Wade Miller

Wasn't he still throwing in the low 90's last year? I'll tell you this much, I bet he wins more games than Redding this year. I'd go even money with Petitte as well.

 

The organization (and frankly everybody in baseball) was always worried about his delivery... where he basically shot-puts the ball from his hand, putting a ton of strain on his upper arm and elbow.

Many believed that his pinched nerve in 2002 (where he missed a ton of games) was a direct result of his delivery issues... but he came back and finished that year strong.

Again, in 2003, many believed that his "dead" arm was due to his awful mechanics... and he was terribly inconsistent throughout the entire year.

In 2004... he had great numbers... but nobody who watched him pitch ever felt like he was in control at all times (frankly, most of us were kinda suprised his stats looked so good). If you were watching him, it was almost like he was using smoke and mirrors to get guys out... albeit he still had a low 90's fastball which allowed him to get away with some mistakes.

When the shoulder and rotator cuff finally frayed out, it confirmed the greatest fear that most were expecting... that his awful mechanics would be his undoing. I'm sure they've tried to get him to change, but with pitchers, its not as easy as changing ones batting stance... this is their livelihood, and they don't know how to throw any other way.

I'll be the first one on here to be suprised if Wade pitches the entire year without health problems... let alone the next 4 (which is what all us Astros fans were hoping for). In the end, the only thing I regret is not trading him before last year (it was discussed), but with all the hoopla surrounding our big pitchers, it was too easy to get wrapped up in trying to field the best rotation no matter what.

 

horrible mechanics.

 

very well said, nick

 

Well, the Brewers don't play in the AL anymore, so Wade will have limited success.

 

I thought he was worth keeping. If a guy has good enough stuff to put up a solid ERA despite crap mechanics, he's going to be incredible if he ever straightens them out. That type of talent doesn't come along often, and I'm not sure it exists at all in the farm system. C'est le vie though, we'll see what results this year brings Mr. Miller.

 

I'd MUCH rather have Wade as my 5th starter right now (and take my chances with his arm) then any of the guys who are competing...even if it would have costed us 2-3 mil for the yr. IMO, there is absolutely, positively no comparison between he and the tomato cans we are strutting out there.

 

I was upset at losing Wade, but -- a pitcher is his arm, and what he does with it (imagine an arm/brain/heart transplan t from reddin g - WM)!

 

I still don't understand why Redding is still here and Miller isn't.

 

It would have costed us at least 20% MORE than the 3.5 million he made last year had we tendered him (MLB rules)... and once we denied him that, he pretty much made up his mind to look elsewhere (thus, even though he accepted $1.5 million from the Red Sox, chances are he wasn't going to accept that here).

Also, what good would it have done if (when) he can't pitch for you, you still have to strut the tomato cans out there, and you've lost some of the payroll flexibility that is going into getting deals done for Roy, Lance, and possible mid-season moves.

"Its not personal, sonny... its only business."

 

maybe so..but i find it hard to believe that we couldnt afford to pay him 4.2 mil for one yr (or that paying him 4.2 would negatively influence our cash flow to the extent that we couldnt tender offers to oswalt and berkman...hell, we havent even gotten in berkman;s ballpark according to him) and take a shot that he is healthy.....my guess is that the Red Sox were satisfied enough with his health to sign him

 

The only defense I'll offer for the penny pinching locals is that Wade would have cost 2.8 mil, IIRC, and Bosox signed him for 1/2 that + incentives. By rule, contract with PA, the 'stros could not match that type of deal with Wade.

 

i said that it would have cost us 4.2...still worth a one yr deal and hard to believe it wasnt affordable

 

I liked Wade Miller, but he seemed to always end up on the DL. I hope he does well in Boston and if he does I won't really hold it against Purpura. I think I would have done the same thing. I would have tried to got something for him...but then again...Purpura may have tried and there were no takers do to the fact everyone knows he has arm problems.

 

The astros had strong convictions that he'd miss a significant amount of time again this season... and the fact that he hadn't had surgery to correct his frayed rotator cuff was a HUGE determining factor in this decision making (seeing that his 3 months of 'rest' didn't fix the problem for him to come back at the end of last season).

This is also very similiar to Carlos Hernandez trying to pitch thru his partially torn rotator cuff throughout 2002... he was ok, but in the end he missed significant time that season, and he needed surgery anyways... so he basically wasted one whole year.

Thus, they were essentially convinced that basically no price was essentially "worth it"... especially not 4.2 million.

I already said that I'd be greatly suprised if Wade had a full year this year, and a productive career thereafter... and i'd be the first one to admit that the Astros made a mistake if this happens. If it does, good for Wade (I've always thought he was great... and unhitable if he had his control down).

 

didnt realize that...makes more sense now

 

This is what I've heard consistently from the Stros as well. But I heard a Francona interview with Rome or Dan Patrick (can't remember) a week or so ago (right after pitchers reported) where Terry acknowledged that Wade was working back from an injury but implied they expected some decent innings from him.

Who knows, I'm leaning more towards believing the Astros, to be honest.

 

I am with Nick on this one as well.

Seeing Peter Gammons say that Wade could be a steal without including the caveat that he could as well be a huge bust made me question his credibility. I like Gammons but common all you could have done was burst an Astro scout or insider and find out the real deal with Wade. Dude is a walking disaster but then again he is only making a little over $1M base salary which could be both a good and bad thing.

The problem once again was not his delivery - rather his injury prone nature. It is not very hard to understand. I hope BoSox fans don't raise their hope too high on him.

 

That's because if Peter Gammons were to say something negative about his beloved Red Sox, his head would explode.