Bobby Valentine ready to take challenge as Boston Red Sox manager
After the Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington, despite having strong candidates in the list, has decided in favour of Bobby Valentine, now it is the responsibility of the 61-year-old veteran manager to fulfil the expectations of the organisation
and the fans.
Valentine understands the pressure he will have to undergo in the coming days, as during an introductory news conference here at Fenway Park in Boston, he expressed his understanding of the rich baseball tradition in the City.
Feeling honoured and excited, as was evident from his words and gestures, Valentine was equally aware of the responsibility has been given to him. It was a tough decision for the organisation to decide among the top candidates, said Valentine.
Bobby was competing with the top candidates, including the Detroit Tigers' third-base coach Gene Lamont, Cleveland Indians' bench Coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Philadelphia Phillies' bench Coach Pete Mackanin, Toronto Blue Jays' first base coach Torey Lovullo
and Chicago Cubs' manager Dale Sveum. Dale was interviewed two times before he accepted Cubs as his club.
"I understand the rich tradition of baseball in this city, of sports in this community," Valentine said.
Valentine will not only have to remove the tag of the September-disaster, but also create something new inside the club to make them reach the American League Championship Series. Last year, Valentine was Analyst for a major news channel in New York and
during his tenure, he worked seven of the Boston games, which allowed him to have a close look at the weaknesses and the strengths of the clubs. As Valentine is aware of most of the issues with the Boston, it will be somewhat easier for him to devise a well-organised
plan.
However, Valentine was little conscious in making any prior claims.
He said. "Reputation is something that other people think about you, and right now, this group of guys has a reputation that's not warranted because everything I've heard about the players who were in uniform last year, and the coaching, says nothing but
they had great character."
This past year, the Red Sox were under trouble in the September, when they lost 20 of their 27 games and dropped from the top of the Wild Card race to bottom. They went out of the post-season race after losing to the Tampa Bay Rays in the last outing of
the regular season.
At that time, rumours were swirling in the baseball circles about the use of drinks in the dugout during the games. Valentine will also have to eradicate such problems to avoid any problems in the future. Valentine is committed to solve these problems.
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