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BOSTON -- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is being mocked in some circles for saying in a postgame interview on NESN that if the Red Sox continue to play the way they have, "we’re going to win a championship.”

Valentine said it in the context of a recent stretch in which the Sox played 20 games in 20 days and went 11-9. But if you look at it in a broader context, the man has a point.

On April 21, after blowing a nine-run lead to the Yankees and losing 15-9, the Sox were 4-10 and had "hit bottom," according to Valentine.

Since then, the club is 18-12, the third-best record in the American League in that span, behind just the Baltimore Orioles (20-10) and Tampa Bay Rays (19-11). That's a winning percentage of .600. Overall, the Sox are now 22-22. If the Sox maintain that .600 pace, they would go 71-47 over their final 118 games, leaving them with a total of 93 wins.

Last season, the Yankees won the division with 97 wins, and Tampa Bay qualified as the wild-card team with 91 wins, one more than the Red Sox. There is an extra wild-card team in 2012, so if the Sox win 93 games, that should be good enough to qualify for the postseason tournament -- giving them a shot at Valentine's championship.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine made his weekly appearance Friday on "The Michael Kay Show" on ESPN New York radio.

Valentine offers his thoughts on interleague play ... sort of. He says he's reserving judgment on whether he likes it or not until after the Sox finish their three-game set with the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

He also said that "pieces are coming together" for the Red Sox, who have won 6 of 7 games entering Friday.

As far as how the Red Sox will handle Kevin Youkilis' return once the veteran third baseman is activated off the disabled list, Valentine said that rather than being a problem -- top prospect Will Middlebrooks has played well at third base with Youk sidelined -- it's a good situation to have options at the position.

To listen to the full podcast, CLICK HERE.

BOSTON -- We are 21 games into the Bobby Valentine era as Red Sox manager and it has been a topsy-turvy ride. There have been some notable peaks but some definitive valleys, for which Valentine seems to be shouldering the blame in the court of public opinion.

The Boston skipper was forthcoming Monday at Fenway Park when discussing the issues the club went through in the wake of injuries to center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and closer Andrew Bailey. For days, the outfield was shaky and the bullpen was an absolute abomination.

Now that the waters have been calmed, Valentine expressed remorse.

“You try to have what-ifs. To tell you the truth, I didn’t have a what-if to begin the season and I’m kicking myself for it,” Valentine said.

Bailey was lost just before the regular season began to thumb surgery. Even after a quality road trip, the bullpen ERA is 6.34, still last in the majors. Ellsbury suffered a right shoulder injury in the home opener. The outfield as a whole has six home runs, more than just two American League teams, and possesses only one stolen base.

To be fair, Valentine was dealt a difficult hand with the injuries. He acknowledged as much, but kept coming up with the conclusion that he should have done more.

“I didn’t have a major plan for not having Ellsbury. My fault. I should have,” he said. “In the bullpen, two guys we traded for in the wintertime, you figured one of them would be pitching in the ninth inning come April 13," referring to Bailey and Mark Melancon, who was so ineffective in the first week and a half of the season he was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket. "And I think you have to have plans. I’m kicking myself a little. I didn’t have a great plan. It’s coming to fruition now. On the fly, the plan is working.”

It seems to be. The Sox are coming off a 6-1 road trip during which the bullpen had a 1.06 ERA. The Ellsbury-less offense has led the AL in total bases (121) since the excursion began April 23.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine joined Michael Kay's radio show on ESPN New York to talk about his team winning a few games in a row, Carl Crawford's injury and last week's 100th anniversary of Fenway Park.

CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Trevor Plouffe’s bid for a game-winning, two-run home run had barely settled into Cody Ross’s glove when Bobby Valentine shot out of the dugout to visit Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves in the ninth inning Monday night.

Valentine’s message to Aceves was delivered with a smile, but probably paralleled the one being screamed at TVs and radios throughout New England.

“I asked him if he was trying to kill me,’’ Valentine said. “What else would you say in a situation like that?’’

Seriously?

