Thank you for a fair and well reasoned column Dan. (You should try it more often) BTW Dan many of your fellow mediots, particulary the Fellowship Of The Miserable who work at Comcast/SpawtsHub are whining and crying and carrying on like 5 years olds in search of their "botbot" about Dr. Charles media roundtable format today. Absolutely love it!! Please let Dr. Charles know that his idea had the intended effect and many of us out here in the real world are laughing hysterically and loving every minute of this whinefest. The whining will be deafening on Friday. Just sit back and laugh.

You know, Danny. If you insist on continuing with your sarcastic, sophomoric, dismissive, and condescending attitude toward, and references to, all things Liverpool, you MIGHT at least consider learning enough about the topic to at least give the impression that you are not ENTIRELY IGNORANT on the subject. The name of Liverpool's stadium is Anfield. ENFIELD is in Connecticut. There is nothing quite as laughable as someone attempting to be as condescending/dismissive as you are, regarding Liverpool FC, when that person manages to underscore the fact that he is clueless on the subject in question. You're welcome.

Here's hoping the Sox ignore columnist'sd opinions this time when picking amanager now that Shaughnessy'sa dumb choice has been canned after being the worst possible manager ever

"Cherington gets to pick the manager this time..."  Are you kidding me?  He's a puppet and will "hire" whomever L, W & H tell him to.

Sometimes I wonder if anything good can ever last.  The Red Sox were on top of the world and it was so much fun.  Then it seemed like the bottom fell out.  Sports is such a difficult occupation because it relies on one's body to be 100%, injuries set in, tempers flair and each minute of the clock ticks away while the player understands his abilities are hitched to time.  Time always sits on a player's shoulder.  Beyond that as in any job multiple personalities have to engage ramping up the difficulty.  

The Sox now bring back fond memories of those days in the 50's and 60's where one player would shine like Yastremski or Malzone but the rest of the team were less than, well, perfect and the Sox saw the cellar or close to it for most of my childhood life.  Still my father, a crazed Red Sox fan stuck it out always faithful and so was I.  The Red Sox were a part of our DNA.  

Now that we have seen the mountain top it is hard to climb back down but we do because we have no choice, hoping like in life, a better day will be around the corner.

I do not follow sports now except minimally but the Red Sox will always hold a place in my heart for the next great season just around the corner.  I liked Bobby Valentine and felt sorry for him as I could only imagine the emotional difficulty.  I wanted, like the lovely Elizabeth Warren, to give him one more chance.  But business is business and sports is NOT a humane and understanding endeavor. What is?   I do not know what really happened as we never do unless we are involved.  I am sure Valentine tried, wanted the best for the team and him but it was not to be.  I love second chances but sometimes things are simply over.  Good luck Bobby, this is one fan that has empathy for you and wishes you the best.

Can't help but point out that you thought Valentine was a needed change when you saw him in spring training and called Francona a "doofus" by comparison. And your constant references to Henry's soccer team are just grating. Who cares other than you?

Good piece, but it's Anfield, not Enfield ... that would be like a Liverpool columnist referring to Fanway ... both hallowed ground!

Let's face it. Bobby couldn't spit. He wasn't in the same universe as Terry. Couldn't drool either. (Thinking of you, Zim!)

How is it possible that Shaughnessy and every other knucklehead Boston reporter can still be rehashing Valentine's very mild criticism of Youk's lack of dedication back in April? Good lord, I can't stand reading it again. It's as if these scribes are taking their cues from an outdated teleprompter. I don't know, how about something original? Reading these articles is like endlessly listening to a pebble rattling around a tin cup.

Just like Obama, the Red Sox were a mess before Bobby, they were a mess with Bobby, and they will be a mess for at least a while after Bobby. You can't blame this on Bobby. On the other hand, it is clear that nothing will improve and nothing will change for the better with Bobby in this situation. Bobby has to go. It's not his fault, but he can't fix it. That means he MUST go! The EXACT SAME THING is true for Obama!!!! He didn't create Clinton's housing recession that ran into the wall a decade later, but he has also proven that he isn't experienced enough to fix it and it is clear that nothing will improve anytime soon if we continue to follow his fantasies of how economics works (and doesn't work). Obama didn't make this mess, but he can't fix it either! Obama needs to go! Just like Bobby! It's not Bobby's mess but Bobby can't fix it, so he is out! And so is Obama!

“We are determined to fix that which is broken and return the Red Sox to the level of success we have experienced over the past decade.’’ Larry, if you're still in charge it will continue to stay broken! Since when does the president of an organization not "get sacked" when the organization he/she presides over is a complete disaster? This season's problems had nothing to do with "an inordinate amount of injuries", although it's nice to hear you and your buddy Larry are on the same page. This organization is overseen by smug, arrogant people who think they're always the smartest people in the room. I'm sure the rest of baseball is having a good laugh at the dysfunctional Sox. Who's stupid now!!

Granted, Bobby V. was dealt a bad hand in the beginning. Still I think that many of us could have done a better job using a Ouija Board.