Bobby Valentine Managing the Red Sox: 5 Reasons He's a Good Fit for Boston

Dale Sveum—out. Pete Mackanin was told he's not under consideration. The other candidates to fill the Red Sox vacant managerial position, men like Sandy Alomar Jr, Gene Lamont and Tory Lovullo, have not heard back from the Red Sox to schedule second interviews. Is this where Bobby Valentine works his way into the conversation? 

It appears to be so. That's because earlier today, Valentine's name didn't just discretely seep into news feeds. It took it over. 

There's good reason for that. Barring Tony LaRussa pulling a Brett Favre and deciding to resume managing, there's no bigger name the Red Sox could bring in than Bobby Valentine. 

Some fans undoubtedly would be thrilled, more would likely be horrified. Valentine inspires that type of emotion among baseball fans. 

He's not exactly a quiet, cerebral type of guy. Loud, outspoken, prone to shooting from the hip. Valentine is baseball's answer to 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Valentine is known for a certain amount of arrogance. That type of attitude doesn't just impact the fans. Players sometimes love Bobby and sometimes they hate him. 

With that being the case, Valentine might be coming to Boston at the perfect time. After all, this is a team that desperately needs a new start. It also needs a strong managerial presence. The media will be brutal when next season begins. Any flawed start will be met with a degree of panic from the Boston baseball fans. 

Valentine would almost welcome that type of adversity. He'd be a buffer of sorts between the players and the media. Valentine would also bring a take-no-prisoners type of order to the clubhouse. He's sort of a my-way-or-the-highway guy.

He's never won a World Series, but getting that 2000 Mets team to the Fall Classic is still a fantastic accomplishment. As manager of the Red Sox, Valentine would have as much talent at his disposal as he's ever had. The fact that some fans hate him won't bother Bobby Valentine, and it won't bother those fans either if the Red Sox are playing baseball deep into October of 2012. 

Not Going to Be Intimidated by Boston

Boston and New York may have a fierce rivalry, but they also share a number of things in common. Intense 24-hour media scrutiny? Check. Impatient fans that live and die with every win or loss and success or failure? Check again. 

The New York Mets may be in a very bad situation financially, but there was a time not too long ago when they were a pretty decent team. Their manager at that time? Bobby Valentine. 

Valentine already knows a thing or two about competing with the Yankees. It was Valentine who led the  Mets through the last sustained period of success in the franchise's history. That success was largely overshadowed by the Yankee dynasty of the late 1990s. 

Those Mets never won a World Series, but Valentine was able to navigate the team through very intense media and fan scrutiny. Those teams were constantly being compared to their superior crosstown rivals. In addition, the annual interleague subway series was in its early years and the matchups were as heated as they've ever been. 

Valentine might be the perfect guy to step into the adverse circumstances in Boston as the 2012 season approaches. 

Clubhouse Drama ? He's Been There, Done That

Bobby Valentine isn't a perfect person. That's OK, because the last thing the current Red Sox need is someone to come into the clubhouse and tell them how awful they all are. That would mirror everything they've heard since September of 2011, and it's not that they don't deserve critique, it's just a matter of what will work to turn it around. 

Bobby Valentine isn't going to put up with insubordination or with overtly breaking of rules. He's acutely aware that those things can happen, but that doesn't mean he's willing to overlook them. 

Valentine is probably best known for an overt act of insubordination while managing the New York Mets in 1999. In an extra-inning game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Valentine was ejected for arguing a call with the umps. 

Valentine didn't want to leave the game, though, so he put on a fake moustache and returned to the dugout. Needless to say, the disguise seen in the picture above was not good enough to make Valentine unrecognizable to television cameras. Major League Baseball was not amused and fined Valentine $5,000 and suspended him for three games. 

Valentine's own experience with his own mishaps might lend an air of credibility to his rules and the manner in which he enforces his rules around the Red Sox clubhouse. 

He Already Hates the Yankees

Of course the next Red Sox manager is going to want to have an understanding of the intensity of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. 

No problem there. Valentine probably already hates the Yankees. Not only were they a crosstown thorn in his side throughout his entire managerial tenure with the Mets, but the Yankees beat him in the 2000 World Series. 

In addition, that series featured a now-infamous confrontation between two of the game's biggest stars. Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza had been feuding since the interleague play of the summer of 2000. Clemens had beaned Piazza and put him on the disabled list with a concussion. 

In Game 2, Piazza hit a broken bat foul ball and was running toward first when Clemens grabbed a sizable piece of the broken bat and appeared to throw in at Pizza. It almost resulted in a full on brawl and of course Bobby Valentine had to answer a litany of questions regarding the incident after the game. 

Controversy involving the Yankees and some near brawls? Sounds like just another season in Boston Red Sox baseball. 

American and National League Experience

As of today, Major League Baseball has moved the Astros to the American League, expanded the playoffs by two teams—an additional wild-card entry in each league—and expanded interleague play. 

Major League Baseball also ruled out any talk of eliminating the designated hitter. That means that interleague play will continue to present some additional challenges to managers in both leagues. 

For those managing in the American League, that means adjusting your team to a style of play that features no designated hitter. There are more pinch-hitters, there's the strategizing involved in when to remove a pitcher or when to pinch hit for one. Pitchers in the lineup often can lead to more bunting and sacrifices. A pitcher will also result in the No. 8 hitter not seeing as many hittable pitches. There are lots of little quirks that come with managing in the National League and Bobby Valentine has seen them all.

Yu Darvish ? You Betcha!

After the debacle that the Daisuke Matsuzaka signing became, there are probably a good deal of fans that want nothing to do with this year's heavily-hyped Japanese Pitcher. 

That pitcher's name is Yu Darvish but since he's following in the footsteps of Daisuke Matsuzaka, there's going to be a lot of skepticism in Boston if the team sinks big bucks into him. 

Bobby Valentine might be a big asset in not just drawing Darvish to Boston but also in insuring he's successful there as well. 

See, in addition to managing in both the American and National Leagues, Valentine as also managed in the Japanese Pacific League—twice! 

That's right, on two separate occasions Valentine has managed the Chiba Lotte Marines. That's not as minor as it might seem. One of the many theories as to why Japanese pitchers continue to have a tough time adjusting to playing in North America is that the cultural divides are so vast they present a nearly-impossible barrier to overcome. 

With nearly six full seasons of managing Japanese players in Japan, Valentine may be the perfect man to bridge that cultural divide. Even if it doesn't result in landing Darvish, Dice-K is back in July or August. Maybe Valentine can even get him on track?