Bobby Valentine has a brilliant baseball mind. He managed multiple successful teams in both the US and Japan. I don't care that he had an short playing career plagued by a major injury and retired at age 29. That has nothing to do with his ability to manage a baseball team.
Valentine helped the Mets win the wild card in both 1999 and 2000, and led them in their highly successful 2000 playoff bid (in which they lost the World Series to the dynastic Shmankees). Valentine clearly knows how to manage baseball on the field; he understands the technicalities.
But here is the issue with this seemingly great manager: he has a history of off-the-field rants against his own teammates and bosses. A perfect example would be the REASON HE WAS FIRED BY THE METS IN 2002 (Valentine had a lengthy conflict with the Mets' general manager and couldn't control himself in this angry battle.)
The Red Sox had one of the most historically awful downfalls in September of this season. Ahead by almost 10 games over the wild card heading into the final month, they blew it. Why? Not because of on-the-field issues. Rather, they fell apart off the field, which then caused their play to deteriorate on the field. Terry Francona, the manager this past season, even had a personal issue of his own with his wife. To bring in a guy, specifically at this current time, who is known to be great on the field but less than average off the field might be as risky as any move since selling away Babe Ruth to the Evil Empire. (Am I exaggerating? Decide for yourself...)
Therefore, I am very concerned about the fact that this guy who sometimes just can't shut up is becoming the manager of a team who needs the opposite. Let's hope I'm wrong.
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