Lucchino says Valentine won't be fired this season

Boston, MA – Boston Red Sox team president and CEO Larry Lucchino gave manager Bobby Valentine a temporary vote of confidence on Thursday.

Lucchino appeared on Boston sports-talk station WEEI-AM to say that the Connecticut native will "unequivocally" not be fired this season.

The announcement came on the heels of reports earlier this week that said certain Red Sox players had a recent meeting with ownership regarding Valentine.

A group of Red Sox players met with ownership on July 26, according to Yahoo! Sports. The report stated that Red Sox players were upset that Valentine left Jon Lester in a July 22 game in which he allowed 11 runs.

Lucchino, during his radio interview, acknowledged the meeting took place, but would not divulge of the nature of the discussions.

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said earlier this week there was no call for a managerial change during the meeting and Red Sox owner John Henry echoed those statements on Wednesday.

The Red Sox entered Thursday's action 57-61 this season and 13 1/2 games out of first place in the American League East.

Boston has not finished a regular season below .500 since going 78-84 under Jimy Williams in 1997.