Boston Red Sox: Why Bobby Valentine Has Baseball's Toughest Managing Job

Managing the Boston Red Sox, or any big-market team for that matter, is one of the toughest jobs to do in the world.

Bobby Valentine will have his hands full in 2012 with a team full of selfish players, but also with the Boston-area fans, who really want a World Series now.

Valentine also has to deal with scrutiny for everything he does, including the recent ban of beer in the clubhouse, and has to face the media every day, just to name a few demands of the job.

The Fans in Boston

Boston Red Sox fans are probably one of the most passionate fanbases in all of sports.

They followed this team for 86 years without a World Series, and only the Chicago Cubs have fans that would likely stick around that long, waiting for a big win like the one in 2004.

These fans stick around for anything and everything. They are happy when the team wins, and sad when it can't make it to the playoffs for a couple of seasons in a row.

The fans need the Sox to make it to the playoffs in 2012, and Bobby Valentine will be forced to do this, or he will be one and done.

Chemistry Issues

We all know Josh Beckett is a great pitcher, but he is starting to become a cancer in the clubhouse.

However, Dustin Pedroia recently agreed with him about locker room issues needing to stay in-house, and maybe that is the turning point that the Sox need to fix their team chemistry.

The "Chickengate" episode after the team's collapse in September is what set the chemistry issue to flames. It seemed as if Beckett was the start of it all, but that may not be the case. Beckett is a strong voice in the clubhouse, and sure, he put on a lot of weight, but the blame can be placed on him as well as Terry Francona.

The chemistry issues will be tough to get through, but Bobby Valentine will make it happen.

September Collapse

The mentality of this Boston Red Sox club will be very hard to fix.

The Sox lost 20 games in a month in which they normally play well, and their 9.5-game lead in the wild-card race vanished.

Bobby Valentine will have to make sure it never happens again. If something similar happens in 2012, there will be a new manager in 2013.

Injury Issues

Carl Crawford, John Lackey, Ryan Kalish and Daisuke Matsuzaka are all out to start the season due to injuries.

Bobby Valentine will have to start out the season by finding a fifth starter until Matsuzaka can return and platooning both left and right field until Crawford and Kalish are able to take their spots in the outfield.

The Boston Red Sox have had trouble staying on the field in recent seasons, but if the replacements produce just enough, then the Sox should see themselves in the playoff hunt all season long.

Lineup

Dustin Pedroia is supposed to bat second in this lineup, but Bobby Valentine still hasn't figured out where to hit guys such as Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.

Crawford would make another great speedster on the bases at the top of the order with Jacoby Ellsbury, but would it work better if he was batting seventh?

Gonzalez is another bat who could move around, as well as Pedroia.

Pedroia could hit third and Mike Aviles could hit second, but that would mean placing Gonzalez in the fourth spot. Would he be the best suited for the cleanup spot?

Well, lucky for me, it is Valentine's job to figure this out, and we'll see what he can do to this lineup come April.