Tim Bogar Fires Back At Bobby Valentine, Who Just Won't Go Away

When Bobby Valentine was unceremoniously fired by the Boston Red Sox three weeks ago today, there wasn't a lot of reason to think we were done with him for good. The Red Sox, after all, do not simply let their personnel walk. Inevitably any unplanned departure is followed by sudden revelations of everything wrong that person ever did in their time with the Red Sox.

What was not necessarily clear was that Bobby Valentine would be the one trying to hurl daggers--though perhaps it should have been, given the personality of the man in question. Now that he's started the fight, though, the organization isn't just going to sit there and take it. And this year we're not looking at information coming from mysterious anonymous sources, but from the man whose position was closest to Bobby Valentine in the clubhouse: his bench coach Tim Bogar.

Attacking Bobby Valentine's claim that he was undermined by his coaching staff, Bogar told Joe McDonald that Bobby Valentine essentially forced the situation with his lack of communication--a problem acknowledged by both Valentine, GM Ben Cherington, and ownership at various points in the season.

"The coaching staff was prepared to do everything that we were supposed to do to help Bobby succeed," Bogar said, "but not once did he portray what he wanted us to do to help him and eventually he shut some of us out completely."

While we likely will never know for sure exactly how communication broke down, the players at least seem to support Tim Bogar:

"To me, Bogey was that calming voice that was always thinking baseball," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia told ESPNBoston.com on Wednesday. "He was trying to put us in the best situation to succeed, whether that was baserunning, defensive positioning or just mentioning to calm down at the plate. And his timing was always right on. He's a very smart, no-nonsense guy, which you appreciate."

...

"When I would have a question, I would go to Bogey," Aviles said. "He knew me as a person and as a player and knew how to talk to me. He knew how to calm me down sometimes when I got a little too upset. He's one of those guys who has great communication skills and he was always ready to work.

What's really terrible about this whole situation is that Bogar insinuates its negatively impacted his career, with possible employers (he was a candidate for Houston's managerial position, for instance) questioning him about undermining Valentine. No, we won't ever know exactly what went on behind those closed doors, but we do know who Bobby Valentine is, and we do know that the players seem to think Bogar did his job. Now he's out a bench coach job in Boston (John Farrell having brought Torey Lovullo over) after already turning down a similar position in Houston to stay wih the Sox.

Previously one of the game's up-and-coming managerial prospects, I hate to think that Bogar's career has taken a hit thanks to Bobby's toxicity. Hopefully this is the last we hear of Bobby V's Boston ays, and Bogar leaves with the last word.