Boston Red Sox: 4 Things the Media Doesn't Get About Bobby V's Team

The 2012 Boston Red Sox team is starting to gel with the management style of Bobby Valentine. It has shown through the last month or so of games with winning series after winning series, and the enjoyment that each player has shown in the everyday lineup.

Sure this team has had ups and downs throughout the regular season, and the injury bug has eaten away many of the great players on this squad, but Bobby V has really shined at his position. Not everything he does is perfect, but he has shown spots of brightness in a city where everything is under the microscope of the media.

Josh Beckett Is the Ace

Josh Beckett's 4-5 record may not seem ace-like, but he has really been one of the most consistent starters on the Boston Red Sox since early April.

After allowing seven runs to the Detroit Tigers in his first start, Beckett has really turned it around with seven quality starts in nine appearances.

The 32-year-old's velocity has dropped to 92-94 on the fastball, and his ERA has jumped to 4.26 on the season after allowing four runs to the Tigers on May 31 in a losing effort. But these numbers should not alarm anyone.

He is the oldest pitcher in the rotation and has proven himself in most of his starts so far in 2012. The ace of the Red Sox needs to continue battling to get past the fact that he fell apart at the end of the 2011 season. That way he can be the Sox' go-to guy come playoff time.

Bobby Valentine Likes to Have Fun, Too

Bobby Valentine seems like the kind of guy who takes everything seriously, but if you look real close, he actually has had some fun times with the Boston Red Sox this season.

This past Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, Nick Punto hit a towering home run for his first homer in a Red Sox uniform, and the entire Sox squad gave him the cold shoulder; Valentine could not hold in his excitement more than a few seconds before standing up and giving him a high-five with a huge grin on his face.

Earlier in the season, Alfredo Aceves almost gave up a homer to the Minnesota Twins that would have been another blown save. Valentine immediately came out of the dugout and said, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" according to Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. He said this as a joke and it helped Aceves settle down for the save.

Of all the things Valentine has done, making the clubhouse a fun-loving environment has really helped the Sox settle into the season and deal with the injuries in the early part of the season.

Scott Atchison Is Brilliant

The bullpen has been great since mid-April and Scott Atchison deserves a spot at the All-Star game with his performance.

The 36-year-old has appeared in 22 games for a total of 33 1/3 innings pitched with a 0.86 ERA. He has walked a total of six batters and opponents are hitting .205 off of him.

Atchison has been a godsend for this Red Sox team since Opening Day and if everything continues to be brilliant for him, then expect to see him in Kansas City come July.

The Infield Situation

The toughest part of being a manger is deciding who to put in the everyday lineup and making sure that the lineup makes sense when it is out in the field.

Bobby Valentine has done a wonderful job with the lineup and has done a better job dealing with the Middlebrooks-Youkilis-Gonzalez infield situation that has occurred since Kevin Youkilis' return from the DL.

Valentine has had to put Adrian Gonzalez in right field to make room for Youkilis at first base because Will Middlebrooks could not come out of the lineup. Gonzalez originally played right field to put David Ortiz at first during the interleague play, but has been willing to stay out there for the sake of the team.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when interleague play happens this time around with Youkilis and Ortiz healthy and ready. Valentine needs to make sure to provide everyone with playing time or else send Middlebrooks back down to Triple-A until someone, like Youkilis, gets traded.