Major League Baseball initially approved Andrew Miller’s contract with the Red Sox, but ended up objecting to the deal and it was reworked, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier reports. However, the Red Sox don’t have to worry about losing the left-hander, who has emerged as a valuable piece of their pitching staff in the past two months.
Miller’s minor league deal with Boston initially included a $3MM option for 2012 that would become guaranteed if another team claimed Miller off of waivers. The option had apparently been designed to deter rival teams from claiming the former first rounder, but it was removed from the agreed upon contract after MLB objected.
Given Miller’s importance to the Red Sox – he has put together consecutive strong starts – and the upcoming expansion of rosters, it seems highly unlikely that Boston would expose him to waivers by sending him to the minors.
Instead, Miller will likely remain with the Red Sox for the remainder of 2011 and then some. He’s arbitration eligible next year (working from a $1.2MM salary) and it appears that the Red Sox will tender him a contract, as Speier explains. The 26-year-old has a 4.42 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 55 innings this year.
Since when is a 6.4 K/9 supported by a 5.2 BB/9 “valuable”?
When your pitching staff has been decimated by injuries, your expensive starter is doing his best imitation of Oliver Perez, and has actually put together a few good performances.
The last couple of outings, Miller has looked a LOT better than a mere #5 pitcher. A LOT better!!!
like most pitchers with great stuff, miller is very difficult to hit when he’s ahead in the count. the last two starts, that’s been the difference. he’s worked ahead almost every at-bat of the game
the problem with him is that when he gets behind, he’s one of the easiest guys in the game to beat. wild in the strike zone and/or walking guys on 4 to 5 pitches
this has been the issue his entire career, of course. but if he can get it straightened out, he’s still got front-end potential
Since he was 6-1 and BUchholz was on the DL
You could probably go 6-1 with that team’s hitting lately. Bad argument
Just when you thought the Cabrera trade couldn’t get any worse for the Marlins view in “hind-sight”; Miller emerges as a “valuable piece” in Boston’s rotation…and Cameron Maybin is having a break out year in San Diego.
You now feel the pain of being a Detroit Tiger for the last 10 yrs.
I’m a Marlins fan; pain is a pill I swallow daily.
Hey.. I am a Marlins fan also and Miller is a 100% different guy on the mound so far than when he was with the Fish mechanics wise. Whatever they did to them there, it sure was not right and with his last few starts in Boston things seem to be getting better.
Now just to see him maintain that 95mph+ FB he had at NC and things would really be sweet. Then with the Fish he was not even breaking 91 hardly at all and falling all over the place it seemed after every delivery last year in his short tenure with the parent club.
Yeah, I mean having two World Series trophies under your belt since being in existence since 1993. Oh my word, the shame!
Yeah, I mean having two World Series trophies under your belt since being in existence since 1993. Oh my word, the shame!
You guys did win with that Hanley kid.
You guys did win with that Hanley kid.
Yea, the MLB rejected it…but that was some damn-fine contract work there, Boston. Touche.
Fun idea, but no way it could’ve stuck. It’d set an awful precedent that basically completely circumvents some important optioning rules.
uh, couldn’t they just not put him on waivers? Not on waivers, can’t be claimed. Am I missing something?
Yes, you’re missing the part where Boston wanted to retain the option of putting him through waivers without the risk that he might be claimed.
You are missing the fact that he has no options left so if they wanted to bring him back down to the minors they would have to put him on waivers.
Miller isn’t out of the woods yet but Youngs latest mechanics work looked extremely promising. If he keeps his delivery repeated like last night he will be on our team for years to come, and an amazing boost to the playoff rotation. Buc is looking like he might contribute in some way and Lackey has been looking good too so this is especially sweet.
If this were that Yankees that added this blatanly devious clause giving them an unfair advantage..They would be chastized as criminals and cheaters!Boston does it and Theo Epstein is givin a pass and its dismissed as a “failed attempt”at “circumventing” the rules!!Ridiculous!
Yeah whatever, the yanks are picked on. Poor poor pitiful them.
For the next part of our program, the worlds smallest violin.
I just LOVE these “If the Yankees did “it”” scenarios that people throw out…except 1 thing…THE YANKEES DIDN’T DO IT. Plus, when do the Yankees EVER get that type of criticism? They don’t. Who’s criticizing the Yankees? ESPN? YES? No friggin’ way.
If Cashman had actually did something this clever he’d be heralded by the media…except he doesn’t do things this clever so don’t you worry.
Always? Signing Colon, Martin, Garcia and Chavez seems pretty clever to me right about now…
The Sox and Yanks both get whatever credit they deserve. From the broadcasters, the journalists or both.
Garcia sure, but have you not been watching the same games where Bartolo pitches that I have? Him and AJ have something in common, all the games result in a loss, Chavez is lower than Jones on the maybe I will be the DH depth chart, and Martin is coming back but was an absolute struggle just a little bit ago.
