BOSTON — Bobby Valentine is trying to fend off the speculation.
With the Red Sox hovering around .500, many have questioned the Red Sox skipper’s job security. But Valentine wouldn’t address his status and continued to shift all attention to playing the Rangers.
“I just come to work and try to do the best that I can do,” Valentine said. “I can’t control thought process, that’s for sure.
“It comes with the territory.”
Although the Red Sox defeated the Twins on Sunday, the team has still plummeted lower and lower in the division and wild card races. But the discord between Valentine and some of his players — and coaches — is fueling the speculation.
“I don’t know what my style is,” Valentine said. “I think all the players who are having good seasons, and it’s a lot of them, have responded pretty well. The guys who aren’t doing that well, I guess you could say that they haven’t responded so well, I would guess.”
Valentine, however, declined to use his platform to ask Red Sox management to give him a vote of confidence when prompted. Despite the refusal, Red Sox owner John Henry offered one on Monday in an email — after Valentine’s session — saying there’d be no change in manager.
With the heat on his back, Valentine insists that he hasn’t changed his mentality from any other day.
“I manage for my job every day, I think,” Valentine said. “I try to give my best every day I come out. We’re on a winning streak now. I kind of like that.”
He’ll hope to parlay that one victory into many more to ensure his stability.
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