Another day, another controversy for Bobby Valentine and the Boston Red Sox.
According to a report by Yahoo Sports, Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and several other players met with ownership last month to discuss their displeasure with Valentine, who has had a tumultuous first season as manager of the Red Sox.
Speaking to reporters after Tuesday night’s game, Pedroia confirmed that the meeting occurred. However, he strongly denied that he advocated for Valentine to be fired or that he blamed the team’s sub-.500 record on the manager.
“I don’t think Bobby should be fired,” Pedroia said after the Red Sox lost 7-1 to the Baltimore Orioles. “Listen, we haven’t played well. That’s the bottom line. I’m not going to blame anything on Bobby. It’s on the players. Last year wasn’t on Tito (Terry Francona). I know he took it hard. We all did. It’s on the players, man.”
According to the report, Gonzalez texted ownership requesting the meeting on behalf of himself and his teammates. The meeting occurred July 26 on an off day in New York, and according to the report, “turned ugly almost immediately.” In addition, Pedroia was identified as having taken a photo of an apparently sleeping Valentine with a caption that read, “Our manager contemplating his lineup at 3:30 p.m.”
Pedroia said he spoke up during the meeting with ownership, but he refuted the charge that he ripped Valentine.
“When I spoke, I said we all need to be better,” Pedroia said. “That includes owners, Bobby, coaches and especially the players.”
Pedroia also admitted he’s had one meeting with Valentine individually, but it took place early in the season. And although it was contentious, Pedroia said his relationship with Valentine has been positive ever since.
“I went into the office and talked to him like a man,” Pedroia said. “And he talked to me like a man. We’ve been great. We’ve had a great relationship. That’s all I could really say about it.
“I’ll go out there and play for him every day of the week. It’s unfortunate that all this stuff comes out. I know we lost last year and we had big, huge signings and all that stuff, but we’re trying to play the game the right way and have an organization that does things right and play winning baseball. It’s tough when all this stuff comes out that everyone’s trying to get the manager fired. That’s not the case, man.”