Valentine reacts to blockbuster trade
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Bobby Valentine reacted Saturday in the moments after the blockbuster trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to the Dodgers. Asked directly if he felt the roster needed a major shakeup, the Red Sox manager pointed to the chemistry on and off the field.
"Just didn't feel like it mixed as well as it should," said Valentine, who said his issues were not player specific. "No, it has nothing to do with the individuals in the trade."
Valentine agreed with the assumption that the organization felt this was the best time to make a change, alluding to his hire last November when he replaced Terry Francona as manager.
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"How could it not mean that," Valentine said. "Just change. That's why I was hired, because change was necessary. When you get an opportunity for change, you change and you see if that's the change that was needed, I guess."
Valentine was asked if he was surprised by the fact a trade of this magnitude would happen in the waiver wire process, when so many other teams had a chance to claim the players.
"I have no idea," Valentine said. "The waiver period is just that thing. A lot of guys go out on that wire and I think we have a lot of great players, and I'll bet they all get claimed, or most of them get claimed. Whether or not there's a deal on the other side of that wire, I don't know. I know that Ben (Cherington) is trying to do everything he can do to make the organization as good as it can be. And he'll continue to do that."