Holy Moly! Shake-up In the Coaching Staff!

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Mark Wiley, the pitching coach for the Orioles, has been "reassigned"!

Stepping up ...... RAY MILLER!!! :eek:

Wow. Looks like Beattagan are looking to make some changes for this season to make the team better....... right now! I wonder if Maz had much input on this.

Well, something needed to be done....... let's see what happens!

Here's the scoop.

Wiley out, Miller in as O's pitching coach
Former manager to mentor struggling staff; Riley: 'We're all pretty shocked'
The Associated Press
Originally published June 26, 2004, 4:29 PM EDT

Ray Miller returned to the Baltimore Orioles as their new pitching coach Saturday. He replaces Mark Wiley, who was reassigned after his beleaguered staff compiled the worst ERA in the American League.

Miller has been out of baseball since the end of the 1999 season. He was in uniform for Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves.


Miller was Baltimore's pitching coach from 1978-85 and in 1997 before being hired as manager in 1998. He lasted two seasons, going 157-167 before being replaced by Mike Hargrove.

Under Wiley, the Orioles led the league with 323 walks and ranked last with a 5.34 ERA. He will serve as a scout.

"He has been a true professional," Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie said. "We just felt it was important to try a different approach to see if we can have more success with our pitching staff in the second half of the season."

In Miller's first tour as Orioles pitching coach, the Orioles had two Cy Young Award winners (Mike Flanagan and Steve Stone) and five different 20-game winners (Flanagan, Stone, Jim Palmer, Scott McGregor and Mike Boddicker).

His decision to return came about a week after Flanagan, now the Orioles' vice president, called to ask his former coach for some suggestions about the plight of the Baltimore staff.

"You could tell he had a lot of interest in coaching and he'd been following us," Flanagan said.

The Orioles eventually offered Miller the job, and he took it after rejecting several other opportunities over the past 4 1/2 years.

"I was offered really some nice things, but I really didn't feel an allegiance. Here, I feel an allegiance," Miller said.

In 1997, Orioles pitchers compiled a 3.91 ERA - second-best in the AL - after finishing ninth in 1996 at 5.14.

"We'll see if we can reduce the walks and the number of pitches and get the defense involved," Miller said. "This team can score some runs and we've got a pretty good bullpen out there, so let's get these starters going and have some fun."

Wiley was in the fourth season of his second stint as Orioles pitching coach. He began his major league coaching career with Baltimore in 1987 and returned in 2001.

He left the clubhouse early Saturday before talking to reporters.

"I don't think anybody knew. We're all pretty shocked," Orioles rookie pitcher Matt Riley said. "Mark had a tough job this year. There were lots of young pitchers. With three rookies in the rotation, that's tough."

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

[Dark_Angel]

Thanks for posting that. :thumbsup:

When I was watching the O's game this afternoon, I heard the announcers say that he was gone, but I didn't know what happened. :notme:

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Here's more.

I have a really, really good feeling about this!!!

Maz did have input. And this move really shows management's commitment to making the team better.

Ray Miller...... one of the best pitching coaches around. :rock: This is good.

06/26/2004 4:34 PM ET
Ex-manager Miller returns to O's
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles continued the retooling of their pitching staff on Saturday, removing pitching coach Mark Wiley and replacing him with former manager Ray Miller.
The Orioles' 5.34 ERA is the highest in the American League and their bullpen is 10th in the AL with a 4.45 ERA. The club entered the season with just one pitcher -- Sidney Ponson -- with more than six Major League wins and the staff began crumbling from the outset.

Ponson, signed to a three-year, $22.5 million contract, is 3-10 with a 6.22 ERA. Newly acquired Mike DeJean has a 6.67 ERA, while promising lefty Matt Riley has just one win and an 8.56 ERA. Moreover, pitchers Kurt Ainsworth and Eric DuBose, expected to be reliable starters when the season began, are on the disabled list and could miss the rest of the season.

While no one in the organization directly blamed Wiley for the pitching rotation's upheaval, club officials admitted a change was needed. Wiley will remain with the organization as a scout.

