199 replies to this topic

[Marbleheader]

Down with megathreads.

Sources say gene Lamont no longer a candidate to be red sox manager

Ravech: https://twitter.com/#!/karlravechespn/status/141649139850153985

Apparently, this is news to Lamont:

Gene Lamont says he has not heard yet from Red Sox, even as ESPN's Karl Ravech is reporting he is out as candidate

Edes: http://twitter.com/#!/gordonedes

If this all comes true, it would be a fitting end to this fiasco. Have to think Valentine knew before he left. Maybe he was getting the goods on Yu Darvish while he was there.

[E5 Yaz]

Maybe the delay is that they haven't told Ben yet

[bosockboy]

Pete Abe:

#RedSox now say the report is not true and they don't know where it came from. Lamont still in mix.

LOL.

[someoneanywhere]

Brothers and sisters, this could be ugly. Because if Ravech's Hairpiece is reporting Lamont is out, he is reporting such because Bobby told him Lamont is out.

Or that will be the immediate reaction.

Fans, meet shit. Shit, fans.

[jacklamabe65]

Brothers and sisters, this could be ugly. Because if Ravech's Hairpiece is reporting Lamont is out, he is reporting such because Bobby told him Lamont is out.

Or that will be the immediate reaction.

Fans, meet shit. Shit, fans.

Jesus, maybe the Dentist actually needs to come back and handle PR. The Red Sox are reminding me of the utter disorganizaton and chaos that defined the McGovern campaign back in '72.

[gammoseditor]

Jesus, maybe the Dentist actually needs to come back and handle PR. The Red Sox are reminding me of the utter disorganizaton and chaos that defined the McGovern campaign back in '72.

Or, in the constant rush to be the first to report, someone in the media jumped the gun with a weak source. There's a good chance this isn't the Sox fault.

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Or, in the constant rush to be the first to report, someone in the media jumped the gun with a weak source. There's a good chance this isn't the Sox fault.

Agreed. This is one of those times where Twitter fails more than it succeeds. The last two months in general, in fact, have been made to appear much worse than they likely have been due to Twitter and other social media.

[E5 Yaz]

The reporter was Ravech, who has spent the last couple of years working with Valentine. Who do you suspect Ravech's source was?

[TheoShmeo]

Or, in the constant rush to be the first to report, someone in the media jumped the gun with a weak source. There's a good chance this isn't the Sox fault.

Thank you. Determining that the Sox screwed up on protocol or that Bobby Valentine, or anyone else for that matter, caused it based on a few tweets seems rather rash.

[NDame616]

@LynchieWCVBMike Lynch

Red Sox and Bobby Valentine have reached a verbal agreement for him to be the next Sox manager.

[Marbleheader]

Whether it was from Valentine or a Red Sox source, if this comes to fruition, the perception will be that this is yet another example of the dysfunctional organization that the Boston Red Sox have become since September.

[shepard50]

Maybe the delay is that they haven't told Ben yet

I laughed and then I cried.

The Valentine era may be off to a shaky start, if this story is true.

So, the story is that: Valentine gets to a verbal agreement with the Red Sox. Then he leaks his own hiring before his competition gets a courtesy call. Which means that when the front office gets a call from major sports reporters asking for confirmation, they have to deny but simultaneously leak that they do have a verbal agreement in place so they won't look like liars when they release the official news confirming what they just denied.

[Ferm Sheller]

I laughed and then I cried.

The Valentine era may be off to a shaky start, if this story is true.

So, the story is that: Valentine gets to a verbal agreement with the Red Sox. Then he leaks his own hiring before his competition gets a courtesy call. Which means that when the front office gets a call from major sports reporters asking for confirmation, they have to deny but simultaneously leak that they do have a verbal agreement in place so they won't look like liars when they release the official news confirming what they just denied.

