Curt Schilling is familiar with how things work in a major league environment, so he completely understood the emotions on display Thursday night in Baltimore.
But according to Schilling, a former pitcher and current ESPN analyst, Boston Red Sox starter Wade Miley crossed the line in his heated dugout argument with manager John Farrell. While disagreements inevitably crop up throughout the season, one must know how to appropriately handle such disputes, and Schilling didn’t believe Miley conducted himself with any composure.
“I promise you there was a conversation in which John said, ‘If this ever happens again, I’ll break you in half,’ to some degree,” Schilling said Friday on WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan.” “John Farrell isn’t just a big dude, and he doesn’t just have an intimidating presence. He’ll throw down.”
Farrell said after Thursday’s game he respected Miley’s competitiveness. Miley, meanwhile, downplayed the rift. Each participant’s tune changed slightly before Friday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park, however, as Farrell called Miley’s actions “unacceptable” while the pitcher expressed regret and held himself accountable for allowing emotions to get the best of him.
“I’m just going to tell you that I’d be more than stunned if (Farrell) didn’t make sure that Wade Miley understood how things work from a hierarchy standpoint,” Schilling said. “You don’t do that. As an ace, you don’t do that. You want to have a beef with the manager, don’t do it on the mound, don’t show him up on the field, don’t do it in the clubhouse on camera. You do it one-on-one, man-to-man, in the manager’s office. That’s the way most guys handle it.”
Miley’s displeasure stemmed from being removed after the fourth inning of Boston’s 6-5 loss. Steven Wright had been warming up in the Red Sox’s bullpen in the fourth inning, which Miley evidently didn’t appreciate, even though the left-hander struggled mightily in the contest. Miley allowed five runs on nine hits, including three homers, before being pulled.
“I think he was upset about coming out of the game or whatever, but you know what, at the end of the day, frickin’ pitch better,” Schilling said. “My God. I get being upset, that’s fine. As a starting pitcher, you want your starting pitchers (to want to stay in games). … But there’s a line.
“You’ve given up a run every inning as a starter (Thursday), you know what? There’s not a whole lot you can say when your manager says, ‘Hey, dude, I’m pulling this, this is not working.’ ”
Schilling, like Farrell, praised Miley’s competitive nature. Sometimes, players overreact because of their passion, though, and Miley certainly took things too far by arguing with his skipper in plain view.
