Report: Red Sox players blast Valentine in meeting

Baltimore, MD – Boston Red Sox players had a meeting with ownership regarding Bobby Valentine, but denied they requested any changes be made.

"We had a meeting," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "I'll be honest with everybody. We had a meeting in New York. The coaches had a meeting. Bobby had a meeting. We all had a meeting. Basically, when I spoke, I said we all need to do better. That includes owners, Bobby, coaches, especially the players."

A group of Red Sox players met with ownership on July 26, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports. According to the report, Red Sox players were upset Valentine left Jon Lester in a July 22 game in which he allowed 11 runs.

Despite reports 17 players took part in the meeting, Pedroia denied any intention for a managerial change.

"I don't think Bobby should be fired," Pedroia said. "We haven't played well. That's the bottom line. I'm not going to blame anything on Bobby. It's on the players."

The Red Sox are 57-60 this season and, after a 7-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, are 12 1/2 games out of first place in the American League East.