Welcome Milton; Get Well Soon, Burton
By
Amanda
Posted at 12:30 pm
The Reds reinstated LHP Eric Milton today from the 15-day DL. He'll be making his first start of the season in a few minutes against the Pirates' Opening Day starter, Zach Duke.
On the one hand, you've got the like the way that the Reds' offense has dealt with the Pirates' pitching so far this series, but on the other hand, Milton is a seriously unknown quantity. You know he's got it in him somewhere, but he's had a frighteningly bad streak lately. Similarly, the Reds have been facing the bottom of the Pirates' rotation, though I'm not convinced that there's really that much of a difference between the Pirates' #1 and #5. They're the strength of the team, for sure, I'm just saying that they seem to all have a similar skill level.
To make room for Milton on the 25-roster, the Reds put RHP Jared Burton on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring. I don't remember him getting hurt that game, but I do remember him walking three in his one-third of an inning. That's a sort of injury, I suppose. I do wonder whether the A's would have reason to call shenanigans, especially if Burton continues to come down with injuries whenever the Reds need a spot on the roster.
In any event, I'll miss the game this afternoon doing Easter things with the fam. But my thoughts will be with Milton. Go Reds!
I went to the game today… the good thing about a 30 degree game on Easter is you can convert a $5 seat into a premium seat by just walking down whatever aisle you feel like and plopping your ass down whereever you want that is vacant… and there are plenty of choices.
Milton was not spectacular but he wasn’t terrible either. He topped out at 88 mph but he fooled a lot of guys with offspeed stuff… unfortunately they got lucky bloop singles on him early and then finally got to him later. The offense wasn’t great but Griffey came thru in a couple of ABs and Encarnacion didn’t miss by much when he fouled a couple off late in the game with a runner on. I think he is the key and I like our chances with him in cleanup as a major RBI producer.
Coffey hit 94mph on the gun but gave up a solo shot to right, and Coutlangus gave up an almost identical trajectory shot to the same spot an inning later.. those would be the difference when all was said and done… nontheless a nice homestand and the boys might bust out the bats in the sunshine of the west as they head to Arizona next.
I am not sure how long we should stick with Milton. My gut feeling is that when things heat up he will give up more long balls and really struggle. With Livingston, Elizardo, and Bailey in the minors I don’t know why we should stick with Milton much longer. Trade him or dump and move on is my feeling on the matter.
Milton might do better in a larger park. Like, say, the Nationals’.Though I doubt anyone will be willing to pay his whole salary.
Both the Reds and the Yankees lost in rather heartbreaking ways today. Let’s hope the Bats do better tonight. It’s Homer Bailey’s Triple-A debut!
Yea, Bubba, I agree, Milton could do real nice in Petco has been my thinking for quite some time now.
There’s also the fact that the Nats’ starting pitching is bloody awful.
Homer Bailey is doing okay so far. He’s walked one in each of the first two innings, but hasn’t given up any runs.
Bubba hit a triple that just missed being a home run, plating Godwin. He then scored on a Votto sac fly. Bats are up 3-0.
Victor Santos continues to look brilliant, I almost forgot to add. That is one more guy I would rather see start over Milton.
Votto just hit a grand slam.
And Herr hit another HR, for back to back homers. They’ve socred nine runs in the 3rd inning. It’s 12-0 Bats.
There was a really cool song/video on the scoreboard titled “Reds Fan” I think.. i dunno which band did it, but it was really cool and right at the River and good lyrics and it really rocked… anyone know what I am referring to?
And Bailey’s night is done. He gave up a home run to Timo Perez; it was the only hit he gave up.
5-1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 SO
Score is Bats 13, Hens 1.
Timo Perez. That’s a name I’m surprised to see. I remember during last year’s Spring Training when he was with the Reds.
For some reason, he wasn’t allowed to play in any games for which tickets were sold, so he played only in minor league games. It wasn’t surprising when he didn’t make the club, but it did show how desperate the Cardinals were for outfielders when they picked him up. (He actually played in 23 games for them during the season.)
Not only did the Cards pick him up, they traded for him.
The game ended 13-3. Love Shack gave up two runs, including one on a wild pitch. Bailey threw 83 pitches.
Christ, I almost forgot the most important aspect of today’s scouting report… and yes, I briefly sat in the scouting seats, so I feel this is an accurate label… Our outfielders play TOO deep and also I don’t think they are spaced properly… I am serious about this… a homerun is a homerun and standing 5 feet shy of the warning track doesn’t give you a shot at stealing one away… meanwhile loads of balls dropped in front of us… especially in cold weather that was terrible positioning. I was pissed right from the onset and I saw it burn us a few times early.
The song “Reds Fan” that you’re referring to is by Freekbass. You can read my [url=http://www.red-hot-mama.com/comments.php?id=820_0_1_0_C]review of the Cincinnati Clutch Hits album[/url] on which it appears. It also links to their website and a place where you can buy the CD. Or, you can [url=http://www.red-hot-mama.com/comments.php?id=1052_0_1_0_C]check out the same video[/url] you saw at the park on YouTube.
Hey, I’ve got an idea: how about the result of the grievance against the Nationals for The Trade be that they have to take Milton and his salary? The Reds make room for some deserving young guys, the Nats have to pay some seriously big bucks, and Milton, who seems like a good guy, maybe gets a chance to succeed.
They talked about how the balls were dropping in in front of the OFers on the broadcast. I’m sure the positioning was ordered from the dugout, based on scouting reports. But maybe they didn’t take the weather into account.
And maybe they think it’s easier for these particular fielders to come in than to chase balls over their heads? Do they always position them this way?
RHM, you namedf that tune correctly and that’s the video alright… I see they gave it a scathing review over at cardnilly but I tell you what in 30 degree weather with intermittent snow flurries and hoping like hell the Reds would come from behind, that video is fun to watch.. also they only show about a 30 second clip at GABP and I think it is better in a small dose like that. Anyhow, I had a great time besides the fact we lost so I think the ballpark experience is top notch.. you getta a lot of bang for your 5 bucks on a chilly uncrowded day. I am still amazed that they are saying these past couple of games have been colder than any Bengals home game all year. Now we know who the true fans are in this town.
That’s awesome to hear, smartelf!
Glad you enjoyed yourself… 😉
Hey Smartelf! Glad to see that someone else braved the elements this weekend. I took my son down on Sat. We also bought the $5 tickets and sat in premium seating. I hope the next cold game that I am at is the Reds in the World Series. We stayed for it all and saw a win.
The saddest part about the game was a poor young kid selling the Lemon Freeze in the first inning of the game. He was followed by the Dippin Dots guy. The beer guy couldn’t even sell anything because it was so cold. Sadly, there was only one place to get coffee in the whole stadium. You think they would have been better prepared. They knew it was cold because they changed the game time.
p.s. Reds Fan song is great. The entire album gets you in the mood for baseball. Worth buying. Check out the cute kid on the inside cover!