Earlier tonight, NDBoston posted in the "Who's managing this team?" thread that a front office source confirmed to him that Valentine is a done deal. I realize that the veracity of such "a friend told me" rumors is (almost) always in question, but it could have just as easily been leaked by the front office.

Edited by Ferm Sheller, 29 November 2011 - 07:16 PM.

[Seels]

If this is true this will be the first time I haven't been overly excited about a new Red Sox season since before Pedro. Bleh. I'd rather a completely new face altogether than Valentine.

[cshea]

Edes says it's done...

https://twitter.com/#!/GordonEdes

Bobby Valentine will become 45th manager of the Red Sox, according to sources. He is expected here midafternoon Wednesday.

[Savin Hillbilly]

Fans, meet shit. Shit, fans.

I don't think this shit is going to have many fans.

Whoever's fault it is (granted, it might turn out to be an honest misunderstanding), letting the losing candidate find out the news from the press corps is an epic courtesy fail. And it makes it worse, not better, that the smart money was already on Valentine. You need to show more respect than that to a fellow professional, especially a 65-year-old fellow professional.

[cahlton]

If fellow commenters would refrain from responding to this news using the "Color me..." construction, that would be nice. This is already painful enough.

[Edited to make it read nicelier!]

Edited by cahlton, 29 November 2011 - 07:35 PM.

[Rasputin]

I find myself remarkably ambivalent about Valentine. I am entirely sure that there are many, many worse managers out there. And yet, he's completely full of himself and seemingly utterly lacking in class.

Sigh...they should just do what I tell them to.

[bankshot1]

I find myself remarkably ambivalent about Valentine. I am entirely sure that there are many, many worse managers out there. And yet, he's completely full of himself and seemingly utterly lacking in class.

Sigh...they should just do what I tell them to.

Once Urban Meyer fell out of contention, I just didn't care anymore

[SMU_Sox]

I think he will be a lot better of a manager than many here and I know I am in the minority. I also am somewhat excited about his hiring and, again, I know I am in the minority here.

I am not encouraged about the perception, and hopefully not reality, that the front office is somewhat factioned, fractured, and dysfunctional. The way this was leaked is potential disturbing too.

Edited by johnlimberakis, 29 November 2011 - 07:43 PM.

[Plympton91]

Well, I, for one am thrilled that they went out and got somebody who is a proven winner and a strong personality that can command the room. For all the praise that I heaped on Francona regularly, it is also true that most managers just need to follow the Doctors' maxim of "first, do no harm." Valentine more than fits that bill. Maybe he will have a short shelf life, but as him being the 45th manager of a franchise a little more than a century old shows, most of them do. To me, he's clearly the right guy out of the available candidates for 2012 and barring a catastrophe, also 2013. To paraphrase Luis Tiant, win this year, win next year, and then let's see where we stand.

[soxfan121]

What is Valentine doing in Japan?

Last time, the manager was part of the package for the pitcher; might BobbyV's Japanese history be a factor? There's more than just Darvish on the market, though the rumblings that Darvish is considering a Curt Flood-esque challenge to the posting system have been quite loud. If Valentine helps, even a small bit, in securing a JPL pitcher who ends up being successful the Sox will have made the right call. This is a short term hire and Joe Torre isn't walking through that door.

Edited by soxfan121, 29 November 2011 - 07:49 PM.

[Foulkey Reese]

Well he won't be boring. That's something.

[Dogman2]

Well he won't be boring. That's something.

Let's hope he understands this organizations philosophy instead of giving away outs and pitcher overuse.

[Savin Hillbilly]

Well he won't be boring. That's something.

Meh. To me a colorful manager is about one tick more relevant, or appealing, than a colorful umpire. I thought Tito was perfect for that reason--he was smart and funny, but always in such a low-key way that you'd miss it if you weren't paying attention. It was never, ever, about him. We're going to miss that like hell, starting real soon. At least, many of us are.

[The Boomer]

I think he will be a lot better of a manager than many here and I know I am in the minority. I also am somewhat excited about his hiring and, again, I know I am in the minority here.

