Bobby Valentine (AP)

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine won’t have a shortage of topics to discuss when he joins WEEI’s The Big Show for his weekly Wednesday appearance at 2:35 p.m.

With closer Andrew Bailey set to undergo surgery on his injured thumb and miss the first 3-4 months of the season, Valentine has to do some juggling as the Sox prepare to open the season Thursday against the Tigers in Detroit.

Valentine has come under fire from ESPN analyst Curt Schilling in the past week, with Schilling saying that some players have already grown tired of Valentine frequently speaking his mind to the media.

The new Sox manager apparently wasn’t affected by the criticism of his constant media presence, as it was revealed Wednesday that he has signed with ESPN Radio in New York to do a weekly segment with Yankees television voice Michael Kay. That’s also scheduled to start Wednesday.