After criticizing Josh Beckett during his tenure as an ESPN analyst, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine cleared the air with the starter in a much-anticipated conversation.
Although Beckett asked Valentine to keep the details private, the skipper offered a short –– yet revealing –– recap of the talk.
"He didn't want me to say anything, so I'm not going to say anything other than after he got through telling me how pissed off he was, we had a really good conversation," Valentine said. "I'm not going to say anything about it."
Back in August, Valentine criticized Beckett's penchant for long pauses between his pitches on an ESPN telecast. He also expressed frustration with outfielder Carl Crawford and his open stance.
Valentine hasn't heard back from Crawford, who has shut off his phone. During last week's introductory news conference, he didn't appear fazed by the awkward conversations looming ahead.
"I'm sure they're looking forward to communicating with me," Valentine said at that time. "To tell me it's OK to have an open stance or it's OK to take 20 seconds in between pitches."
