Welcome to the disaster that is the 2012 Red Sox

It's no secret that the Boston Red Sox are grossly underachieving this year. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a $150M team shouldn't be 4 games under .500 and 13.5 games out of first place.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, a number of players requested a meeting with ownership to discuss replacing Manager Bobby Valentine.

This is a highly unusual move, and a signal that the players are basically unmanageable and have far too much influence in general. Valentine has completely lost the clubhouse, there is no respect for authority, and there's really no way this team can possibly turn their season around with this type of mentality.

Red Sox owner John Henry denied that the meeting was ordered by the players, and also that they asked for Valentine to be replaced.

Passan disagreed, and even said that we would likely hear more controversial issues come out surrounding the  Red Sox.

While many agree that Valentine hasn't done a great job with the Sox, the solution is far more complex than merely firing the manager.

In all reality, Valentine was never given a fair shot by ownership. He was never given complete control of the team, and the GM and ownership group have always shown that they have the final say in issues, and that they'll often side with players over Valentine.

Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez are said to be the players at the center of the anti-Valentine movement, which should concern Red Sox fans and ownership. Pedroia is one of the longest-tenured members of the team, and Gonzalez is their highest paid player, who will be around for another 5 years.

If it's true that between 14 and 17 players attended the meeting to air their grievances about Valentine, then it's clearly more than just a player problem. Obviously Valentine isn't the right man for the job.

However, there's more to it than that. Before firing Valentine, the Sox have to make sure they have a viable replacement. Without that, they're just going to risk inserting someone else who isn't right for the job, and that would only hurt the situation more.

The best move at this point would probably be to let Valentine go after the season is over, and then find a high-profile manager who can get the team under control.

The 2012 Red Sox are done. Any hope in them is just foolish and misguided. Even if they somehow make a run, it will only be fool's gold. This team needs to be shaken up badly, and it might take the entire offseason to do it.