The Red Sox and Bobby Valentine are officially going to tie the knot Thursday at 5:30 p.m., whether any or all Red Sox players like it or not.
Both WEEI and ESPN report that not all players are happy with the news of the hiring.
With both outlets essentially reporting the same thing, a Red Sox official told at least one player prior to the managerial search that they "weren't going to hire Bobby Valentine or someone like that".
Well, so much for that.
CSNNE.com Red Sox Insider Sean McAdam spoke with CSNNE's Jessica Moran and had some perspective on why there might be players who won't like the signing.
"Well it's probably not terribly surprising, Jess." McAdam said. "Because Bobby can be a polarizing figure. We've seen that in his previous stops. People like him but there are also people who are not crazy about him and the players community is a relatively small one. They hear what others have gone through -- they hear good and bad -- and I think probably the big thing that players are concerned about is that Bobby has a reputation for being a straight shooter.
"He's not one necessarily to dance around delicate topics. He's got an opinion and he probably isn't going to be as protective of the players as his predecessor Terry Francona was."
Boston Red Sox
But while some Red Sox players might not like the hire, Dustin Pedroia does.
Speaking on WEEI on Wednesday, Pedroia said, "It's exciting. Just excited to have a manager, it took a long time. I think the search is over and now we can all get ready for next year. And I bet all the fans are excited too. He's been around, he's done it before in a big market. So it's going to be fun."
Pedroia went on to deny knowing anything about the report that a Sox official told members of the team that someone of Valentine's mold would be the next manager.