A Post in Support of Eric Milton

[Brisco]

I am not a scout and have never played baseball higher than little league, so I claim no ability whatsoever in evaluating talent... but I am a fan. Cincinnati born but not bred, I have been a Reds fan my entire life... and as a Reds fan, I decided this board needed a post in support of Eric Milton.

Believe me, I understand all the frustration and vitriol that came spewing out about Milton this Spring, I felt it myself. Like the rest of you, I was horrified at the idea that we might lose a good young player like Burton just because of our 9 Million commitment to Milton, a pitcher throwing batting practice to single A players.

Today, however, all our fears were at least temporarily assuaged when Eric was sent to the DL. Everyone's favorites made the roster (Burton, Belisle, Saarloos, Coutlangus and now even Santos) with the only exception being Livingston, who we not only did not lose, but may be better served starting the season in the minors even if he is planned to be the 5th starter (since he will get a start down there while awaiting the first 5th starter spot on April 11). So, I cannot think of a single reason that anyone on this board should be rooting against Milton at this point.

Sure, he is costing us 9 Mill, but that is money already spent... noone is gonna give it back to us, UNLESS Eric starts to do better. I watched this board implode with almost glee watching the meltdown of Jimmy (Jimmah) Haynes a few years back. I am hoping for something different with Milton this time.

It is really tempting to fall into a trap to want to be right on the board more than have the Reds win sometimes,... I think we have all come close to that at some point. Let's try to avoid that this time. Just once, let's try to stay totally positive on a player that we have every reason to want to give up on.

Who knows... maybe there is something to the whole Kharma thing... help me keep this thread alive with nothing but positive thoughts and well-wishes and let's test it.

If you are willing to participate in this little zen "experiment", then simply respond with something positive... even if it is nothing more than a "Good Luck Eric!"

If you totally hate the idea, or cannot resist saying one more negative thing about Milton... do me a favor and post it in another thread.

No, I have no special affinity or relationship with Milton, and yesterday my emotions were probably as negative as anyone on the board... but I woke up this morning and the first thing I read was that he was sent to the DL... and then I remembered that this is Opening Day in Cincinnati; a day when all is good in the world and hope springs eternal; a day when middle aged men feel like little boys and start dreaming of catching a foul ball; a day when prior stats are suddenly wiped clean and everyone starts over.

On just this one thread, let's start over with Eric Milton.

[Dunner44]

Interesting article by Lonnie Wheeler here: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....20342/1035/SPT

Talks about the book Diamond Dollars which measures the economics of each win. If we follow that logic, and if Eric Milton is on this team, then as Reds fans, we have to want Eric Milton to succeed. The difference between 80 and 81 victories is almost 500,000 in revenue if this book is to be believed. There is somewhere around a 10 million dollar difference between 80 and 90 wins. To reach 90 wins, the Reds will either need Milton to perform well or else not be on the team. Since he is already a sunk cost, I'll be cheering on Milton every start.

[reds44]

Saying nice things about Uncle Milty and "wanting" him to do well (and btw, I don't think we root against Milton when he pitches, we just expect the worst) isn't going to change the simple fact that he is a bad baseball pitcher.

[TRF]

It wasn't glee. Nobody wanted Haynes to fail. We just knew he would based on his peripherals. Basically, the man got lucky the year before. I felt bad for him on a personal level, but I knew his performance had been a mirage. But at least with Haynes there was a mirage. Milton was a fine pitcher until his knee no longer allowed him to pitch at an ACCEPTABLE level. But even at his best, he was ill-suited for GABP. And he's hardly been at his best these last three years.

Redszone has been getting stereotyped as a negative space. All we do is complain. All we do is trash Milton, Wilson and Marty. We trash Dunn, EE's defense, Krivsky's fascination with guys over 40, Narron's lineups, and why, oh why is Juan Castro on a two year deal?

It has nothing to do with negativity. It has everything to do with debate and analysis. Somebody trashes Dunn on his K's and there is debate. Perhaps the debaters opinions don't change, but somebody's might. THAT is what is great about this board. That and these debates NEVER get draged down to the point of using profanity. Sometimes they get too personal, sometimes. But overall, this is a civil place.

Back to Eric Milton.

On a personal level, I feel bad for a guy that is likely at the end of his career. Even if he is making over 8 mil.

But it is time for the Reds to sever ties with him. He cannot do the job, and has been unable to do the job for 2+ years now.

[Tom Servo]

You say this now, but just wait until he gives up a leadoff homerun in the first game he pitches...

[coachw513]

Saying nice things about Uncle Milty and "wanting" him to do well (and btw, I don't think we root against Milton when he pitches, we just expect the worst) isn't going to change the simple fact that he is a bad baseball pitcher.

