Despite the team’s on-field struggles and reports of growing dissension in the clubhouse, Red Sox team president Larry Lucchino stated earlier today that manager Bobby Valentine will remain with the team at least until the end of this season.
Red Sox president Larry Lucchino left no doubt about Bobby Valentine’s fate for the short term, stating in no uncertain terms his manager won’t be fired before the end of the season.
In an interview Thursday morning on Boston sports radio station WEEI, he was asked by host John Dennis whether Valentine would “unequivocally” remain as manager for the rest of this season. Lucchino replied with a simple “yes.” [ESPN]
Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Ideally you’d like a little more elaboration on your job status from your boss than a one-word answer, but I suppose it’s better than nothing. Three letters better, to be exact. Anyway, I mainly bring this up because I just wanted to remind all of you that one time Bobby Valentine got ejected from a baseball game he was managing, then put on a fake mustache and snuck back into the dugout only to be spotted by the umpire and ejected again one inning later.
That is a hilarious story, and I really don’t think we all talk about it enough. (I’d settle for once a month, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go.) Here’s my favorite part of the story, and it’s one that gets overlooked too often: Bobby Valentine already had a fake mustache in the stadium. This means one of two things: (1) This was something he had been planning, or; (2) He had some other non-baseball related reason to have a disguise at the ready. Either way, it is FASCINATING, and I must know more about it immediately.
Someone do a 30 for 30 on this. I am not joking.
