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Ok, he's gone, where do we go from here?

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  • TheVonTheVon Posts: 2,725
    I'd love for the Sox to lure Farrell away from the Blue Jays, but from what I understand, the Blue Jays will not let him out of his contract for a lateral transfer. In other words, the only way he's coming to the Red Sox is if we trade someone for him. Which might not be a bad idea at this point.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I don't feel Farrell is the answer the sox need as he has not done that well in Toronto.

    How about setting the team down and reading the riot act to them, tell them that Valentine is going to be the manager for 2013 and they better get used to it.

    Valentine has one more year on his contract and deserves a chance to see what he can do under better circumstances.

    If he does not start out well then get rid of him and find a replacement.

    There will be just as many good manager types available next summer as there are this winter.
  • I had plans to attend the game yesterday in Safeco - decided to play golf instead. I sit here as I type this on my laptop in my mancave - watching the game on ROOT Sports (Mariners TV). And I won't be going to the game tomorrow. This is pretty friggin sad - the Red Sox are in town and I can hop on a ferry & walk to the stadium - yet I have no interest in going to any of the games. Never in my lifetime had I ever thought - that with my Red Sox in my very minimal travel distance that I'd skip an entire series - this is really very, very sad - and a little hard for me to comprehend - but - they are not worth watching right now - at least when I have to pay for it.


  • << <i>I don't feel Farrell is the answer the sox need as he has not done that well in Toronto.

    How about setting the team down and reading the riot act to them, tell them that Valentine is going to be the manager for 2013 and they better get used to it.

    Valentine has one more year on his contract and deserves a chance to see what he can do under better circumstances.

    If he does not start out well then get rid of him and find a replacement.

    There will be just as many good manager types available next summer as there are this winter. >>



    I thought they might consider Kevin Kennedy - last year - if they did I didn't hear about it. But now I don't think he'd take the job. Who ever they decide to replace Bobby V - I expect that they've put themselves in the position that they will have to overpay for a seasoned manager. I can't think of anyone who wants these kind of headaches.
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,492 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I had plans to attend the game yesterday in Safeco - decided to play golf instead. I sit here as I type this on my laptop in my mancave - watching the game on ROOT Sports (Mariners TV). And I won't be going to the game tomorrow. This is pretty friggin sad - the Red Sox are in town and I can hop on a ferry & walk to the stadium - yet I have no interest in going to any of the games. Never in my lifetime had I ever thought - that with my Red Sox in my very minimal travel distance that I'd skip an entire series - this is really very, very sad - and a little hard for me to comprehend - but - they are not worth watching right now - at least when I have to pay for it. >>



    they are mostly AAA players on the starting lineup, so easily understood.


  • << <i>Did Bobby V really just announce Aveves as the Sox closer? It's gonna be a really long season........... >>



    I had no idea that when I posted this way back in the first few days of April did I EVER think that it would be THIS bad. I might not be as 'seasoned' as some of the Sox fans on these boards & I don’t live close to Boston – but never in my wildest worst nightmares did I ever surmise that this would be the outcome of the season. Yes there have been more painful seasons (86 & 03 for sure) but never during those heartbreaking seasons have I ever thought that "they just aren't worth watching anymore." They are on pace for their worst season since 1966 when I was still in diapers in 66 & my old man just bought a Ford Galaxie – remember that old lime green model – that’s the one he got.

    I am a Red Sox fan through & through – I have a Red Sox logo tattoo on my leg. But for the first time in my life – I feel that they need to do something to deserve and earn the investment of my emotional attention next year.

    I haven’t looked up their record from the last 30 games of last year to the first 132 of this year & I don’t want to – cause I know it’s bad – probably in the bottom of not only the AL East but all of MLB. I’ve got better things to do with my summer. There you have it – I am one PO’ED fan of the Red Sox. Maybe someday I will return – but they had better do something.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I have stopped watching their games as soon as the other team scores this year but will be back watching next year .

    I will be so bored from not having any sports to watch after the Patriots get done.

    Hopefully they will improve over the winter as they have enough budget room to get some decent players.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well, as the Red Sox have now reached the bottom of the heap I took a look at their worst seasons...not a pleasant task, but these stats are how the team finished over the years. I only looked at finishing the season at 15.5 games or worse...I really didn't realize how bad they were over the years. I guess current events are the most clear.

