The undermining of Bobby V includes owners who took the easy road.
Bobby Valentine was all smiles when he was hired, but owners have left him hanging at times his authority was put to the test.The Red Sox clubhouse has appeared as a sanctuary of normalcy this weekend, with no sign of revolt in the air.
Of course, that's probably what King George was saying about the colonies in the early 1770s.
It was even suggested in some media that the appearance of Red Sox ownership in Baltimore calmed the seas. The headline message was that Boston's top brass was backing Bobby Valentine to the hilt.
Someone should let John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner that backing a manager involves a lot more than simply not firing him. This is the part they don't seem to get.
Ask Mike Scioscia about backing from management. In 2004, the Angels manager put in a pinch-runner for slugger Jose Guillen, who went ballistic.
The Angels suspended Guillen without pay for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. The soon-to-be world champion Red Sox swept them in the Division Series.
Since then, however, Scioscia's command has not been seriously challenged.
"This is about the organization, not one guy,'' Scioscia said at the time of the suspension.
Ask Joe Torre about getting backing from the owners. Ask anybody who saw how George Steinbrenner reacted when he thought someone was tap-dancing on the reputation of the New York Yankees.
Pulled for a pinch-hitter in a 2003 game at Fenway Park, Raul Mondesi left the Yankees clubhouse before a close game had ended. Steinbrenner was reportedly fond of Mondesi, but Torre demanded a trade.
A couple of days later, Mondesi was an Arizona Diamondback.
It's not always that easy to remedy a problem. The Red Sox have deep, complex issues that will not disappear when Valentine is gone, which most likely will be soon after the end of this season.
Sending out emails of support, however, is the easy way out. Standing up for your manager when his authority is tested is much harder, for it pits owners against players who are usually on guaranteed contracts.
It's easier to let Josh Beckett write his own training ticket, or let John Lackey go on an extended, college-type road trip in a season where he won't throw a pitch.
It's easier to tell Valentine to apologize to Kevin Youkilis, or let Dustin Pedroia's interfering comments slide, or suggest that when Bobby V makes a sarcastic crack to a guy like Will Middlebooks, a little more tact is in order.
It's easier to meet with 17 complainers and hope the public doesn't find out - and then, when they do, try to pass it off as some type of intellectual roundtable discussion and not a palace revolt.
Valentine has never been as an easy man to play for, or for that matter, to supervise. His hiring was probably a mistake, and he has made a boatload of blunders that range from tactics to tact, for which he should be held accountable.
Had John Henry told the players to designate a spokesman or two, maybe Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez, a clear-the-air meeting could probably be defended.
Swinging open the doors to a convention of malcontents is another story. All this one needed for a full-fledged party was pizza, beer (OK, chicken and beer), and a DVD of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show,'' - or better yet, a horror show of first-inning pitching by Red Sox starters.
Maybe the team did not demand Valentine's firing. It was a still a pile-on-the-manager session that was followed by a lame email of support from Henry, his second stated support of the manager this month.
My guess is that Valentine will last the season because the owners know it is lost, anyway. Besides, dumping him would mean the owners were admitting they made a mistake by hiring him, and this oligarchy is not good at admitting errors.
The owners have been accused of putting too much time and attention into English soccer, NASCAR and other pursuits. More likely is that more attention to the Red Sox would only make matters worse.
If they plan to back their manager, though, they should know the test of that support comes when it is easy to look the other way and let him fend for himself. Just because you don't fire him does not mean you are supporting him.
Valentine was probably doomed from the start, but we will never know for sure. Whether or not the players are his enemies, his fate has been sealed the hollow endorsement of his friends.
They knew his history, but put him in authority and then lacked the toughness or principle to back him when that authority was put to the test. The Red Sox say the players are not revolting, but that is one reason why watching them is.