Valentine: No Beef With Ben
BOSTON (CBS) – There is no riff between Red Sox manager Bobby Valetnine and GM Ben Cherington, Valentine said Monday morning.
"Lazy journalism,'' Valentine said of the reports there is a power struggle between him and his new GM. "It's an easy story to write that has no validity."
"I could have written that December 3," he said.
The story of a possible struggle over the team's starting shortstop and plans for Daniel Bard came to light last week, but Valentine said it simply is not true. He and Cherington talk "a few times" daily, and when the final roster cuts come down over the next week, it will be a group making the decisions rather than just one person.
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Those decisions will start to be made Monday night, when Valentine and his coaching staff with meet with Cherington and his staff in Fort Myers. Most of the final roster spots could be decided upon Monday night, with opening day just a week and a half away.
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When these decisions are made, Cherington asks everyone in the room what they think, finishing with Valentine.
"I try to keep many of my opinions real close to the vest,'' said Valentine. "I don't know if anybody knows totally what I'm thinking. In between 'cut meetings,' I try to pick brains. I think I have a better idea what the coaches think about the players than they know what I think.''