    1998 - 22 games out
    1997 - 20 games out
    1994 - 17 games out
    1992 - 23 games out
    1987 - 20 games out
    1985 - 18.5 games out
    1984 - 18 games out
    1983 - 20 games out
    1980 - 19 games out
    1971 - 18 games out
    1970 - 21 games out
    1969 - 22 games out
    1968 - 17 games out
    1966 - 26 games out
    1965 - 40 games out
    1964 - 27 games out
    1963 - 28 games out
    1962 - 19 games out
    1961 - 33 games out
    1960 - 32 games out

    There's a lot more, but enough is enough. The worst of the worst was 1932 when they finished an incredible 64 games out. Google Red Sox year by year stats to see the history of the team.

    One wonders what the players must think as they are forced to look at the American League East stats from their dugout viewpoint so clearly on display under the Green Monster. How do you stay motivated to play and do your best? Worse yet, the Yankees are on the horizon with a brief reprieve to Toronto and Tampa Bay, then come the Orioles and Tampa Bay in Fenway...mericfully they end on the road in Baltimore. I suspect the boo birds will be in high blower at the end of the Tampa Bay game on the 26th, this season's last game in Fenway.

    Bobby Valentine was a disastrous choice. His managerial style wasn't able to straighten out the egos and those who might have felt entitled to act as they had in the past. Few really performed to their potential. Pedroia clearly gave his all. No doubt injuries didn't help. Red Sox management, from John Henry on down have some serious rebuilding to do, some tough decisions to be made and perhaps some soul-searching as to decisions already made. Only time will tell if their decisions will make 2013 worth watching...I have already cancelled my Directv automatic renewal of the baseball package for next year.

    I had recorded the Red Sox reunion event and watched a good bit of it yesterday. That glorious April day with such a beautiful blue sky, so much promise, so much hope, so much potential.

    WHAT AN IMPLOSION!!!

    Fall is in the air, 58 degrees here this AM. Just gotta let it go, hopefully our team will be much more competitive next year.

    Be well my friends, it's time to pull for the Pats and Celtics.

  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I too have re-thought my position on Valentine, it is time for him to go.

    Lets concentrate on the Pat's now with only an hour and a half to go until game time.

    I cannot watch basketball though or soccer for that matter and hope for some good news from the red sox this winter.

    Go Pat's!
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 30,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well it has come down to this.

    LETS GO ORIOLES!

    I love that we sniped one from the Yanks last night, hell lets ruin it for the Yanks!
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    We didn't do it tonight but we made them sweat.

    We have a few more games with them though.
  • Just for the record - I don't live in Boston - but have been a Sox fan my whole life. I will say this - I have NEVER liked the Boston media. They are vultures - routinely looking for something controversial to write about to stir up conversation. Just listen to some of the stupid questions they ask both players & management. Did someone really ask Valentine if he thought Aceves 'showed him up' when he took him out of the game yesterday? What kind of troll would ask that question? It has absolutely nothing to do with the game!! If I were a player looking for a payday - I highly doubt I'd ever consider Boston because of the freakin' horrible media there. Plus - when you do well and leave out of town (for what ever reason) they find a way to crucify you. It goes back many many years and this isn't some recent trend. I think someone needs to infiltrate the Boston media with chicken & beer either in the press room or radio/tv studio & have it all over the news - it's unfortunate that there isn't a media outlet that reports on the most awfully pitiful sports reporting media in the US. It’s as if the reporters think that THEY are the story & if they can get someone to get to talking about their reporting – they have everyone’s attention – I’m pretty sick of it.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Amen brother!
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well, the 2013 season schedule has been released...

    Opening Day for the Red Sox is April Fool's Day against the Yankees.

    Is this an omen for the season?
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I will not start a Red Sox thread next year for sure.
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,492 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Beckett thrown out at first by RF Carlos Beltran. Seems Beckett's commitment to giving a damn hasn't changed despite the change of scenery


    http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=24751697&source=MLB&gid=2012_09_13_slnmlb_lanmlb_1
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    That sure says why they got rid of him.

    I laughed my a$$ of when I heard that.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "Haven't seen that in a long, long time"
    Vin Scully

    You can take the player with the attitude out of Boston, but you can't take the attitude out of the player.
  • TabeTabe Posts: 6,064 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>"Haven't seen that in a long, long time"
    Vin Scully

    You can take the player with the attitude out of Boston, but you can't take the attitude out of the player. >>


    The best part about Vin's call? He was the only one of the three to not instantly proclaim it as a single. He called exactly what happened not what he THOUGHT would happen. Nicely done.

