Red Sox Brass In Seattle, But Not To Fire Valentine
BOSTON (CBS) - Red Sox owner John Henry and general manager Ben Cherington are heading to Seattle, bringing on speculation that manager Bobby Valentine may be looking for a new job very soon.
However, that may not be the case.
WBZ-TV's Dan Roche tweeted Monday morning an MLB source has told him Henry is heading to Seattle, but it is not to fire Valentine. Ownership will review Valentine's performance following the season, the source says, making it seem as though his job is safe for the time being despite the Red Sox dropping six straight to start their West Coast trip.
Henry later confirmed to Roche he is heading out West, but not to fire Valentine.
Cherington also said his trip out West was planned, and he won't be making a managerial change at this point.
"I'm in Seattle and had planned to be," Cherington told ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes on Sunday. "There's nothing going on but a bad losing streak."
In August, the Red Sox brass joined the team for a trip in Baltimore and backed Valentine, saying he would not be fired before the end of the season.
The Red Sox were swept by the Oakland A's Sunday afternoon after falling 6-2, their sixth straight, dropping them to 62-73. Boston has not been 11 games under .500 since July 1997 - the last season the Red Sox finished with a losing record.
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Boston was outscored 33-5 in their three-game set with the A's, and 54-15 overall on their trip.
The Red Sox have won just five of their last 19 games and sit 13 games back in the Wild Card standings.
