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SEATTLE -- Amid his team's debacle of a West Coast road trip, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said Monday that both he and much-maligned manager Bobby Valentine were being studied by ownership as much as any players on the roster.
"We are both being evaluated," Cherington said.
Both Cherington and owner John Henry were in Seattle on what they said was a previously planned trip west. Henry had breakfast Monday with Valentine as part of what he described as a "fact-finding" stop in the wake of Boston's season-worst six-game losing streak.
Valentine might come out a little better on the evaluation scale, Cherington suggested, because managers are evaluated on wins and losses, and wins and losses "are reflective of the talent we have on the field."
And in the wake of the mega-trade with the Dodgers that sent Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to Los Angeles, the makeup of the roster is squarely laid at Cherington's feet. Yes, the Red Sox have been bedeviled by injuries, but they aren't the only club for which that's true.
"I told Bobby and I told the team at the time of the trade that I wasn't helping the team win games (immediately) by making the trade," Cherington said. "The problems haven't just been the pitching. It's been the offense, the defense. It's been me."
Immediately after the trade, the Red Sox won two games against the downtrodden Royals in Fenway Park. Since then, it's been one disaster after another. In three games against the Angels in Anaheim, Boston was outscored 21-10 in losing all three. In Oakland, it was another sweep, and things were even worse, the A's outscoring the Red Sox 33-5.
And that, Cherington said, can't go on.
"We're in the middle of a tough stretch," he said. "And I don't know what the wins and losses will look like at the end. But I expect us to be competitive.
"We're focused on what we can get out of the next four weeks."
Valentine doesn't have to focus on his job security, at least not now. He would not go into details about the breaking of bread he had with his boss, but he said that he and Henry talked about the job Valentine had been doing.
"We talked baseball," Valentine said. "The things we talked about are the things I deal with (as a manager)."
Earlier in the day, Henry told ESPNBoston.com via email that he was not in Seattle to fire Valentine. Cherington said suggestions that Valentine was in trouble because both the owner and the general manager were in town needed some context.
"I had this on my calendar for a month," Cherington said. "John was (already) on the West Coast."
Still, the general manager would not get into specifics about Valentine's status and Henry came and went without indicating any need for a move.
A team source reiterated Monday that despite the appearances of a "death watch," Valentine's fate will not be addressed until after the season. The 62-year-old Valentine has a year remaining on the two-year contract he signed last December.
The Red Sox have been in freefall since July 31, when they were 53-51 and just 3½ games out of a wild-card spot. They had recorded back-to-back, final-at-bat victories against the Yankees in New York, returned home to beat the Detroit Tigers two straight, and Valentine -- who had been given the backing of owners after they held a turbulent meeting with players -- still spoke confidently of making the playoffs.
Since then, the club has gone 9-22 to fall 11 games under .500 for the first time since July 1997, and with a 62-73 record Boston is on pace for a 74-88 record, which would be their worst since 1992, when they finished 73-89. That was the team's worst finish since 1966, the year before the Impossible Dreamers, when the Red Sox went 72-90.
The team's performance has disintegrated during its current six-game losing streak, longest of the season, all of the losses coming on the West Coast. The pitching staff has a 9.80 ERA on the trip. Since pitching coach Bob McClure was fired on Aug. 21 and replaced by Randy Niemann, the team is 3-10 with an ERA of 7.08, while the starters' ERA is 7.99, with seven starts of five innings or fewer.
Boston's hitters, meanwhile, are batting just .231 on the trip, have been outhomered 13-3 and have just six extra-base hits, compared to 20 for their opponents.
"We are both being evaluated," Cherington said.
Both Cherington and owner John Henry were in Seattle on what they said was a previously planned trip west. Henry had breakfast Monday with Valentine as part of what he described as a "fact-finding" stop in the wake of Boston's season-worst six-game losing streak.
Valentine might come out a little better on the evaluation scale, Cherington suggested, because managers are evaluated on wins and losses, and wins and losses "are reflective of the talent we have on the field."
And in the wake of the mega-trade with the Dodgers that sent Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to Los Angeles, the makeup of the roster is squarely laid at Cherington's feet. Yes, the Red Sox have been bedeviled by injuries, but they aren't the only club for which that's true.
"I told Bobby and I told the team at the time of the trade that I wasn't helping the team win games (immediately) by making the trade," Cherington said. "The problems haven't just been the pitching. It's been the offense, the defense. It's been me."
Immediately after the trade, the Red Sox won two games against the downtrodden Royals in Fenway Park. Since then, it's been one disaster after another. In three games against the Angels in Anaheim, Boston was outscored 21-10 in losing all three. In Oakland, it was another sweep, and things were even worse, the A's outscoring the Red Sox 33-5.
And that, Cherington said, can't go on.
"We're in the middle of a tough stretch," he said. "And I don't know what the wins and losses will look like at the end. But I expect us to be competitive.
"We're focused on what we can get out of the next four weeks."
Valentine doesn't have to focus on his job security, at least not now. He would not go into details about the breaking of bread he had with his boss, but he said that he and Henry talked about the job Valentine had been doing.
"We talked baseball," Valentine said. "The things we talked about are the things I deal with (as a manager)."
Earlier in the day, Henry told ESPNBoston.com via email that he was not in Seattle to fire Valentine. Cherington said suggestions that Valentine was in trouble because both the owner and the general manager were in town needed some context.
"I had this on my calendar for a month," Cherington said. "John was (already) on the West Coast."
Still, the general manager would not get into specifics about Valentine's status and Henry came and went without indicating any need for a move.
A team source reiterated Monday that despite the appearances of a "death watch," Valentine's fate will not be addressed until after the season. The 62-year-old Valentine has a year remaining on the two-year contract he signed last December.
The Red Sox have been in freefall since July 31, when they were 53-51 and just 3½ games out of a wild-card spot. They had recorded back-to-back, final-at-bat victories against the Yankees in New York, returned home to beat the Detroit Tigers two straight, and Valentine -- who had been given the backing of owners after they held a turbulent meeting with players -- still spoke confidently of making the playoffs.
Since then, the club has gone 9-22 to fall 11 games under .500 for the first time since July 1997, and with a 62-73 record Boston is on pace for a 74-88 record, which would be their worst since 1992, when they finished 73-89. That was the team's worst finish since 1966, the year before the Impossible Dreamers, when the Red Sox went 72-90.
The team's performance has disintegrated during its current six-game losing streak, longest of the season, all of the losses coming on the West Coast. The pitching staff has a 9.80 ERA on the trip. Since pitching coach Bob McClure was fired on Aug. 21 and replaced by Randy Niemann, the team is 3-10 with an ERA of 7.08, while the starters' ERA is 7.99, with seven starts of five innings or fewer.
Boston's hitters, meanwhile, are batting just .231 on the trip, have been outhomered 13-3 and have just six extra-base hits, compared to 20 for their opponents.
