Eric Milton

[NorrisHopper30]

After the game tonight I was talking to a few friends of mine and they wouldn't stop talking about how bad Milton did, and I read on a few other message boards and Milton was being picked on again. Does he really deserve this, his first few starts have been DECENT and the majority of us are treating him like he's giving up 10 runs per start.

I have a question, how many decent starts without a bad one until you give Milton your trust or some credit?

He certainly isn't pitching like a 10 million dollar pitcher, but he's not doing that bad..

5 innings 3 hits 2 runs. The only down side is his 98 pitches, in which he threw 30ish in the first inning and I think 15 of those just on Bill Hall.

[mroby85]

I agree Norris, I understand why it is less tolerable because of his contract, but i think thats where a lot of the hatred comes from. however milton is a very frustrating pitcher to watch as well, he's like a ticking time bomb.

[Highlifeman21]

After the game tonight I was talking to a few friends of mine and they wouldn't stop talking about how bad Milton did, and I read on a few other message boards and Milton was being picked on again. Does he really deserve this, his first few starts have been DECENT and the majority of us are treating him like he's giving up 10 runs per start.

I have a question, how many decent starts without a bad one until you give Milton your trust or some credit?

He certainly isn't pitching like a 10 million dollar pitcher, but he's not doing that bad..

5 innings 3 hits 2 runs. The only down side is his 98 pitches, in which he threw 30ish in the first inning and I think 15 of those just on Bill Hall.

Yes, Milton deserves all of this.

I can give you 27,000,000 reasons over the past 3 years as to why he deserves all of this.

Milton needs to win at least 12 games this year, and lose no more than 9 this year for me to give him any credit.

[jimbo]

Well, you can make the excuse that he has had a lot of downtime and probably isn't at full strength. Having said that though, I thought he looked pretty mediocre. Most of his pitches were up in the strike zone and had little movement. To me, it looks like he is still having trouble driving off his left leg and is trying to compensate by overthrowing the ball.

His numbers were decent, but the whole time I was watching I thought he was on the verge of getting blasted the whole game. I was unimpressed.

[fearofpopvol1]

I thought he was pretty solid tonight actually. He went the 5 innings he usually can and gave up 2 ER. Not bad for a 5th starter (albeit a very overpaid one).

I definitely agree that he is frustrating to watch and he's not really fooling anybody. However, he doesn't deserve to be DFA'ed (yet).

[TeamSelig]

Anything under 5 ERA and Milton has met my expectations.

4.75 and I would be pretty happy... not that our 5th starter is making 9 something million, but just that we would be getting that out of our 5th starter

[HumnHilghtFreel]

Milton needs to win at least 12 games this year, and lose no more than 9 this year for me to give him any credit.

Wins and Losses are overrated for a pitcher, IMO. Arroyo should have had about 20 last year had he gotten any offensive support. It's reasonable to think that with any run support, Milty could be 2-0 this year.

His first game was iffy, he gave up a lot of hits, but we were never really out of it. Tonight's game he did his job. He only did 5 innings of his job, but he kept us in the game. When we signed him we might not have signed him to be a 5 inning and gone guy, but that's what he currently is and he's done a decent job of it so far.

[Shaggy Sanchez]

You can blame Milton for being awful the last two years but you can't blame him for making 9 million a year. Anyone would accept an offer like that, DanO and Linder are to blame for how much he is making and at this point Wayne should be blamed for keeping him on the team. Milton can be blamed for a lot of things but pitching bad or hurting the Reds tonight shouldn't be one of them.

Milton gave his team a chance to win tonight and the offense and bullpen didn't help him out. I won't say that how he did it was pretty but he got into the 6th allowing 3 runs (2 earned) you can't ask for much more from a 5th starter. If the offense does anything early or the BP doesn't blow up on the mound and Milton pitches a good 5 innings and the Reds win that game.

[coachw513]

After the game tonight I was talking to a few friends of mine and they wouldn't stop talking about how bad Milton did, and I read on a few other message boards and Milton was being picked on again. Does he really deserve this, his first few starts have been DECENT and the majority of us are treating him like he's giving up 10 runs per start.

I have a question, how many decent starts without a bad one until you give Milton your trust or some credit?

He certainly isn't pitching like a 10 million dollar pitcher, but he's not doing that bad..

