Bobby Valentine’s reputation preceded him into Boston. Known for his love of the camera and his penchant for never NOT answering a question asked, he is a dream come true for the Boston sports media (who are well-known for their love of reporting on controversy, real or imagined by them).
Sunday night, while Red Sox fans basked in the glory of three straight wins against the Tampa Bay Rays, Valentine was making news off the field due to comments he made about third baseman Kevin Youkilis:
“I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason, but yesterday it seemed like he’s seeing the ball well.”
The quote was released without any sort of context, just the stand-alone quote, and it read like a complete bashing of his third baseman. Â Strange enough to do this in public but even more odd that Valentine would choose a period when the team is doing well to call out one of his players. Along with the sports media jumping all over the quote, Youkilis’ agent found out about it and called his client to alert him to what was said. Â All which made for an interesting morning on Monday.
With the 11am start to the Patriots’ Day game, the players and media members were in the clubhouse early on Monday and, of course, the first questions solely pertained to Valentine and his comments. Â Unofficial player spokesman Dustin Pedroia added fuel to the fire with his own comments about his new manager:
“I don’t really understand what Bobby’s trying to do, but that’s really not the way we go about our stuff here. I’m sure he’ll figure that out soon.”
Later in the morning, Valentine explained he wasn’t trying to motivate Youkilis, and shared that he had apologized when the third baseman approached him about the comments. By the end of the game, Pedroia announced that he and Valentine had also spoken and it was all in the past. Â If this episode showed the fans anything it’s that the players have each other’s backs. Pedroia was quick to come out and support Youkilis even if his comments probably did more to extend the drama than quell it.
Whether it’s in the past or it’s just the beginning of a season of discontent in the Red Sox clubhouse is yet to be seen, but once thing is for certain, there will be very few dull moments with the Red Sox this year.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)