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I said, with a smile,’’ Valentine said. “He was a little too tense out there.’’

The gist of the conversation was confirmed by shortstop Mike Aviles -- once he was told that Valentine was the source.

“Yeah, he did,’’ Aceves said, almost giggling at the thought. “It was all just fun. Kind of lightened the mood. Even Ace gave it a smile. We all laughed, and he was able to get back and make his pitches.’’

After Valentine cracked wise, Aceves got down to the business of ending the game, an eight-pitch duel with Twins leadoff man Denard Span that ended with Aceves gloving a comebacker and flipping it underhanded to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for the final out of a 6-5 Boston win.

For the first time in a week, music was heard in the Sox clubhouse. The five-game losing streak was over, although Aceves, who couldn’t get anyone out Saturday when six straight Yankees reached base safely against him in a 15-9 fiasco, was no help in recalling what he did to save this one for -- get ready for it -- Daniel Bard, the accidental reliever.

“Now I just forget what I did, what happened,’’ said Aceves, who had no interest in discussing his in-game chat with Valentine. “I forget what happened. Honestly, I forget what happened.’’

But what was his reaction to Valentine’s joke?

“No, no, no, no, no, no, buddy, no,’’ Aceves said.

“First of all, I want to thank God we’re healthy. Besides that, we can control what we have in our hands.’’

It was two weeks ago Monday night that Aceves had slipped a piece of paper to Valentine that had the word “Trust” written on it.
Valentine had the option of keeping Bard in the game after he stranded the potential go-ahead run on third in the eighth. Bard relieved Franklin Morales with one out and Jamey Carroll on third. Carroll reached on what was scored a single and two-base error by right fielder Ryan Sweeney.

Why the summons for Aceves?

“I had a guy down there who’s going to have to save a lot of games for us,’’ Valentine said. “And I thought Daniel did his job and Alfredo did his.’’

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine heard the boos Wednesday night when he walked to the mound to retrieve Franklin Morales, but he insists they didn't bother him.

"Not at all," he said.

During his weekly appearance on the Michael Kay Show, Valentine talked about his team's continuing struggles and admitted some of his decisions have backfired, but that there's no reason for Boston fans to panic.

"I don't think they're panicking," he said, adding that "tens of thousands of fans" visited Fenway Park on Thursday during the team's off day as the Red Sox prepare for Fenway's 100th anniversary celebration on Friday. "Didn't see any panic in their eyes," he said.

As he's done all week, Valentine downplayed any issues he's had with Kevin Youkilis and suggested that his comments were taken out of context. He said that the issue is behind them, and that Youkilis "is a man's man. No one works harder than Kevin Youkilis. No one tries harder than he does. ... I've been pulling for him to be his best as I do with all my players, and I think he gets that."

Valentine admitted that while the team is a work in progress, he is also learning and adjusting each day -- to both his job and to the media pressures of managing in Boston.

"I'm trying to adjust and adapt to a very new situation," he said.

Regarding his team's 4-8 start, Valentine admitted he "might have made a wrong move or two" and that the Sox have had some tough breaks. Regarding his ill-fated decision to leave lefty Franklin Morales in the game Wednesday night to face two right-handed hitters, Valentine said he was "trying to build Franklin's confidence, let him know he has been perfect so far against right-handers and left-handers, and I wanted to let him know he's going to be put in that situations many times, and I believe it him."

To hear Michael Kay's full interview with Valentine, CLICK HERE.

TORONTO -- Red Sox pitching coach Bob McClure held a meeting for members of the bullpen and catchers Monday afternoon.

Among the attendees were Alfredo Aceves and Mark Melancon.

Not invited was Daniel Bard.

In other words, the sun went down, the sun came up and the Sox bullpen did not change, despite two excruciating losses in the season’s first three games.

Bard is still on track to make his first big-league start Tuesday. Customs officials in Toronto did not detain either Aceves or Melancon when they declared their occupation as “Major-league relief pitchers.’’

And the manager, Bobby Valentine, threw his support behind the status quo. If anything, he put the onus on himself.

