Valentine's Day Comes Early In Boston

Bobby Valentine has been named the new manager of the Boston Red Sox. I really don’t care to discuss whether or not I think this is a good move or a bad move because it really doesn’t make a difference in my mind. I will however say that the longer the managerial search went on for Boston, the more I suspected there would be a big name landing in the city. The more it went on the more Valentine was mentioned, and the more he was mentioned the more certain I was that it was inevitable for better or for worse that he would become the new Sox skipper. As a lot of people seem to think, I too am under the impression that Valentine is a short term fix for the position, as he has a two year contract with two more team options, this certainly favors that logic. Valentine definitely has some decent credentials, making stops in Texas, New York (Mets) and in Japan. He hasn’t managed in the big leagues in nearly a decade but he will do fine, not to say any of the candidates wouldn’t have been able to handle the job, but Bobby V is probably the safest choice right now. On that note, a lot of people like to think of Valentine as having a big ego and being very outspoken. Isn’t it interesting though, that whenever anyone is on camera, or at any sort of press conference/interview in sports, they always seem to say the right things. It appears if you are looking for Valentine to make any controversial headlines, you will not get them, at least not for now. It’s almost disgusting to me how everyone acts in front of the media. Where are the Ozzie Guillens of the world when you need them. Someone with something interesting and honest to say. I thought maybe Valentine would give a little something to talk about but all he says is he is “humbled” and nonsense like that. I understand the media is a game in and of itself, but I like to think you can be honest, maybe he and all the other boring interviews are honest, but you know there are a bunch of fakes out there too. Valentine will do well in Boston I’m sure, and I’m sure there will be some controversy with something he says eventually, I’ll wait. At least he doesn’t go Bill Belichick on us and be as vague as possible, although I find that amusing. It will be interesting to see how the players react (I’m sure they will say all the right things) now that Valentine has been hired, as it had been reported some players were not in favor of this hiring.