Miller sends nice Valentine
CHICAGO — Bobby Valentine halloween costumes, the ones with the mustache and sunglasses, might not be as hot as they once were.
But for all the widely debated decisions and completely bizarre comments Valentine was responsible for during his very short tenure as the Red Sox manager in 2012, there’s one decision he probably hasn’t gotten enough credit for.
It was under Valentine that Andrew Miller, the 6-foot-7 lefty who has thrown 132⁄ scoreless innings 3 for the Cleveland Indians this postseason, finally made the transition from starter to reliever.
“Bobby was incredibly positive toward me,” Miller said yesterday at Wrigley Field. “Having people believe you can do something — I remember talking to him at the end of the year and I felt like I pitched better than my numbers and had a lot of confidence going into the offseason, and he really reenforced that.
“He said, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen.’ Because at that point I think everybody knew — it wasn’t the prettiest ending to a Red Sox season. But him telling me those things, having people pile on some confidence goes a long way and he was a big part of that.”
Despite being a No. 6 overall pick by the Detroit Tigers in 2006, Miller had a 5.79 ERA through six major league seasons, mostly spent as a starter. The year after Terry Francona left the Sox, the final decision was made to move Miller to relief full-time.
Miller added that it wasn’t just Valentine who deserves credit for moving him to relief, where he’s since put up a 2.14 ERA with 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
“There have been a lot of great people,” Miller said. “David Ortiz’ positivity toward me when I got to Boston, whether he meant it or not, he said, ‘ Hey big lefty, you’re nasty.’ Stuff like that goes a long way.”
Before the Red Sox finally traded Miller in 2014, they tried offering him a contract extension, Miller said.
But after the trade, Miller only got better, posting a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings with the Orioles. That offseason, the Yankees signed him to a four-year, $36 million deal.
The Red Sox, according to a source, were one of the final three teams in the bidding. They also went to four years, but came up just short financially.
“Their offer was nothing to sneeze at,” Miller recalled. “It was before I got to free agency and saw it was actually out there. It was probably what I was shooting for, exactly what they offered. It just so happened a couple other teams came over the top and I had a decision to make.”
Knee-d to know
In both cases, it was the left knee that suffered damage, and in both cases, the bats never went quiet.
What Kyle Schwarber and Andrew Benintendi are proving is that the left knee might not be so important for lefthanded hitters.
Benintendi, the Red Sox rookie outfielder, made a hasty return from an ugly left knee sprain/fracture and was one of the team’s most consistent hitters during its three postseason games.
Schwarber, the Cubs catcher/outfielder, suffered full tears to the ACL and LCL in his left knee in April, yet somehow made a return for the World Series and was 3-for-7 as the DH in Games 1 and 2.
Benintendi was able to play left field upon his return, but Schwarber won’t be starting at Wrigley Field, since he was not cleared to play the outfield, according to Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein.
He’ll be available off the bench to pinch-hit in Game 3 tonight.
Golden trio
The Red Sox could be receiving as many as three Gold Glove Awards this year. Dustin Pedroia (second base), Jackie Bradley Jr. (center field) and Mookie
Betts (right field) were all named finalists for American League Gold Gloves by Rawlings.
Winners will be announced on Nov. 8.