“The bullpen situation? I've just got to manage it better, that’s what I think,’’ he said. “I think we have the arms out there to do what we have to do. I just have to put guys in the right position.’’

Valentine said he spoke with Aceves, who has yet to retire a batter in his first two appearances as Sox closer, giving up a game-tying three-run home run to Miguel Cabrera in the bottom of the ninth Sunday. He also spoke about Melancon, who gave up a game-winning two-run homer to Alex Avila and became the first pitcher in major-league baseball to be charged with two losses.

“Everything happened so quickly,’’ Valentine said of Aceves’ seven-pitch outing Sunday. “He thinks he’s making pretty good pitches. I do too. Mark was pretty close to finishing that out. [The pitch to Avila] wasn’t that bad a pitch. It’s not like we have to make up something new and you have to come up with something different. We just have to have a little better results. I think we will have that.’’

How do you manage the bullpen better?

“Better, that’s how I do it,’’ he said. “Just manage better. I will. I don’t think the deck has to be totally shuffled. … I just have to get the right guys matched up. With a little more time, I think I’ll be able to do that.’’

Two pitchers who worked Sunday, Vicente Padilla (four innings) and Franklin Morales (two innings) won’t be available Monday. They combined for six shutout innings.

“These guys are good players,’’ Valentine said of his 'pen. “I think we have good arms who will do a good job, and I think we have starters who will last longer in games. This has been three days of something other than what it’s going to be like.

“With Aceves, he hung one changeup. I’ll take my chances with every other pitch he threw, even though there’s only been about nine of them in two games.’’

Valentine was asked if he was eager to see Bard make his start.

“Well, considering he’s probably been the guy talked about the most the last three games and hasn’t thrown a pitch yet, I’m dying to see him pitch,’’ Valentine deadpanned.

“We’ve talked. He gets it. The poor guy has been thrown in a situation no one should have to be thrown into, really, before his first major-league start.’’

DETROIT -- Well, that didn’t take long.

Two games into the season, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is shaking up the Red Sox lineup, which has produced two runs so far, none in a 10-0 defeat by the Tigers on Saturday.

For the first time in nearly a year, Jacoby Ellsbury will start in a spot other than leadoff in the Sox batting order. Ellsbury, who batted ninth in a game last April 21, will bat second against Tigers right-hander Matt Scherzer on Sunday afternoon, with Dustin Pedroia dropping down to the 3-hole, Adrian Gonzalez hitting cleanup and David Ortiz fifth.

Nick Punto, Darnell McDonald and Kelly Shoppach all are making their first starts of the season.

“Getting some guys their first starts of the year and I think we’ll be able to score some runs with it,’’ Valentine said. “Hope so.’’

The Sox's new leadoff man? No, not the typical suspects, like Pedroia or Mike Aviles. It will be Punto, who in 44 previous games as a leadoff man (40 starts) is batting .169, by far his worst average at any spot in the batting order.

Last season, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa started Punto eight times at leadoff. He responded with three hits in his first two games, but went 1-for-22 in his last six starts at the top spot.

Valentine said he gives those numbers no weight.

“None,’’ he said. “I think he’s going to hit .260 in the leadoff spot, so he’s got a lot of hits coming. I don’t think it has anything to do with it.
Personally, I don’t think it has anything to do with it.’’

So what does Valentine like about Punto hitting leadoff?

“Just want to see what it looks like,’’ he said. “See if it gives us a little spark. He’s a sparky kind of player, battles everyone.’’

Meanwhile, Ellsbury has not batted in the 2-hole since June 14, 2009, when he hit behind Julio Lugo in an interleague game in Philadelphia against the Phillies. Ellsbury has batted second eight times in his big-league career, with six starts, and is batting .304 (7-for-23) in those games.

Perhaps an even bigger surprise is this: McDonald is getting a start against a right-hander, replacing Cody Ross in left field, and batting sixth. Last season McDonald batted just .189 (10-for-53) against right-handers with more strikeouts (13) than hits (10), and Terry Francona started him just three times against righties.

