The Red Sox took their time with the managerial search, spending almost two months looking for their next skipper.

Valentine is best known for his time with the New York Mets and most recently spent time managing in Japan. His name has come up for several openings over the past few years, but was alway passed over or turned down the job.

He has a big personality, so it will be interesting to see how he deals with some of the characters in the Red Sox clubhouse.

The Red Sox fell apart in September, blowing a nine-game wild card lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Francona had a tremendous run with the Red Sox, winning two World Series and finally ending the Bambino curse.

Rumors are floating around that Francona was actually forced out, but that the team is trying to make things look amicable.

It’s hard to blame Francona for the collapse given the poor starting rotation that he had to work with.

Ortiz was expected to play against the Tampa Bay Rays but was a late scratch from the lineup.

The team said that Ortiz is out indefinitely and there is some concern that it could be a long DL stay.

Ortiz ripped the ball on the team’s recent road trip, so the pain wasn’t affecting him much at the plate.

With Ortiz out of the lineup, expect Jed Lowrie to see more playing time.

The Red Sox initially targeted Bedard for a trade but were scared away after his disastrous performance in his first outing since coming off of the disabled list.

However, the addition gives the Red Sox quite possibly the best tandem of left-handed starters with Bedard and Jon Lester.

Boston, despite the second-best record in all of baseball, has been seriously concerned about its starting pitching throughout the season.

Josh Beckett has been phenomenal and Lester has been good, but the final three spots in the rotation have been nothing short of a disaster.

Ortiz was originally given a four-game suspension but opted to appeal, and it was reduced by a game.

Ironically, the Red Sox are playing the Orioles in a three-game series and Ortiz will miss the entire set.

The veteran designated hitter has apologized for his role in the fracas but said he had to show he wouldn’t be pushed around.

Ortiz was the only Red Sox player to receive a suspension while two Orioles and their manager were disciplined.

Manager Joe Girardi was angry about Ortiz’ actions, but it didn’t seem to bother the left-handed power hitter.

Ortiz made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of Girardi’s either, further fueling a rivalry that is already as heated as one can get.

Ortiz rubbed salt in the wound by saying he wouldn’t have done it any differently if he had the chance, stating that he hit a bomb and that the corresponding actions were Big Papi style.

It will be interesting to see if this incident fuels more problems in the future with the two clubs or if it is quickly forgotten about.

The Red Sox were able to reach .500 for the first time this season, overcoming their 0-6 start to the year.

They were also able to knock the rival Yankees out of first place in the American League East and close the gap between themselves and the division leading Tampa Bay Rays.

Boston still doesn’t seem to be clicking on all cylinders, which is the scary part for the rest of the division. They have managed to hang around despite their slow start, and the top teams in the division may regret allowing them to do so come September.

Their pitching is probably going to continue to be an issue all season long, but they certainly have the offensive firepower to overcome those deficiencies.

Every year, baseball fans look at the 18 meetings between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and say those matchups will determine who wins the American League East.

It didn’t happen that way last season. The two ancient arch-rivals split the season series 9-9. Neither team won the AL East title.

It was Tampa Bay capturing the division title. New York had the better go of it in the other 144 games of the season, winning the AL Wild Card and finishing 95-67, one game behind the Rays.

The Red Sox? A disappointing season, for sure. Boston went 89-73, but finished third and missed the postseason party.

The biggest rivalry in baseball (and maybe in all of American pro sports) begins again at Fenway Park on April 8 with a three-game series. It will be the Red Sox’ first home series of the season. The first meeting at Yankee Stadium will begin May 13.

—30—

The Red Sox said that they not only had scouts looking at Crawford on the field, but people monitoring him off of it.

Crawford didn’t seem to happy that people were spying on him away from the field, saying it was creepy.

He then admitted that the Red Sox probably felt they had an obligation to do such a thorough investigation because it was such a big investment.

The Red Sox have tried to backtrack, saying they were just trying to find out more about Crawford.