Jason Varitek, a great captain, retires

Jason Varitek will officially retire Thursday in Fort Myers -- and the Green Monster is already prepped. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine on the former captain: "From afar, he was everything you want in a guy who wore the 'C.' He was a man's man. He was a big hitter when needed He was the leader of the pitching staff. He was able to beat up Alex (Rodriguez). All that stuff is good stuff. He was exactly what he was supposed to be."

Kevin Littlefield/Staff photographer

Bobby Valentine: "Jeter was out of position."

The Red Sox were working on relay throws and cut-off situations today, leading to a question about the famous Derek Jeter play from the 2001 American League Division Series.

Einstein is the world's coolest horse

In honor of Bobby Valentine's big day, I'm going with a post on Einstein, the world's smallest stallion. (Because Bobby V is a stallion, right?) Little Einstein was born in Barnstead, N.H., on April 22, 2010 and stood only 14 inches tall. He soon became a media darling, appearing on Oprah and shows around the globe. At one point, both Shaquille O'Neal and Paris Hilton expressed interested in purchasing the pint-sized pinto. However, he is not for sale, rather living a wonderful life with beastie friends Lilly the dog, Eleanor and Isabelle (goats) and Charlie the donkey, who is a friendly ASSistant. The Disney Hyperion book, "A Friend for Einstein," ranked No. 2 on the NY Times bestseller list.

Einstein, who is now fully grown, munches on a carrot while enjoying the afternoon with my daughter, Ella Rose, and a goat earlier this week. 

Mailbag: Bobby Valentine reaction

Since Bobby Valentine became the leading candidate to become the next Red Sox manager, most everyone I spoke with -- fans, scouts, those who've only seen him on ESPN -- had reasons to dislike him. There was this eye-opening column by Murray Chass, who says "V is for Loser," and others treating the selection with dread.  I found some balance with e-mails, the first from Mets fan Jim Wrynn in New Jersey:


Mr. Gray, upon what do you base your statement that Bobby Valentine is "loathed by Mets fans...?"  Valentine led the team to two post season appearances, reaching the World Series in 2000. He is second in wins to Davey Johnson and third in winning percentage to behind Johnson and Willie Randolph (and why exactly did the Sox not interview Randolph?).  When the Mets were searching for a manager last year, there were many long time fans who wanted Valentine to be interviewed. I think the loathing of Bobby Valentine came not from the fans, but from the media.  Valentine might place a false mustache above his lips, he does not place his lips on the back side of the media.  As to quoting Steve Phillips, I will let Mr. Phillips character speak for itself.

And this email from Jerry Rowan: 

I'm a lifelong Mets fan who attended my first game in 1974. Despite the fact that my family moved to NH in the early 80's, I'm still a Mets fan and manage to make it down to Queens for 6-7 games per year. As such, I feel I'm uniquely qualified to offer a correction on the article you wrote in yesterday's paper (11/27)...Mets fans do NOT "loathe" Bobby Valentine. I would say Bobby is revered by roughly 75% of the Mets fanbase and there was a substantial amount of fans who were clamoring for his return last fall (before we hired Terry Collins). Bobby is a tremendous manager who will out-think, out-work, and out-prepare most of his colleagues. He'll also wear out his welcome (sooner or later) with management and members of  the press because of his frankness and ego (check out Joel Sherman's article in the 11/27 edition of the New York Post). But the ride will be fun, entertaining, and successful. If you guys actually hire Bobby... I might actually watch a Sox game for the first time since 1986. 

Who's ready for the Bobby Valentine Show?

Bobby Valentine is a bridge to John Farrell. That's how the Red Sox will end up playing this out, after the Bobby V Era ends in a year or two. Not a good fit, as I wrote in today's "On Baseball" column in the Newt-endorsing New Hampshire Union Leader: "Valentine will make a splash, all right ... He'll win the press conference one day and turn a small brush fire into a raging inferno the next."


The Red Sox really missed Farrell as their pitching coach in 2011, when starters went rogue on their Beer and Wings Tour, and they'll be longing for him to return as manager. Farrell is under contract through 2013. The over/under on Bobby V in Boston is 1-1/2 years ... For a fleeting moment Sunday night, it appeared Houston's Brad Mills might enter the picture and become the No. 1 seed for the Red Sox job. Twitter was abuzz with Mills-to-Boston talk after Ken Rosenthal reported GM Ed Wade is about to be fired in a house cleaning. However, it's now sounding like Mills is staying with the Astros. Interesting! 

Blue Jays minor-league staffers in limbo

The whole Red Sox managerial search, which has been a complete debacle, has left a ripple effect throughout Toronto's farm system. Tory Lovullo remains a longshot to succeed Terry Francona in Boston, but until the Sox hire a manager, the Jays don't know if they'll need to replace Lovullo as first-base coach. Also, if Gene Lamont gets the job, Lovullo may join him as bench coach. Anyway, the inside word is that Bobby Valentine is the Red Sox ownership's choice.

Meanwhile, Sal Fasano and others don't have their assignments for 2012. The Double-A Fisher Cats manager won't be named for at least another week, though Sal is the logical choice to return if he doesn't move up. New Hampshire's pitching coach will be Tom Signore, who joined the Fisher Cats in 2009-10 before a stint in Vegas.