When Bobby Valentine interviewed for the Red Sox managerial position, he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. Overreaction among the Boston media is second nature. In fact, it’s practically part of the job description. We all know how boring spring training can be, so when a report surfaced that Bobby V. and Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington are caught in a power struggle — despite the fact that the regular season hasn’t even started yet — none of us were surprised. Valentine wasn’t surprised either, but he certainly doesn’t agree.
“I think it’s lazy journalism,” Valentine said in response to the article according to Boston.com. “That’s what I think. I think it’s an easy story to write. It has no validity. Absolutely none. I could have written it in on December 3. Are you kidding me? There are some guys who are lazy and some guys who are clever. It was a clever journalist that set that all up, too. It comes with the territory.”
While there may be some truth to the rumors that Valentine and Cherington disagree on what to do with Daniel Bard and Jose Iglesias, I’m inclined to agree with Bobby. The story was an easy one to write in that every team has these issues in spring training. There isn’t a team in the league that doesn’t have roster disagreements in spring training. Everything just happens to be a bigger deal in Boston.
That being said, nobody would be surprised if Valentine and Cherington eventually butt heads. It is a known fact that the Valentine hire was the work of John Henry, Larry Lucchino, and the Red Sox front office. Cherington wants to run the team the same way that Theo Epstein did, but having an ego like Bobby V.’s around could make that a challenge.
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