There's been rampant speculation in the media that Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine would be fired at season's end, and CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman wrote Wednesday that is also the near unanimous belief among people in Major League Baseball. Heyman writes that "everyone in baseball seems sure Valentine is a goner." The skipper has had a tumultuous inaugural season with the Sox, and the poor record combined with his divisive personality make it more than likely that these will be the final two weeks for him in the Boston dugout.
Marc Normandin of Over The Monster addressed the report from Heyman, and while Valentine's precarious status doesn't come as a surprise, he opines on what the rough Red Sox season could mean for first-year GM Ben Cherington. Heyman wrote that Cherington is safe, and Normandin argues that's rightfully so:
[Heyman] also says that first-year general manager Ben Cherington "isn't in any peril" though you wouldn't expect him to be, given he didn't dislocate Jacoby Ellsbury's shoulder, break Will Middlebrooks' wrist, or damage the Achilles of David Ortiz.
You could complain and say he didn't bring in enough pitching, but the Adrian Gonzalez/Josh Beckett/Carl Crawford trade goes to show you how little wiggle room they had left to do that. Judge him on the upcoming winter more than the one behind us when it comes to adding pitching, as that will likely be a priority. Besides finding a new manager, of course.
Mathematically eliminated from the postseason, the Sox have just 13 games remaining before the 2012 campaign is over.
Read more on the Red Sox at Over the Monster and SB Nation Boston. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis from around Major League Baseball as the pennant races heat up.