A steadying influence in an unsteady profession
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Kevin Millwood is as unassuming as they come.
“Is my stuff getting better? Are my mechanics getting ironed out? I kind of feel like everything is getting a little bit better,” Millwood said, after leading the Pawsox on the mound to a 9-3 win over Scranton this past Sunday at McCoy Stadium. If his name is beginning to sound familiar, it should. The 36-year-old Millwood has bounced around the big leagues over the past few years…leaving Atlanta in 2003 and moving to Philadelphia, Cleveland, Texas, Baltimore, and even a brief stop in New York, before signing a minor league deal with Boston in May. Yet, here’s an all star pitcher who once was part of a rotation with Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux in Atlanta, and finished 3rd in the Cy Young vote for 1999. With quality pitching so hard to find, and pitching depth sorely needed by every team, you can understand the Red Sox taking a hard look at him.
What are they finding? Millwood struggled mightily in Baltimore during the 2010 season, with a 4-16 record and an ERA of 5.10. Is there any gas left in the tank?
No expectations really, either way…except to see if he can help the Boston Red Sox at some point – and perhaps also help the organization from within as well.
“He’s done a nice job, he’s trying to build himself up,” Arnie Beyeler, Pawtucket’s manager, said after his performance this past weekend. Millwood is 5-1 with a 4.88 ERA thus far this season at the Triple A level (4-0 with Pawtucket), which includes starting the year in the Yankees’ organization with Trenton, and in Scranton. “He’s gotten deep into games. He’s been lights out a couple of times for us, going seven, eight innings, he’s done a nice job and he’s a strike thrower. He’s going to give you everything he’s got and get guys out.”
But there’s more to this than meets the eye. A byproduct of Millwood’s presence on the Pawsox pitching staff is his overall experience of 14 major league seasons, and his apparent willingness to work with and mentor some of the younger pitchers – the same guys that could be taking a job, or a spot in Boston away from him.
“He’s been outstanding. He comes in every day, he’s the first guy in here, and one of the last guys to leave,” Beyeler added. “He’s just a pro. It’s great for him to be around the young guys, you watch him work to see how to get guys out, and these young guys can’t do anything but learn from him. He knows how to pitch. He works with them, and he’s fun to watch. He’s a pro.
“Seeing what he does out here for us, he gives you a chance every time out, with his work on and off the field,” Beyeler pointed out. “That’s all you can ask for.”
As for how Millwood thinks he’s progressing thus far?
“I don’t think I’ve had to remake myself,” Millwood added, “it’s more of just finding that consistency and like I said, I feel like I’ve done that. The biggest difference is that my change up has come a long way from where it used to be. That can really be a positive.”
Also a positive is having a pitcher with a big league no-hitter, and 159 major league wins to his credit in your dugout. A real positive - in an unassuming way, of course.
Photos courtesy of: Pawtucket Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles
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