User:Nr21frei

2012: The Bobby Valentine Era
In December 2011, Bobby Valentine was hired as a new manager. At about the same time, longtime closer Papelbon signed with the Philadelphia Phillies rather than the Red Sox. The 2012 season marked the centennial of Fenway Park, and on April 20, past and present Red Sox players and coaches assembled to celebrate the park's anniversary. However, the collapse that they endured in September 2011 carried over into the season. The Red Sox struggled throughout the season due to injuries, inconsistent play, and off-field news, and many attempts to better the team through trades and free agent signing failed. Amidst rumors that Valentine and Youkilis were not getting along, the Red Sox traded Youkilis to the Chicago White Sox on June 24. On August 25, the Red Sox sent struggling players Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford and infielder Nick Puntoto the Los Angeles Dodgers for James Loney and four minor league prospects. In addition to the clubhouse drinking, Beckett was also heavily connected to another incident where some of the players attended his charity bowling game rather than the funeral for the late Johnny Pesky, a longtime Red Sox shortstop, manager, and coach who died on August 13. Coupled with a bizarre and inconsistent season, the one-time ace became a pariah to Red Sox Nation. The Red Sox, realizing that the postseason was not in reach, decided to build with talent from their minor league system. Over the next few months, minor league callups Will Middlebrooks, Pedro Ciriaco, Ryan Lavarnway and Daniel Nava were making regular appearances for the Red Sox. The Red Sox finished 69–93 for their first losing season since 1997, and their worst season since 1965.

Bobby Valentine was subsequently fired on October 4, 2012. Valentine has been replaced by John Farrell, who had spent the previous two seasons as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. Farrell was the pitching coach for the Red Sox from 2007–2010 before becoming manager of the Blue Jays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Valentine

