The Valentine Era Begins

OK, I'll get right to the point: I'm nervous about Bobby Valentine as the Red Sox manager.

I recognize that this is grossly unfair, and that Valentine is at least as qualified as anyone else that was on the market.

But it's my duty to opine, and the fate of the pajama-clad set is that we can't go to Florida to report. Maybe I'd be completely reassured by now. But I'm here and I'm not.

What it comes down to is personality. I got used to a manager who was subdued, who never made it about him, and who (until the end) seemed to have complete trust in, and the complete trust of, his players.

Nick Cafardo, speaking on WEEI the other day, worried aloud about Valentine having mellowed. The local press seems unanimous in its opinion that this team needs an ass-kicking.

Perhaps they're right, but to me these guys are grown men, professionals, doing their job like I do mine and you do yours. There are human foibles, of course, that come into play (like at my job, and at yours). I do think clubhouses can become toxic (and I think past Red Sox teams have had that happen). But even given all that, I don't think 2011 hovers over 2012. If Kevin Youkilis has a hot start he'll be cheerful; if Ellsbury has a cold start, he'll probably be morose.

We hear a lot of the modern athlete, and the alleged difficulties of managing them. So ... managing Ty Cobb was a picnic? Ruth, Williams, Reggie Jackson, the older more cranky Yaz? Granted it is different, with nearly every player (especially here) being a star on some level. But the manager is a star too, and is highly paid. Plus he doesn't have to hit.

One thing that did occur to me is the Rex Ryan model. Rex, bless his heart, threw off the Bill Belichick laconic style and deliberately swung with his tongue. Until last season, it worked brilliantly, taking pressure off his players and especially his shaky quarterback. Maybe Valentine will do something similar here; the pressure of the Boston environment has been cited by many players. He could relieve some of that. But the Ryan model works better in football, because there are so many more players, and most of them can walk the streets without being recognized. Jed Lowrie never had that luxury.

Understand that I lived through Don Zimmer. Though he evolved into a great elder statesman and class act under Joe Torre, and his won-loss record is outstanding, he drove us all mad. He once pulled a pitcher by accident, and he famously put Jerry Remy in right field late in a game. One can say that Terry Francona undermanaged at times (I would), but he never worried me the way Zimmer did. We all got used to not worrying about the manager.

To end optimistically, I have full confidence that Valentine has thought about stuff like this. It's been clear, in every public appearance so far, that he was prepared for any question. The questions after games, say when a reliever loads the bases and blows a game, should be old hat. He's also been, for lack of a better word, controlled. He understands, perhaps alone among the candidates, what was being put in his hands. A team, yes, but millions or hearts and minds too.

See what winter does to me? We need some baseball around here. Good luck Bobby V! It's almost time to play ball.