"Mark did everything, and he had the same frustrations the rest of us had with the issues," executive vice president Jim Beattie said. "It was just a matter of we wanted to try something else -- saying it a different way, a different approach. It's one of those harsh realities of trying to get players to do what you want them to do."

Wiley had two stints as the Orioles' pitching coach. He was coach under Cal Ripken Sr. in 1987, then returned in 2001 under Mike Hargrove.

When Hargrove was fired at the end of last season, the entire coaching staff was invited back, including Wiley. He had a civil relationship with current manager Lee Mazzilli, but club sources said Mazzilli had become privately disenchanted with the way Wiley was handling the pitching staff and with their lack of improvement.

The Orioles have yielded 323 walks, the most in the AL and 148 more than the first-place Yankees.

"It's something that we had talked about with (vice president) Mike (Flanagan) and Jim, and we felt like we needed to make the change," Mazzilli said. "They watched all the games, they saw a lot of things. You all saw it. You never make change for change's sake. You make a change that you think is going to propel your club."

Miller, 59, managed the Orioles in 1998 and '99, witnessing the team's steady decline. He was fired after the '99 season and replaced by Hargrove. Many observers say those two losing seasons hardened Miller, who admitted Saturday he was "burned out."

"I thought it was time to get away," he said. "When people start challenging your credibility and integrity after you have been doing something for 37 years, it takes its toll. I went home and said I was going to take a little time to get to know my son, for the first time in my life. And now everything is going great."

Miller was the team's pitching coach from the 1978-85, and again in '97.

Flanagan, who was one of Miller's pitching coaches, approached his former boss 10 days ago. The two talked about pitching philosophy, and what initially was Flanagan asking an old friend for advice turned into an impromptu job interview.

Miller agreed to return to the club on Friday and was in uniform Saturday, wearing 34, Wiley's old number.

"It's not that he's been brought in to fix a specific situation, but to bring an overall basic philosophy that affects young pitchers," Flanagan said. "He's had young staffs and he's had the '97 wire-to-wire (division title) staff. He's been in postseasons, he's had developing staffs and he's had staffs he could finish off with. With that balance, he just seemed to be the right guy."

Some of the Orioles' pitchers expressed regret regarding Wiley, who had a solid relationship with many of the hurlers.

"When management decides to make a change, it's usually the manager or coach," DeJean said. "That's unfortunate. I don't think anyone in the organization believes our shortcomings are Mark Wiley's fault. They weren't. He's a good man and I feel bad for him."

Miller said he did not want to take the job unless he had a conversation with Mazzilli.

"We talked quite a bit on the phone and I was really impressed," Miller said. "It's a combination of (Earl) Weaver and (Jim) Leyland on the phone, just listening to the guy talk. I like his makeup, his seriousness -- he wants to push these kids."

Miller said he wants to encourage the impressionable staff, which includes three rookies.

"You try to create an atmosphere where everything's positive," Miller said. "The guy talks about all the good plays behind him and therefore you don't talk about yourself. Just simplify the game. A lot of people want to give me their opinion on [the staff] and I don't really want it. I have seen these arms. I know what they can do."

Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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And yet more. :D

I feel bad for Wiley, but when things get this bad with any aspect of a team's game, and the people running the team feel there's still hope, heads have to roll. That's the biz.

Granted, a coach can only do so much....... will the guys be open to a new approach, and turn things around?

Well, stay tuned.

Exciting, isn't it? :D

O's Fire Wiley, Rehire Miller
Pitching Coach Pays Price for Staff Woes
By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 27, 2004; Page E01


BALTIMORE, June 26 -- Frustrated by the underperformance of their young pitching staff, which ranks as the worst in the American League, the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday fired pitching coach Mark Wiley and brought Ray Miller out of retirement for a third tour of duty with the team.



Wiley, 56, was informed of the move early Saturday afternoon in a meeting with Orioles co-general managers Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan. He was offered a scouting position within the organization, but said he has not yet decided whether to take it.

