Does Bobby Valentine Deserve a Free Pass for Red Sox's Disappointing Season?

The Boston Red Sox experienced a horrid finish in 2011, as they famously went 7-20 in the month of September and squandered first a lead in the AL East and then a lead in the AL wild card race.

For Red Sox fans, it was a reminder of the bad old days. The days when the Red Sox would show promise for a few months only to choke when the going got tough, while the fates and the Bambino cackled away from the sky above.

As bad as 2011 was, at least that team was fun to watch for the bulk of the year. With the exception of the San Antonio Spurs, winning teams usually are fun to watch. And on this date last year, the 2011 Red Sox were 61-37 and in first place in the AL East by three games.

The 2012 Red Sox entered the day with a record of 48-48 and fresh off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. The sweep could not have been more embarrassing, as the Sox saw their pitchers get battered around and their bats go silent against a pitching staff made up of spare parts from parts unknown.

That's the kind of season it's been for the Red Sox. Every step forward is immediately followed by two steps back. And then somebody lands on the disabled list. It's usually somebody important.

Still, the blame game must be played every time a team struggles to live up to expectations, and the 2012 Red Sox are not exempt from this reality. And in times such as these, people tend to point their fingers directly at the manager.

Bobby Valentine, you should know that you're officially on trial.

Not as of today, of course. Bobby V was on trial as of the moment he was hired way back in early December. A lot of people took to disliking him right away, partially because of the reports that the hiring of Bobby V didn't go over well within Boston's clubhouse, partially because Bobby V hadn't managed in MLB since 2002, and partially because Bobby V is not exactly the most likable guy under the sun.

Valentine could have won people over fairly easily. All it would have taken was a hot start to wash away the foul taste of the past September, swiftly followed by sustained success in May, June, July and so on.

Instead, the Red Sox started the season by losing 10 out of their first 14 games and falling to last place in the AL East before anybody could even bat an eye. They've been better ever since, but getting over the proverbial hump has proved to be extraordinarily difficult.

Does Bobby V deserve his share of the blame?

Yes, he does. He's handled his team well enough, but he's largely responsible for the image problem that has plagued the Red Sox all season. 

Publicly, Valentine has done things like throw Kevin Youkilis under the bus by challenging his commitment, which drew a back-handed response from Dustin Pedroia. Valentine also generated headlines by calling out Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon and his staff for being "very immature and out of control" after a benches-clearing incident in May.

But the real bad stuff has gone on behind closed doors. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com detailed the disconnect Valentine has with both players and coaches in a column, and Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com went even further in depth in a column of his own.

If you venture to read both reports, you'll come away with a full realization that the Red Sox are anything but a big, happy family under Bobby Valentine.

Maybe this doesn't matter. Maybe what Jim Leyland said about team chemistry a couple years ago is true. It could be that the Red Sox are unhappy simply because they aren't winning, a simple explanation that many have shunned because it's not as interesting as the "It's all Bobby V's fault" storyline.

In other words, it could be that the team's sour attitude isn't entirely Valentine's fault. It could be that losing just plain sucks. 

While we're on the subject of losing, it's not Valentine's fault that the Red Sox have lost so many games. There are more tangible explanations for that. 

It all starts with the team's pitching. In April, it was the bullpen that betrayed the Red Sox, as Boston relievers posted an ERA over 6.00 in the season's first month. They famously blew a huge lead against the New York Yankees in late April, the ultimate disaster as far as Red Sox Nation is concerned.

The bullpen has since corrected itself. The starting rotation, however, has yet to follow suit.

Boston starters have a 4.84 ERA, which ranks 27th in all of baseball. They've only logged 46 quality starts all season, 24th in baseball.

Early on, Clay Buchholz was the biggest albatross in Boston's rotation. Nowadays, that (dis)honor belongs to Jon Lester, though Josh Beckett has also struggled to put zeroes on the board lately. For the woes of Lester and Beckett, there are no obvious answers.

There's a reason that "You can never have enough pitching" is a time-honored adage in baseball. It's because it's true. In Boston's case, the lack of quantity has not been a problem. The problem has been a lack of quality, which is a problem that is not solved as easily as the quantity problem.

For this, Valentine cannot be blamed. He's not the one taking the mound and putting the Sox in a hole on a regular basis. And before you question his handling of the pitching staff, just remember that it was Bobby V who magically transformed Boston's bullpen from a major problem into a major asset. In doing so, he's proven that he knows pitching.

Though he's not always up to date on his players' injuries (see the Edes report), Valentine cannot be blamed for the fact that the Red Sox have been the most injured team in baseball this year. They're healthier now than they were at any point in the first half, but losing David Ortiz to the disabled list last week was a huge blow. He's been Boston's best player this season by a significant margin.

Oh, and the fact that the AL East is deeper this season than it's been in years? Yeah, that's something that Valentine can't be blamed for either.

To be fair to Valentine, the question has to be asked if the Red Sox would be any better under Terry Francona. Would he be able to squeeze more wins out of this injury-riddled, pitching-challenged Red Sox team than Valentine has?

The answer: No. Francona was a lot of things, but he was not a genius pitching coach or a miracle healer. No managers are both of those things (one of those things, sure).

Still, one wonders if Valentine will be able to keep his head after this season if the Red Sox continue to struggle and fail to qualify for the playoffs for a third year in a row. All the other explanations will be there, but the Red Sox may choose to part ways with Bobby V just because it would be convenient. They'll be able to lean on the team's record as justification, and there won't be any outrage coming from Red Sox nation.

If it comes to that, the Red Sox will be making the easy choice.

And this, of course, is not the same thing as making the right choice. If the Red Sox don't make the playoffs this year, blaming the manager is going to be the ultimate cop out.

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