Uh, I don't think that's very positive

I very much root for Milton...I think his '06 season was done in by 2 injuries and at least 2 starts where Narron left him in games into the 7th inning that he was excelling in (and yet we ALL know should've been removed at that point)...

He can be a capable 6 inning pitcher and help us win games if/when healthy...quite honestly, I'll be happy if Lohse and Belisle are good 6 inning pitchers...

[Hey Meat]

Part of me wants to defend the guy based on his 8-8 record last year and the fact that he didn't give up over 40 home runs again. (29 wow) The other part of me expects more for 9 million a year as I think most Reds fans do.

[Brisco]

This is disappointing. I was not bashing the board when I made the post. I do not feel that the board is overly negative... and good board needs both positive and negative comments and this board is possibly the best because of its mix.

Perhaps my comment about "glee" was not what I wanted to say, I was just remembering all the incredibly innovative and witty ways we found to say that Haynes was bad. Sarcasm and wit are much harder in positive comments, though.


I picked the player that noone (myself included) had anything positive to say about whatsoever and decided to back him. As I said at the top of the post, I have no talent evaluation skills whatsoever. I am just a fan.

Maybe he is done... maybe he never was the type of pitcher for GABP... I dunno, I am just a fan... but what really disappoints me is that I asked that those who had something negative to say do so in another thread... If you disagreed with me wanting to root for public enemy number 1, or wanted to explain a thousand reasons why he will never be anything... can't you please do it somewhere else?

[westofyou]

If Eric was a Car he'd be an Edsel, if Eric was a singer he's be Fab from Milli Vanilli, if Eric was football player his nickname would be "Boz" If Eric was a movie he'd be Isthar or Heavens Gate. If Eric was a Howard he'd be Clint not Ron, if he was a drink he'd be New Coke or Pepsi Clear.

If Eric was a ML starter this thread would be not here.

[Triples]

.

.....Redszone has been getting stereotyped as a negative space. All we do is complain. All we do is trash Milton, Wilson and Marty. We trash Dunn, EE's defense, Krivsky's fascination with guys over 40, Narron's lineups, and why, oh why is Juan Castro on a two year deal?

It has nothing to do with negativity. It has everything to do with debate and analysis. Somebody trashes Dunn on his K's and there is debate. Perhaps the debaters opinions don't change, but somebody's might. THAT is what is great about this board. That and these debates NEVER get draged down to the point of using profanity. Sometimes they get too personal, sometimes. But overall, this is a civil place.....

.

Yes it is for the most part civil and for the most part not personal in nature. And, yes it is a great place to debate baseball...especially our beloved Reds. However,....and I haven't gone back to do an analysis....it's difficult to deny that vast majority the civil, non personal debates are about why a guy or the team is going to fail, not why they have an opportunity to succeed. That trend even trickles down to budding superstars like Bailey and Bruce or future hall of famers like Jr, or guys like Freel who give everthing they have on every play because its the only way they know how to play the game. I too would like to see some more talk on the positive side of issues.

[Unassisted]

The only time there's not a big difference between rooting against someone who wears the Reds' uniform and rooting against someone being allowed to continue to wear the Reds uniform is when you're one of the other 24 guys wearing the uniform. A barrage of good thoughts and wishes from fans, while more pleasant to read than griping, is not going to turn the 2007 Eric Milton into the 2002 model. If I thought it would, I might join the party.

[TRF]

Perhaps my comment about "glee" was not what I wanted to say, I was just remembering all the incredibly innovative and witty ways we found to say that Haynes was bad. Sarcasm and wit are much harder in positive comments, though.

Just wanted to respond to this, then I'll leave the thread. There were plenty of posters WHILE Haynes was winning that pointed out that his eventual 16 wins could not be sustained. Nobody gets that kind of luck for long. Haynes was BABIP lucky, he didn't K a lot of guys, and got tremendous run support.

And Eric Milton could be Haynes redux if it weren't for the fact that his knee isn't getting any better. It just can't. If you want to throw fandom at a guy the CANNOT get the job done, well have at you. I'll root for him too. and after every game he pitches, I'll root for Krivsky to unload him, because that is what is best for the Cincinnati Reds. And their fans.

[cacollinsmba]

if Eric was a singer he's be Fab from Milli Vanilli,

At least you made Milton the half of Milli Vanilli that didn't kill himself.

[Falls City Beer]

At least you made Milton the half of Milli Vanilli that didn't kill himself.

The power of positive thinking.

[cacollinsmba]

The power of positive thinking.

Isn't that what being a Reds fan is all about?