    And, yeah, that's pretty bad. Beckett was at least running semi-hard most of the way but he clearly eased up the last 20 feet or so for some reason.

    Tabe
  • jdip9jdip9 Posts: 1,894 ✭✭✭
    I don't think it was a case of Beckett being lazy. He hit a solid line drive, Beltran was playing only 15-20 feet back from where some 2B play on a shift for Ortiz or Dunn, and charged the ball really well. Beckett got out of the box OK and was running pretty hard, and only eased up when he knew the throw was going to beat him...just a great play by Beltran IMO.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>"Haven't seen that in a long, long time"
    Vin Scully

    You can take the player with the attitude out of Boston, but you can't take the attitude out of the player. >>


    The best part about Vin's call? He was the only one of the three to not instantly proclaim it as a single. He called exactly what happened not what he THOUGHT would happen. Nicely done.

    And, yeah, that's pretty bad. Beckett was at least running semi-hard most of the way but he clearly eased up the last 20 feet or so for some reason.

    Tabe >>




    I did not see the play but have watched Beckett for years and it just completely shows what his attitude is on every phase of his game.

    He is not hungry anymore as he has all the money he will ever need so why bust his a$$.
  • I agree with Jdip9 that it was more of a great play by Beltran than Beckett totally dogging it . . . but if I was Beckett, I'd still be ashamed to walk back to the dugout after that. That's the sort of thing that happens to fat women with bad knees in co-ed softball games. It should not happen to professional athletes.
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,492 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not many watching games I presume, but if you were, you'd be seeing the staff ace dealing AGAIN. Buchholz looks excellent once again. Too bad his emergence as the best SP on the team is lost among the stories of suckiness
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Best of luck to the Red Sox on a series sweep this weekend. >>




    It's OK with me if they lose this weekend. I does not matter any more except for when they play the Yankees.
  • Go Orioles. Beat them Sox! image
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 30,658 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Go Orioles. Beat them Sox! image >>



    Agreed!
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    TWENTY games out. Who would have thought that remotely possible this past April? Not me for sure. Maybe 5 back and still in the hunt, but 20??? Surely Valentine cannot survive that stat. Looks to me like there is a very long road ahead before the team becomes competitive again.

    So...on a personal note...wife and I just bought a new home. Well, actually a lot on a cul-de-sac and will be building a nice home. We'll have lake access to one of the best bass fishing lakes in Georgia, lake Oconee.
    Pretty excited about the whole thing. Well, we were in the sales office earlier this week, and the rep introduced us to our "new neighbors", who just happened to be there. So, we exchanged some pleasant comments, then he commented about my Red Sox cap that I had on. He told me he was a big Yankees fan! Wow, talk about can't pick your neighbors!! image He then went on to talk about 1978 and Bucky Dent, like he was kinda glowing about that...ah, but then I brought up the 2004 playoffs and how his team choked big time and how the Red Sox just nuked them from game 4 on...he didn't have too much to say after that about baseball. All in fun of course, but I suspect he and I will have some fun in the years ahead.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I hope you enjoy your new home and you can pass the years away with your new yankee fishing buddy on the lake.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Thanks Steve...I might have to leave that guy (Frank) out on the lake if he gets too bad. image

    Had really intended to make it to ABQ this Fall, but now everything in my life has been accelerated into a mountain of chores to do. Kinda weird owning two homes at the same time. Fortunately the new one won't be finished until sometime in late January or early February, so I have some time to kinda pace myself. Hopefully will get there one day, I really want to see Chaco Canyon.
  • I don't know . . . is it too late to back out of that new house? This could be the start of a Hatfield and McCoy type feud.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    He's an ok guy, I think I can handle any comments. When I dropped the '04 comeback on him he got kinda humbled. I suspect it'll all be in good fun. I can assure you, he's met his match!! image

    Hard to believe I'm seeing 21 games out. I think the season came off the rails in the first Seattle/Oakland road trip. I will be amazed if Bobby V comes back next year. I think it'll be a few seasons before we are competitive again, hope I'm wrong, but the glue just isn't there.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I hope the Red Sox save their winning streak for the Yankees.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I hope the Red Sox save their winning streak for the Yankees. >>



    Well the Red Sox won but the good news is that the Yankees lost.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭


    Bobby Valentine thinks he'll return


    Updated: September 26, 2012, 7:05 PM ET
    By Gordon Edes | ESPNBoston.com


    BOSTON -- A relaxed Bobby Valentine, in what could be his last day managing the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, said he has not yet been told by ownership whether he will return next season. "My gut feeling is they haven't talked to me yet," he said. "There hasn't been any dialogue. We've talked, but not about that. Which makes me think I'm coming back. I don't know."