Valentine said during spring training he planned to employ a variety of lineups, and indeed looked at Ellsbury in the 2-hole in exhibition play. And McDonald was the team’s hottest hitter in spring training, batting .447 with a 1.327 OPS, playing against lefties and righties.

“Most of his at-bats in spring were against right-handers,’’ Valentine said. “I figured if he’s ever ready to start against a right-hander, it’s now.’’
He also has said he likes to get his bench players participating early. Shoppach, who got his first hit as a Red Sox (0-for-15 his first go-round) as a pinch hitter Saturday afternoon, will start behind the plate in place of Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Kevin Youkilis, hitless in his first eight at-bats while striking out in four consecutive plate appearances over the first two games, is sitting in place of Punto.

“I haven’t had good at-bats, a couple, one I disagreed on a call, that’s just how it works,’’ Youkilis said on Saturday. “One hundred sixty-two games, you’re going to have two bad games. Hopefully these are the two bad ones, things start clicking well, and I start helping this team win.’’

Unlike Francona, who made a practice of telling players the night before whether they were starting the next day, players did not know until they arrived at the ballpark Sunday.

Here’s the lineup:

Nick Punto, 3B

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

Dustin Pedroia, 2B

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

David Ortiz, DH

Darnell McDonald, LF

Ryan Sweeney, RF

Mike Aviles, SS

Kelly Shoppach, C

Clay Buchholz -- RHP

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A few takeaways from the Fort, where “getaway day” included a 4-2 Red Sox victory over the Nationals, who could take over Boston’s former digs at City of Palms Park in 2014 and join the Red Sox and Twins in southwest Florida:

Worthless paper: What do the pundits’ predictions mean? Not a lot, according to outfielder Darnell McDonald.

Most preseason magazines and publications have the Red Sox finishing third in the AL East and failing to secure either of the two wild cards. Sports Illustrated even warns that the Blue Jays could topple the Red Sox, whom SI describes as “fundamentally the same team” despite the arrival of Bobby Valentine.

“A lot of them had us winning the World Series last year, so that stuff doesn’t mean anything,” McDonald said. “That’s why we play the game. How many picked the Cardinals to win last year? It’s all about playing well at the right time and finishing strong. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Valentine’s only prediction as the Red Sox break camp is that the team will look like it has put in the work.

“From our room -- the coaches’ and manager’s room -- I think we’re very satisfied that every facet of the game of baseball has been prepared, and I think prepared properly,” Valentine said before the game.

After the game, summing up six weeks in Florida, he quipped: “I didn’t think I’d last this long so it’s kind of a pleasant surprise for me. It was great. Me personally, I enjoyed it. We played the way I thought we would. Got a lot of work done. So I’m ready to leave Florida, and I think the guys are too.”

Pleasant surprise: Aaron Cook was brilliant in five innings, giving up just two hits and one run while commanding a very effective sinker.

Cook, who missed all of the Rockies’ spring training last season and was on the 60-day disabled list with a fractured finger, finished spring training with a 1.91 ERA in 15 1/3 innings.

“It’s been very productive,” Cook said. “To be able to go out and stay healthy all spring, not miss any starts and not have any setbacks, that’s something that hasn’t happened the last couple of years. So to take that away this year is a definite plus.

“I’m going to go to Pawtucket, make a few starts, just try to stay ready, build my pitch count, get deep into games and see what happens.”

Said Valentine, “Coming in, I didn’t expect him to be giving us five pretty good innings the last day of spring training, so it’s a very pleasant development. It’s great to have that kind of depth in our starting rotation.”

Serious sellouts: The Red Sox sold out all 16 home games and set a team spring training attendance record with 151,713.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- While Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine was holding his daily briefing with the media on Wednesday, the music from within the clubhouse could be heard clearly on the outside.

That means DJ David Ortiz has arrived.

Ortiz is the only player with a double locker stall in the new Red Sox clubhouse at JetBlue Park. His real estate consists of a corner stall, with his own full-length mirror and another bench against the wall.

