This story is completely consistent with what I've seen, especially the part about hating it here.
The problem is that, sometime in the past ten years, Bobby Valentine went from being a baseball manager to a broadcaster. I'm sure he loved being a broadcaster. He got lots of attention, people asked him for his opinion, and none of his opinions had consequences. They were forgotten as soon as they were spoken. Now he's not getting any of that. His opinions get challenged. His performance is being measured. Also he's being second guessed instead of second guessing. Who wouldn't hate that change. But this also fits with how I've interpreted his body language. He never smiles. He watches the game and kind of rocks back on his heels. He doesn't seem the least bit engaged with the players. They don't talk to him. He looks like a guy who won a contest that lets him be manager for a year. This also connects to the story I heard where he filled out the line card the wrong way because he didn't know the handedness of the opposing pitcher. The players pointed it out to him. This was a terrible hire. The Red Sox hired a guy who didn't understand himself well enough to know whether he wanted the job. If I were running the Sox, I'd fire Valentine today, declare a rebuilding year, and make Dave Magadin the interim manager. On Mon, May 14, 2012 at 12:26 PM, Tom Salemi <[email protected]> wrote: > > > John Dennis, half of the insufferable EEI morning team, says he had an > interesting conversation with a "Red Sox insider" over the weekend. Again, > I know we need to be careful not to put too much stock in such reports. > However, John Dennis was a reporter at one time and I believe still > maintains connections with pro-Athletes via is MediaWise business (unless > he stopped doing that.) > > Anyway, Dennis says he was told the following. And it makes a great deal > of sense. > > During spring training, Valentine was running the team through drills. A > high profile player - Dennis didn't know his identity - failed to execute a > simple part of the play and Valentine chastised him publicly. > > As luck would have it, Red Sox owners were nearby. They apparently had a > meeting with Valentine later on and told him that's now how we do things > here. > > Again, this is all heresay. But it is consistent with Valentine's bipolar > communications with the media. It is consistent with someone who wants to > say one thing but knows he's required to say something else. > > Oh...and the person also told Dennis that Valentine hates it here and > wishes he never left ESPN. > > Brilliant. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Red Sox Citizens" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Red Sox Citizens" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en.