I am not encouraged about the perception, and hopefully not reality, that the front office is somewhat factioned, fractured, and dysfunctional. The way this was leaked is potential disturbing too.

He is smart and if learned from past mistakes, he should exceed expectations. If not, the naysayers will remind that they told us so. My gut feeling is that he cares enough about his legacy to do this right and that he will contribute something real that genuinely overcomes all or most of the past BS.

[Sprowl]

If this all comes true, it would be a fitting end to this fiasco. Have to think Valentine knew before he left. Maybe he was getting the goods on Yu Darvish while he was there.

Last time, the manager was part of the package for the pitcher; might BobbyV's Japanese history be a factor? There's more than just Darvish on the market, though the rumblings that Darvish is considering a Curt Flood-esque challenge to the posting system have been quite loud. If Valentine helps, even a small bit, in securing a JPL pitcher who ends up being successful the Sox will have made the right call. This is a short term hire and Joe Torre isn't walking through that door.

At the very least, it will be helpful that Valentine can speak directly to Matsuzaka and Tazawa in their own language. Communication with Matsuzaka and Okajima was less than ideal in the last few years. I hope that this indicates that the Red Sox are willing to bid high for Darvish, if he is posted this year.

Whoever's fault it is (granted, it might turn out to be an honest misunderstanding), letting the losing candidate find out the news from the press corps is an epic courtesy fail. And it makes it worse, not better, that the smart money was already on Valentine. You need to show more respect than that to a fellow professional, especially a 65-year-old fellow professional.

Having Lamont hear about it through the press is not a good omen, and it doesn't look like the Red Sox 2012 are going to be a tight ship if everybody is running to the press at the first opportunity.

[WayneHousieHOF]

Let's hope he understands this organizations philosophy instead of giving away outs and pitcher overuse.

Let's hope the organization made it pretty clear what its philosophy is during the interview(s)

[Harry Hooper]

He is smart and if learned from past mistakes, he should exceed expectations. If not, the naysayers will remind that they told us so. My gut feeling is that he cares enough about his legacy to do this right and that he will contribute something real that genuinely overcomes all or most of the past BS.

A guy with a blabbermouth history apparently blabbed to his colleague Ravech. So much for learning from past mistakes. Hey, it's all about BobbyV, remember that.

[Mystic Merlin]

Let's hope he understands this organizations philosophy instead of giving away outs and pitcher overuse.

How do you think he got the job?

[PaulinMyrBch]

Can we change the forum title to Ramon Ortiz's manager?

[Foulkey Reese]

PeteAbe Pete Abraham
If the #RedSox have indeed settled on Valentine, and that appears to be the case, Gene Lamont has not need informed as of 8 p.m

Man that just looks so bad. What a mess of an off season so far.

[JohntheBaptist]

Meh. To me a colorful manager is about one tick more relevant, or appealing, than a colorful umpire. I thought Tito was perfect for that reason--he was smart and funny, but always in such a low-key way that you'd miss it if you weren't paying attention. It was never, ever, about him. We're going to miss that like hell, starting real soon. At least, many of us are.

Completely agreed.

The way I think this works out is if Valentine looks at this job at least in part as an opportunity to see how good/ successful an in-game manager he can really be. He's a smart baseball guy coming to work for a powerful organization with a great roster to start with and a team (at least in theory) with something to prove. "How can I get better and avoid the extracurricular stuff that brought me down in NY" and not "ok so how do I start exerting my control."

I don't like that it is something they're doing at least in part for PR/ "headlines" reasons, which feels like, post-Theo, a first step down the wrong path.

Would love to be reading this in a year or two chuckling at how dumb I was (again).

I'm serious though, I do draw the line at Mazzilli. He gets a bench coach job here and I am in full-on pout mode.

