Milton not afraid to face the music

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Milton not afraid to face the music
By Hal McCoy
Dayton Daily News

MILWAUKEE | — The poster boy for fan frustrations over the ineptitude of the Cincinnati Reds this year is pitcher Eric Milton. Fans react like Pavlov's dogs when they see a photograph of Milton. They boo.

Through it all, Milton has taken the abuse and the negative focus with a strong resolve. After his many pathetic performances, he stood in front of his locker and relived the nightmare of another bad outing to the cameras and the tape recorders. He offered no excuses and he took the blame.

"It was taught when I first came up to Minnesota by manager Tom Kelly," he said. "You have to answer questions about the game, face the music."

It is tough when the music is a funeral dirge because you are 8-14 with a 6.62 ERA and have given up 40 home runs.

Milton doesn't blink.

"The criticism isn't tough, what's tough for me is my performance," he said. "I try to deal with it, try to stay positive. It has been tough, definitely tough, but I'm looking forward to next year."

Milton said he felt no heat from the hot spotlight after he signed a three-year, $25.5 million contract, making certain he was the spotlight's focus.

"The contract had nothing to do with it," he said. "It was the fact we, as a team, got off to a slow start, then we lost Paul Wilson, and I put pressure on myself to pick up his slack and try to be perfect every time."

It's the water

Milwaukee pitchers walked 11 Reds on Monday and the Brewers still won, but manager Ned Yost said, "I'm going to have the water in the bullpen checked."

Actually, he should make certain somebody pours water on the head of closer Derrick Turnbow before he enters a game.

"He has this big mop of hair, so he wets his hair so his hat will stay in place," said Yost. "On Monday (when Turnbow walked two in one inning) his hair was dried out, and his hat kept slipping over his eyes on his delivery and he couldn't see. I told him, 'One of two things, cut the mop or get a bigger hat.' "

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[Wally Mo Pena]

milton better work damn hard this offseason. He needs to reinvent himself alla 04 paul wilson. He's got a great curve when he can control it and he needs to rely on it more. He's got to learn how to throw the two seam effectively, and change speeds.