Editor’s note: Red Sox principal owner John Henry wrote an e-mail to several media outlets on Monday, including NESN. The contents of the e-mail are printed below.
I’ve gotten questions about Bobby [Valentine] and about ownership from you so I’ll say the following on the record.
To blame Bobby Valentine for the Red Sox being .500 at this point in the season is simply wrong. A lot has been written about injuries to key players this year. The impact of that on the Sox this year should not be discounted.
In baseball, managers often get too much credit and too much blame for what happens on the field. That seems to be a constant. There is often the thought in organizations, “This isn’t working so the manager needs to go.” But an organization is much more than the field manager. We all share responsibility for the success and failure of the Boston Red Sox. We are not making a change in manager.
There has been no lack of effort from our players and we have had a number of them playing hurt. I watch every game and the effort our players put in night after night is very clear to see.
In regard to the notion that we have somehow not empowered Bobby, you should ask him directly about that. We have been nothing but supportive of him inside and outside of the clubhouse. Stories that imply otherwise are due to speculation that is not warranted at all by the facts.
And the notion that we are not present and not attending games is misleading to the public. Tom [Werner], Larry [Lucchino] and I seldom miss home games. This year is no different. We seldom miss a telecast when on the road if we aren’t there. This is a 365-day-a-year sport for us – as it is for Ben and for Bobby. Even when we are away we discuss issues daily. Just because we aren’t answering all media questions doesn’t mean we aren’t on the job. We are.
Our commitment to winning is unabated. That is our focus. We continue to have the 2nd highest payroll among the 30 clubs. We have been at this for more than 10 years in Boston, and winning is just as much our focus today as it was when we took over.
