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Report: Red Sox Coach Not Speaking With Manager Bobby Valentine

BOSTON (CBS) -- Since the very moment he was named manager of the Boston Red Sox, Bobby Valentine has been a lightning rod for controversy. From the apparent disagreement between Larry Lucchino and Ben Cherington on the managerial choice, to the unique personality of Valentine that simply turns off many Sox fans, the 62-year-old skipper has caused reactions -- negative and positive -- after almost every move he's made and word he's spoken.

And apparently, the group of folks with negative opinions of the manager included at least one member of the Red Sox' coaching staff.

In Ron Borges' scathing Boston Herald column of Lucchino on Thursday, he reports that one coach on the staff requested to be released from his contract, but that the Red Sox refused to let him go.

"Now he doesn't speak to the manager," Borges reported.

That coach remains unnamed, but the report adds to Peter Gammons' comments in June, when he said there was a "divide" among the coaching staff.

"I think it's an issue. I don't think there's any question that it's an issue," Gammons said on Felger & Mazz. "There is some divide there with the coaches. It's a matter of respect. It'll be very interesting to see if it does work itself out. ... It is an issue."

The longer-tenured members of Boston's coaching staff includes batting coach Dave Magadan, bullpen coach Gary Tuck and bench coach Tim Bogar.

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