By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Bob Boone walked out of the Reds clubhouse at 10:35 this morning, roughly two hours before the Reds were scheduled to play the Phillies.

He had just been told by John Allen, the Reds' chief operating officer, that he had been fired as the Reds' manager with 58 games left in his third season on the job.

"See ya," Boone said to three reporters who were waiting outside the clubhouse. Dressed in beige shorts, a white golf shirt and white cap, he paused, shook hands with the reporters and smiled pleasantly, but declined to answer questions.

"I don't want to talk right now," he said. "I might say something I shouldn't."

Then he turned and headed out the door and into the parking garage.

The Bob Boone managerial era ended with the Reds on a two-game winning streak after knocking off the Mets Saturday and Sunday in New York.

Boone was replaced for today's game by bench coach Ray Knight. Dave Miley, the manager of the Reds' Class AAA Louisville farm team, was named manager for the rest of the season on an interim basis.

Third base coach Tim Foli and hitting coach Tom Robson, both hired on Boone's recommendation, also were fired. Knight, who coached third Monday, will serve as third base coach and hitting coach for the rest of the season. Bullpen coach Mark Berry will serve as bench coach.

"With Bob leaving, there was no chance their contracts were going to be renewed," Allen said of Foli and Robson. "This gives them the opportunity to find other jobs."

The Reds were 46-58 under Boone this year and began Monday trailing first-place Houston by 101/2 games.

"The guy is one of the great baseball people that you'll find," Knight said. "We felt something was going to happen. We didn't know it was going to be this extensive or this deep."

Allen informed Boone of his decision in person. He then kept the clubhouse closed to the media before the game so that he could inform the players of the changes that had been made.

"Bob Boone was the consummate professional," Allen said. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Bob as a person. He is truly one of the finest people in the game."

Boone, 55, was hired on Nov. 3, 2000, as the club's 56th manager, replacing Jack McKeon. His selection was controversial from the outset after Ron Oester said that general manager Jim Bowden had offered him the job, then hired Boone after Oester wanted to negotiate salary.

The Reds were the second major league team Boone has managed. He was 181-206 with the Kansas City Royals. He was 371-444 overall and has never managed a team to a winning season in the major leagues or the minor leagues.

Boone quickly became a lightning rod for fan criticism for what they considered to be his unorthodox managerial moves, including using power hitter Adam Dunn and slow-footed Sean Casey as leadoff hitters and going to a four-man pitching rotation.

As the losses piled up and both Allen and Bowden made themselves less accessible to the media, Boone became the symbol for what was wrong with the franchise.

"He took a lot of heat," said first baseman Sean Casey. "But I learned more the last three years about the game of baseball than I probably ever have. The guy played 19 years in the big leagues. He knew what he was talking about. He knew game situations. Bob was great to play for. He was a players' manager. He gave you every opportunity to succeed."

But Boone was often limited by front office decisions, such as the one that kept Wily Mo Pena on the major league roster even though he was clearly overmatched.

Boone's efforts were also hindered by injuries, especially to Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin, the two highest-paid players on the Reds' roster.

"We talked about the injuries a little," Allen said, "but we didn't dwell on them. That's part of the game."

Boone managed to keep the Reds in the National League Central race through early July thanks to a spate of late-inning comebacks. They were just 21/2 games out of first place on July 2.

But even then their play was fundamentally flawed. They ranked last in the National League in team earned run average and last in the majors with 99 errors. They also repeatedly committed baserunning transgressions that major leaguers aren't supposed to make.

"Those type of situations I found embarrassing," Allen said. "I would hope the players found them embarrassing."

e-mail: bkoch@enquirer.com