    (There was) not much I would have done differently, I don't think, other than I think I would have kept the beer in the clubhouse. I could have used it after a few games this year.
    ” -- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine


    Valentine said he had not given any thought to Wednesday being his last day at Fenway until he was asked about it. "I'm not getting fired today, if that's what you mean," he said. When asked to assess the job he's done this season, Valentine said, "Obviously, it wasn't what I set out to do. When you don't accomplish what you set out to do, you feel like you haven't done a good enough job. It's simple." The Red Sox, who entered Wednesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays with a 69-86 record, with have their first losing season since 1997 and could finish with their worst mark since 1964. Valentine volunteered that there was "not much I would have done differently, I don't think, other than I think I would have kept the beer in the clubhouse. I could have used it after a few games this year." Valentine revealed how much he has felt under siege at times this season while answering a question about what he'd learned about himself this season.


    "I have the gas masks," he said. "I can handle the chemical weapons. A lot of the bullets penetrated, but they didn't kill me. I guess I'm -- what do I know about myself? I'm almost a year older. I know that, and it's gone quickly."


    But he also graciously thanked the members of the media assembled in the interview room. "I would just like to thank you all, or at least most of you, for your professionalism this year and your willingness to put up with all of the stuff that goes on every day on a day-to-day basis, and wish you all great health & great health to you and your families, and enjoy. Because it is the last day this year," Valentine said.
    Asked about the "variables" he encountered as manager this season, Valentine said: "All those variables are things I feel I'm prepared to handle. When I come back next year, I think I'm prepared to handle them. Hopefully, we'll have better results."


    Red Sox owner John Henry has said the team will wait until after the season to make a decision on whether Valentine will return for the second year of his contract.

    My vote...Sayonara Bobby V. Go enjoy life, 'cause Fenway ain't the place for you.. I predict you will be T-O-A-S-T by next week.
  • He's such a smug blowhard. Comments like "My gut feeling is they haven't talked to me yet" just make me want to punch him in the mouth. Haha! Seriously though, he thinks he is so clever when he says stuff like that but it comes across like he isn't taking anything seriously and like he thinks he is the smartest guy in the room.

    And making comments about wishing there was beer in the clubhouse is either poor judgement or purposeful needling and bringing up the past. The team will never get beyond that scandal if the manager keeps bringing it up with the media.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well, just 3 more games for the Red Sox this season. After a day off today to ponder their inevitable fate, they will find themselves facing the Yankees three more times before the coup de gras is administered Wednesday night. The most humiliating admonition will come in the final standings. The Red Sox will find themselves finishing the season with the worst record of the American League this year.

    Of the 30 Major League teams, only 4 have a more dismal record than the Red Sox at this point...and there is a fair chance that number could go down.

    Cherington and his new sidekick V-Tek have their work cut out for themselves...I find it unimaginable that the current manager could survive through the most dismal stats in recent memory and be wearing that Red Sox uniform again next year. It was way too painful to watch it all go down in flames.

    May the Orioles find a way to win it all this year.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    May the Red sox win their last three games is all I have to say on the subject!
  • ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 12,864 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good god, hope they win at least one so they have 70 wins. 60 - some wins is super-wretched for a $170 million payroll.
  • ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 12,864 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wicked cool -- 640 posts for a 69 win team! image
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Bobby Valentine on the eve of what has to be his last game as Red Sox manager, throws some bombs at his coaches. Bush league in its finest hour. I can only hope when the 27th out is recorded, that your walking papers are presented post haste! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZER !!!!


    Bobby Valentine talks loyalty

    Updated: October 3, 2012, 4:05 PM ET
    ESPNBoston.com

    Before managing what perhaps will be his final game as skipper of the Boston Red Sox, Bobby Valentine on Wednesday said he felt some of his coaches undermined him at times during what has been a tumultuous season. During his weekly interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI, Valentine responded to a question about whether the coaching staff and the people around him have been loyal to him with a simple, "No."

