Bobby V gets serious

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After last night's loss to the Twins (Oh no, the Mayor's Cup!), Bobby Valentine was very clearly unhappy with certain members of his team.

You knew this because, as is the style, Bobby V. held nothing back with the media.

Of Felix Doubront's performance, Valentine said: "I wished for a little more."

Of reliever Mark Melancon, the manager sarcastically said: "I thought he backed up bases pretty well. He had that down.

And of the bullpen in general, Valentine said: "Im not really happy with any of the relief.

As we move forward with the spring training, and eventually the regular season, the major question surrounding the Sox will continue to be: How long until Valentine's act runs thin?

Everyone wants to know.

But for now, I'm not sure how anyone can offer a legitimate guess.

Valentine's antics have worked with some teams, with others they've been a disaster. Of course, with the Sox history and high-priced attitude, it might be fair to assume there will be a problem, but we never know. Ultimately, it just comes down to winning.

If the team's doing well, everyone's happy. If not, everyone will find reasons to bitch and moan about something, regardless of whether that something is at the root of the problem.

It's really that easy. Valentine's openness with the media may not be an issue at all.

But in some cases I think it undoubtedly does some good. Take for instance, Jose Iglesias, who spurned Valentine's ire after missing a sign in last night's game.

He missed a sign, Valentine revealed to reporters after the game. It was a tough sign to get, but I told him Id take him out of the game if he ever missed a sign again.

No one has a problem with this, right?

I mean, what better way to have him learn?

One on hand, I'm sure Iglesias didn't enjoy hearing himself called out, but I guarantee this gets his ass in gear. I bet he takes an extra few minutes or hours this Spring to finally learn every last sign in the Sox repetroire.

And if he doesn't, if that kind of criticism over something as learning signs, is enough to throw Iglesias off track, then that tells you a lot about the kind of player he is. You know he's not your guy. I don't think that's the case, I'm just using him as example.

Then again, it's one thing when you're dealing with 22-year-old rookie, quite another when the target of Bobby V's frustration is a vet making almost 22M.

Rich can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrich_levine

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