5 innings 3 hits 2 runs. The only down side is his 98 pitches, in which he threw 30ish in the first inning and I think 15 of those just on Bill Hall.

Take the uniform number and name off Milton's back and we'd be more than pleased with the performance...

Not that having 8 days off between starts didn't impact his lack of sharpness early...let's give Hall some credit for an incredible AB that extended Milton's pitch count...

But Milton's a bum, didn't you know that

[Always Red]

Take the uniform number and name off Milton's back and we'd be more than pleased with the performance...

That's it, in a nutshell.

It's not just here, but baseball fans in general, that have expectations based upon salary. If a guy signs a big contract, it comes with certain expectations. I've seen that the Reds players whom are disliked by some folks here are the ones they think are overpaid. It's the nature of the game today, to make as much money as you can. If the Reds sign you for 3 years at $27 million, you'd be a fool not to take it.

I'm not the biggest Uncle Milty fan who ever lived. But Eric Milton is not the problem, he is not the reason the Reds lost last night. He is however, the favored whipping boy of the day. When he leaves, someone else will descend to his spot, some other guy who is being paid what he fans perceive as being too much. You could insert just about anybody in here- Weathers, Cormier, Freel (now), Griffey, Stanton, Dunn, Ross, etc, etc. Or even a guy like Majewski, who was traded for popular players, is reviled for being hurt, and not being good enough. The Majewski hate is a mystery to me; the guy was traded, was hurt, tried to suck it up and do his job. And that's it.

I was at opening day, and I was truly embarassed that Milton was booed. Why? If you want to boo someone, boo Lindner, O'Brien and Allen, who signed him to the contract. Boo a player for making a mental error. But booing a guy on opening day, a guy who has never had a bad thing to say during his time here, booing him just for not living up to contract expectations?? I think that shows a total lack of class and dignity from the fans who did the booing. Disappointing? Absolutely, Milty's performance has been disappointing. But there's a difference,, at least in my small mind...

Milton pitched a game last night that you would accept, everyday of the week, from your 5th starter.

PS- I also became a bigger Adam Dunn fan than I've ever been before when he spoke about Eric Milton earlier this month, after the loss to Pittsburgh:

Reds left-fielder Adam Dunn defended his teammate after Sunday's loss.

"He's such a competitor," Dunn said. "He's the hardest worker I've been around my whole life. He's played with a lot of things that probably 99 percent of the people wouldn't even think about stepping on the mound with and that he's pitched through.

"I love the guy. I love having him on my team. He's awesome. He has struggled but I hope he has the best year ever. I really do. He deserves it."

[Ltlabner]

Well, you can make the excuse that he has had a lot of downtime and probably isn't at full strength. Having said that though, I thought he looked pretty mediocre. Most of his pitches were up in the strike zone and had little movement. To me, it looks like he is still having trouble driving off his left leg and is trying to compensate by overthrowing the ball.

His numbers were decent, but the whole time I was watching I thought he was on the verge of getting blasted the whole game. I was unimpressed.

I'm with you Jimbo. While the final numbers might look decent for a 5th starter, he was walking the highwire all night. Perhaps it was beacause it was the Brewers that he got away with it. Perhaps it was just shear luck. Perhaps it was the generosity of the umpire. Either way, those are factors not likely to repete themselves.

He got away with it last night, but another night or team. Not likely to be a good outcome.

[bucksfan2]

Milton had a performance that was acceptable for anyone on this team outside of Arroyo and Harang. If this offense wouldn't have been so anemic they should have given Milton more run support early in the game. The money Milton is making is already gone and its not coming back. He is the favorite whipping boy of cincinnati because of the contract he signed but I would take that start he gave the reds last night every time he takes the mound.

[TRF]

Take the uniform number and name off Milton's back and we'd be more than pleased with the performance...

Not that having 8 days off between starts didn't impact his lack of sharpness early...let's give Hall some credit for an incredible AB that extended Milton's pitch count...

But Milton's a bum, didn't you know that

99 pitches through 5 innings. 5 baserunners. 2 of those hits were a double and a HR. That he left with only two runs on the board is amazing. It's also unlikely to be repeated. Had he started Sunday, the Cubs would have brutalized him.

