As the Boston Red Sox managerial search continues and the available candidates begin to dwindle, it appears that ESPN baseball analyst Bobby Valentine is the top choice and reports Sunday, from SI.com's Jon Heyman, have both parties meeting Monday to talking about the team's vacancy.
According to FoxSports.com, Valentine has already met with each of the three principal owners -- John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino.
In recent years, Valentine, who manged for the Texas Rangers, New York Mets and the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, has been a candidate for the Baltimore Orioles and Miami (Florida) Marlins managerial openings, but withdrew he either withdrew his name from consideration or was not picked for the job.
Overall, Valentine has 1,117 victories as a manager, including a trip to the 2000 World Series, which featured his Mets losing to the New York Yankees in five games.
For more on the Boston Red Sox manger search, check out SB Nation's Over The Monster.