Bobby Valentine is now 12 games into his first season with the Red Sox. But after almost 10 years in the broadcast booth, he's still shaking off the rust.
After back-to-back losses to open the week, the Red Sox came out swinging for the fences Wednesday night. Kevin Youkilis showed off some power to kick off Boston's efforts, giving the Red Sox an early 2-0 lead. But another late bullpen collapse would lead to a 6-3 defeat and render another tally in the loss column for the 4-8 Red Sox.
Valentine, who has proven his success as a manager in stints with the Mets (1996-2002) and Wednesday's visiting Rangers (1985-1992), has been both brilliant and raw with his decision-making in his return to the dugout.
The 61-year-old manager has displayed some of his wily wisdom already a few times this season, the most apparent of which helped complete a comeback win in Toronto. With two outs and David Ortiz representing the winning run in scoring position, Valentine sent Darnell McDonald out to replace Papi on the bases. A lofty single to right field shortly thereafter, and McDonald just barely beat a throw to the plate to help Boston capture its first win of the season.
Exactly one week from that game-winning move, though, Valentine showed off some of the unwavering trust that can often cloud a manager's better judgment. With two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh inning of a 0-0 game, Daniel Bard found himself in a jam. The manager allowed Bard to remain in the game, rather than going to his bullpen, and the decision ended up costing the Red Sox. Four straight balls sent the run home for a 1-0 win, and the Rays escaped Fenway with their only victory of the weekend.
Valentine seemed to err once again on Wednesday night, laying a little too much trust in reliever Franklin Morales. Morales, who has been unbelievably reliable out of the pen this year, was unable to close the door on an eighth-inning Rangers' rally. Texas ultimately scored four runs in the inning on its way to a 6-3 win and two-game sweep of the Red Sox.
After the game, Valentine expressed his unrelenting support of Morales but also accepted blame for leaving the pitcher in maybe just a bit too long.
"I wanted to keep confidence. I wasn't going to pull the plug too soon on him," Valentine said. "He's had four good outings for us. I was hoping to salvage that one. It didn't work."
Although the loss leaves his team in an undesirable position heading into a weekend set with the rival Yankees, Valentine remained quite optimistic for his club moving forward.
"We'll get some little things going our way," Valentine said with a look of optimism. "We'll get a nice little streak going."
Sure, some of Valentine's decisions haven't quite panned out so far this season. And yes, the Red Sox have gotten off to yet another slow start in 2012. But with Valentine's expertise and a successful track record preceeding him, Boston's new lead man deserves some time to re-discover his managerial prowess and guide the team to a winning streak.
While some of his decisions may still be quite questionable, Valentine's experience and knowledge will undoubtedly prove effective at some point this season.
So, leave the boos at home and give the guy a fair shake to work out the kinks.
