Christopher Gasbag is the one who needs to be fired right now. This is horrendous reporting and because a bunch of overpaid, creepy, spoiled punks don't like their boss he should be fired? Wake up idiot Gaspar to the real world you moron.

IF the change has to be made, let it NOT be NOW. That would let the inmates control the asylum. It is they who've not won -- let THEM now stew in their own discontent. Valentine stays at least until the end of the year. After all, the Sawx are going nowhere anyway; what difference does it make?

Speaking of letters to season ticket owners, when can we expect to see the "varsity" in management show up?

Ownership needs to dismantle this team. Enough crowing about their level of talent talent and that they're a "really good team" and injuries. They're irascible, and the bottom line is they do not win. Players like Gonzalez or Pedroia are tradable and the Red Sox can use such leverage to bring in new players that are more concerned with winning than their personal feelings. I thought the owners would supposed to be talented busnessmen, building their portfolios by sound investment. Thta's not what's happening here. These are bad investments with dwindling returns. Plus, the constant whining, justifications, spoiled behavior and excuses from the players for losing are pathetic.

Good article about a sad reality. Everybody in the Sox organization owns a share of the blame in this (though Valentine and Cherington probably the least). In a broader sense, the enemy has been the ridiculous amounts of money paid to professional athletes to play a game they should love to play. Not only is nobody in baseball - not Gonzalez, A-Rod, Ortiz, Beckett, Pedroia - worth the kind of money they are being paid, they become unmanageable once they become stars rather than loyal members of a team for which they feel privileged to play. There is probably no way Valentine could have succeeded with the roster of prima donnas handed to him. And Francona, also a decent manager, would have done no better. It's time to clean house. Why not keep Valentine and fire everybody else? That, of course, would never happen.

Right on Chris. Agree with most of what you said but disagree about one thing. Bobby needs to stay for the rest of the season. The players deserve it.

What will firing Valentine achieve? Another manager will only encounter the same problems. The new manager will only succumb to the inmates since he will have seen that if he doesn't katow to them he also will be gone - just like Fracona and Valentine. Management must address the real cause -the multi- million dollar inmates!

Just shows how the Red Sox ownership might be a group of brilliant people but know NOTHING about leadership. Real leaders, real winners, get the best out of everyone in the organization and giving them direction and rope. Then they NEVER allow going out of bounds in the hierarchy. Sad to say that I've enjoyed watching Pedroia for years but couldn't give a crap if he were released today. Maybe he can go play in San Diego before the empty seats.

What it all means is that salaries and ticket prices both need to be cut. Simple.

Get real Glasper, Epstein left this team in financial "HELL". Give Bobby a two year extension,dump the non-performers, whiners and underachievers. Clean house. Management on the cheep except for Billy Beane does not suceed. Go Youth!

Pedey. he's at the heart of an alleged insurrection. Say it ain't so Pedey?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't Gonzalez and Pedroia part of the RS collapse last year?

As Yahoo pointed out, these problems happen wherever Valentine manages. Yahoo pointed out that Valentine is still making the same mistakes that he made years ago. Anyone who has managed professionals knows that someone in a regular business who takes Valentine's approach to managing professionals would soon be fired. Those fans who have not managed professionals should not be commenting because they do not know what they are talking about. Valentine has managed many seasons, and he has never had a winner in the majors. Many fans who have not had successful careers identify with Valentine because he has been a failure as a manager. However, that is no reason to keep him. The recent move at catcher illustrates Valentine's approach. Shoppach has had a catcher's e.r.a of 3.82 while Saltalamacchia has had an e.r.a of 4.67, which is much worse. Shoppach has had OPS of .798 while Saltalamacchia has had OPS of .757, which is worse. Even though Shoppach has had a better e.r.a and even though he has hit better, Valentine (and Cafardo) wanted to get rid of Shoppach.

Congatulations on your new assignment. You are off to a good start. It's unfortunate that Bob Ryan, rife with abject spite, emptied his tank of venom on the Patriots,while having nothing, I repeat nothing critical to say about Red Sox players, coaches or management over the last six months. NOTHING. Other than defending the ultimate team player, David Ortiz when he acted selfishly. He certainly had no problem trying and,as usual,embarrasing himself, with the same,old,tired,discredited column on Bill and his Kodak during Superbowl Week. He has offered nothing remarkable for a long, long time and had become the Ron Borges of columnists. Irrelevent and Passe. I have higher expectations from you, Glen. By the way, how does the Globe's favorite target, you know the one Joe and his minions kept missing, Bill Belichick, look now. Stay off the agenda stuff, Glen (I know that's near impossible when you work at the Globe),and see, in your new perch, if you can get the Patriots as much sports section front page space as endless columns and color photos on birdwatching in Alberta. Be objective and you will be respected and well received.

ChrisRex, I do not find any evidence that the Red Sox have been throwing games as you have alleged. It appears that you are lying. Provide whatever evidence that you have that they have been throwing games.

