When Ron Oester went about saying goodbye after Sunday's Reds finale, it was a little more poignant than usual. That's because Oester had been told a few minutes earlier that he could not return as a Reds coach.

Ron Oester and Billy Doran (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        “It's tough,” he said. “I've been in this organization 26 years. I love this organization. They have a great bunch of guys here. But the organization is going in a direction I don't like.

        “It's like a marriage that's gone bad. Maybe it's time for a separation.”

        The separation came shortly after the Reds came off the field following a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia, when Oester, the third base coach, and first base coach Billy Doran were told by manager Bob Boone that their contracts would not be renewed.

        The other coaches — pitching coach Don Gullett, bullpen coach Tom Hume, hitting coach Ken Griffey Sr., bench coach Tim Foli and bullpen catcher Mark Berry — all have been invited to return.

        Griffey will become bench coach next year. Foli will coach one of the bases. Boone will hire a base coach and a hitting coach.

        It ended a tough year for Oester professionally. He was offered the manager's job in November, then lost it in a bizarre misunderstanding over whether the offer the Reds made to him was final or not.

        Boone was hired instead, and Oester returned as third base coach. The staff was not what you'd call cohesive. Oester and Foli fought in the coach's locker room after a June game.

        Oester also was dissatisfied with his limited role. He hit practice infield grounders besides coaching third.

        But Oester, who was universally respected in the clubhouse, said he understood the move.

        “Bob needs to bring his own people in,” Oester said.

        Doran, like Oester a Cincinnati native, also left without bitterness.

        “I wish everyone well,” he said.

        Oester was drafted by the Reds out of Withrow High School in 1974. He played for the Reds from 1978-90 and became a minor-league instructor the next year.

        He has spent the last three seasons as third base coach.

        Doran, 43, played 2 1/2 seasons for the Reds in a 12-year big-league career. This was his first year as a major-league coach for the Reds. He spent five years in the minor-league system, including last season as the director of player development.

        Neither Oester nor Doran has decided whether or not to stay in baseball.

        “I don't know,” Doran said. “I'll be OK if I don't.”

        “I'm going to take some time to decide,” Oester said. “I'll see what comes up.”

        Oester is close to Colorado manager Buddy Bell. Oester's only year outside the Reds organization was a year on Bell's staff in Detroit in 1996.

        Boone said he is open-minded about whom he'll bring in. “I want the best candidates possible,” he said.

        It has been speculated that he'll bring in Greg Luzinski as hitting coach. The two are former teammates, and Luzinski was on Boone's staff in Kansas City.

        “He's definitely a candidate,” Boone said. “He did a great job for me in Kansas City.”

Reds fire Oester, Doran Boone defends Griffey from radio backlash Phillies 4, Reds 1 Reds box, run

Steelers 16, Bengals 7
Bengals back where they started
Bengals-Steelers Notebook
No stopping Bettis
Third down not charmed for defense
Couch makes clutch plays for 3-1 Browns
Bengals-Steelers statistics
Bonds hits 73rd; was it SF goodbye?
Astros beat Cardinals for NL Central
Baseball playoff schedules
Baseball's best on display on the final weekend
Prep football page
High school week ahead
UC prospect nears decision

• Return to Reds front page...