Miley's parting words: We tried

[missionhockey21]

Miley's parting words: We tried
Ex-skipper saw firing coming

By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

Dave Miley had never been fired.

"Well, once during winter ball in Puerto Rico," he said. "But that doesn't count.

"This one does."

Miley knew what was coming when general manager Dan O'Brien and assistant general manager Dean Taylor called him into the office Tuesday morning.

"It didn't work out," Miley said. "The bottom line is you've got to win games. When you're 'x' number of games under .500 and that far out of first place, something's going to happen."

After O'Brien told Miley the news, he asked Miley if he wanted to sit in when they told pitching coach Don Gullett he was getting fired, too.

"I told him I wouldn't have it any other way," Miley said. "We went to what was my office and told Gully. That was tough. You know how close Gully and I are. I knew how hard he worked.

"We tried to fix it. I wished we could have turned it around."

That's the message Miley wanted to get out: He and his staff worked to make it better.

"All those guys worked hard," he said. "It wasn't like we weren't trying. We had a lot of meetings (the media) didn't know about."

Miley said his relationship with O'Brien was OK.

"I think, without question, we had mutual respect," he said. "We had conversations on almost a daily basis."

Miley disagreed with O'Brien on some notable moves - trading Chris Reitsma last season, re-signing D'Angelo Jimenez, not naming a captain - but he declined to go into detail Thursday. "Those are tough questions," he said. "I don't want to rehash everything."

Miley's ability to motivate players has been brought into question recently.

"I think it's like some of the players said: The motivation has to come from them," he said. "They've got to have pride in the way they play."

Miley wished his successor, Jerry Narron, the best.

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[redsrbetter]

I honestly do not know how to feel any sentiment for Miley. If he indeed played Aurilia on his own, he was not a smart man by that thinking at all. But on the other hand, we have to give the man credit for all the years he has put into the organization. So, good luck to him for future success.