[The Boomer]

A guy with a blabbermouth history apparently blabbed to his colleague Ravech. So much for learning from past mistakes. Hey, it's all about BobbyV, remember that.

Maybe this is true but isn't this scenario as speculative as mine? It's a little too soon for I told you so.

[jsinger121]

SI_JonHeyman

Confirmed, valentine gets red sox job. Good work by espns karl ravech to have it 1st.

[OCD SS]

The reporter was Ravech, who has spent the last couple of years working with Valentine. Who do you suspect Ravech's source was?

I thought it was NDBoston.

[P'tucket, rhymes with...]

Well he won't be boring. That's something.

He'll have Pedey playing Split the Kipper instead of cribbage before the games.

Whatever his merits as an in-game manager, he's not what the organization needs right now. This will end badly, and sooner rather than later at that.

[Infield Infidel]

I don't think this shit is going to have many fans.

Whoever's fault it is (granted, it might turn out to be an honest misunderstanding), letting the losing candidate find out the news from the press corps is an epic courtesy fail. And it makes it worse, not better, that the smart money was already on Valentine. You need to show more respect than that to a fellow professional, especially a 65-year-old fellow professional.

Since he's 65 years old, I'm just assuming he's a place-holder until Farrell or Maddon finishes his contract

[RSN Diaspora]

Bobby Valentine...looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

[greek_gawd_of_walks]

I'm missing Tito's postgame press conferences already.

Edited by greek_gawd_of_walks, 29 November 2011 - 08:27 PM.

[P'tucket, rhymes with...]

Since he's 65 years old, I'm just assuming he's a place-holder until Farrell or Maddon finishes his contract

Valentine's 61. Also, Jim Leyland is on his way over to your house to kick your ass.

[Savin Hillbilly]

Since he's 65 years old, I'm just assuming he's a place-holder until Farrell or Maddon finishes his contract

I was talking about Lamont. Valentine is just 61. A mere baby.

[RSN Diaspora]

Since he's 65 years old, I'm just assuming he's a place-holder until Farrell or Maddon finishes his contract

I doubt that very much. Plus this isn't like college basketball where you start with a mid-major and work your way up to a marquee program.

[mikeford]

Whatever his merits as an in-game manager, he's not what the organization needs right now. This will end badly, and sooner rather than later at that.

Well at least it won't last very long.

Better to be shot in the head than tortured right?

[gcapalbo]

If on Sptember first anyone had predicted the turn of events that has actually occurred since they would have been laughed out of the room, perhaps off the planet.

We are truly living in Bizarro world.

I am however willing to suspend disbelief and give him a shot. If nothing else Yankees Red Sox is going to be a whole lot more entertaining on the tabloid front pages this summer.

[Foulkey Reese]

MikeSilvermanBB Michael Silverman
Lamont still in dark: "I've just been hearing what's reported out there. I really haven't heard anything. Not much else to say.'' #RedSox

https://twitter.com/#!/MikeSilvermanBB

pgammo Peter Gammons
@
@MikeSilvermanBB it's fascinating that self-serving minions who want to leak popularity don't care about a great man like Gene Lamont

Edited by Foulkey Reese, 29 November 2011 - 08:27 PM.

[bosockboy]

I'm looking forward to Valentine matching wits with Maddon and Girardi. I think Bobby will relish this final opportunity to win a ring and I think they made the right choice.

[Savin Hillbilly]

He'll have Pedey playing Split the Kipper instead of cribbage before the games.

Whatever his merits as an in-game manager, he's not what the organization needs right now. This will end badly, and sooner rather than later at that.

It'll start with Martina McBride:



and end with Billy Bragg:

[Rough Carrigan]

As much as people were getting impatient, I have to say that they didn't fake uncertainty about who Larry Lucchino had chosen long enough to make it look like "GM" Ben Cherington had much input.

[Rough Carrigan]

It'll start with Martina McBride:



and end with Billy Bragg:

I thought you were gonna go Chet Baker.