Former Red Sox Andrew Miller praises Valentine: 'Bobby V was good for me'

Bobby Valentine's short tenure as manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2012 wasn't a complete disaster.

In a season that included him calling out clubhouse favorite Kevin Youkilis two weeks into the season, saw Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford traded, and ended with 93-losses and a last place finish, there was at least one player who progressed under Valentine's tutelage.

Left-hander Andrew Miller came into his own that season - his first as a full-time reliever - and he credits Valentine for his success. 

"As all over the place as that year was, Bobby V was good for me," Miller told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. "When I pitched for him, I came in a good situation. It was a rough year, there was a lot going on. But I felt like Atch (Scott Atchison) and I worked together and were kind of like the tandem seventh-inning kind of thing. 

"I felt like I really got established with some confidence in the big leagues, (saying) I can do this. I can get better at this. A lot of things happened, but they all seemed to work in my favor."

The sixth-overall pick in the 2006 draft, Miller signed with he Red Sox prior to the 2011 season after struggling as a starter and posted the best year of his career in 2012, following a permanent move to the bullpen. 

"Honestly, I don't know what would've happened if I continued starting," Miller said. "Who knows where that would've gone? I felt like I really threw the ball well in '12, and I think my improvements, number-wise, wasn't so much me throwing better as it was me handling being a reliever better, understanding situations."

Miller posted a 3.35 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings in 2012, paving the way to an eventual four-year, $36-million deal he inked with the New York Yankees this December.