MR

This guy will wear out his welcome in about two years.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/i ... ox-manager

Enigma869 wrote:This guy will wear out his welcome in about two years.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/i ... ox-manager

Probably so but at least he's a straight talker and a better game strategist than Francona was, in my opinion.

conversationpc wrote:
Probably so but at least he's a straight talker and a better game strategist than Francona was, in my opinion.

Not so sure about that. The guy managed in the majors for 15 years, and never won a single thing. Not to mention, his last season with the Mets, players were accused of boozing and smoking weed, so I'm not sure how much of a change over Francona that he really is. I've always thought Valentine was a pompous ass.

Don't overestimate the worth of a manager. They account for relatively NOTHING when it comes to wins and loses. The only thing they control is when to pull a pitcher.

Valentine was really the only candidate out there with name power so far this off-season that wanted to manage. The Red Sox are the Red Sox, and nobody expected them to hire a newcomer to the managerial ranks. Not that they may have gone in a different direction, but with the candidates that were out there, for better or worse, I never saw them choosing anyone but Bobby V.

marco17 wrote:Valentine was really the only candidate out there with name power so far this off-season that wanted to manage. The Red Sox are the Red Sox, and nobody expected them to hire a newcomer to the managerial ranks. Not that they may have gone in a different direction, but with the candidates that were out there, for better or worse, I never saw them choosing anyone but Bobby V.

In my opinion, Valentine is not a good hire, and I couldn't disagree with you more that the Red Sox only hire guys with "name power". This organization has ZERO history of hiring Managers with "name power". The reality is that Terry Francona never did much of anything before the Red Sox hired him and wasn't well thought of by Phillies fans. Not to mention, this is the same organization who hired guys like Jimy Williams and Grady Little (not exactly household names), so I'm not entirely eusre where you came to the conclusion that you came to.

Enigma869 wrote:

marco17 wrote:Valentine was really the only candidate out there with name power so far this off-season that wanted to manage. The Red Sox are the Red Sox, and nobody expected them to hire a newcomer to the managerial ranks. Not that they may have gone in a different direction, but with the candidates that were out there, for better or worse, I never saw them choosing anyone but Bobby V.

In my opinion, Valentine is not a good hire, and I couldn't disagree with you more that the Red Sox only hire guys with "name power". This organization has ZERO history of hiring Managers with "name power". The reality is that Terry Francona never did much of anything before the Red Sox hired him and wasn't well thought of by Phillies fans. Not to mention, this is the same organization who hired guys like Jimy Williams and Grady Little (not exactly household names), so I'm not entirely eusre where you came to the conclusion that you came to.

True, but the team really wasn't the consistent contender they are now until Franconia's time. When you get good, and I certainly am not implying that it is a good or bad hire, but organizations tend to hire name guys, that's all I am saying.

I like Valentine.

marco17 wrote:

Enigma869 wrote:

marco17 wrote:Valentine was really the only candidate out there with name power so far this off-season that wanted to manage. The Red Sox are the Red Sox, and nobody expected them to hire a newcomer to the managerial ranks. Not that they may have gone in a different direction, but with the candidates that were out there, for better or worse, I never saw them choosing anyone but Bobby V.

In my opinion, Valentine is not a good hire, and I couldn't disagree with you more that the Red Sox only hire guys with "name power". This organization has ZERO history of hiring Managers with "name power". The reality is that Terry Francona never did much of anything before the Red Sox hired him and wasn't well thought of by Phillies fans. Not to mention, this is the same organization who hired guys like Jimy Williams and Grady Little (not exactly household names), so I'm not entirely eusre where you came to the conclusion that you came to.

True, but the team really wasn't the consistent contender they are now until Franconia's time. When you get good, and I certainly am not implying that it is a good or bad hire, but organizations tend to hire name guys, that's all I am saying.

I'm not sure about the hiring of Valentine one way or the other. Like John said, the Mets had some similar issues with shenanigans going on in their clubhouse, too. That being said, I would hope that Valentine has learned from that and already knows what's expected of him coming in to manage this team with the entire nation of Sox fans pissed off that crap like that was going down in the clubhouse. I don't expect it to be a problem again, at least this coming season.

I picture a rocky ride. He is a smart baseball guy, but he's petty, arrogant, and given to angry over-reactions. If they get off to a slow start (like they did this past season), it could get very, very ugly in Boston. Those are educated fans and media as far as baseball goes, and he hates being second-guessed. That LA tan will not fly either. I think it's a big step down from Francona. I do think he is a good announcer and I like his knowledge of baseball strategy...but he sucks as a manager.