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| "Bobby V" |
Valentine, or Valentines, is often connotated with love, affection, romance. In
Boston over the winter it’s meant upheaval, change, and hate.
For the
Red Sox, after 2 world series and 8 years of
Terry Francona, the time for change beckoned. For rookie General Manager
Ben Cherington, his first task being thrust upon him was to find a new manager, a manager who could fill the void of arguably, the best in team history.
As interviewing continued, names in the running, out the running, then back in, with more flip-flops than a beach in
Sydney,
management settled on Bobby Valentine.
Valentine, once a manager of the Mets, guiding them to the World Series in 2000 (where they lost to the Yankees), left after a very public, very poisonous relationship with then Mets GM
Steve Phillips.
Since then Valentine enjoyed successes in
Japan and then as an analyst on ESPN before joining the Red Sox.
For the team however, the news of Valentines’ appointment was met with scepticism and shock. Marquee players, such as
Carl Crawford and
Josh Beckett had been in varying altercations with their new manager during his stint with ESPN.
After
WEEI, NESN and various other media outlets had a cataclysmic meltdown, something which happens hilariously often, over the news, Spring Training was upon us.
With talk of Valentines’ appointment being the main source of news about the organisation, heck, it was mentioned more by the media, than the “fields medal” was by Dr.Lambeau in ‘Good Will Hunting’.
Valentine managed to win many new fans with his comment of “
I hate the Yankees”, yes it’s that easy. It’s the sporting equivalent of a wrestler saying the name of the city there in. Pandering 101. Rinse, lather, repeat.
Aside from
‘Bobby V’ there has been the storyline of alcohol. In case you missed it, Red Sox pitchers (Beckett, Lester and Lackey) were widely castigated for drinking in the clubhouse during games, sometimes during games they started. Apparently demonstrating the lack of leadership on the team, and also the reason the new manager has banned alcohol.
Heading into the season itself, faced with decision, decisions and more decision regarding the roster, the Red Sox welcomed new closer
Andrew Bailey, after Papelbon shipped off to
Philadelphia and became a Phillie.
Daniel Bard, the heir to Papelbon’s throne, or so it seemed is being thrown into the lions’ den and being made into a starter. Trying to follow
Texas, and their abundance of pitchers
(C.J Wilson, Alexi Ogando and
Neftali Feliz) in making the transiton from reliever to starter.
Across the board, the majority of last years’ team has returned, except with injuries to
John Lackey, Carl Crawford and the inevitable retirements of stalwarts
Tim Wakefield and
Jason Varitek, the team had positions to fill. Oh, alongside the clusterfuck of pitchers being meshed to make some sort of makeshift bullpen.
Most positions write themselves. It will be Gonzalez, Pedroia and Youkilis on the bases. We will see Ellsbury in centre field, and ‘Salty’ behind the plate. The lineup come April 5
th, should see
Mike Aviles slot in at shortstop, they merry-go-round of outfielders will continue from last year, with new acquisitions
Cody Ross and
Ryan Sweeney, challenging
Darnell McDonald to a starting job in right field.
The rotaton should write itself, barring injury
Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and
Clay Buchholz will be the front 3. Daniel Bard should be number 4, otherwise stretching him out to a starter has been about as worthwhile as every Hugh Grant movie in the last decade.
The number 5 slot will see a battle between young southpaw
Felix Doubront, a pitcher who has had limited starts in the majors, and has seen some time relieving at the same level. His competition will be
Afredo Aceves, the ex-Yankee who stunned every member of Red Sox Nation with his ability to start, relieve, set up, pitch in difficult, clutch situations.
The great
Bill Simmons tweeted last year how he “
couldn’t believe how much I trust Afredo Aceves”. A glowing indictment from the sports guy.
The ‘pen will see Bailey closing
(and hopefully an entrance theme to match…stay with the Dropkick Murphy’s, ‘Johnny, I hardly knew ya’), new set up man
Mark Melancon (
traded for the superhuman Jed Lowrie) doing just that. Add a cavalcade of nobody’s, cast-offs, and remaining supporting cast from last year, and there you have it.
Your 2012 Boston Red Sox.
Good times never seemed so good….
