Eric Stults May Be Pitching For His Job Today
May 30, 2009 at 7:28 am | Posted in Eric Milton, Eric Stults | 12 CommentsWith the news that Hiroki Kuroda will make his long-awaited return from the DL to pitch at Dodger Stadium on Monday, someone’s going to have to be dropped from the rotation – and it’s obviously going to be Eric Stults or Eric Milton. Since they’re pitching back-to-pack this weekend against the same opponent (each on national TV, no less) it makes a pretty nice competition between the two. However, dodgers.com seems to have already declared a winner:
“Will likely make his last start for a while” sounds pretty pro-Milton to me. Are we really that sure of the outcome already? Sure, Milton was nice the last time out, getting a win in Colorado, but he only went five innings and was hardly dominant. Stults has had two lousy starts in a row, but he did throw a fantastic shutout the time before that and was effective in four of his first five starts preceding the shutout.
I tend to think that it’s probably not going to matter much, both due to the big lead and because it’s likely both are still going to get some time as the #5 starter regardless, but let’s not write off Stults so easily. He’s inconsistent, but he’s shown some real talent at times. And isn’t that all you can ask for from a #5 starter?
(I now reserve the right to delete this entire post if he goes out and gets lit up today.)
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Most rational folks would think that Milton has seen his last start, already. Of course, rationality and marginal intelligent thinking has never been the norm at dodgers.com. Aside from Gurnick setting up a three-bedroom home on Ned Colletti’s zipper, there is little there to interest even the most desperate Dodger fan.
That being said, I am sure Torre has a very short leash on Stults. The man needs to go a strong six or seven to get some slack in the leash. No more losing the strike zone for three or more batters, Eric, or you could be pitching for the ‘topes, again.
Comment by grabarkewitz— May 30, 2009 #
Most rational folks would think that Milton has seen his last start, already. Of course, rationality and marginal intelligent thinking has never been the norm at dodgers.com. Aside from Gurnick setting up a three-bedroom home on Ned Colletti’s zipper, there is little there to interest even the most desperate Dodger fan.
That being said, I am sure Torre has a very short leash on Stults. The man needs to go a strong six or seven to get some slack in the leash. No more losing the strike zone for three or more batters, Eric, or you could be pitching for the ‘topes, again.
Comment by grabarkewitz— May 30, 2009 #
Most rational folks would think that Milton has seen his last start, already. Of course, rationality and marginal intelligent thinking has never been the norm at dodgers.com. Aside from Gurnick setting up a three-bedroom home on Ned Colletti’s zipper, there is little there to interest even the most desperate Dodger fan.
That being said, I am sure Torre has a very short leash on Stults. The man needs to go a strong six or seven to get some slack in the leash. No more losing the strike zone for three or more batters, Eric, or you could be pitching for the ‘topes, again.
Comment by grabarkewitz— May 30, 2009 #
Short of a total meltdown, it’s hard to imagine Stults going back to Albuquerque. He could certainly cement his place by going a strong seven, though.
Comment by Anonymous— May 30, 2009 #
My vote goes to Stultz.
Comment by LAFord— May 30, 2009 #
delete post.
Comment by anonypas— May 30, 2009 #
Ouch. Does Eric realize he’s making fools out of all of us?
Comment by TheSleaze— May 30, 2009 #
imo he was never a quality number 5 anyway. maybe for a nonplayoff team, but not for the blue. a number 5 for a division leader is someone who can consistently throw strikes, though doesn’t have great stuff. stultz’s efforts were commendable, but he walked way too many dudes, and as a result never lasted very long.
Comment by sumdumfu— May 30, 2009 #
Sigh.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 30, 2009 #
Good thing you reserved that right to delete…
>.
Comment by Shmendrick— May 30, 2009 #
Damn Stultz…thanks for taking my vote and wipping your ass with it!
Comment by LAFord— May 30, 2009 #
Let’s be practical here. I think Eric Stults is marginally better than Eric Milton was in his prime as a 4th starter. That isn’t why I think Stults should get the nod.
The reason Stults should be starting is because Milton has showed that he just doesn’t have the arm strength. During his last start he lost FOUR miles per hour off his fastball by the time he hit 80 Pitches. That makes no sense with such an overworked pen.
Comment by Alireza— May 31, 2009 #