With sincere apologies to Peter McNeeley for the above appropriated headline, former Red Sox IF turned analyst Lou Merloni took to CSNNE’s “Sports Sunday” with Michael Felger to weigh in on Bobby Valentine’s first month in charge of the Red Sox. While some have insisted that Valentine cannot be blamed for the composition of the club’s roster, Felger argues recent events suggest, “the game has passed him by… it feels like he’s every bit of 62 years old.”
“I’ve talked to a lot of baseball people, I mean guys that either scout or [have] been around this game a long time,” said Merloni (above). “You got a lot of people shaking their heads at some of these moves that he has made . . . “
One move in particular that they both mentioned: Not knowing that Twins starter Liam Hendricks was right-handed last week, which forced Valentine to change his lineup about an hour before the game.
“[The] Red Sox faced that pitcher . . . twice in spring training, including a five-inning start,” said Felger, later adding: “And then a month later, Bobby’s filling out the lineup card to face this pitcher and doesn’t know whether he’s left-handed or right-handed. That is . . . wow!”
“Somewhere,” Merloni joked later, “Carmine (the computer) . . . is just blowing up because all of these matchups and all of these numbers are based on who you’re going up against that night . . .
“And if you don’t even know if it’s a lefty or a righty, then what’s the starting point? It’s actually been kind of scary.”