Bobby V from Stamford

We’re seeing the Bobby Valentine package exposing itself in his comments about the Yankees and it’s not a good look for him. Clearly his time out of the Major League managerial ring hasn’t taught him that he needs to temper his rhetoric to suit his situation. There’s nothing to be ashamed of if he restrains himself by saying the stock things designed to prop up their rivals even if he doesn’t believe them.

If you missed the Valentine analysis of the Yankees trade for Michael Pineda and signing of Hiroki Kuroda, click here to see The Providence Journal.

It’s pure randomness over the short term and fan-style nonsense to say that Pineda looked “ok” in the second half and that the Mariners “saw a lot of him and traded him” as if to imply they dumped him for whatever they could get before he was exposed.

The Mariners got a top power-hitting prospect that Yankees GM Brian Cashman (somewhat ludicrously) compared to Mike Piazza and Miguel Cabrera.

Is Montero a Piazza or Cabrera? Those are pretty lofty comparisons, but he certainly could hit 20-30 home runs and provide solid overall offensive numbers.

Saying Kuroda is moving from a great pitchers’ park to “not a great pitchers’ park” is the type of ignorance one would expect from a fan calling into a Boston radio program to rip the Yankees regardless of fact.

Kuroda’s numbers are slightly better at home than on the road---link, but the difference is so slight that it’s a ridiculous notion to say that he was taking advantage of the friendly dimensions of Dodger Stadium to any notable degree. That’s before looking at his other numbers like a substantially greater number of ground balls to fly balls and that most of the balls hit against him have gone back up the middle---link. Dodger Stadium had little, if anything, to do with that.

If Valentine is going to stoke the fires of the rivalry, he should at least have facts (to an extent) on his side. He doesn’t, so he sounds like he’s looking for a fight while he’s unarmed---a fight he isn’t in a great position to win anyway.

For a manager who hasn’t run a big league clubhouse since 2002, is on a “trial contract” of two years and has a roomful of players who are wary of him at the outset because of his reputation, this is not a smart way to begin his tenure. It might be part of a method to take the pressure of the players and put the focus on him, or he might just be doing the Bobby V thing and looking for attention.

Either way, he sounds like a talk radio caller and that’s not what a manager with Valentine’s baggage taking over a team coming off a collapse and drastic changes, needs.

Share|