Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Cincinnati Reds Fire Miley and Gullett

A buddy of mine that I work with has said that there have been two constants with the Reds over the past decade. One, is that the pitching sucks. Two, is that Don Gullett has been the pitching coach.

Now, it just the pitching that sucks.

The Cincinnati Reds canned Don Gullett [which made my friend happy] finally. Oh, and they also fired manager Dave Miley. Bench coach Jerry Narron takes the helm of interim manager and minor league pitching coordinator Verne Ruhle takes Gullett’s old job.

While some may rejoice...it is sad that the Reds ended their relationship with two long time employees. Miley has been with the Reds for 26 years....Gullett has been around for 24 years. Both were former Reds players and both have coached throughout the Reds organization. Both are nice guys...hard nosed baseball types...but neither were really getting the job done.

It is one thing to have a poor record. It is another thing when you get that record due to just everything sucking. Local sports radio heads have been saying it correctly all year: there is not one thing the Reds do well. Nothing.

What should concern Reds fans is that this may be a foreshadowing of a fire sale. In 2003, the Reds fired manager Bob Boone [whom they replaced with Miley], GM Jim Bowden [who is currently the GM of the first place Nationals] and two coaches. Soon after, the Reds pretty much had a mini fire sale...with Aaron Freakin’ Boone as the biggest name.

However, this fire sale could be much bigger. With COO John Allen getting ownership to invest $17M more in the budget for a winner...this losing team may have to shave off some money. And, like every year, the name Ken Griffey comes up. With teams like the Yankees and Nationals interested in Junior...ownership may finally pull the trigger on a deal. Griffey should be elected to the All Star Game and is having a very fine season. Guys like Adam Dunn and Wily Mo Pena could be attractive to other teams.

The theory was that this team just hasn’t been healthy. They are now...and still not winning. A year ago, the Reds were actually in first place in the NL Central. Now, it would just be an accomplishment to stay out of the basement. Since then, they are 69-104.

So...who do the Reds turn to as the next manager? Narron is a Dave O’Brien guy [they worked together in Texas] so he will get a legit look this season. Many feel former Reds Barry Larkin or Ken Griffey, Sr could get the job. Maybe Lou Pinella would come back. The last time the Reds or Pinella really did anything was in 1990 when they swept the World Series. I keep hearing that Sweet Lou wants outta Tampa, too.

Either way...the Reds just seem to be entrenched in this funk with hard decisions ahead.

 

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