Bobby V – Too good to be true? Part II

He could be a hero, and he could be a bust. Bobby Valentine is certainly not dull. A front page story by the Globe’s Peter Abraham outlines the new manager’s day. Abraham quotes bench coach Tim Bogar as saying: “I think there are two or three of them. He’s everywhere all at once. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen.”

According to Abraham, Valentine’s day starts around 5 a.m. with a 15-mile bike ride. Before the morning is over he has spoken in Japanese, thrown batting practice to young prospects, given throwing advice to his outfielders and stood in the batter’s box to gauge his pitchers. “Bobby,” writes Abraham, ” is intent on putting his fingerprints on every aspect of the team’s preparations…even lining up extra spring training games to have more time to install his new way of doing things…Valentine is acutely aware that the talented-but bruised- Red Sox represent his best chance to win the World Series after previous stops with the Rangers and Mets.”

Abraham’s description of Terry Francona’s spring trainings sounds like they had more in common with those of easygoing guys from the past like Eddie Kasko and Darrell Johnson than, say, Dick Williams. But after two underachieving seasons, Tito’s act seemed to have been wearing thin.

Bobby is riding a fine line, however. In Williams’ successful 1967 spring, most of the players were young, many already familiar with Dick and his methods. The 2012 Sox are a highly-paid team with many stars and big ego’s. Though the players seem to be accepting Valentine’s act, he must be careful not to put the spotlight too much on himself. The last manager accused of that, in my recollection, was Kevin Kennedy, and he was fired after just two seasons.

The Sox have many question marks. Can Carl Crawford rebound from a terrible year? What will the bullpen look like? Who will the fifth starter be?  But perhaps the biggest question is Bobby V too much Hollywood glamor and not enough Boston grittiness?

Bobby V. – Too good to be true? Part I

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