Red Sox plan to fire Bobby Valentine

The Boston Red Sox intend to fire first-year manager Bobby Valentine sometime in the next few days, sources have informed Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:

In a move that will be seen as anticlimactic at this point, Red Sox upper management intends to remove Bobby Valentine as manager soon after the season ends, people familiar with the situation say.

The belief is Valentine's ouster will come either Thursday or Friday, though that isn't known.

The firing would put the finishing touches on what has been a beleaguered, soap opera of a season not only for the Red Sox skipper but for the Boston franchise as a whole. The massive disappointment that was the 2012 season saw the Red Sox trade away four of their biggest names and finish with their worst record since 1992, also the last time they ended up in the AL East cellar.

Valentine seemed to be at the heart of many of the Red Sox's issues both on and off the field, butting heads with players like Kevin Youkilis, Kelly Shoppach and Alfredo Aceves on separate occasions during the season.

General manager Ben Cherington has refused to comment on the manager situation, but the move appears to be all but certain. Valentine has a year remaining on the two-year contract signed prior to this season.