Bobby Valentine Defends Vicente Padilla, Jabs at Mark Teixeira

by abournenesn

Jul 7, 2012

Bobby Valentine Defends Vicente Padilla, Jabs at Mark TeixeiraBOSTON — Mark Teixeira has complained about Vicente Padilla for years.

Back in Texas, Padilla — then a teammate of Teixeira's with the Rangers — developed a reputation for beaning opposing batters. In retaliation, rival teams would throw at Teixeira.

Teixeira said he asked Padilla to ease off the aggressive pitching. When Padilla continued to not show restraint, the first baseman started his war of words against the pitcher.

Teixeira fired at Padilla again Friday night after hitting a go-ahead triple off his former teammate. This time, though, Teixeira's words were countered by Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, who fired a subtle shot at Teixeira.

"That [Padilla] should throw more at people, something like that?," Valentine said, repeating a reporter's question. "He hasn't been doing that this year. He's got to get back to that, I think.

"I'll just tell that, what I've seen, he's been a terrific teammate. He's been a guy who's taken the ball every day that we've wanted him to. Other than yesterday and I think one other time, he's been outstanding at leaving runners right where they are, right where they were when they came into the game."

Forget about the Yankees — Padilla has Valentine on his side.

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