Kurkjian: No 'fighting chance' for Valentine

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian joined Dennis & Callahan guest hosts Dale Arnold and Jon Meterparel on Friday morning to talk about the floundering Red Sox.

Manager Bobby Valentine has become a lightning rod for criticism since before the season even started. Kurkjian, who noted that he's biased in Valentine's favor because he worked with him for a number of years at ESPN, acknowledged that Valentine might not be back for a second season.

"I thought it was a really good hire when it happened, but the more I look at it, the more I think I'm not sure he ever had a fighting chance, with all the injuries, the coaching staff, a young general manager working with him for the first time. I always thought Bobby would be back next year, that this just wasn't a fair fight and he deserves another year to take a look at this. And the more I watch this team, the more I wonder if he's even going to get a second year, which I thought was inconceivable a few months ago. But as this season and this team unravels a little bit more every day, I have to think they have to look at this and say, 'Is this the right move here to remove him?'

"He certainly doesn't deserve to be fired by any stretch of the imagination. But sometimes that doesn't matter -- you just need a new start with somebody else, and maybe that's what they'll do now."

Kurkjian said that from what he knows of Valentine it's unlikely the manager will quit, forcing the team to make the decision on its own.

"I know he's not having a whole lot of fun," Kurkjian said. "I can't imagine anybody having a whole lot of fun having to manage that team this year. But I also know Bobby Valentine that virtually everything he's ever touched in life he has succeeded. For him to just go out and say, 'I don't want to do this anymore after one year,' I'm just not buying that he would allow that to happen. Meaning, he's not going to resign. So, I think the only way to move him along is to fire him -- which again, I don't think is the fair thing to do, but now I actually think is a possibility, which I didn't think that was possible a few months ago."

Discussing possible successors for Valentine, Kurkjian said the Red Sox luring John Farrell from the Blue Jays via a trade isn't likely.

"I think that would be very complicated, very difficult to do, given how much the Blue Jays like and covet John Farrell," Kurkjian said. "Meaning, they're not going to let him get away, knowing that he's such a bright mind and has such potential to be a great manager some day. It's going to take far too much to get him away. It's going to be too complicated a situation. That doesn't mean the Red Sox at some point might not look into that, but I don't see Toronto allowing John Farrell to get away."

Former catchers Brad Ausmus and Jason Varitek are potential candidates should the position open up, but Kurkjian noted that it's not easy to find a good fit for this high-pressure situation.

"You can't just take anybody who's never managed before who doesn't have the right personality," Kurkjian said. "This is a really difficult job. That's why Terry Francona never got the credit -- I don't believe -- for what he had to do to keep everything together for eight years. You'd better find a special guy, and it's a pretty short list."

A Los Angeles Times writer on Friday examined the possibility that the Dodgers might consider making a run at Adrian Gonzalez, speculating that if they offered to pick up the contracts of Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford, the Red Sox might listen.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Kurkjian said. "There's so much money involved with Gonzalez' contract, and I think it would really not shine very well on the Red Sox if they just let him go and got nothing in return. As for Beckett and Crawford, those contracts are basically unmovable at this point -- certainly Crawford. The Red Sox would have to pick up an awful lot of Josh Beckett to move that along."

Roger Clemens is set to pitch Saturday night in a minor league game, and Kurkjian said he doesn't understand Clemens' intent.

"I'm a little confused, frankly, guys, why he would even -- I don't know if he's considering coming back to the big leagues. If this is just a Saturday night fun thing to do in Sugar Land, Texas, I'm certainly OK with that. But Roger Clemens came in as a power pitcher, he left as a power pitcher. He left as a pretty darn good pitcher. It just doesn't fit the rest of his personality, to come back throwing in the high 80s instead of the mid-90s, and come back as something so far away from the greatest pitcher statistically most of us have ever seen. I'm just not sure why he would do something like this. I guess we'll find out now."

As for the possibility that Clemens would pitch in a game for the lowly Astros this season, Kurkjian said: "Roger Clemens is 50 years old. To bring him back for a start just doesn't sound right to me. This is not your average player here. This is not -- with all due respect -- Minnie Minoso or others who have done this at age 50, taken an at-bat or something. This is Roger Clemens. And I just don't get it.

"Would Houston do this? I guess there's a possibility. Maybe they'll watch him on Saturday night and see something. But he should not be some sort of carnival sideshow here. Not with the career that he had."

To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Red Sox news, visit the team page at weei.com/redsox.