Magadan with Felger & Mazz: Was Valentine Undermined By His Staff?
BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Felger & Mazz on Friday, and said he had a good relationship with former head coach Bobby Valentine.
"It's unfortunate," Magadan said of Valentine's firing on Thursday. "You don't like to see organizations go through so many changes year in and year out. It's unfortunate we had the amount on injuries we had and dealing with a new manager and new people on a new staff. We didn't get it done and we all have to take responsibility for that… we all could have done a better job."
Magadan said he spoke with Valentine shortly after hearing of his dismissal.
"We had a good conversation, and I feel like I had a pretty good relationship with Bobby," he said. You hate to see anyone get fired. I think we should all feel like we had a hand in him getting fired."
Read: Valentine 'Doing Fine' After Firing
Magadan would not speak to Valentine's comments that he felt undermined by other coaches on his staff.
"If I did see that I wouldn't say it on a radio show. That's something left in the clubhouse," he said. "If I saw anything I'd take it up with the coach or Bobby. That's for Bobby to put out there, and he did. If he wants to elaborate that's up to him."
"I can't comment on how he was feeling," said Magadan. "He was always very fair to me, up front with me. He let me do my thing with the hitters; he didn't meddle or go behind my back with the hitters. He wanted to know what I was doing, but as a manger he has that right. I have no complaints on how Bobby treated me and I hope he has no complaints on how I treated him."
"All I can talk about is my relationship and I felt that it was good and we parted on good terms," he added.
Magadan said he was on the field in Spring Training when Valentine reportedly yelled at Mike Aviles over a cut-off play, and said the whole situation was blown out of proportion.
"I was on the field when that happened; on that field when it happened. I wasn't paying attention to what was going on, so what actually happened wasn't loud enough to direct my attention. I was with another player in the dugout and had to hear what happened after," he said. "It was something where a few players were there to hear it and they were upset. I think Bobby handled it the right way; he had a meeting and apologized for it… for the most part it was taken care of the next day. It was my impression everyone forgot about it."
Read: Potential Replacements For Bobby V
As for who is next, Magadan's former coaching-mate John Farrell is at the top of the Red Sox' list.
"I love John. He did a hell of a job for us as a pitching coach," said Magadan. "He kind of experienced in Toronto what we did here, with injuries to his pitching staff."
Abraham On T&R: Farrell Is Red Sox' Top Choice
Magadan has an option for next season the team has to pick up by the end of the World Series. While he would like to say, Mags is hoping the team makes a decision sooner to allow him to explore all of his options if he does not have a future in Boston.
"I enjoy it here. I enjoy the players and the front office has always been fair to me," he said. "On the other hand I would also like to see what my future holds. If it's not here, I'd like to figure out where I'm going to end up while I have some options with other teams while things clean up here."
