Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Red Sox have really struggled so far this season, but you didn’t really see any negative actions within the team in public. In a game against the Baltimore Orioles, starting pitcher Wade Miley yelled at manager John Farrell in the dugout for all to see. He hadn’t pitched well at all and needed to go.
On some level, I can understand where Miley was coming from. He is a very competitive person and one can look at his actions as being fiery and someone who cares — and that isn’t a bad thing at all. However, to show up your manager in front of your teammates, fans and the television viewing audience is absolutely inexcusable and should never happen again. Miley should have perhaps tapped Farrell on the shoulder, go down the dugout steps and hashed it out down there away from public eyes and no one would be the wiser.
Now, Miley has made Farrell look like he does not have control over his team, which definitely might not be the case. However, because the team is losing, people are looking for any negative aspect that they can get their hands on and this is the perfect place to start. This sort of incident happens all the time in baseball. However, Miley needed to deal with this privately. I also wonder what people will think of Miley now. Is he a fiery competitor like a John Lackey, or is he a spoiled brat?
Farrell has hopefully dealt with this privately. Plus, have you ever seen John Farrell in person? That is one very big, very imposing human being. I am sure that Farrell made his point very clear and Miley will not do something like that again. By the way, this incident caused one of the funniest comments I have ever heard an analyst say when Dennis Eckersley of NESN asked if Miley was on acid. Classic line.
If the Red Sox were smart, they could use this as a jumping point and maybe get some sort of consistency. Time will tell, but I am not that optimistic.
Carter Roane is a Boston Red Sox writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter@CarterGRoane, “Like”him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