Now contrast that with Matt Belisle's last start. 6 IP, 86 pitches, 3 hits 1 walk. 1 run allowed. the hardest hit ball was a double. 3 K's

It's amazing how 1 more inning can help a pen. It's amazing how getting guys to ground out harmlessly can help the scoreboard.

But we're picking on Milton. Nevermind the facts.

[TOBTTReds]

99 pitches through 5 innings. 5 baserunners. 2 of those hits were a double and a HR. That he left with only two runs on the board is amazing. It's also unlikely to be repeated. Had he started Sunday, the Cubs would have brutalized him.

Now contrast that with Matt Belisle's last start. 6 IP, 86 pitches, 3 hits 1 walk. 1 run allowed. the hardest hit ball was a double. 3 K's

It's amazing how 1 more inning can help a pen. It's amazing how getting guys to ground out harmlessly can help the scoreboard.

But we're picking on Milton. Nevermind the facts.

Thank you. I was going to post something similar to this. Pitching 5 innings is not what starters do! They need to pitch 6 or 7 or 8. Everyone says a "quality start" of 6 ip, 3 er is not very good. So how could leaving the game after 5+ with a runner on after 99 pitches be any good?

If our bullpen has to pitch 4 innings every game he pitches, we are going to lose those games. Any team will. It is a solid fact (I'll look it up later, but I have to run to work), the sooner you get to the bullpen, the better chance you have of scoring runs.

I don't get how many of you don't see this. The Reds absolutely crush middle relievers. They relish the moment the starter leaves. Why wouldn't it be the same for the opponents. No matter how bad Milton is doing, him leaving after 5 innings is NEVER good for the team. He was pathetic tonight. He couldn't put away hitters whatsoever. If you avg 20 pitches per inning, you will have a short career/season. Also, this was the struggling Brewers that he took forever to get out. I don't feel like he will go 7 innings more than twice this year. And when he does, I bet he's giving up 4-5 runs.

If Milt was truley a 5th starter with 4 other dependable starters, it wouldn't be such a big deal that he goes 5. But right now, I don't think MB and KL are completely dependable yet. MB is young, and Lohse has proven to be inconsistant in the past. Maybe other teams can afford the consistancy of Milton's performances, but I dont think the Reds are one of those teams.

*Note: I made this whole argument w/o mentioning his contract. Cant blame a guy for signing a good deal when offered. We can cry to DanO for that one, not have expectations for Milt to "pitch to contract."

[Always Red]

99 pitches through 5 innings. 5 baserunners. 2 of those hits were a double and a HR. That he left with only two runs on the board is amazing. It's also unlikely to be repeated. Had he started Sunday, the Cubs would have brutalized him.

Now contrast that with Matt Belisle's last start. 6 IP, 86 pitches, 3 hits 1 walk. 1 run allowed. the hardest hit ball was a double. 3 K's

It's amazing how 1 more inning can help a pen. It's amazing how getting guys to ground out harmlessly can help the scoreboard.

But we're picking on Milton. Nevermind the facts.

Belisle's pitched great, no question. I hope he can keep it up!

Milty gave up three hits and two walks for 5 innings last night. That's a WHIP of 1.00, which is pretty good. Yes, he threw way too many pitches, especially early on. If Billy Hall could play against the Reds everyday, he'd already be in the HoF.

Uncle Milty's the 5th starter on this team. Was that performance last night about the norm for a 5th starter? I think so. Nope, it certainly wasn't a great performance, but it was average for a 5th starter.

So, if Milton goes one more inning last night, Coffey doesn't implode? I really don't think one thing is related to the other, specifically. Sure, the longer your starters go, the more rest your bullpen gets. Was Coffey too tired last night? Is the bullpen overworked right now? no way.

If we're looking for a pitcher to hang this on last night, it's Todd Coffey. And I'm a big Coffey fan. One night, that's all- he get over it.

Milty's the whippin boy because of his contract, no question. He's, in fact, still on this team because of that same contract, it is the only reason he's still here. With as disappointing as he has been, I'm sure they've tried a million ways to move him. If he was optionable, they'd do it, and if he winds up sucking as badly as he did in 2005, I think they'll DFA him. But last night was not a bad outing for him. Certainly not worthy of a release or a demotion.

Until baseball comes up with a better system of earning money, you're always going to get guys getting paid for either 1. what they've done in the past or 2. their potential.