Adam Miller

by Robinson Checo on Mar 9, 2008 5:28 PM EDT

None of the three candidates for the fifth starter spot in Cleveland are impressing so far. Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers, and Aaron Laffey have all been hit hard and have looked poor. There are still two weeks left, and one of them could get hot, but I was wondering if Adam Miller could get a call?

I know Miller has a blister and is behind in his throwing schedule, but when will the Tribe need a fifth starter? Perhaps he could be ready by then? It is a shame he has been hurt. He had a great spring a year ago and could(should?) have made the club.

What do you guys think? You know more than I do.

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I don't much more than you.....

Miller left his last start in the AFL with a blister problem in the first inning. Before getting pulled, his four-seamer was clocked as high as 97. His stuff looked great.

He really has nothing left to prove in Triple-A, I think the Tribe should give him a shot. Either way, he's likely going to succumb to another arm woe eventually, might as well use his talents to help the big league club for once. I say put him in the pen at the very least.

by sdbaseballfan on Mar 9, 2008 6:04 PM EDT reply actions

One more suggestion

Miller needs to start pissing on his right hand or soaking it in a cup of urine.

by sdbaseballfan on Mar 9, 2008 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Cliff Lee wishes he was as crap as Lowry

but I would hold out a little hope for Laffey.

Miller has had countless arm troubles so rushing him wouldn't be the wisest decision. He doesn't have anything to prove in the minors. But he sure has a lot to improve - like his mechanics.

ps: long fingers causing blisters? Pedro has long fingers and so do countless others. Blisters more often affect guys with big curve-balls which Miller doesn't have. They can also be a sign of either too much pressure (poor grip) or poor mechanics. Because of his countless hand + forearm + elbow + shoulder problems my guess is mechanics.

by pedrophile on Mar 9, 2008 8:20 PM EDT reply actions

I really doubt the Tribe will start him

in the 5 slot straight out of ST. I would expect him to have at least 8-10 positive outings in Buffalo before they bring him up. I love Pedro, who has spent more time on the DL and had more breakdowns than nearly any big time starter, being used as a positive comparison. Heaven help the tribe if that is what they are loooking for healthwise out of Miller.

by sdtribefan on Mar 9, 2008 8:32 PM EDT reply actions

FYI If you were referring to my comments

I only mentioned Pedro for the fact that his fingers didn't cause blister problems. There are many many pitchers with long slender fingers that don't get blisters. I just don't know their names ;)

I'm not in any way comparing the two players talents or careers.

by pedrophile on Mar 9, 2008 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I understand that but

do you think the long fingers might have contributed in some way to the myriad of problems that Pedro has suffered over the years? In the article I read, the discussion was about "long fingers" and nowhere in the article did it suggest, even by inuendo, that blisters were the related cause. As a mater of fact, it dealt far more with shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand potential injuries than blisters. Perhaps you interpretation was made from another article that specified blisters as the issue because I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt since indiansfan has vouched for your credibility and that goes a long way with me.

by sdtribefan on Mar 10, 2008 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions

I have never read about long fingers ...

affecting shoulders etc.

So I think either:
a) we read separate articles
OR
b) one of the articles was a subset of the other

Either way, no matter.

It's such a hard thing to qualify. Is the problem with the long fingers? Or with the fact they learned their grips from people with different body types?

I do know working a computer mouse with longer fingers will give more carpal tunnel syndrome affecting hands, forearm, and elbow. So why not for pitching?

There is two sides to that. Either the pitcher can adjust the grip to compensate. The other is this can often lead to more action.

Whatever the case --- The Indians should pick a direction and stick to it. Maybe it's put Miller in the pen and be a dynamite reliever and ride him until he has a blowout. Or maybe it's to revamp his mechanics to make him a top notch starter.

But if they don't make the decision soon the arb clock will be ticking and someone else will be reaping the rewards.

by pedrophile on Mar 10, 2008 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions

The article I read seemed to

indicate that longer fingers caused increased rotation and movement as well as speed but at a cost sincew the ball was in the hand longer to create the additional rotation. I have watched Miller a great deal and he has decent mechanics and throws easily but the article said the length of time the ball was in his hand caused stress on the arm parts and possibly the fingers.

I also have unusually long fingers and had exceptional movement whether I was pitching or playing SS. Unfortunately, my command sucked and I was lucky to hit 85 with my fastball which didn't get you much, even back in the dark ages.

It is an interesting subject and I have searched the web for biomechanical research on the subject to little avail.

by sdtribefan on Mar 11, 2008 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Miller + long fingers

One thing I noticed with Miller but would love some links to more footage to verify -> It really looks like at the end of the motion there is a lot of tortional movement putting pressure on the elbow and forearm. I would love to see more tape if you have it.

Fingers?

I don't buy the amount of time. This amount of time would equally apply to slow tempos or long arms yet I've never heard this.

What may hold some validity is the grip. It's possible the grip puts the ball in the finger tips. If you try yourself to put the ball at the extremes of your finger tips you will feel the extra pressure on the fingers, the wrist, the forearm, and the elbow.

This could & should cause minor problems with all of these parts. BUT - I don't think it should affect the UCL or shoulder joints.

It's something that should travel up from the hands up the arm. But it shouldn't cause TJ or other serious problems. More the nagging problems.

TJ type problems should occur from stress or come down from the shoulder, not the other way.

I'd like to explain or describe more but it's such a hard thing to qualify. I've attempted it before and you can search for it. Or better yet ask HuskerBob as he has similar opinions on this as me and is more qualified (oh, and uses bigger words :)) ).

by pedrophile on Mar 11, 2008 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions