Bobby Valentine will be the next Red Sox manager and baseball is buzzing about the consequences for the front office, Boston's players and the 61-year-old skipper himself. Here’s the latest reaction to the move:
- Peter Gammons of MLB.com says GM Ben Cherington and Valentine, two smart baseball people, have what it takes to work well together and turn the 2012 Red Sox into a team worth watching. "They are both so smart and so very different and need to win," Gammons writes.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes Valentine and the Red Sox players have an opportunity to bury the past and succeed in spite of what has been said about them. Olney reports that some Red Sox players started grumbling to each other as Valentine emerged as a serious candidate for the position.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Red Sox have put in place a formula for greatness or disaster. Valentine is "a combustible manager as likely to throw the organization into further chaos as he is to bring championship glory," Sherman writes.
- Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports that the other finalist, Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont, reminded some in the Red Sox organization of Terry Francona. Valentine hadn't agreed to the specifics of a deal as of last night, but the sides are expected to reach one without difficulty, Abraham writes.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan isn't sure how the balance of power will shift in Boston, but he knows Valentine, Cherington and CEO Larry Lucchino can't all have the final say on the team.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports points out that Cherington has lots of on-field matters to attend to and hopes that Lucchino lets him conduct the rest of the offseason as he sees fit.
