Mercker predicts Milton will win at least 17-18 games this year

I was just watching Fox 19 Sports and they ran a segment about Milton. At the very end of the segment they had about 20 second interview where Kent Mercker said he thinks Milton will win AT LEAST 17 or 18 games this year. This is due to the fact of how hard of a worker Milton is and due to the fact that Tom Browning is helping him.

He meant for the other team

;)

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Originally Posted by KronoRed

He meant for the other team

;)

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If that's the case, then Mercker is on something. 17-18 is way too low.

The Reds record for losses in a season since 1920 was Dolf Luque's 23 in 1922.

The last Reds pitcher to lead the League in losses was Jeff Russell's 18 in 1984.

I'll take the over.

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Originally Posted by harangatang

I was just watching Fox 19 Sports and they ran a segment about Milton. At the very end of the segment they had about 20 second interview where Kent Mercker said he thinks Milton will LOSE AT LEAST 17 or 18 games this year. This is due to the fact of how SOFT of a THROWER Milton is and due to the fact that Tom Browning is helping him.

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FIXED!:D :D :D :D

This is a good illustration of why you don't ever listen to players' assessments of other players.

Kent Mercker's lucky players aren't allowed to bet on baseball.

Other Kent Mercker predictions offered chronologically:

20 years ago: "I've seen the advance screenings and I can guarantee that 'Ishtar' is destined to sweep the Academy Awards."

15 years ago: "I have no doubt that by the turn of the century the Isralis and Palestinians will have all their troubles worked out."

10 years ago: "Now that the pros are allowed to play I can guarantee that the US will never again lose a basketball game in international competition."

5 years ago: "I know most of those couples end up getting divorced but you can just tell that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston will be together forever."

1 year ago: "Man, that Kevin Federline is a heck of a rap artist. His album's going Platinum for sure."

Has Kent Mercker been drug tested yet?

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Originally Posted by SteelSD

Other Kent Mercker predictions offered chronologically:

20 years ago: "I've seen the advance screenings and I can guarantee that 'Ishtar' is destined to sweep the Academy Awards."

15 years ago: "I have no doubt that by the turn of the century the Isralis and Palestinians will have all their troubles worked out."

10 years ago: "Now that the pros are allowed to play I can guarantee that the US will never again lose a basketball game in international competition."

5 years ago: "I know most of those couples end up getting divorced but you can just tell that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston will be together forever."

1 year ago: "Man, that Kevin Federline is a heck of a rap artist. His album's going Platinum for sure."

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But, strangely enough, Kent Mercker did have George Mason going to the Sweet 16 in his NCAA Tournament Pool...

...unfortunately he has them losing to Oral Roberts in the championship game.

Merker realized he had made a mistake later, when he was informed Milton no longer played for the Twins and his name was not "Johan".

I guess I'll stand out here in the open, but I'm hoping that Mercker's right. He knows a thing or two about pitching and came up in probably the best organization for pitching there's ever been. That said, he may well be wrong, but for goodness sake, can't we hope he's right? It often feels as if this board is anxious for the Reds to fail. As I said elsewhere, this may well be another lost year, but I'd still like to hope for a miracle. And Milton being only half as bad as last year would be a major improvement.

I'm glad Milton has a strong work ethic. It's nice to see that he's not just phoning it in like Jimmah Haynes.

It's good to see players who respect hard work and dedication. We've heard it a lot about Milton, how serious he was about rebounding.

All that is nice, what we want to hear, and it deserves our respect for his approach and attitude. And it's nice that fellow players see it and respect it too.

Unfortunately, hard work is not enough. It's all about talent on this level, and his skills have been seriously degraded by his knee injury. Plus, he's had a mysterious penchant for serving up gopher balls at the most inopportune times.

I hope I'm wrong, but I fear I'm not. I respect his effort level. I cringe at what I've seen from him so far in a Reds uniform.

Kent must have gotten into some of Browning's stash. :nono:

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Originally Posted by SteelSD

1 year ago: "Man, that Kevin Federline is a heck of a rap artist. His album's going Platinum for sure."

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What?! You don't like the hit single "Popozow"? How could you? That song is pure genius!

:laugh: See I couldn't even say it with a straight face.

my guess is that Eric Milton will be a lot better this year

I don't think that the Reds have bullpen enough to keep 17 leads

Pitcher
Empiracal
Comparison
Optimization
Test
Alogorithm

or

Malleable
Egregious.
Ridiculous
Crazy
Komrade
Estimate
Rambling


Take your pick, I know what I'm choosing

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Originally Posted by princeton

my guess is that Eric Milton will be a lot better this year

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What constitutes a lot better? Because he could be a lot better and still be awful.

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Originally Posted by M2

What constitutes a lot better? Because he could be a lot better and still be awful.

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yup, I'm really going out on a limb. But I figure that he either pitches better than awful or else the new administration won't allow him to pitch and blames DanO. And I think that we'll score runs, which will mean some leads.

and it was just a season ago that he won 14 games. Mercker's statement is silly more because we don't have Billy Wagner. 12-14 wins isn't out of the question. It's not that unusual for bad pitchers to win 12-14 games

cue: FCB: "why, I'd bet my second-born son..."

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Originally Posted by princeton

and it was just a season ago that he won 14 games. Mercker's statement is silly more because we don't have Billy Wagner. 12-14 wins isn't out of the question. It's not that unusual for bad pitchers to win 12-14 games.

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Yep. The Jimmy Haynes Smoke 'N Mirrors Show was good for 15 wins a few years ago. Steve Parris had a career year here once too.

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Originally Posted by princeton

yup, I'm really going out on a limb. But I figure that he either pitches better than awful or else the new administration won't allow him to pitch and blames DanO. And I think that we'll score runs, which will mean some leads.

and it was just a season ago that he won 14 games. Mercker's statement is silly more because we don't have Billy Wagner. 12-14 wins isn't out of the question. It's not that unusual for bad pitchers to win 12-14 games

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I'd say off the limb in this case. I don't think there's a power in the universe to drag his ERA below 5.00 and he's likely going north of 5.50.

So say he went gangbusters and posted 5.15 ERA. He could win 12-14 games with huge run support (though the Reds won't score a lot more than last year ... not that they need to) AND dynamite bullpen support. That's how Haynes did it in 2002. He also pitched a lot better, but the offense he had wasn't as good. If you're going to be a 6 IP guy, then the pen will make or break you. And if you're going to be an extreme flyball guy, then OF defense can also make or break you. The best pitching advice Browning could give Jr. would be to get a young Eric Davis to play CF behind him.

wrong thread

While part of me would be thrilled to see him put up good numbers, there is another part of me that is afraid that a good year would lead to a new contract, and that might be the last thing we want to see long term. It's not like we haven't seen that happen before.

Mercker such a paractical joker.

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Originally Posted by M2

What constitutes a lot better? Because he could be a lot better and still be awful.

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Technically, if you just look at the VORP numbers, if he blows his knee out stepping off the team bus then he makes the team "better."

Maybe Mercker needs to be committed.....:bang: