Peter, what's the matter with you? Don't you understand that the media's agenda is that the Red Sox are out of control and Valentine is ineffective and over his head? How DARE you think independently and look at actual facts? You're a member of the Boston Sports media! FACTS are for lesser people. You're supposed to rant and rave and foam at the mouth while you go on and on about fried chicken and golf and how Valentine's very existence is an insult to all baseball.

Don't see where the O's are half the team the Sox are even without the injured players. Daniel Nava, Scott Podsednik, and Kelly Shoppach are performing equal to the lower echelon O's players. Sox starter pitchers are better then O's, bull now equal, fact is Sox should have won all three games.

A day off?? Who's up for 18??

It's nice to see talent from the minors get a chance to prove themselves, even if it's only due to injuries. This is what you see in small-market teams where young stars appear to come out of nowhere. The truth is, on those teams, they're given an extended chance to learn the ropes and prove themselves in the majors. The next thing you know, the team is something to be reckoned with -- a new David on the block with salary-laden Goliaths. Traditionally, on the Sox, upward mobility has been blocked by starters and by the aging veterans management has a propensity for getting "just to get us to the Series this year." Meanwhile, your Navas and Middlebrooks and Lavarnways and Iglesias have either languished in the minors or been traded for MORE aging veterans. Hopefully, this will be a learning opportunity for Ben and friends.

The local media wiseguys starting poisoning the well for Bobby V as soon as his appointment was RUMORED--and he's had to dig himself out of that hole ever since. When you consider the abysmal attitude of the key starters at the outset and the bevy of personnel problems Theo left the Sox with, he's done an exceptional job to date. It was a good hire and he is proving his value. The front office needs to stand clear and let him manage in his own fashion.