Justin Miller Appreciation Thread
by EliminateMe on Sep 16, 2009 11:46 AM PDT
Email
Print
This past offseason, the Giants signed a plethora of minor league free agents. Some of them vanished quickly (Francis Beltran, we hardly knew ye). Some of them spent most of the season injured (sorry, Josh Phelps and Dallas McPherson - lucky thing we didn't need a power hitting first baseman anyway). Some of them were Ramon Ortiz, but the less said about that the better.
But several of them made the roster and contributed more than could have been expected. Juan Uribe, Andres Torres, Brandon Medders all turned out to be excellent pickups. And so did Justin Miller, whose season is now over with an injured elbow. He walked too many and struck out not enough; but he threw a lot of innings, especially in the first half when Sanchez and Johnson had a lot of 5-inning starts, and kept the Giants in most of those games. (Being the Giants, they lost most of them anyway, but that's not Miller's fault.)
In the second half, he got a lot less work (15.2 IP after the break as compared with 41 before) and was less effective, but before his last 5 games blew it up he still had a 1.83 ERA. His first half WHIP was a mere 1.098. Even with a lousy ending, he ends his season with a 1.306 WHIP and 3.18 ERA, very respectable for a back of the bullpen guy.
With the emergence of Joaquin and Runzler, it seems like a long shot for Miller to return next season. If he doesn't, I wish him well - as long as he doesn't sign with the Dodgers - and salute him for being much better than I expected.
This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.
30 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Agreed. A bit lucky, but I am sure glad we had him.
Merkin Valdez? Manuel Mateo? A rose by any other name...
I liked him in the first half… not so much in the second.
I know you nerds know NOTHING about the real game of baseball, or any other athletic endeavor requiring teamwork under physical stress.
Mr. F! | comics | art | Nattowear | Unofficial McImage Directory
As it turns out, though, the first half was where we really needed him. With Zito and Sanchez stepping up there’s been comparatively little work for a long reliever since the ASB.
Meet my new son: Sundrendy Windster, on the Curacao-SF express (via Arizona).
by EliminateMe on Sep 16, 2009 12:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, I get that
I’m still bitter about the series in Coors.
I know you nerds know NOTHING about the real game of baseball, or any other athletic endeavor requiring teamwork under physical stress.
Mr. F! | comics | art | Nattowear | Unofficial McImage Directory
Maybe you could grant him clemency for playing through injury and overall body of work (not including tattoos)…
Utter frustration and futility.
by Johnny Disaster on Sep 16, 2009 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Props. Loved him until I saw the tat. You know the one. Afterward, I just couldn’t feel the same way. That said, a helluva season all things considered.
"Snow woulda had it!!!"
Would really appreciate someone informing him whether or not we're in this. The media says we are. The sensibilities say otherwise.
he did a good job overall, most recent blowups notwithstanding.
Neal before Zod!
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants
by nostocksjustbonds on Sep 16, 2009 12:54 PM PDT reply actions
I said this in the postgame thread earlier today:
While he’s hit a bad stretch of late, Justin Miller was a real important part of the pen most of the season.
He and Medders were fine signings. Get well soon JM…maybe get some new ink.
"The dreams ain't broken down here now, they're walking with a limp" --TW
An “SF” would look nice worked in there somewhere.
Meet my new son: Sundrendy Windster, on the Curacao-SF express (via Arizona).
Thanks for the memories
Jesse Foppert: I Still Believe. Maybe a little less now.
"I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen." ~Bob Lemon,
by AndYourBirdCanSing on Sep 16, 2009 1:09 PM PDT reply actions
I always got the feeling watching him that he looked physically and mechanically like the old guys I play with/against in NABA.
He has the countenance of a beer-league hardball player, but was a great pickup.
Fathaigh go mbuaimid!
Jason Stoffel, 2009 (Rookie + A-): 24IP, 1-0, 0.75 ERA, 5 S V, 25K. The heir apparent to B-Weez.
http://needzmoardingerz.blogetery.com/
Miller was a major asset
Miller was really good until his elbow started acting-up on him. But Bochy pitched him
anyway, and it helped us to one of our worse losses of the year vs the Rockies, when Miller did not have it, and Merkin Valdez allowed the long ball. I think Valdez needs just a little tweaking to make him a really good pitcher. But if he keeps throwing 97 MPH fastballs right down the middle, they are going to leave the park at 120 mph.
by bradleybear on Sep 16, 2009 10:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Is there a league higher than the majors?
Because if there were, Runzler would probably go right through the majors to the next level. Its like he is in one of those video games that you just keep moving up to the next level. Runzler, is already looking for the next level.
by bradleybear on Sep 16, 2009 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Glad to see this thread
I was very much taken aback when some McC-ites—even the typically sensible and rational jponry—snorted with disgust at Miller the other day, when he went on the DL, saying that he should haul his tattooed ass elsewhere. Save for the bad games against the Rockies, when he was pitching with a bad elbow, he was reliable, surprisingly so. One was glad to see him come into the game instead of some of the other relief staff. He undoubtedly should have told Bochy his elbow as bad, but perhaps a player with shaky status, a last-minute roster addition in the spring, feels he needs to show “grit,” and can’t dare to wimp out.
Probably wouldn't have mattered...
…everyone knows Renteria has a bad elbow, and a bad shoulder, but that doesn’t stop Bochy from playing him.
Meet my new son: Sundrendy Windster, on the Curacao-SF express (via Arizona).
by EliminateMe on Sep 17, 2009 11:22 AM PDT up reply actions
I was very much taken aback when some McC-ites—even the typically sensible and rational jponry—snorted with disgust at Miller the other day, when he went on the DL, saying that he should haul his tattooed ass elsewhere
Well that’s the thing, we’re glad Justin Miller was successful with us. A little bit of luck to give us a good performance for the time being? Great, I’ll take it. The thing is, you can’t count on luck in the future, what you can count on is a 5.72 K/9 and 4.29 BB/9 pitcher getting lit up. Granted, those are worse than the previous year, but still, based on his performance this year, he was lucky to be as successful as he was. Happy for his past contributions, do not want to count on him staying lucky in the future.
(The more I look closely at his stats, though, the more curious I become. The last two years he put up 10.80 and 8.29 K/9 in similar sample sizes, with better walk rates and decent to good FIP’s. Something’s up, and I’m not sure what to make of it.)
by Missing Barry on Sep 17, 2009 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions
his elbow has probably been slowly shredding over the last two seasons.
Please hit better, Randy Winn.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
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.
