Hey Redheads, Eric Milton here. I’m trying to be upbeat after last night’s non-win (see!), and it’s tough. I’ll admit that I haven’t pitched my best this year, but baseball’s a hard sport! And I’m pretty sure that at least 110% of the hitters I’ve been facing have been on st3r01ds, so there’s that to consider, too.
But as Yogi Berra once probably said, pitching is 50% mental, and I’m doing my best to rehab that part of my game by rereading my offseason fantasy press clips to remind myself of how much potential I have in this arm of mine. Here are some of the words that I’ve been using to pump me up:
Outsports.com listed me as having “upside,” and said, “The Reds decided that their rotation needed a little bit of help and picked up previous 15 game winners Milton and Ortiz. This now gives them a workable rotation.” I’ll take it!
Kevin Kennedy of Fox Sports called me a “quality lefthander” and said that the Yankees needed to sign me. That’s cool, Kevin. Thanks!
Eric Karabell of ESPN recommended drafting me ahead of Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson, Joe Blanton and Dan Meyer, and compared me to Woody Williams and Kevin Millwood. (Hi Kevin!) I’ll take that company. Maybe Eric should be my new agent! LOL!
The last one, from Stats Inc, which is part of ESPN, is the best: “While Milton’s talent suggests a No. 2 or 3 starter, he has guts and competes well. With a full year of pitching behind him after missing most of the 2003 season following serious knee surgery, he could be expected to continue to improve. Milton throws a curve, a changeup and a 92-94 MPH fastball that he’ll cut inside to a righthanded hitter. He is an aggressive pitcher who goes after the hitters. Even though he was a flyball pitcher in a park conducive to home runs, he never gave in and never made excuses. In doing so, he earned the respect of his teammates. One scout noted that he has a lot of ‘quality intangibles.'”
Nice to meet you Mr. Cy Young!!!
EDITED TO ADD: To the “Larry B. of Bristol, Conn” who wrote in to say “you’ll always have a job throwing BP at the Special Olympics, a-hole” at least I have a job, Mr. Negativity!