    More On The Red Sox

    Gordon Edes and the rest of the ESPNBoston.com team have the Red Sox covered for you. Blog

    Valentine was then asked if he felt like "some of these guys on the staff have undermined you at times." His answer to that question was a curt, "Yes."

    "I had to work through it all," Valentine said. "Just another thing that's part and parcel with the job. Work though it and try to make it better. That's my job to make it all better, make it all functional."

    Valentine has another season left on his contract, but the team has said it will evaluate whether he will return after this season is concluded. The Red Sox are currently in last place at 69-92. This is Boston's first 90-loss season since 1966.

    Valentine said he has not yet been informed by ownership whether he will return next season.

    "I think everyone knows who I am," Valentine said. "I think the internal group knows who I am, what I am. They just have to figure out if that's what they need."

    NO, Red Sox Nation doesn't need you, nor those of your ilk Perhaps you need to polish off that bento box and try that place again...take DiceK with you, at least he can interpret.
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 30,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Im telling ya Al I feel bad for Bobby V, its painfully obvious that he is going to be the goat for this season and in my opinion no matter who managed this team this year they were set up for failure.

    Bobby V im in your corner and wish you the best
  • TheVonTheVon Posts: 2,725
    I can appreciate the sentiment, Perkdog, and I certainly don't think the poor record is all Bobby V's fault (some of it is), but the guy didn't do himself any favors with the way he handled things. Being smug and arrogant when you have a 100-win team is one thing. When you're having an historically bad season, it's more appropriate for the manager to be humble and to build up the team instead of constantly talking about the mess you inherited and all the hurdles placed in your way.

    On a different note, my respect for Pedroia continues to climb. The dude has a broken finger which should have sidelined him for the rest of the season but he goes out and plays anyway because he loves the game and he wants to be there for his younger, less experienced teammates. That dude is a gamer.
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 30,658 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I can appreciate the sentiment, Perkdog, and I certainly don't think the poor record is all Bobby V's fault (some of it is), but the guy didn't do himself any favors with the way he handled things. Being smug and arrogant when you have a 100-win team is one thing. When you're having an historically bad season, it's more appropriate for the manager to be humble and to build up the team instead of constantly talking about the mess you inherited and all the hurdles placed in your way.

    On a different note, my respect for Pedroia continues to climb. The dude has a broken finger which should have sidelined him for the rest of the season but he goes out and plays anyway because he loves the game and he wants to be there for his younger, less experienced teammates. That dude is a gamer. >>



    Chad I see your point and you are right about his attitude but thats what you get with him regardless of the win/loss ratio its him being himself and I respect a guy who says whats on his mind.

    As far as Pedroia goes the kid is everything what pro sports should be but sadly is not.
  • I didn't read the thread, but I have always had a liking for the Red Sox...and Boston IS the United States, they got us here, gotta love the history there!
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,492 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've been watching the games lately, not all of the innings though. Anyway, I can't recall offhand the last time they won a game. I think they won a few in September, but man those victories have been scarce. This must be what it is like to be a Royals or Astros fan.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Actually, the Royals finished only 15 games out...the Astros the worst of all at 42 games back.

    The Red Sox sadly have lost their last 8 games. I'd write a eulogy, but my past posts have made clear my position on this dismal season and the inept manager, who will be long gone soon!!

    I'm pullin' for the Orioles, no WS for them since 1983.

    Now, it's time for...GO PATS !!
  • YogiBerraFanYogiBerraFan Posts: 2,390 ✭✭


    << <i>May the Red sox win their last three games is all I have to say on the subject! >>



    Ummm... Can you say Yankees sweep image
  • itzagoneritzagoner Posts: 8,753 ✭✭
    thanks for leaving out the Cubs, Barndog. image
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,492 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>thanks for leaving out the Cubs, Barndog. image >>



    image

    Bobby V fired today. Doesn't make the team better. I wish Lucchino would have gone with him. I wonder if the owners will give Cherington the opportunity (FOR THE FIRST TIME) to produce a team based on what his baseball operations skills, knowledge, and experience tell him is best?
  • It's official - Bobby V has been fired. That only came about 161 games too late. Any chance Kevin Kennedy would consider the job? I hope that when the Marlins fire Guillen - his name doesn't come up on the Sox radar - please - no Ozzie in Boston!!
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