Valentine the next Melrose?
Barry Melrose was out of coaching for 13 years and working as an ESPN hockey analyst when the Tampa Bay Lightning lured him back to be their head coach in 2008.
Melrose was fired just 16 games into the season. The game seemed to have passed him by.
Maybe the same can be said for new Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, a former ESPN analyst who had not managed in the majors since 2002. Valentine has made some poor bullpen decisions that have resulted in two Red Sox losses this week and he didn't do anything to help the clubhouse unity when he publicly called out Kevin Youkilis' emotional and physical commitment.
Valentine and the Red Sox are off to a 4-8 start.
Has he lost a step being out of the American game so long?
It's too early to tell. Give the 61-year-old some time to adjust to being back in the majors. He always was a strong in-game manager with the New York Mets. Only time will really tell whether the game has passed him by. Right now though, it is something that many people are questioning.
