Adam Miller shut down
by volapuk on May 28, 2008 4:22 PM EDT
Email
PrintFrom Castrovince Blog
Miller shut downTop prospect Adam Miller's Minor League season is conceivably over. According to head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff, Miller will be shut down from throwing for eight weeks after having surgery performed on the middle finger of his right throwing hand Tuesday. After eight weeks, Miller will begin a return-to-throw program in either Winter Haven or Goodyear, so the odds of him coming back in time to rejoin the Bisons is slim.
54 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I’d settle for Four-Finger Miller.
Cut it off.
I tried to make Paul Reuschel my Avatar, but he didn't fit into the box.
by emd2k3 on May 28, 2008 4:47 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
You want a finger? I can get you a finger, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don’t wanna know about it, believe me.
by millionairesrow on May 28, 2008 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Does this mean we get to witness a 20K game too? Or doesnt Mr Miller have to actually thrive in the majors before he gets this designation.
I overstated. I mean that both pitchers go by their middle names, and both have the same first name: If Healthy.
As in, If Healthy Adam Miller…....
by SuddenSam on May 28, 2008 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
It’s already a great draft for us, but if those first three picks could just succeed just a LITTLE more … it would be an incredibly good draft.
Aubrey, Miller, Snyder, Herrera, Garko, Harrison, Valdes, Kouzmanoff, (four other guys) ... Mulhern … (four other guys) ... Laffey … (seven oher guys) ... Goleski … (nine other guys) ... Goedert (the first time we drafted him).
Can Adam Miller get it over with and just bottom out, run out of options, go to some other team for a song, bounce back, and dominate us at every opportunity already?
by fleerdon on May 28, 2008 11:16 PM EDT reply actions
No. He has to toy with our hearts a little longer.
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
by AngG on May 28, 2008 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe we should take a hint from the Cubs and just make this kid a lights-out closer. Cleveland is as cautious as anyone with their prospects, but Miller still seems to get injured way too often, it’s unfortunate.
I have no reason for saying this, but I think this is pretty much the end of Miller as a starter. The clock is ticking on the Indians to get something out of Miller and he simply hasn’t shown the ability to pitch enough substantive innings to be a viable starting candidate in the majors this year or next. Bullpen, probably, but starting…I don’t see it. And, unless he miraculously turns into Papelbon, that means his value as a prospect goes way down.
by APV on May 30, 2008 5:16 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
...adding…terrible year so far for our two “blue-chip” pitching prospects, Miller and Lofgren. There’s still time for Lofgren to turn it around (as he’s shown a few flashes of), but in reality I don’t see either anywhere near their projected ceilings two years ago. Contrast that with a guy like Laffey, who has shot through his projected ceiling from two years ago. Another reason also to celebrate the overall depth of the starting pitching in our minor league system. There may not be any “blue-chippers” now, but the odds favor the Indians that at least a few of these guys will be serviceable and maybe even very good major league pitchers.
Miller’s future … it’s confusing for me. I can’t believe he ultimately is derailed by a finger injury, but I need to learn more about it. Is there any reason to think he can stay healthier as a reliever than as a starter?
We are years away from having an options/waivers problem with him.
Miller doesn’t really have anything left to prove in terms of his “stuff” in the minors (although every injury puts his stuff into renewed question), but he can’t be put into a major league rotation without actually pitching innings. He pitching 70 innings in 2005, 159 in 2006 (one of only 2 healthy seasons he’s had), 65 in 2007, and now he’s sitting at 28 for this season. If he doesn’t pitch again this season, I would think it would take two seasons of bullpen work just to build up his arm strength enough to consider him a major league starting option. Also, having injury prone relievers is less of an obstacle to organizational/roster planning than having an injury prone starter. When you lose a starter, you’re presumably losing 6-8 innings a week of pitching. When you lose a reliever, even a regular guy, you’re probably losing half that.
Kind of where I’m at on this. Is it Wood-like - an injury prone-ness which means he essentially can’t go more than 30 or 40 pitches per outing - or Harden-like - an injury prone-ness that’s seemingly unrelated to workload, and to which the proper response is “Use him as best you can when he’s healthy”? Or is this a meaningless distinction - is this really just one more “gosh darn it” bang-up that he can bounce back from?
by fleerdon on May 30, 2008 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions
One thing Miller’s injury MAY do is make it less likely they’ll trade Sowers. If CC and Byrd both leave, then Sowers is fifth, with no Miller to back him up (given his uncertain status). There are other young starters coming up, but none that seem ready to jump to the majors just now (although that can obviously change). Even if they signed a free agent pitcher in the off season, Sowers still represents their depth, assuming that they continue to regard him as a viable major league pitcher, and I don’t see why they wouldn’t.
Sowers performance this season has been under-celebrated here. His numbers in Buffalo are every bit as good as they were in 2006 — the ERA is a bit higher, but he’s getting more strikeouts and fewer walks. I’m convinced he’s a league-average starter right now. Given his struggles last season, we should be feeling great about his future in the rotation. He’s doing what we wish Barfield were doing.
Well, in that sense, maybe there’s a silver lining in Miller’s injury—it may lead us to hang on to a guy who’s a useful pitcher, rather than trading him and overpaying for a mediocre free agent starter when Miller gets hurt again!
If Sowers doesn’t allow walks or homeruns, he’s probably a decent Paul Byrd look-alike right now. The discussions of Tom Glavine comparisons seem to be a thing of the past but you never know…pitcher’s developmental trajectories are less regular than are hitters.
Every lefty non-fireballer gets compared to Glavine at some point. Sowers was never viewed at any point as a potential ace or even a good bet to be a #2 starter. He’s was viewed as having a good shot to be a #3+, a highly probable #4+ and a dead-lock as a #5+.
I don’t know…I don’t follow BA much these days but I recall a lot of Glavine, high #2 starter talk around those parts when Sowers was tearing through AA
Well, hey, man, I told you … gotta watch that irrational exuberance over guys in Double-A.
by Jay on May 30, 2008 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Photo: Padres fan regrets letting mother capture moment with Trevor Hoffman
- Marlins agree to unretire No. 5 for Logan Morrison, who will honor his father’s favorite player
- Weatherman Derek Holland does Dallas TV
- Ask Alex: Will Julio Teheran or Matt Moore win rookie of the year?
- Ku Klux Klan, umpires and bowling: Why the minor leagues tossed out Jim Evans academy
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
