Milledge is struggling

[Obed_Marsh]

Ok. Sure. H  E double hockey sticks with the young guy. We should have keep some near thirties guy who can hit 32/122 15 1 11 3 .262 in May of 2008. Maybe we can trade him for that chump Ryan Howard, after all his average sucks at this point.

I'll take potential. Ain't like we've got anything left to lose considering that the commonly acknowledged players with potential are doing far worse. f it. They're garbage. 

Hey Houston Nat, I got it right this time.

[Air Zimmerman]

Yeah, I haven't been too impressed.  His defense is light years behind Nook Logan and his offense isn't all that much better than Nooks.  Plus he seems like a punk.

well, now that you mention it...i do believe nook is a free agent. 

dukes in left, nook in center, millz in right   

[houston-nat]

Ok. Sure. H  E double hockey sticks with the young guy. We should have keep some near thirties guy who can hit 32/122 15 1 11 3 .262 in May of 2008. Maybe we can trade him for that chump Ryan Howard, after all his average sucks at this point.

I'll take potential. Ain't like we've got anything left to lose considering that the commonly acknowledged players with potential are doing far worse. f it. They're garbage. 

Hey Houston Nat, I got it right this time.

(is confused)...?

[houston-nat]

well, now that you mention it...i do believe nook is a free agent. 

Hahahahha! I think. Nook is in AA with the Dodgers...?

[houston-nat]

(is confused)...?

Oh, I get it.

[Air Zimmerman]

Hahahahha! I think. Nook is in AA with the Dodgers...?

i'm gonna have to google that. i know he was with the dodgers in st, but he didn't make the major league roster so i think they let him go.

[daveb32]

Speed is completely irrelevant in Hanrahan's case. He has zero control. He is unquestionably a career AAA pitcher.

What would make you say that Milledge is a future beast?  I've seen nada.  This thread had been coming for a while now.  Just seemed like the perfect time to post it because Milledge continues to regress while Church is hitting .330 and blasting homers daily. 

Church would never be doing this with us, and you know it.

[sportsfan882]

Church would never be doing this with us, and you know it.

I agree.  Church is an jerk.  He was given every opportunity with us but never produced enough to be an every-day guy. I thought he was a great 4th OFer for us but that's it. 

I liked the trade for Milledge and still do but he's clearly not been the player that anyone expected or hoped for so far.  He has not shown power, speed, and has sucked in the field. I think his D will improve but I can't say the same thing about his bat. 

[Obed_Marsh]

(is confused)...?

Me too. In my case too easily amused as well.

http://www.wnff.net/index.php/topic,8055.msg211375.html#msg211375

Had too many HHLL's last time.

[Air Zimmerman]

i'm gonna have to google that. i know he was with the dodgers in st, but he didn't make the major league roster so i think they let him go.

ya, he's a free agent. i sort of lost my appeal in him after he was ASTONISHINGLY named in the mitchell report. i do wish we would've held onto him though. his speed and defensive prowess in center were unmatched. and imho, his bat wasn't THAT bad.

[ronnynat]

His baserunning ability or his skill?  Because those are two very different things.  I think from the little I've seen and from what I've heard he's got all the ability but at some point he needs to refine that ability into skill and that comes with time, experience and proper training.

Baserunning ability is half thinking skills while on the basepaths, half quickness on his jumps. He's lacking in both areas right now. He was good in ST, though, so we know he can do it.

[ronnynat]

I haven't written off Milledge either. I hope he starts hitting homers and stealing bases and getting good reads on balls but it doesn't look good for him.   

Daniel is kicking ass in AA.  It takes him a while to get adjusted to a new level of pitching but once he does he masters it.  He's ready for AAA.  Rhinehart is whipping ass in Low A but he probably belongs in AA. 

That's exactly what Milledge did as well. He flew through the Mets system.

I'm not let down much at all w/ him so far this season. He's getting a chance to go through some growing pains while starting every day. This will only help him. He has the tools to be a solid player for a long time. And since that's so, it's best not to get too down about a few bad games - or even weeks - because he's only 23 and he's not doing THAT poorly anyways.

