Potential Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford Red Sox Trade Shows Bobby V Wins Battle

With new reports recently updated, the Boston Red Sox's potential trade of Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to the Los Angeles Dodgers shows that manager Bobby Valentine has won the battle.

In a report by ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes, the Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers are on the verge of a blockbuster deal that would send those three players along with infielder Nick Punto out west.

"The Dodgers and Red Sox are closing in on a deal that would send Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to Los Angeles, though a few hurdles remain before it's official, multiple baseball sources said Friday.

Pitcher Rubby De La Rosa will be headed back to Boston as the centerpiece of the deal, sources say. De La Rosa topped out at 97 mph in his first start of the season last week after coming off Tommy John surgery. Also included are first baseman James Loney and prospects Ivan De Jesus (infielder) and Jerry Sands (outfielder), according to sources, plus another top prospect that is still unknown.

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Should this trade happen, Red Sox brass is clearly showing it is backing its manager over certain players.

In a column by Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan, players blasted the Boston manager to owners during a heated meeting in New York.

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Boston Red Sox players blasted manager Bobby Valentine to owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino during a heated meeting called after a text message was sent by a group of frustrated players to the team and ownership in late July, three sources familiar with the meeting told Yahoo! Sports.

The owners called the meeting for Boston's off-day in New York on July 26 after first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, texting on behalf of himself and some teammates, aired their dissatisfaction with Valentine for embarrassing starting pitcher Jon Lester by leaving him in to allow 11 runs during a July 22 start. It was the latest incident in a season's worth of bad relations bubbling between Red Sox players and Valentine.

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When Valentine was hired by the Red Sox on Nov. 30, reports immediately came out that players weren't happy with his hiring and no-nonsense approach.

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Whether the players are open to the new voice is up for debate after a clubhouse source told ESPNBoston.com last week that a team official told at least one player at the beginning of the managerial search that they "weren't going to hire Bobby Valentine or someone like that."

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According to ESPN's Buster Olney, some Red Sox players had been "upset" that Valentine had emerged as a candidate and had been "grumbling to each other, through texts and phone calls."

So, from the beginning (if the reports are indeed correct) Valentine wasn't welcome in Boston.

And, the incident involving Lester only set the players off even more, even though the latest reports have Henry saying that players didn't ask for Valentine to be fired.

I don't care how many reports come out on the subject, there was and is definite unrest in the clubhouse. And, most of that unrest centers around Valentine, although the players are to be blamed as well.

If this trade goes through, the battle lines have been clearly drawn. The Red Sox brass is showing that Valentine is more important than any player on its team.

He's more important than their three highest-paid players, including one (Gonzalez) that they acquired by trading away first baseman Anthony Rizzo and pitcher Casey Kelly.

The message is loud and clear—don't speak up about your unhappiness. I guess Kevin Youkilis wasn't enough.