I am not against the Boston Red Sox hiring of Bobby Valentine, the manager.
My dislike for Valentine comes from his days as a broadcaster for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Like some of you, I muted the games so I didn’t have to listen to his dribble. And we now have to listen to that for 162 games plus spring training and other times as well.
To be 100% honest with you, the name change to Pats & Dawgs was more of a publicity stunt than anything. And of course it backfired. I’m not afraid to admit that.
I had hoped that maybe it would have drawn a little attention to the site. It didn’t.
I was never going to drop the Red Sox coverage from the site permanently. I only did that for the my little stunt that didn’t work out.
I am all for Valentine as the new skipper for the Red Sox. While something in my gut tells me that might it not end well, I do think that he is the right man for the job.
He’s got the experience of managing in the big leagues plus he managed in Japan where the game is a little different. Sure he’s not into Sabermetrics like other stats geeks but neither am I.
He’s the kick in the ass the clubhouse probably needs.
After what transpired last season as well as what has come out, the Red Sox needed a manager who’s not going to sit back and take the bullshit (yes I know Terry Francona didn’t either but unfortunately it cost him his job anyhow).
It’ll be interesting to see how Valentine meshes with the team as is since he was critical of Josh Beckett, who also happens to be the ringleader of the Fried Chicken and Beergate.
I hope that y’all can forgive me for the stunt and we all can move forward as I continue to do things the same as I’ve done in past for the Red Sox and the other subjects we cover here.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