It didn’t take him long to unpack and set up camp with the music blaring.

“They told me it would be loud and Merengue, and they were right,” Valentine said. “The clubhouse is full of David right now and I expect him to have that smile as often as possible so he can light up our clubhouse and our dugout. I’m hoping he can swing the bat like he did last year.”

Leadership 101: Based on what happened to the Red Sox in the final month of the 2011 season, a main focus this spring training has been the leadership qualities of the players.

“I want them to understand the difference between right and wrong, and for those who are confused, put them on the right pace,” Valentine said.

Captain, my captain: Depending on the status of veteran catcher Jason Varitek, Valentine hasn’t decided whether or not the Sox will name a successor to the captain.

“I haven’t planned on that,” Valentine said. “If the team thinks a captain is a cool thing, I think that could be considered. It’s not like I don’t think a captain is necessary. Then again, I don’t know if it’s so necessary that you can’t live without it.”

Then Valentine asked a simple question: “Who was the captain last year of [World Series champion] St. Louis?”

Members of the media did not have the answer.

“They didn’t have one,” Valentine said. “So you can win a world championship without a captain.”

Valentine added: “If Jason Varitek is not on the team, I think there’s a lot of void that needs to be filled. From what I gather because I was never in uniform with him, he brought a lot to the table even when he wasn’t playing, and part of what he did was bridge the gap of understanding between catchers and pitchers.”

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was asked if he would want to wear the ‘C,’ but that’s something he said he’s not interested in.

New digs cause dents: Speaking of Pedroia, following the voluntary workout for position players, he was sitting at his locker in the new clubhouse at JetBlue Park and sporting a nasty gash on the top of his head. He explained that he smashed his melon on the corner of the shelf drawer atop his locker stall earlier in the day.

V meets Iggy: On one of the back fields during voluntary workouts for position players on Wednesday, Valentine stood and watched the defensive prowess of shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias. Valentine compared Iglesias to Rey Ordonez, who played for him with the Mets.

“My first impression is that he can catch it,” Valentine said. “I bet he can throw it after he catches it, too. He has an interesting exchange. A lot of people will make the comparison, and I did see similarities to Rey Ordonez in play/glove action. Initially, it looked like he had more range than Rey."

Too early for lineups: In the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday, the video board at JetBlue Park flashed a Red Sox lineup card. Here was the order:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury
2. Dustin Pedroia
3. Adrian Gonzalez
4. Kevin Youkilis
5. David Ortiz
6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
7. Carl Crawford
8. Nick Punto
9. Cody Ross

Valentine has already fielded a number of questions about the batting order, especially in regards to Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford. Both Crawford and Dustin Pedroia want to hit second in the order because that’s where they're are the most comfortable. Once Grapefruit League actions starts and Valentine pencils in a lineup, he wants to make sure each player will be put in a spot that will give the entire lineup success.

“There is a thing about hitting in an order that sometimes guys have mental conditions,” explained Valentine. “I'm pretty sure it was Mike Piazza who came to me [with the Mets] and said, ‘Hey, I can’t hit fourth.’ I said, ‘Oh, you should have told me before I made the lineup.’ Then he hit fourth for us and he’s going to the Hall of Fame, so it’s one of those things.”

Curt Schilling was on SportsCenter (video above) and Mike & Mike this morning (click here to listen) and discussed a ride range of baseball topics. While it’s not the first time he’s addressed either of these situations, he talked more about Terry Francona’s departure in Boston and Manny Ramirez as a teammate. He also talked about Bobby Valentine and whether he’ll have immediate success with the Red Sox.

