BINGO!Originally Posted by registerthis
BINGO!Originally Posted by registerthis
Goodness this might be the single biggest bonehead thing I have ever typed on Redszone or any other message board, but I have this thing about trying to be optimistic. I know it sounds crazy but we might actually end up seeing the very best of Eric Milton. As bad as he was last year I gotta believe he can do no worse for starters.
Here is my thinking on this subject, just here me out before you come to the conclusion that I have lost it (this is assuming that you ever thought I had it to begin with).
The Facts:
A.) He has mainly always relied on his FB 1st & foremost.
Career ERA coming into '05 was 4.51
B.) He always pitched in the A.L. until '04
C.) Still has a workable FB, but now has begun to become more of a pitcher. Mixing up w/ a curve, slider & now an improved Change-up. And moving the ball around the zone a bit more.
D.) In the offseason moved from the 3rd base side of the rubber to the 1st base, per Browning this was to give him a better angle to get further inside on RH batters.
E.) Has finally cleaned up a knee that has been a major issue.
Guys he has dang near re-invented himself. Assuming we can find ways to keep his knee from getting weary at times, we might have a "New" Eric Milton. He's gonna still be a flyball pitcher because he throws a 4 seamer but if he can keep guys off-balance with that change-up and continue to get inside with that FB-Slider combo he could cut dow those longballs dramatically. He isn't a guy who walks alot of guys, so I could actually see a 3.50 era by the end of the season.
Sure he is gonna have his days but if he throws another game or 2 like the 3 he has in a row now his confidence is gonna soar big time. Put all these things together he could have a career year. Of course it all depends on the leg(s) of his!
You don't have to agree but see how well he does from here on out. A good sign if his knee is bothering him is his velocity will be usually top out around 88-89. If his velocity in any game stays @ 90-91 and his command is there for at least 2 pitches I don't see him giving up more than 3-4 runs. By this criteria we should be able to determine whether he's better, typical or a worse Version of Eric Milton!
Oh BTW you deal him if you can get a solid long-term return or an impact immediate player, who knows how long that knee holds up!
Disclaimer:
I'm cautiously stating this with just a small sample size here.
Last edited by Mario-Rijo; 06-07-2006 at 08:34 PM.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
He costs too much to trade, even if performing well. If he pitches good this year, and at the start of next season, we should be able to shop him at the end of the deadline.
...remember this, if he doesn't learn to pitch down in the zone, he's going to get killed. That is why Aaron Harang has been so good this year and most of last season. Milton doesn't have the stuff, it will catch up to him.
trade him at all costs.
again, I hope I'm wrong, but I've never watched a guy with his type of stuff, pitch up in zone and have success. It just doesn't happen too often. As the summer heats up, you have to think his ERA will as well.
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
bump up down memory lane
I'll wait to hear a good hitter say this at any time. Molina is a hole in the Cards lineup, it doesn't cut it for me to be a solid baseball thought.
The Cardinals are adept at spreading ingenuous information. Larussa claimed that dave Williams was one of the best pitchers in the league.
I think we might need a "RedsZones Reruns" forum
It would be nice if the board could somehow flag a thread coming back from the grave.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |