Verducci: Valentine Likely To Lose Job If Sox Miss Playoffs
Tony Massarotti and Marc Bertrand were joined by Tom Verducci, of Sports Illustrated and SI.com, to discuss last night's Home Run Derby, All-Star game ratings, and the Sox approach with the MLB trade deadline looming.
Did Robinson Cano deserve to be booed by the Kansas City crowd? Should a hometown player be in the Home Run Derby?
Should there be concern about the ratings drop of the All-Star Game? Regarding the game itself, should New York Mets starter, R.A Dickey, being the starter for the National League?
"From a performance point of view, he's been the best pitcher in the league in the first half of the season," Verducci said. "He's earned the start."
Moving on to the Red Sox, what is the national perception of this team? What value do the Red Sox front-line starters have on the trade market? Would a shake up in the pitching staff benefit the Sox?
Will Bobby Valentine return as Sox manager next season?
"Not if they don't make the playoffs. There's too much invested int his team financially to say, 'Hey, a manager deserves more than one year,'" Verducci said. "So I don't think the fact that it's his first season will give him a pass. I think it should be a playoff team based on the roster, based on the financial investment and based on the expectations quite frankly. He knew what he was getting into.
"That may be a situation where it sounds unfair because generally you don't get rid of a manager after one year," Verducci added. "But he is sort of inheriting the recent history with the team, and he was brought in to change the narrative, change the vibe around the team. And certainly if they're watching the playoffs again this postseason, then he missed the mandate."