Bad comparison to compare Colon to AJ. Colon has been much better.
Mar/Apr- 2.82 FIP (2.77 ERA)
May- 3.83 FIP (3.57 ERA)
June- 3.18 FIP (2.25 ERA)
July-3.34 FIP (3.82 ERA)
August- 5.97 FIP (5.73 ERA)
Except for August he’s been consistently good. Even in August it’s really been the last two games where Colon has been disappointing and I think ppl are simply overblowing the situation because they feel the other shoe has finally dropped on Colon’s season.
AJ on the other hand has not had an FIP under 4.24 in any month this season and his August numbers have been embarrassing as he’s not giving us innings (under 5 IP in 5 starts in August) and has coughed up a ridiculous 30 ER. Colon might get hit hard and have some bad luck along the way. AJ has had complete meltdowns.
Garcia sure, but have you not been watching the same games where Bartolo pitches that I have? Him and AJ have something in common, all the games result in a loss, Chavez is lower than Jones on the maybe I will be the DH depth chart, and Martin is coming back but was an absolute struggle just a little bit ago.
And VMMERCAN…I’m not sure if this was sarcasm or not..but paying Colon,Garcia,Martin and Chavez lless than half of what John Lackey just makes Cashman a far superior judge of talent…which he definitely is…Apples and Oranges!!!
At dumbass..your EXACTLY the guy I was talking about…CLEVER…the rule itself is set up so players who have accumulated enough service time do not get “enslaved” to teams that cant or wont roster them…so some other team will give the player a chance to make a living…impringing other teams from claiming a guy by putting a 3 million dollar price tag on him is MORONIC..not clever..when will you people stop puffing on Epsteins knob..HE SUCKS..terrible GM…
I don’t know if you know this but if the Sox or Yankees sign someone through even the most legitimate channels they are called cheaters. Of course thats BS and its not cheating but we all still have to hear it so yeah power to Theo for trying to maneuver some tricky contract language by the league.
Three keys to Miller’s success: 1) properly warming up before taking the mound, 2) keeping within himself and 3) being aggressive with every hitter. A good portion of his walks seem to come when he tries to pitch too finely to certain hitters. He is at his best when he just rears back and gives each pitch the best effort he is capable of…
Mercy. This sounds like the most generic crap that a person who knows nothing about scouting can spit out. And even funnier, somebody liked it. Properly warming up? keeping within himself? Since he’s on the Red Sox, did he dig deep and gut it out? Has he been more gritty and scrappy?
Actually properly warming him up was a major step in his development. When down in the minors with the Red Sox this year they warmed him up by making him pitch a simulated inning. Thus wearing down his arm a bit and not having him go out there all excited and jumpy in the first inning in the real game. That was doing him in. They did the same thing with Buchholz when he was having problems up in the majors earlier in his career. Therefore his comment was not “the most generic crap that a person who knows nothing about scouting can spit out”.
So when he is still properly warming up and starts getting bombed again, will that still be relevant? I’ll check with you then.
That didn’t take long…I guess they didn’t warm him up tonight
as for realignment, MLB should add two teams to expand to 32, to create four 8-team divisions, each regionally focused. Each division member would play 18 games against the seven other member teams and six games against two teams in each of the other three divisions. Three teams from each division would be eligible for post season play, with #2 & #3 playing a best of five set, to earn the right to play a seven game set with the division leader. Four division winners would advance to a divisional championship round, then the world series, in a best of seven format.
Not surprised at all that Theo’s little “poison pill” contract provision got the gong from the MLB. While the Players’ Association probably had no complaint, since it would have meant big money for one of their members, the MLB rightly saw this as a protectionist reach to do something that one can’t otherwise rightly do, under the rules.
No one should be allowed to contract around the rules. And that should apply to players as well. The rules say that F/A’s are eligible to be offered arbitration. They should not be able to contract their way out of being offered arbitration. Teams invest big bucks in acquiring or developing these F/A’s, and they are entitled to some form of return when they lose them to the F/A market. Arbitration offers and draft compensation are key elements in keeping baseball somewhat balanced in terms of talent.
I know that many will argue there is little parity between the haves and have nots, and that is true to a certain extent. But look at the Royals as an example. They are perennial losers with a horrible record. Nevertheless, they have 6 first round picks on their roster, some of whom I covet in violation of some form of commandment (Gordon/Hosmer). They are just a few starting pitchers away from being a serious contender for the next 5 years. There is some parity in the talent pool, regardless of the haves vs. have nots argument. I don’t want that to become any more lopsided in favor of the haves.
Like the way the Jets signed Curtis Martin to a 1yr contract w/player option for 5 more years. Only way the Patriots could match was to clear 9mil in cap space. Which was impossible. As soon as right to match expired, Martin accepted 6yr contract allowing entire cap hit to be spread out. No backroom negotiations there right?
abc
It will be interesting to see how Miller is used for the rest of the season. Before these last 2 starts, he seemed destined to languish in the pen for the rest of the year as a spot-starter and occasional long-man. But with Wakefield’s road-to-200 becoming very hard to watch, you have to wonder if they’ll consider going with a 6 man rotation for a few more weeks or perhaps take Wake out of the rotation once he hits that magic number…
Martin was thought to be mediocre he is actually performing above average to excellent for a catcher.
