Bobby Valentine: Red Sox Hire Shows How Far Franchise Has Fallen

For a second, let's not dig too deep into the managerial style or personality of Bobby Valentine. Let's look at something completely objective.

The last major league game Valentine managed was in 2002. While the sport has obviously remained the same, think about how much the league has changed since that time. Heck, the last time that Valentine managed a game of any kind was 2009—in Japan. 

Now, I know that Valentine has been involved in the game. He was fired from the Mets after 2002, took a year off, went to Japan from 2004-09, was fired there and came back to the USA to work as a commentator. So, he's certainly familiar with the game. 

As Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston is reporting, the Boston Red Sox have hired Valentine to manage the team, replacing Terry Francona.

Is that really as good as the Red Sox could have done? Apparently so. But this doesn't look good from the outside looking in. 

Short of the Red Sox, no team receives more hype or has greater expectations than the Red Sox. Remember that since 2000 (including 2000), only the Yankees, Cardinals and Red Sox have multiple World Series wins. Any time you can be mentioned with those franchises, you're in good shape. 

So, when that team's managerial vacancy is filled by a guy who hasn't managed in the league in nine full seasons, it raises some question marks. 

Could they not get a current manager, looking for a likely pay raise? Could they not get a big-name closer to his last MLB action? What about a younger guy who hasn't managed before? Those guys are often good to come in and put their stamp on the franchise. 

So, this isn't a knock on Valentine. The fact is that he just hasn't managed for a long time. Two years is not an insignificant drought. 

The funny thing is that this will be true even if Valentine is a success in Boston. He can restore order to the franchise, but it doesn't do anything to the state of the franchise when he was hired, which is right now. 

This team's star has fallen since winning the World Series in 2007. Their talent makes them a relevant force. But objectively speaking, this hire does not show that the team has a lot of cache.