Amid the Red Sox' 4-10 record and the managerial miscues along the way, Bobby Valentine is accepting responsibility for the team's woes through three weeks in April.
Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington held a private meeting with the manager and offered a vote of confidence afterward, saying he was "very satisfied" with the 61-year-old's performance at the helm.
But Valentine thought otherwise.
"I'm not satisfied with the job I did," Valentine said Sunday after the game against New York was postponed. "I don't need to hear from Ben or ownership or fans or anyone else. I need to do better — in every way."
Making his return to major league managing for the first time since 2002, Valentine has endured his share of hiccups.
On April 16, he didn't yank Daniel Bard at the 107-pitch mark, leaving him in to walk in the go-ahead run against the Rays. Two days later, Valentine repeated the blunder with reliever Franklin Morales, who plunked Texas' Craig Gentry with the bases loaded.
"Hitters go in slumps, pitchers go in slumps, managers go in slumps," Valentine said. “The record is the only thing I'm judged on. That's kind of how I judge myself. Pretty high standard. There's been some good things. Some of the guys who are in slumps have actually played pretty well at times.
"I don't accept four wins in 14 games."
In recent days, each time Valentine has sauntered to the mound, the fans at Fenway have booed him mercilessly. As a result of the mounting mistakes, the skipper has experienced what he says is one of the most difficult tasks in his managing career.
"I'm not good at rating things, but this is, it's been a tough week," Valentine said. "If I had to rate 'em all, this is one of the tougher ones for sure, if not the toughest."
It signaled a rare moment of self-evaluation from Valentine, who has tallied a 1,121-1,082 record through 16 seasons in the majors.
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