As the losses and the criticism mounted at a rate few had anticipated, Bobby Valentine has been simmering for much of the season. Yesterday, during his weekly appearance on WEEI Radio in Boston, the Red Sox manager finally reached his boiling point.
Asked if he had “checked out” on a season the former Mets manager would later in the interview describe as both “lousy” and “miserable,’’ Valentine went off on the show’s co-host Glenn Ordway.
“What an embarrassing thing to say,” Valentine said. “You know, if I were there right now, I’d punch you right in the mouth. Ha, ha. How’s that sound? Is that like I checked out? What an embarrassing thing.
“That’s stuff that a comic strip person would write. If someone’s here, and watching me go out at 2 o’clock in the afternoon working with the young players, watching me put in the right relief pitchers to get a win, putting on a hit-and-run when it’s necessary, talking to the guys after the game in the food room. How could someone in real life say that? You said it. How could you say that?”
Valentine was on the phone from Seattle where the Red Sox lost the Mariners last night, 2-1, the finale of a trip on which they lost eight of nine games. Boston is 63-75 and in fourth place in the AL East, 15 games out of the division lead and 14 out of a wild-card spot.
Before the game, Valentine told reporters he wasn’t serious when he threatened to punch Ordway, but admitted he did take offense to the notion he had “checked out.”
“Didn’t I go, ‘Ha, ha?’” he said. “I don’t think physical violence is necessary for 60-year-old people.”
The 62-year-old Valentine, who is featured on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated with his head in his hands, also took issue with reports he was late arriving for Saturday night’s game in Oakland. He said he got to the ballpark at 4 p.m. for the 7:10 p.m. game, which the Red Sox lost 20-2.
“That [ticks] me off.,” he said. “Whoever wrote that knew what happened. They knew my son was coming to see me for the first time in this lousy season … and that his flight was late and that I was waiting at the airport in San Francisco … and that I sent the lineup in and reported to my coaches that I was going to be a little late.”
Valentine, who said he usually gets to the ballpark around 2 p.m. for night games, scoffed at the notion he was late at all.
“Four o’clock, like that’s so late for a 7:15 game,” he said.
Valentine said he was unconcerned about next season. He signed a two-year contract last offseason, and ownership only will say Valentine will be the Red Sox manager for the balance of this season. He said he wants to come back despite saying the season has been “miserable.”
“The last two weeks have been very trying,” he said before the game. “It’s turned out to be not what I expected. It’s been a little misery, yeah.
“I’m not sure
it’s 24/7, but I would think after a loss I’m miserable.
“It’s been adventurous, challenging.”
dburke@nypost.com