Kennedylar, competent upper management does want to know how how employees interact with their management, especially when things have not been working out. If you had ever managed professionals, then you would know this. You should not be commenting on something about which you seem to know nothing.

Sadly, you're right Chris. The Sox are the ones to blame for the disasters of last year under Francona, and this year, under Valentine. THEY are the ones who disrespected BOTH managers and have turned out to be a bunch of overpaid lazy, unproductive, whiners. Look at the standings folks. Take the two worst pitchers on the team, the two guys whose outright contempt for both Francona and Valentine is evident, two guys who never smile, dis the media, and play far under their capabilities. Their combined record stands at 11-20. That's TWENTY losses. Add that 20 to our record, and we're in first by a wide margin. Add even HALF of that and we're right in the mix. The players have stats that measure up to just about every other team in baseball, but our starting pitching, led by Beckett and Lester, did us in. It's time for the players to take responsibility. We can change managers, and probably will (you know it's a kiss of death when management gives their public support and says Valentine won't be fired). But it won't matter who you hire as manager unless you change the chemistry of the clubhouse an rid it of at least Lackey and Beckett. Lester has at least shown he is coming around. Perhaps with some others around him, to remind him how lucky he is to be playing a boys game for big bucks, and how lucky he is to simply be alive (have you forgotten that John?) he might lighten up. Beckett and Lackey always were the bad apples last year, and it's continued (even without Lackey playing, his snide childish antics continue). Dump Bobby? I guess. Dump Beckett and Lackey? Absolutely.

sorry Chris but Tito was an enabler. he helped create the atmospherics that exist today. he helped create the immaturity that is Petey.

It's apparent Chris, that your first column is supporting management. Your use of the phrase, "players are empowered" to complain to management, reflects a top down perspective, but I guess that's to be expected from a new sportswriter-stick with management, kiss a few posteriors, and you may just end up as self-important as Will what's his name. Valentine began this debacle with his sniping at Youkilis, a team leader. He was hired to to be the man in charge but failed to look beyond his own mirror. It's too bad that you begin your career in such a fawning way, but I'm an optimist and hope springs eternal. You certainly have the skills to succeed, but do you have the character to see and write the truth? Time will tell Chris. Good luck.

Where's John McGraw when you need him?

Larry Lucchino, Larry Lucchino, Larry Lucchino. The team did not give up on Tito last September, they gave up on a management team that refused to extend his contract, in spite of his unprecedented record of success in Boston, and forced Theo out of town by refusing to give him the status in the organization that he deserved. Then after giving Theo's job to Cherington, Larry forced Bobby V down his throat. Bobby V, a career .500 manager who pisses off his players, then moves on to greener pastures. Sounds like Bobby V is just doing what he always does. Why is anyone surprised. This is 2012, not 1912. Professional managers treat their colleagues with respect, the way Tito did. I don't know why John Henry is so enamored of Lucchino. Unless and until Lucchino is gone, this team will continue to be a mess.

First at bat and you whiffed, rookie! Seriously, congrats on the new position, but D- on opening day. I didn't like the hire in the first place (let's not forget it was the Globe's Nick Cafardo who carried one owner's water on making this hire), but to run another manager out of town because the team can't suck it up is exactly the wrong move. I'm kind of amazed that nobody is holding Ben Cherington's feet to the fire. He's made even more rookie mistakes than your first column! To put a manager in place then not let him pick his coaching staff is a recipe for failure and the proof is in the pudding.

How many times can you say it isn't the manager's fault, fire the manager in the same column? Make some sense.

Yes, let's fire Bobby Valentine because it's all his fault. Let's do it now, and how about during a live interview via Twitter message? Of course, doing that would absolve the Owners for all the miserable decisions made by Theo Epstein. What were his worst deals? And, how have they strapped the franchise for the future? And, who replaced Epstein - an underweight acolyte. Isn't management accountable for all of this - even Valentine who they chose for his name value after an "exhaustive" search of candidates that did not include him? But, firing Valentine would be a good thing, right? Except, that would forgive the overpaid and underperforming players. On the one hand you can't blame players like Beckert for taking all the money - and years - if they are offered so much by management (them again), but there is the accountability thing here and too many have nonperformed to mention. The time for action was right after the collapse when some teams would have taken some of these disappointing "stars", but not now. Time to sell the team to new owners and start over. Time to get rid of the underperformers and big contract guys. And, time to hire the right manager to develop younger players and plan on bringing the Red Sox back to prominence within 5 years. Between now and then, however, they may want to lower the price of beer to the still usurious sum of $5/cup as a way of saying "I'm sorry."

I hated the Bobby V hire at the time, but I don't support rushing to fire him now. Sox management has crippled Bobby V twice, now: First, by not letting him hire his own coaches; and second, by allowing players to come to them directly behind Bobby V's back. To fire him now would be unfair and would send a horrible message to future managers. Sox will end up stuck hiring someone desparate for a job like Gene Lamont...and there is a reason Gene Lamont hasn't managed in years.