Shaughnessy On Bobby V: Red Sox 'Got The Best Guy'

BOSTON (CBS)  - After a two month search that was more like a roller coaster ride, the Boston Red Sox finally have their man.

Bobby Valentine is set to take over as the 45th manager of the Red Sox, a move one local sports writer is on board with.

'I think in this case, they got the best guy," the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Wednesday morning. "Having Valentine is a better option than the people they were considering because of his ego, his presence, his forcefulness. The way things ended with that team last year, I want to see that type of person in the office."

Now the Red Sox can move forward in free agency, building a team that needs to rebound after 2011's history September collapse.

"They're going to have a manager in time for the (winter) meetings," said Shaughnessy. "They're going to have a manager so if David Ortiz, or Mark Buerhle or Carlos Beltran, make a decision, they'll know who the manager is. People will now, with some certitude, know who they are going to play for when they go to the Red Sox. That was important."

Roche: Bobby V The Right Move

However, the fact it took so long could point to problems in the Red Sox front office in regards to a bit of a power struggle with the higher ups and new general manager Ben Cherington.

"Taking two months was a little bit goofy," said Shaughnessy. "The fact that there appeared to be a little bit of governance in the Red Sox higher up regarding the ownership; John Henry, Tom Werner and then Larry Lucchino carrying out orders, flexing his new muscles with Theo Epstein gone, and then the new GM Ben Cherington, who clearly put Dale Sveum in front of the owners, and they rejected that."

"This looks like Lucchino gets his way. He wins the first power struggle, which does not surprise me. I think it's the right thing for the team," he said.

Valentine comes on board after being the first candidate interviewed, albeit in a very secretive fashion in contrast to how all the other candidates were interviewed.

"There was some secrecy about that," Shaughnessy said of Boston's interview with Valentine back in November at a Hartford baseball convention. "The other five guys were trotted out before the media in very public interviews to see how they would do, kind of auditioning with us. Valentine was not unwrapped in that fashion. His name didn't come out from the Red Sox until after Sveum was rejected by ownership in Miwaukee. There was kind of an ass-backwards motion to the thing, but if you get the guy you should get that's all forgotten pretty quickly."

Read: Who Is Bobby Valentine?

Once he is introduced by the team later this week, Red Sox fans will likely forget all about the long process it took to get Bobby V in the manager's seat.

"He's going to light it up for us no doubt. He's a character, he's got an ego, he's a talker,' said Shauhgnessy, who is looking forward to a character like Valentine joining the Boston sports scene. "He's got a lot of experience managing major league teams. He's been a polarizing figure in baseball throughout the years, and that's OK. I'm looking forward to it."

Listen to Dan Shaughnessy's interview with WBZ NewsRadio 1030 in its entirety, including how Valentine differs from Terry Francona...