On SportsCenter, Schilling talked about Valentine and the challenge he’s facing and also touched on Francona’s. Here’s are some higlights:

-- On Valentine and the tough job he faces: “I don’t know what the chemistry is going to be like. It was clearly one of the reasons why they failed at the end of last year and one of the reasons why all the issues going into the offseason. Bobby’s got a tough job. He’s gonna spend the entire spring answering very few questions about baseball and on the field and a lot of questions about fast food and the clubhouse and that’s unfortunate -- having said that, getting the chance to spend a year around Bobby last year, and getting to know him and then watching how he’s handled himself coming in there … I don’t think you could ask anything more if you’re the Red Sox. I think there’s going to be a sense of accountability he’s going to walk in asking for and demanding that probably should be the way it works out now.”

-- On his initial reaction when Valentine was hired and his thoughts now: “I just didn’t see the fit. My perception of Bobby as a manager is the Mets. And I wasn’t a Bobby guy when Bobby was with the Mets. He’s clearly a very different guy now, he’s matured as a manager and as a person. You can never get around the fact that he’s a baseball lifer and guys like that tend to make things work. Having spent a year with him now and watching how he’s handled it, I think he’s probably one of the few guys that can turn this thing around and make it work right away.”

-- On Francona’s departure and how it was handled: “It was disappointing. Everything that he had done to bring them two World Series and the fact that they kind of kicked him out the door … was incredibly disappointing, but it’s a business and there are egos and reputations and all the things involved that no one wants to see involved, and ultimately I think that they did him a great disservice in the things that they said and did when he left.”

Schilling also discussed Francona’s exit on Mike & Mike and touched on Manny Ramirez as a teammate among other things:

On Ramirez: Schilling said that deep down Manny was "a genuinely good kid." He called him "stunningly talented" with a bat in his hands on days he wanted to play. But he said there were times he felt cheated as a teammate because Manny clearly didn’t want to be on the field.

He also talked about Manny's return to baseball and said that teams that are interested in signing him need to know that Manny is what he is and “buyer beware.”

BOSTON -- During Bobby Valentine’s interview process for the Boston Red Sox managerial position, he mentioned how mentors Tommy Lasorda and Lou Lamoriello both encouraged him to pursue this opportunity.

Lasorda, a Hall of Fame manager, and Lamoriello, the CEO/president and GM of the New Jersey Devils, told Valentine to seriously consider the possibility of managing the Red Sox and to put his best foot forward during his meetings with ownership and management.

“Bobby was born to manage,” Lamoriello said. “Being out of it was not good for him and was not good for baseball. He’s talented. He loves the game and he knows the game. He promotes the game and is good for the game, especially in Boston. It’s going to be a great marriage.”

Lamoriello first met Valentine when both were young. Lamoriello was 24 and working at Providence College and he was recruiting players for the Cape Cod League. He was having coffee with then-assistant basketball coach for the Friars, Bill O’Connor. The coach told Lamoriello of a high school player in his hometown of Stamford, Conn., and suggested Lamoriello watch the kid play.

Valentine was 17.

“I went and saw Bobby play and there was no question how talented he was,” Lamoriello said. “I sat down with his parents and tried to convince them it would be good for him to come to the Cape.”

Valentine’s parents agreed, so Lamoriello took it as a personal responsibility to guide Valentine and watch over him during that time.

“Our relationship started there and never left,” Lamoriello said. “That relationship was built and we followed each other’s careers. We’ve kept in contact and have spent a little time together. It’s a relationship and a friendship that I’ve cherished.

“I think that Boston is fortunate, and he is too, because this is a job that I would say is a dream job for him.”

Lamoriello knows what it takes to win. He helped build the Devils into a three-time Stanley Cup winning franchise. He also believes that Valentine has the skills to communicate with his players and get the most out of them.

“The one thing that is a common denominator with all athletes, or human beings, no matter what race or nationality, is feelings,” explained Lamoriello. “That’s what you have to get to is the feelings, and then get them to realize where you’re coming from. Bobby’s a special person. He’s intelligent and he’s not afraid to take a step back, and I believe sincerely that people are going to be shocked, and players are going to be pleasantly surprised of how he listens.

“Yet, he will still have his convictions, which you have to have. He has to be the boss – anybody in this position of authoritative situation, there has to be a line. Sure, you might stretch it a little, but not to interrupt what you’re trying to do.”