Red Sox Report: Valentine Fires Back At Schilling

Red Sox Report: Valentine Fires Back At Schilling

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling may forever be revered by Boston fans for what he did in 2004. Pitching with a tendon stitched up in his ankle, he gutted out a great start which resulted in a win over the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. However, bloody sock, or no bloody sock, new Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine has no intentions of bowing down at the altar of Schilling.

Last week, Schilling, who is an analyst on ESPN, said that he’s “talking” to some of the guys in the clubhouse and that Valentine’s managerial style “isn’t going well.” He also said, “it’s going bad quicker than I expected it to.”

Schilling also admitted that he “was not a big fan” of the Bobby Valentine that managed the Mets and thought he would be different this time around, but is no different at all. He continued by saying, “and I don’t think that it’s going to be conducive to doing well here.”

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Valentine was asked today about those comments by Schilling, which he uttered not only on ESPN but on WEEI as well, and he fired right back. “I just consider the source when I hear stuff like that,” he said.

The battle lines have been drawn.

No one should blame Valentine for being upset by Schilling’s comments. He should be. However, there are a couple of things one could take issue with Schilling over beyond the fact that he may have a hard time being objective about Valentine due to his close relationship with Terry Francona.

First, as a player, Schilling was always very protective about the clubhouse and the fact that what was said in the clubhouse was supposed to stay in the clubhouse. When he was called out years ago by Butch Stearns on WEEI for not getting along with Pedro Martinez, he blasted Stearns claiming that the former Fox 25 sports anchor didn’t know what he was talking about because he “wasn’t in the clubhouse.”

Well, Schilling isn’t in the clubhouse now but that has not prevented him from making inflammatory comments. If his argument is that he still talks with many of his former teammates which make his remarks credible, couldn’t the same be true for Stearns? Couldn’t he have had close relationships with players on that team which confided in him? It certainly seems hypocritical on Schilling’s part.

The second, and more alarming thing about this controversy is the fact that the players may, in fact, already be tired of Valentine and his approach. One can certainly understand that the players would enjoy playing for a more player-friendly manager like Terry Francona as opposed to Valentine. But do these guys forget what happened in September of last year?

This team quit on the manager they supposedly loved so much and engineered the biggest September collapse in baseball history. After the season, it was revealed that there was beer drinking and fried chicken eating in the clubhouse DURING the games. Those two things ultimately cost Francona his job.

So who the hell do these guys think they are? In the opinions of most Red Sox fans, they forfeited whatever rights they may have had to receive the benefit of the doubt from the media, the fans, the manager and the organization by virtue of their irresponsible actions at the end of last year. And for them to confide in Schilling that they dislike Valentine or that his approach is wearing thin is absolutely unconscionable!

If ever there were a season for the fans and the media to hold these players accountable, this is it. The fact that they would throw Valentine under the bus to Schilling tells you all you need to know about the character, or lack thereof, in that clubhouse.

Maybe we should refer to this year’s team as the Boston Puddings, because this team is soft!

NOTES:

-Sox GM Ben Cherington told reporters before Tuesday’s game in Washington that Josh Beckett will make his start Saturday in Detroit while closer Andrew Bailey will have to undergo surgery Wednesday to repair the ligaments in his right thumb.  Bailey could miss a minimum of 3-4 months.  Here is the statement released by the team today:

“Andrew Bailey was examined yesterday by Dr. Mark Belsky and Dr. Matthew Leibman in Boston and today by Dr. Thomas Graham in Cleveland. It was determined that Andrew should undergo surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. The surgery is scheduled to be performed by Dr. Graham tomorrow in Cleveland.”

As for Beckett’s thumb ailment, Cherington said, "Josh has had some soreness off and on this spring that he’s tried to pitch through. We took the opportunity at a time between his last outing and his extended side – his 100-pitch side he threw in Fort Myers to Game 2 to let him gather as much information as possible so that we can help him manage it, if that’s possible. He’s not that concerned about it and I expect him to pitch Game 2, so it’s mostly information gathering at this point.”

-According to Ken Rosenthal from FOX, Beckett flew to Cleveland Tuesday to get a second opinion on his thumb from Dr. Thomas Graham who is the same doctor Bailey visited Tuesday. The head-scratcher here is that Beckett is seeking out a third opinion. If we are to believe both Valentine and Cherington that Beckett is okay to pitch on Saturday, why the need for a third opinion? Maybe Beckett should wear the “C” on his chest for being the captain of the Boston Puddings.

-At the time of publication, Boston had yet to finalize the 25-man roster but they did send starting pitchers Aaron Cook and Ross Ohlendorf down to Pawtucket. Those moves came as no surprise given that the organization wants to get them starts every fifth day with the hopes that they can add depth to the Boston starting rotation this season.

-We told you yesterday that we would lay out what the roster looked like today so here it is:

Catchers (2): Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kelly Shoppach.
Infielders (5): Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, Nick Punto, Mike Aviles, Kevin Youkilis
Outfielders (4): Jacoby Ellsbury, Cody Ross, Darnell McDonald, Ryan Sweeney
DH (1): David Ortiz.
Starters (5): Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, Daniel Bard
Bullpen (5): Alfredo Aceves, Matt Albers, Mark Melancon, Franklin Morales, Vicente Padilla.

Michael Bowden and Vincente Padilla appear to be staying in Boston as part of the bullpen. That leaves one spot open. The candidates for that final spot are: RHP Scott Atchison, C Dan Butler, INF Pedro Ciriaco, OF Jason Repko, INF Nate Spears and LHP Justin Thomas.

-With opening day Thursday, we'd love to get your predictions as to how many wins you think this year's team will get in our "comments" section. I'll say 93 wins. This team managed to win 90 last year despite going 7-20 in September and not having Clay Buchholz for most of the season. Still, the AL East and the American League in general is going to be very competitive this year meaning Boston will have to take care of business against the lesser opponents on their schedule if they are to be a playoff contender.