The Associated Press reports that the Yankees are unlikely to interview Bobby Valentine to take over as manager.
Hank Steinbrenner said four or five people will be interviewed, but Valentine wasn’t on the list. Valentine, former manager of the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, currently is managing the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan.
“I would say at this point probably not. He’s certainly a smart guy, but probably not,” Steinbrenner said.
Valentine’s salary is reportedly $4,000,000 in Japan. That means luring him to back to the United States would likely take at least what the Yankees offered to Joe Torre and quite possibly more. The Yankees already have a public relations nightmare on their hands without offering a less accomplished manager what they were willing to give a Hall of Famer. This is probably for the best. Valentine is a good manager, but the Yankees have enough distractions to deal with during the season. They do not need a manager adept at creating more.
