The Sox interviewed six people and had a seventh lined up before Mike Maddux bailed. Cherington and his staff presented Sveum to the owners. When that fell flat, Valentine emerged and Gene Lamont became an unexpected finalist.
More dithering ensued and then Valentine became the choice. The whole deal took two months.
Perhaps it will prove to be an inspired choice and time well spent. But right now the Sox need to show they can move forward in unison. Because there has been a lot of stumbling since Sept. 1.
ߦ I believe it's critical John Henry monitors the relationship between Cherington and Valentine and smooths out any bumps. Larry Lucchino is too aligned with Valentine to be the peacemaker.
ߦ Of the current 40-man roster, only 10 players have spent more than two years under Terry Francona. That could change if the Red Sox retain David Ortiz. But the point is that Valentine can take command a lot easier than you might think.
Guys like Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia could emerge as clubhouse catalysts under Valentine.
This move makes you wonder whether the Red Sox will be more likely to cast off veteran free agents like Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield.
ߦ It's overstated to paint a portrait of Valentine as a clubhouse lawman. The 2002 Mets had their issues and Rickey Henderson and Bobby Bonilla once played a few hands of cards in the clubhouse during an NLCS game in 1999.
But Valentine won't rely on the goodwill of players to the extent Francona did in his last season. He'll have a tighter grasp of what is going on.
ߦ A Red Sox player could have robbed a bank in full uniform and Francona would have found a way to avoid saying something bad about the guy. His way was to protect his players at all costs with the media, even recalcitrant headaches like Manny Ramirez. But Valentine will not be afraid to use the media to deliver the message.
Roberto Alomar needlessly bunted in one game for the Mets and Valentine was asked his thoughts.
"That's how Robbie hits .300 every year," he said. "Give away at-bats."
