BOSTON -- For about 30 minutes after the Red Sox' brutal 15-9 loss to the New York Yankees Saturday night, Bobby Valentine's door was closed, as the manager met with general manager Ben Cherington, president Larry Lucchino and principal owner John Henry.
When they emerged, little was said publicly. But in a brief phone interview, Henry said much of the meeting was, predictably, centered on the failure of the team's poor pitching and what steps could be taken to correct a staff ERA that is more than two runs above the league average.
"This is not a 14-game problem,'' said Henry, referencing the team's 4-10 start. "This is 41-game problem (dating back to the Red Sox' disastrous 7-20 mark last September). Our pitching has been terrible over the last 41 regular season games.''
Henry's remarks, which emphasized that the problems are a continuation of the issues which sunk the Sox' playoff bids last fall -- and set in motion the dismissal of manager Terry Francona -- would seem to indicate that he does not hold either manager Bobby Valentine or pitching coach Bob McClure solely responsible for the team's poor start this year.