Bobby Valentine was watching as the Red Sox completed their remarkable turnaround Wednesday night, cheering on the franchise that fell into absolute shambles under his watch.
The former manager, now a year removed from his tenure in Boston, joined The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday to discuss just how different this team is from the one he managed for a season.
“About 13 guys, a lot of beards, a quality bullpen and some clutch hitting,” Valentine said when asked what has changed.
“Those are different teams. There’s no way I could have done this with last year’s team, no way,” he continued. “Because we weren’t very good. Last year when the season ended, Pedro Ciriaco was my cleanup hitter. You think that was the type of team you watched [Wednesday] night on television?”
Valentine has been roasted left and right for the team’s failure under his regime, but he said that he hopes the success of this year’s squad, culminating in Wednesday’s championship-clinching win, will finally get Bostonians to ease up on the finger pointing.
“Blame or credit, I don’t care how that whole thing goes,” he said. “I think I’ve had enough fingers pointed at me, and I don’t think people are going to waste their time with that right now. It’s a good story out there right now.”
Only Valentine knows his own true feelings toward the Red Sox organization, but he said that he continues to support his former team despite their rocky breakup.
“I was rooting for the good guys [in Game 6],” he told Patrick. “And they won.”
See the full interview in the video below.
