maddon’s name into the conversation during his contentious interview on WEEI on Wednesday, and the Rays manager has responded.

Valentine was defending himself for arriving to the ballpark later than usual for a recent game when he brought up Maddon. To make himself look better, he told the hosts that Rays manager Joe Maddon only arrives to the park at 4:00pm for night games. Maddon heard about what Valentine said, so he decided to respond via Twitter:

Apologies to the writers for being late to today’s pregame session. My pedicure appointment ran a little late.

— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) September 5, 2012

Now that is how you respond. Is there any wonder why Maddon was voted the most underrated manager in baseball by an SI players’ poll? This is one sharp cat.

In the latest example of why Bobby Valentine was not a good fit for Boston, the Red Sox manager went off during a radio interview and told the host he’d punch him in the mouth.

Valentine was appearing on WEEI’s “The Big Show” and was asked by Glenn Ordway if he had checked out of the season. He didn’t respond kindly.

“What an embarrassing thing to say,” Valentine answered. “If I was there, I would punch you right in the mouth. How does that sound? Does that sound like I’ve checked out? Why would someone even … that’s something that a comic strip person would write.

“If someone’s here and watching me go out at 2 o’clock in the afternoon working with the young players, bringing in the right relief pitchers to get a win, putting on a hit and run when it’s necessary, talking with the guys after the game in the food room … how could someone in real life say that?”

Valentine described the current season — the Red Sox are 63-74 — as “lousy” and “miserable.” But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to return next season.

“This is what I chose to do. I think it’s been miserable, but it’s also been part of my life’s journey,” said Valentine. “You learn from misery.”

The Red Sox manager was also particularly incensed with the media for writing that he was late to a game after picking up his son from the airport.

“I shouldn’t have to explain that,” Valentine said. “That pisses me off. Whoever wrote that knew what happened. They knew that my son was coming to see me for the first time in this lousy season and that I got to see him on the road, and that his flight was late, and that I was waiting at the airport in San Francisco for his flight to come in, and that came in, I sent the lineup in and reported to my coaches that I was going to be a little late. For someone to say that I was late is an absolute disgrace to their integrity if they have any.”

Valentine has had difficulty getting along with his players from the start, and the players even vented to ownership about him. Things are so bad that he’s now having trouble composing himself in radio interviews. It’s becoming even more clear than before that Valentine is just not a good fit for Boston.

Audio from the interview is below (the checked out part comes around the 2:40 mark):

Read The Rest of the Story…

After seeing the Yahoo! Sports report on Tuesday about several Red Sox players ripping Bobby Valentine in a meeting with the owners last month, all indications are that Valentine has lost his clubhouse in his first year as manager in Boston. The team has not turned things around from its epic September collapse last year, and many of them feel the need to find somewhere to point their fingers. Dustin Pedroia insists he is not one of those players.

“I don’t think Bobby should be fired,” Pedroia after Tuesday night’s loss to the Orioles according to the Boston Herald. “Listen, we haven’t played well. That’s the bottom line. I’m not going to blame anything on Bobby. It’s on the players. Last year wasn’t on Tito (Terry Francona). I know he took it hard. We all did. It’s on the players, man.”

With Jason Varitek having retired and Kevin Youkilis now playing in Chicago, Pedroia is the supposed leader of the Red Sox. However, part of Tuesday’s bombshell report included a story about a photo that is circulating through the organization that shows Bobby V. apparently sleeping and a caption that reads “Our manager contemplating his lineup at 3:30 p.m.” If you remember, Dustin was also very vocal in voicing his displeasure about Valentine earlier in the season when Bobby questioned Youkilis’ motivation.

While I agree that Valentine needs to be fired if he can’t earn the respect of the team, that doesn’t mean I blame him in any way for what has happened this season in Boston. This team embarrassed itself last September when Bobby V. wasn’t around, and they’ve managed to do it again this season. The party animal attitude and sense of entitlement around the Red Sox clubhouse has poisoned the team. Valentine is nothing more than a victim of circumstance.

Photo credit: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

The relationship between Bobby Valentine and some Red Sox players has been fractured from the start, became worse during the season, and reportedly reached the point in late July where they no longer wanted to play for him. That’s according to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan, who says several players blasted Valentine during a meeting with ownership last month.

According to Passan, the owners called for the meeting on July 26 in response to Adrian Gonzalez, who, texting on behalf of his teammates, complained that Valentine left pitcher Jon Lester in to allow 11 runs during a July 22 start. Some of the players reportedly told management they no longer wanted to play for Valentine. Passan’s report points out that some players did not participate in the Valentine-bashing meeting because they feel he has been unfairly blamed for the team’s struggles.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington confirmed to USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale that a meeting with players and ownership occurred.

Said Cherington in an e-mail to USA TODAY Sports:

“There was a meeting in New York with ownership and players. There were a variety of topics covered and some frustrations expressed. No ultimatums were issued. The focus of the meeting was an airing out of issues in an effort to focus our attention on the field.”

Players were reportedly upset with Valentine for leaving in Lester to be embarrassed against Toronto. Another incident that upset players was Valentine telling third baseman Will Middlebrooks “Nice inning, kid,” after the rookie made a fielding mistake.

And then there’s this amazing anecdote that shows Dustin Pedroia’s disdain for Valentine. Apparently the picture described below has been circulating among the Red Sox via text message:

Pedroia, notorious among teammates for his wit and humor, is in the foreground with a giddy smile, his tongue wagging and both thumbs up. Next to him is allegedly Valentine, face down on a table, apparently asleep. A caption accompanies the picture: “Our manager contemplating his lineup at 3:30 p.m.”

That picture wouldn’t be too far off from describing the truth about Bobby Valentine, who, speaking to reporters before Tuesday night’s game at Baltimore, deflected comment on the Yahoo! report.

“They’re still playing for me,” he said of the disgruntled players.

That may be true, but the team isn’t playing particularly well; Boston is 57-59 and 5.5 games out in the wild card race.

Red Sox ownership made a bold move by hiring a divisive personality like Valentine after last season’s collapse. The hiring does not seem to be working, and at this point the Red Sox would be crazy to bring him back for another season.