"We're not blaming anybody," Beattie said. "We want to see some improvement in the second half, and hopefully this is one way to do it. This is not placing blame, but you need to be able to bring someone in to address the situation."

Miller, 59, was in uniform for Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves. He previously served as Orioles pitching coach from 1978 to '85 and again in 1997 before replacing Davey Johnson as manager in 1998. Miller was fired as manager following the 1999 season and was out of baseball for the last 4½ years, despite receiving, by his count, 11 or 12 previous job offers from other teams.

"I was offered some really nice things," Miller said, "and I didn't feel allegiance to [the teams]. Here, I feel allegiance."

According to team sources, the decision to fire Wiley was a mutual one that ran from the top of the organization -- owner Peter Angelos -- down to Beattie, Flanagan and first-year manager Lee Mazzilli, who had grown increasingly frustrated by the pitching staff's high walk totals and general inconsistency.

Despite a four-hit shutout by rookie Daniel Cabrera on Friday night, the Orioles were last in the league with a 5.34 ERA entering Saturday's play, and their 323 walks were 39 more than any other staff in the league.

Speaking to the media early Saturday afternoon, Mazzilli said: "You guys have been aware of it. You watched the games. You saw what was going on. . . . This is the first time I've had to do this [as a big league manager], and it's not easy. You had a good guy and a good, quality person in Mark. But ultimately, I have to run a club and I have to do what I think is going to be the right thing right now."

Mazzilli met with Beattie and Flanagan frequently over the last few weeks about the state of the Orioles' pitching, and Flanagan -- who pitched under Miller for eight seasons with the Orioles, winning the 1979 Cy Young Award -- first called Miller about 10 days ago. Their conversations began as casual talks about developing young pitchers.

Said Miller: "I see good arms. I know what they can do. The idea is to get them to relax and pitch. . . . We'll just go back to the good old Oriole program and go out there and pitch [and] see if we can reduce the walks."

Miller's familiarity with Sidney Ponson, the Orioles' number one starter, was part of his allure. Ponson, 27, has confounded the team with a 3-10 record and 6.22 ERA, just months after signing a three-year $22.5 million contract to return to Baltimore. Ponson was a second-year major leaguer during Miller's final year as manager.

"It's good that they've had that relationship before," Mazzilli said. "I look at that as a positive."

Reached on his cell phone late Saturday afternoon, Wiley said he understood the motivation behind his firing.

"I don't think [the problem] is one person," he said. "But I know what they're doing. They're trying to do something to make a change. I hope it works for them. I have a lot of confidence in myself. I think I'm pretty good at what I do. I wish the circumstances had been better. But I hope the kids keep doing well. I hope Sidney [Ponson] bounces back. And I hope they continue to go forward."


© 2004 The Washington Post Company

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Just saw this cruising through the latest news and notes on a few sites. Miller certainly has the experience as well as success on his résumé. Always tough for the guy going out under these conditions, certainly can't blame Wiley for the Ainsworth-DuBose-Ponson "debacles" to date. Personally, I put some of the blame on Fat Sid's shoulders. I haven't followed the O's as close as others, but nothing I've read or heard suggest Ponson came into the season with the hardcore dedication that is necessary to become a true team and staff leader. Ponson has this apathetical expression and body language when I've watched him this year. I don't think Ray Miller will be very fond of that. :no:

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Ponson has this apathetical expression and body language when I've watched him this year. I don't think Ray Miller will be very fond of that.

You are sooooooo right in that, Willie! Sid seems clueless. I don't know if he really is that clueless, or what.

Miller knew Ponson when Sid was first with the organization, so they have a relationship. So if anyone can pull Sid together, it could be Miller.

Fingers crossed.

I had read...... on another site.......... a quote from some local Baltimore radio station's sports talk-guy...... that Mark Wiley was possibly too hands-on with the pitching staff. Too much information that just confused alot of guys. I think, from what I've read, that Miller's going to keep it simple.

I'm not expecting miracles, but who knows! :notme:

:D