Rivalry goes up a notch with Bobby Valentine in Boston

Is it possible for the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry to get any hotter with Bobby Valentine about to take over in Boston?

"It's already a hell of a rivalry," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday. "Could it be more of a rivalry? It could get louder."

The Red Sox sent out a release earlier in the day making Valentine's hiring official and that he would be introduced Thursday at a news conference in Boston.

Cashman called Valentine a good friend, with the two becoming closer in the years after Valentine was fired by the Mets in 2002. Cashman and Valentine both live in Connecticut -- Valentine in Stamford and Cashman in nearby Darien -- and the GM said the Red Sox chose wisely.

"He's one of the smartest people I've come across in the game," Cashman said. "I think they [the Red Sox] made a wise decision. He's someone who will get the job done. He'll do his part."

Cashman added: "He sees things people don't see. He knows the game inside and out but it's not only that . . . he sees things people miss. I understand their hiring of Bobby Valentine. They don't make many moves where I scratch my head and wonder what the heck they're doing. He's really good. He's a friend and now he's a part of the rivalry."

Valentine, of course, has the ability to make friends and enemies in the game in almost equal number, something Cashman said comes out of the manager's competitive drive.

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"The bottom line is, I think what people get bothered by is Bobby's competitiveness," Cashman said. "He'll do whatever is necessary to win. Therefore, the Red Sox will be put above everything else, above public perception, above friendships. He'll be all in. I think that's what rubs people the wrong way. He will not let anything stand in the way of winning that game and being the last man standing. Bobby will do anything in his power, the right way, but everything counts. He's all in."

Mark Teixeira, speaking late Wednesday morning at the Waldorf-Astoria before the Annual Sports Luncheon where he was among the honorees, said he's looking forward to what Valentine will bring.

"I think it's great," Teixeira said. "This rivalry's great for baseball, I've said it a million times. It's great for both cities but baseball as a whole, it seems like everybody stops to watch those 18 games. Bobby Valentine is a great manager. He's a funny guy and he's got a great personality. I think the interviews before and after the game are going to be a little more interesting and that will be good for both teams."

Teixeira, who lives in Connecticut, has gotten to know Valentine the past couple of offseasons during hitting sessions at the Bobby Valentine Sports Academy in Stamford.

"I was joking on Twitter and Facebook that I don't know if he's going to let me hit at his facility anymore," Teixeira said, smiling. "I've been hitting there for two years now at Bobby V's academy. He's there a lot and we'll talk about hitting, we'll talk about baseball. I don't know if those conversations are going to [continue] now."