Seems everyone's been waiting for the other shoe to drop on Bobby Valentine as manager of the Boston Red Sox.
Valentine's fate has indeed been discussed by the Red Sox front office, including GM Ben Cherington, president Larry Lucchino and owner John Henry, according to the Boston Herald.
While no decision has been made -- or at least, been made public -- all signs continue to point to Valentine's tenure in Boston being one-and-done. To wit, one of the points mentioned by the club's decision-makers is that Valentine would be a lame duck if he were to be back in 2013, since his deal was only for two years.
The other thing to remember here is that, should the Sox decide to actually ditch Valentine, they would perhaps be better off hiring a replacement sooner this time around; Valentine came aboard in early December last year.
As for potential fits? There's John Farrell, who is considered the favorite, but who would also require compensation (a la Ozzie Guillen and Theo Epstein did last offseason) since he remains under contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Others mentioned by the Herald include some candidates from last year's search, like Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo, and a few new names, like Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach or Phillies Triple-A manager Ryne Sandberg.
