Heyman: Why Bobby Valentine is getting a look in Red Sox managerial search

BMark Buehrle presumably no relation to B’wana Beast, or for that matter, sveunm.

The Red Sox say first-list [managerial] candidates Sandy Alomar Jr., Torey Lovullo and Gene Lamont are still in play (curiously, the Phillies’ respected bench coach, Pete Mackanin, was the one called on Tuesday and told that he is out of the running; “I was a little bit surprised. Maybe I didn’t have what they were looking for ... I didn’t insult them,’’ Mackanin said by phone ). None of them looks particularly likely, however, now that it’s clear Red Sox ownership is involved and seems to have vastly different ideas… Cherington, an extremely bright young executive who’d been Theo Epstein’s righthand man until being promoted to replace the departed Epstein four weeks ago, put together a list of pleasant get-along candidates. That roster was definitely OK for the Cubs, as it was basically their list, too. But Red Sox honchos, who know they operate in a fishbowl, appear to feel the need to make a more serious choice…

The perception that [Boston team president Larry] Lucchino was now heavily involved was inescapable, especially after the name of [Bobby] Valentine, who is a longtime friend of Lucchino’s and is viewed as a of his favorite [sic], surfaced. And Lucchino did admit to reporters here that the search is a “collective’’ process. A longtime Boston person said that one of strengths [sic] of [Theo] Epstein, who earned near-full autonomy after winning his second World Series as GM in 2007, was “helping save some people from themselves.” The perception now will be that Cherington’s power isn’t what was believed… There was… no suggestion that Valentine or anyone like him was on Cherington’s radar in the first go-around… it looks like Valentine would be mostly Lucchino’s call, and one of the others Cherington’s. Word is, Cherington had spoken once before to Valentine, but it wasn’t made clear whether that discussion was at Lucchino’s direction. What is clear is that, heading into the meeting here, Cherington was ready to make [Dale] Sveum the manager.

With Valentine’s name the first to surface, the new direction is undeniable. Sveum is seen as another player’s manager who isn’t likely to rock the boat, while Valentine has all his own ideas. Bobby V is widely respected as a brilliant and accomplished baseball man, but he is a curiously strong personality for a team that uses Moneyball principles and has been run more from the front office than the manager’s office in recent years. That would have to change if he gets the job, of course.

The Miami Marlins are said to have a good feeling about their chances to sign Jose Reyes. But even they know they will have to do better than what was described as a “preliminary’’ offer. Sources suggest it was actually less than the reported $90 million over six years by $10-to-20 million. However, Miami is thought to be eventually willing to come up to $90-to-100 million on a five-year deal. People familiar with their situation continue to describe the Albert Pujols offer as a lowball special designed to work only if Pujols has some incredible and unknown desire to play in Miami.

The Yankees may be gun shy bidding on acclaimed Japanese league pitcher Yu Darvish following their disastrous Kei Igawa signing. They seem more interested in C.J. Wilson, Edwin Jackson, BMark Buehrle and perhaps [John] Danks at the moment.

The Mariners could wind up as a player for free agent Prince Fielder. They are badly in need of offense, and their GM, Jack Zduriencik, is the one who drafted Fielder for Milwaukee.

Though new Astros owner Jim Crane was unanimously approved, some teams would have been opposed had there been any chance they could have voted him down. The Angels, for one, were against him. But as is usually the case in baseball, the vote was 30-0 in Crane’s favor. No matter what anyone thinks of Crane, having 15 teams in each league and a balanced schedule—ripple effects of the approval, which was contingent upon Crane agreeing to move the Astros to the AL West—are major benefits.