With the Boston Red Sox having been out of the playoff races in the AL essentially since the middle of the season, we’ve been waiting for them to play spoiler this late in the season. As we all know, they haven’t been doing a good job of it.
And as they head to Baltimore for a weekend matchup with the Orioles, I think there’s a part of all of us that want the Red Sox to lay down and play dead this weekend. Before you say anything or judge me, you know you’re also secretly hoping the Orioles make the playoffs.
But wouldn’t it be better if they won the division over the New York Yankees. Could you imagine how batshi* crazy and pissed the Yankees fanbase would be if they had to play a one-game playoff.
Anyways, enough of that.
Yesterday during an interview on WEEI, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington made a comment about a possible manager search.
“I’d always rather get the decision right rather than rush it,” Cherington said. “But I think that what we know we need to do is hit the ground running in this offseason. One of the things, as I look back at last offseason, that didn’t go perfectly was simply the amount of time that we spent on the manager search and what that did to the rest of the offseason. I would like to spend less time on it this offseason, that’s for sure.”
Most of the local media alluded to the fact that this meant Bobby Valentine would be canned at the end of the season. My thoughts would be that one way to avoid having to search for a manager is to not fire Valentine. Only Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal shared that sentiment.
I’m pretty sure that if Valentine is back, Red Sox Nation as a whole would not be happy. I can only imagine what would be said.
The fact that all of his coaches are not under contract for next season can go two ways.
Valentine could stay on as skipper and then get the coaches he wants instead of ones he was basically forced to keep. Or, Cherington can fire Valentine and then hire a new manager who would be able to bring in his own guys.
I’m hoping for the latter myself.
We’ll be back later today with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Who’s next? [boston herald]
Fond memories of good ol’ days [boston herald]
It adds up to disaster [boston herald]
Sox switch in works? [boston herald]
In search of Mike Aviles: What to make of the shortstop’s lot in life [rob bradford – weei.com]
Red Sox Struggles at Fenway Park Serve as Reminder That Performing in Boston Demands Certain Intangibles [tom caron – nesn.com]
Did Cherington spill the beans on Bobby V.? [csn new england]
Kalish: ‘Im going to be ready to go next year’ [csn new england]
Gomez, fellow Sox rookies make most of down year [csn new england]
Did Cherington hint at managerial search? [espn boston]
Cherington clarifies Bobby V comments [espn boston]
Keith Foulke can finally savor Boston Red Sox’s 2004 World Series title [espn boston]
Potential Red Sox draftees: North Carolina 3B Colin Moran [full count]
Bailey appreciates compliment from Clemens [projo sox blog]
What’s wrong with Boston’s outfield arms? [projo sox blog]
The Art of Taking a Dive [surviving grady]
Winning players in a lost Red Sox season [touching all the bases]
MINOR LEAGUE LINKS
Swihart thriving this fall at instructional league [redsox.com]
Scouting Scratch: Notes from Fall Instructs [soxprospects.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
photo credit: ap photo