[sportsfan882]

I hope you are right, I really do. 

Here is what Lastings is on pace to do this season: (.256 AVG .321 OBP .352 SLG) 5 HR 52 RBI 43 BB 124 SO 14 SB 14 CS

[MrMadison]

show of hands:

who here realistically expected Milledge to be a superstar right off the bat?

[ronnynat]

I hope you are right, I really do. 

Here is what Lastings is on pace to do this season: (.256 AVG .321 OBP .352 SLG) 5 HR 52 RBI 43 BB 124 SO 14 SB 14 CS

See, those numbers could be A LOT worse for a guy his age. And the great thing is, I think most of us feel that he will do better than he's been doing. I know I do. I don't see a lost cause when I watch Milledge play.

[Air Zimmerman]

show of hands:

who here realistically expected Milledge to be a superstar right off the bat?

i def expected him to have a breakout season and i still think he will.

my expectations for the season were 20/20 and around 70 rbi.

i actually expected him to be the breakout player of the yr but it looks like McLouth/Hamilton already have that wrapped up.

[MrMadison]

i def expected him to have a breakout season and i still think he will.

well....you 're you.

any non-AZ answers here?

[sportsfan882]

i def expected him to have a breakout season and i still think he will.

my expectations were 20/20 and around 70 RBI.

20 Homers? How? He has only hit one all year and that was in the bandbox in Philly. I really can't remember one other ball he hit that was even close to going out.  The majority of his hits are little liners to RF or shots down the LF line. He doesn't hit the ball in the air very much and he almost never hits to the gaps. 

He has an outside chance at 20 SBs and 70 RBIs but 20 jacks, no way.

[Air Zimmerman]

well....you 're you.

any non-AZ answers here?

ACTUALLY, a lot of "experts" thought he was one of the best candidates for a breakout yr now that he is our everyday starter.

[KyleScha]

20 Homers? How? He has only hit one all year and that was in the bandbox in Philly. I really can't remember one other ball he hit that was even close to going out.  The majority of his hits are little liners to RF or shots down the LF line. He doesn't hit the ball in the air very much and he almost never hits to the gaps. 

He has an outside chance at 20 SBs and 70 RBIs but 20 jacks, no way.

Milledge does have good power, I remember in an ST game he hit it completely out of the stadium. His problem is that every time he's batting he's in an 0-2 count. He's hardly ever in a situation where he can look fastball. He's got very impressive BP power especially for a guy his size, but he needs to be able to apply that to a real game. If he ever learns an ounce of place discipline I could see him hitting 25-30HRs in a year but as long as he wants to flail away at first pitches 2 feet out of the strike zone he won't give himself the chance.

EDIT: Checking his stats he had 7 HRs in 186 ABs last year. He's got the power to do it, its the question of whether or not he'll take advantage of mistakes and put himself into favorable counts.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

ACTUALLY, a lot of "experts" thought he was one of the best candidates for a breakout yr now that he is our everyday starter.

Yeah, AZ is right on this one.  20/20 was a perfectly reasonable expectation for Milledge if you look at the progress he had made with the Mets.  I think he hit 7 homers with them in limited time in 2007, and this was playing home games at Shea.

[UMDNats]

Maybe he should learn to not swing at everything.

[GburgNatsFan]

Why's he doing it in NY then? I was never a Church fan, but he was always better than most folks  on this board gave him credit for being.

Milledge is young. I'm sure he'll get better. But his defense has been questionable and his offense just passable.

The Mets are definitely laughing at us now on this trade.

Church would never be doing this with us, and you know it.

[MrMadison]

Why's he doing it in NY then? I was never a Church fan, but he was always better than most folks  on this board gave him credit for being.

Milledge is young. I'm sure he'll get better. But his defense has been questionable and his offense just passable.

The Mets are definitely laughing at us now on this trade.

key word bolded.

[tomterp]

Church would never be doing this with us, and you know it.

Right, he'd be on the bench, 4th outfielder at best.  Silly Mets, they don't realize that yet, and keep putting him in the daily lineup.  That's why they stink, and we are the powerhouse of the east.