Why Bobby V Should Be Fired

Bobby Valentine from sports of boston

For those fans that still want to keep Bobby Valentine in his job, there is a very compelling reason why Bobby V should be fired and sent bye bye. Yes, give Bobby V his walking papers in spite of the fact that reins were put on his confrontational managerial style, in spite of the obvious hole in the starting staff made by Josh Beckett and Jon Lester and in spite of the multitude of injuries to his team.

Before we get into key reason let’s address why I believe many Red Sox fans want to keep him. Red Sox fans are rightfully angry for many reasons. Most of this anger is directed at the players. The focal point of their anger toward the players is that some perhaps many of them abused the respect and subsequent leeway Tito Francona gave them back in 2011. In their anger fans still want the players to pay for this sin. These Bobby V backers see his firing as a win for players who don’t deserve to get what they want. They like the idea of a guy like Valentine making them uncomfortable and even punished under his leadership. A wise person understands decisions made from anger are bad decisions that could lead to disaster.

Now let’s get back to Bobby Valentine. He is the very definition of the metaphor loose canons sink ships. He catalyzed the sinking of the 2012 Boston Red Sox season and that is why he should be fired. As his team was poised to string together the big win streak needed to make them real contenders in the playoff race, his big mouth sabotaged the run. This, now infamous bit of Red Sox Shakespearian opera, occurred after the Sox won four games in a row against the Yankees and Rangers. The pitching poor Twins rolled into town for a four game series that could easily have led to an eight game win streak. However, in the afternoon before the first game between the Red Sox and Twins, Bobby’s bruised ego needed to vent. He pulled back the curtain and revealed live on radio that he was reprimanded by management for making the comment to Will Middlebrooks, “Nice inning kid.” This happened earlier in the season just after Middlebrooks made two errors. The story then was a veteran player complained to management about this incident who in turn backed the players in this matter. The Red Sox played that game flatter than a pancake presumably because they were embarrassed that their dirty laundry was one of the main topics that everyone in baseball was talking about. The team never recovered from this bubble being burst. We later learned that the Middlebrooks incident was just the tip of the iceberg of what really went on behind closed doors. The Will Middlebrooks incident was just part of a litany of complaints presented to the owners privately, in person, in a hotel room in New York. Seventeen players showed up to get Bobby V fired. The players were complicit in undermining the team’s chance to use their four game win streak as a springboard to getting into the playoffs. However, Valentine is the one who lit the fire and flamed out their momentum. This shows he cannot be trusted to guide any team through the difficult maze that leads to a championship season.

Valentine’s main flaw as a manager and a person is that if there are problems, it aint his fault. Its the fault of the umpires, players, coaches, media, fate, the weather, the wind, the stitches on the baseball etc. etc. He never will get the best out of his players because professional players need a leader who has their back. Its not his nature to have anyone else’s back but his own. He belongs on ESPN taking cheap shots at other people like the New York punk that he is.