Colon and Garcia = 253 IP of 3.71 FIP and 4.4 WAR @ $2.4 mil
Ayala and Wade = 69 IP of 3.47 FIP and 0.7 WAR @ a total of about $1 mil
Russel Martin = 17 hrs (3rd among all catchers), a .760 OPS (5th among all catchers), a 2.5 UZR (5th among all starting C) and a 3.2 WAR (3rd among all catchers) @ $4 mil.
Andru Jones and Eric Chavez off the bench = 11 hrs, an avg .772 OPS and 1.3 WAR @ $3.5 mil.
That’s 9.6 WAR for a total of $11 mil for 7 “washed up players” that have all contributed greatly this year. Say what you want but with the Agonz, Crawford, Jenks, Hill, Bedard and Wheeler acquisitions they “only” add up to 11 WAR but at a cost of $33 mil.
Even if you factor in Feliciano’s contract the Yanks paid $1.5 mil per WAR as opposed to the $3.3 per WAR the Sox paid for their’s (for each team’s respective 2011 additions). Care to retract your position regarding the Yanks and their “over the hill players who have contributed very little”?
I can’t even believe this website let you publish that comment. It would have saved you and MaineSox from getting embarrassed in front of your peers. There are these things called numbers that almost always ruin “homer” arguments. Those dang numbers!!!!!
Martin performed well for almost a month at the beginning of the year. Then he sucked for over three months, and now he’s done well for almost a month again. He’s been worth essentially the same as Saltalamacchia this year, only he’s done it in 100 more plate appearances than Salty.
Apologies on my not being clear with the 95mph FB. miller has touched that early in several of his starts and even 96 a couple of times, something he did quite regular even late in games during his NC games as recall from way back.
If Miller can continue to pitch like he has the last 3 or so starts then yepper.. He should be in the rotation for sure, but everyone knows how slow Francona is with change to his regulars, even to the detriment of the club.
There is no bigger Wake fan than me, even in his quest for that 200th win, but Miller right now should be pitching in his spot in the rotation until he loses his control.
FINISH HIM
“Colon and Garcia = 253 IP of 3.71 FIP”
don’t act like this doesn’t blow your mind though
“Colon and Garcia = 253 IP of 3.71 FIP”
don’t act like this doesn’t blow your mind though
It doesn’t speak well for this site’s clientele when this doesn’t have a thousand likes. Facts? Who needs facts?
consider it blown,,haha
As much as I hate to admit it, Martin has been marginally better in almost every way than Salty has. He has a better BA, more HR’s and RBI’s, a better FPCT and he’s thrown out a higher percentage of base stealers. Of course, Salty is platooned and it may not be a fair comparison in that respect. But still, as thrilled as we are about how Salty is coming along, the Yanks have to be righfully more thrilled with what they got out of this signing.
First off im a Sox fan I just give dues when they are due. Secondly I never compared salty to Martin. Third Martin has provided more value offensively, yeah its in more plate appearance but there is no solidity to the argument that if their appearances were equal they would have the same stats. You go with what you got and thats what it is. I don’t disagree Salty is making a case for consideration among the leagues best cathers its just gonna take another season with a full 500 abs to prove it.
greatest comment in here
“better in almost every way” BA: Martin .243 Salty .251, 2Bs: Martin 14 Salty 19, Slugging: Martin .429 Salty .473, OPS: Martin .760 Salty .782
Oh and Salty still 2yrs behind in development. Thats why he locked in arb til 2014. Martin FA after 2012.
Uhm better in every way ‘cept those meaningless stats.
“better in almost every way” BA: Martin .243 Salty .251, 2Bs: Martin 14 Salty 19, Slugging: Martin .429 Salty .473, OPS: Martin .760 Salty .782
Oh and Salty still 2yrs behind in development. Thats why he locked in arb til 2014. Martin FA after 2012.
Uhm better in every way ‘cept those meaningless stats.
Both have the same .336 wOBA, Martin has a 109 wRC+ Salty has a 107. Martin has put up 3.0 WAR in 400 PAs, Salty has 2.5 in 300 PAs (anything less than a full WAR is within the “margin of error”). Martin actually doesn’t have a higher Fielding% (.989 for Martin to .993 for Salty), and their caught stealing %’s are 30.8% and 30.5% respectively. RBIs are pointless to talk about, especially when there is a 100 PA difference between the two players, and Martin might have 4 more HRs but he still has a lower ISO and SLG%.
8-8 teams make playoffs while 10-6 or 11-5 teams get left out. Bet you think BCS formula best way to determine college football champ too.
+1 for the Mortal Kombat reference.