Cherington shoots down rifts between Red Sox, Valentine

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BOSTON -- Red Sox executive vice president and general manager Ben Cherington appeared on SiriusXM's "Inside Pitch" on Tuesday, and shot down rumors that players were going to his office to complain about manager Bobby Valentine.

"Not a single player has come to my office," said Cherington. "That's the truth. I'm sitting in my office right now. Not a single player has come into it this year. I talk to players from time to time. Bobby obviously talks to players. If I talk to a player, almost all the time, it's in the clubhouse, and it's in plain view of everyone else who's in the clubhouse. There's no cloak and dagger going on here.

"We've always had an open-door policy here," added Cherington. "When Theo and Tito were here, the players knew that if they wanted to talk about something, they could go and talk about it. When it comes to baseball-specific things, like the things that go on in the clubhouse or when it comes to lineups and roles and how guys are being used on the field, that's the domain of the manager. And players, if they have an issue, need to go into the manager's office and talk about it.

"We had a change this winter. And the biggest change was the manager. And it's on all of us -- starting with Bobby -- but on all of us to make that change work. And he's working to make that change work. And the players are working to make that change work. And if I can help along the way, somehow, help each other help everyone understand what's going on, I'll try to do that. But this notion that players are walking into my office, complaining about things is just not accurate."

Cherington was then asked about the relationship between Dustin Pedroia and Valentine, but said he didn't feel comfortable going into specifics.

"I don't think it's my place to speculate on that relationship," said Cherington. "I know I've talked to both. I know that Bobby has an incredible amount of respect for Dustin, as a player, the way he plays the game, what he means to the clubhouse. I know that Dustin just wants to play and win games. Anything beyond that, any conversation that needs to happen beyond that, will happen.

"Look, every year, this happened when Tito was the manager here. This happened prior to Tito being here. You just don't get through a year without a player needing to go into the manager's office or go to someone and vent some frustration, especially in a place like Boston. That has happened. That will continue to happen. We know how much Pedroia means to this team, on the field and off the field. He's going to be here for a long time. And I know Bobby knows how much he means to this team.

"So, we're focused on winning games, and like I said, anything that happens behind closed doors, in a perfect world, would stay behind closed doors. In Boston, sometimes, things are talked about more than in other places. And it's our job just to get guys focused back on their jobs."

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