Jon Heyman of SI reports that Bobby Valentine is the "sudden favorite" to become manager of the Boston Red Sox. I'm all for Bobby V managing again, but it goes against the Red Sox philosophy they have used for years now. To hire Valentine, the Red Sox will have to give him more power than they have given to previous managers going all the way back to John McNamara. Valentine may even want certain say in personnel decisions, something the Red Sox are clearly against. Theo Epstein has brought the same philosophy to Chicago, where he has hired the inexperienced Dale Sveum, a similar hire to what the Red Sox have done for years. The thought has been, one taking a major league job for the first time will seldomly be a controversial figure and the attention will be on the power structure of the organization, not the manager. Previous Red Sox managerial hires such as Grady Little, Butch Hobson and Joe Morgan, (not the hall of famer) had no experience which is what they would prefer. Other hires such as Terry Francona, Jimy Williams, Kevin Kennedy and John McNamara had experience. Prior to joining the Red Sox, they had limited to no success in prior jobs and no history as a controversial figure. They were not to require any responsibility other than writing the lineup cards and, once again, keeping the attention to the power structure of the organization. Research any recent Red Sox manager and you will see that they all have over .500 records. They feel that anybody can lead the team to a winning record. Using this way of thinking, the Red Sox would be more inclined to hire Cleveland Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar, who has been ruled out, or Torey Lovallo; both of whom have no prior experience as major league managers.
In my opinion, the most logical candidate is Detroit Tigers coach Gene Lamont. Lamont has had two prior major league manager jobs. Lamont combines experience and success. (Finishing 1st two straight years with White Sox in 1993 and 1994; the latter not counting because of the players' strike.) He has also remained on Jim Leyland's coaching staff for all these years similar to when Leyland was manager in Pittsburgh. Lamont would fit in as a quiet voice of the organization that wants their manager to be quiet. Plus I think Lamont deserves another chance to be a major league manager since he was given such a bad team in Pittsburgh.
If the Red Sox turn to Valentine, it would be a sign that the Red Sox have chanced their philosophy. Maybe its time. But lets not forget this is an organization that has won two World Series in the past eight years and only the Cardinals have won that many in that time. So the philosophy has been successful. Perhaps the clubhouse issues last year require a no-nonsense force be put into place. And Valentine would fit that mold. Similar to Lamont, he deserves another chance to be a manager. Valentine would be more of a Ralph Houk than a Don Zimmer, as far as prior success; both of whom were decent Red Sox managers.
In my opinion, the most logical candidate is Detroit Tigers coach Gene Lamont. Lamont has had two prior major league manager jobs. Lamont combines experience and success. (Finishing 1st two straight years with White Sox in 1993 and 1994; the latter not counting because of the players' strike.) He has also remained on Jim Leyland's coaching staff for all these years similar to when Leyland was manager in Pittsburgh. Lamont would fit in as a quiet voice of the organization that wants their manager to be quiet. Plus I think Lamont deserves another chance to be a major league manager since he was given such a bad team in Pittsburgh.
If the Red Sox turn to Valentine, it would be a sign that the Red Sox have chanced their philosophy. Maybe its time. But lets not forget this is an organization that has won two World Series in the past eight years and only the Cardinals have won that many in that time. So the philosophy has been successful. Perhaps the clubhouse issues last year require a no-nonsense force be put into place. And Valentine would fit that mold. Similar to Lamont, he deserves another chance to be a manager. Valentine would be more of a Ralph Houk than a Don Zimmer, as far as prior success; both of whom were decent Red Sox managers.
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