The Boston Red Sox knew when they hired Bobby Valentine that he walked around with a gasoline can, setting fires from time to time that needed to be put out. He was clearly brought in to ruffle some feathers after last year's brutal collapse due to clubhouse discipline issues.
I'm not sure this is quite what they had in mind.
Valentine succeeded in ruffling some feathers, but might have lost his team in doing so. His openly "ho hum" criticism of fan favorite Kevin Youkilis might have resulted in a permanent divide between the team's world championship "holdover" stars and the new regime. The issue is actually best framed by simply looking at the quotes.
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The Bomb
Bobby Valentine
“I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason..”
The Vibe: Translation...He's not physically preparing himself the way he should be, and doesn't have the fire that we have seen from him in the past. I don't know why this is. Probably because he just got engaged to Tom Brady's sister and he's complacent now.
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| Would you marry Julie Brady? Kevin Youkilis would. Looks like "Tom-with-hair" if you ask me.. |
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| Wait a minute...Tom has hair. |
Kevin Youkilis (on Valentine's comments)
“I’m more confused than anything. Everybody knows I go out and play the game as hard as I can.”
The Vibe: Translation...What the hell is that bullsh*t?!?!
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Dustin Pedroia (on the situation)
“I really don’t know what Bobby’s trying to do, but that’s not the way we go about our stuff around here. He’ll figure that out. The whole team is behind Youk.”
Asked if Valentine was trying to motivate Youkilis, Pedroia said, “maybe that works in Japan”
The Vibe: Translation..Who does this guy think he is? We run the show around here. Where's your World Series ring Bobby V?
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| In Japan, Bobby V (shown above) was the biggest star on his team - as an ex-MLB manager. He also led his team to great success while over there. In America (the land of Dustin Pedroia), he is a ringless manager who has been run out of two jobs for running his mouth. |
The Aftermath
Valentine (to the media)
“I should have been more specific. Physical is about your swing, emotional is about not being happy when he doesn’t hit a ball off the wall.”
The Vibe: Way to cover yourself man. So you just reiterated that his mechanics aren't where they need to be, and that he isn't as bothered (or doesn't have the urgency about it) as he usually is.
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Valentine (on his apology to Youkilis)
“I don’t know if he accepted my apology. It was sincere.”
The Vibe: Youkilis didn't leave Valentine's office with them on good terms. If he had, Bobby V would have a damn good idea whether the apology was accepted or not.
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| Bobby better hope he has some more tricks up his sleeve to win back this locker room. |
Valentine (on his relationship with Youkilis going forward)
“I’d be surprised if Kevin didn’t know I was totally behind him,” he said. “We’re big boys. I think he’ll get it. If not, I’ll talk to him a lot more.”
The Vibe: Translation...Youk's gotta man up and not worry about petty BS. Get the guy a box of tissues if he wants to cry about it.
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Youkilis (on his moving on from this)
"We're good. We're one happy baseball family."
"It's always good when your teammates have your back. We stick together. The environment here in Boston can be tough. We have to stick together and we've done a pretty good job of it."
The Vibe: Translation...I'm smart enough to know that I have to play nice with the media if we're going to have the kind of team we need to have. Much love to my teammates for backing me up. I'm moving on, but I don't trust this guy anymore.
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Final Vibes
Since the comments, the Sox have lost both games... The most recent a lackluster 18-3 drubbing last night at the hands of the Texas Rangers. To complement the loss, Youkilis wore the golden sombrero with 4 strikeouts at the plate. It is still unclear whether he was pissed off enough after his last K to satisfy Bobby V.
The long term impact remains to be seen, but it's tough to follow a general who you don't trust. While baseball managers play only some of the role in the team's success (batting order, bullpen management, etc), it can certainly create negative energy in the clubhouse if the players do not trust their skipper. Right now, they are at a point where Bobby V is going to have to earn back the trust of his players.
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| Bobby V and Youk might both find themselves out of Beantown before too long. With Youk struggling to hit bombs, and Bobby dropping them at will, it doesn't look right now is either is part of the solution in Boston. |
He's got turmoil in his bullpen, Ellsbury is hurt, and their rotation has health issues. Based on their play so far, and on what's been going on off the field. This could very well be a two-year maximum stay in Boston for Bobby V.
As for Youk, I think he's on his way out of Boston as well. Perhaps even sooner than Valentine. His production is sharply declining as a function of his health, and it appears that ownership isn't particularly thrilled with him. I could see him getting the "Nomah" treatment with a one-way ticket out of town.
