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John Donovan at SI.com takes a close look at Lastings Milledge and the Washington Nationals.
Milledge, speaking on his time with the Mets:
“A lot of veterans didn’t like the way I play the game. They thought I didn’t respect it, but the vets here have no problem with me. They know I respect it. They know I work hard.
“I can’t go through anything worse than I went through in New York. It only gets better from here.”
…i loved milledge’s energy, potential, and displays of emotion and excitement…i would have enjoyed watching him play for the Mets… but i also feel he needs to grow up quite a bit and definitely think his attitude played a larger role in him getting traded than anyone is letting on…
Milledge, on the Nationals chances:
“I think we’re going to compete and not only compete, but … you hear about New York can win and Philly can win. Why can’t we talk that we’re going to win the division, too? I’m not saying we will. But we’re in this thing to win the NL East.”
…see, good kid, just a little crazy…i can only imagine milledge in the New York spotlight, jawing with rollins and how that would have gone over in the Mets’ clubhouse...
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Sadly, comments like this may me think the Mets FO still hasn’t progressed past the days that Al Leiter thought Scott Kazmir’s radio was too loud. I’m going to be very open-minded about Church and Schneider and think they can help this team in ‘08 and do good things, but it was clear from day-one that the vets never liked Milledge. That dislike seemed to trickly up to Randolph and I’m sure the family-friendly Wilpons didn’t deal well with his antics either (yet they allowed him to be drafted despite his checkered past). Omar totally caved on this trade.
2 starters for a bench player who will always be in trouble and doing dumb stuff?
The only reason I was sad to see him go was that I thought he might be needed to get Santana.
Huh? Oh I get it. You’re just fakeposting.
while that might have something to do with it, I still don’t see Milledge as being able to be our starting right fielder, on a team with championship aspirations. He’s shaky in the field and any pitcher with a brain knows all he has to do is throw breaking balls and he’s an easy out at the plate. He has a lot of talent that might very well show it self one day, but as for now, he’s a talented but flawed player, without much baseball instinct either. Flashes, but I think the Mets wanted consistency, in a year they felt they had to go for it.
I agree with you generally, but I’m yet to get a sense that Milledge was traded for baseball reasons and that’s what disappoints me. It just seems as if the FO decided that the ends weren’t justifying the means with Milledge. Yet I never saw anything that was THAT outrageous from him.
Shaky in the field? He made two errors last year. I am amazed that people can throw around the word “consistency” like it means something and simultaneously ignore glaring reality. Milledge was, is, and will continue to be a plus defender.
Milledge is not a plus fielder, though he may develop into one. He often gets late breaks and takes awkward routes to fly balls, relying on his speed to make up for his poor reads. If he works as hard as he says he does, this can be improved, and will need to be, since he looks like a kid who will not be as speedy in 5 years as he is now.
At this point, Ryan Church is equal to Milledge, and I predict that Church’s offensive production will at least equal Milledge’s this year. To get Church AND a catcher who actually IS a plus defender is nothing to complain about.
Milledge’s center field defense in the minors was always above average. It would have only been a matter of regular playing time at either right or left for him to adjust. You can’t play a rookie centerfielder in right and left for a few games and then call him a bad defender when he doesn’t adjust immediately. Even Mike Cameron had trouble adjusting to right field.
you’re missing the point, what are we supposed to do, let him play right field this year while he learns it? while we’re in a pennant race? You cant’ do that. Milledge will be a good defender, but he’s not a good right fielder right now, he’s probably a good CF’er though, but that’s not what we want. I watched pretty much every game Milledge played in, and yes, he isn’t exactly a good well rounded right fielder. He’ll make a great play every once in a while because of his athleticism, but he’s still raw.
now they have that gutterslut church to kick balls around in the corner like green used to. i cant wait for millz to play like chipper does against the mets. screww the former 7&8 hitters for the nats.
Know your place Rook!
Eff Wagner and all of his sanctimonious BS. I’m getting tired of his ‘hating on his own team act.
There is NOTHING Wagner said that indicates he hates his own team….he spoke the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. Stop projecting
What’s the over under on Milledge getting a fastball to the chin in his first plate appearance against the Mets. He just doesn’t get it, does he?
Bad character guys like Milledge rarely get it, ever.
Chasing their talent is not worth it. Give me a guy with less raw talent who fits in with the team any day.
Zero. Why would they do that?
He was an annoying kid who grated a few guys the wrong way. He’s gone. Done.
I predict the kid will develop into a strong player, and will play
for 6 different teams in 10 years.
Because even after being traded for not fitting in and repeatedly breaking the rules of baseball conduct, despite his potential talent, he chooses to talk smack on the Mets in a back-handed way instead of learning from the situation and maturing.
Like another poster said above, he will never get it and will never be a franchise player for any team, even if he puts up monster numbers and becomes a perennial all-star.
I’m glad he is gone, the coked up me-me-me glamour days of the 80s Mets are long gone, and at least those teams delivered for a few years and got along with each other. Milledge was marginal talent at best with a horrible downside.
Why can’t we talk that we’re going to win the division, too?
ummm…because you’re team isn’t all the good.
But, get over this clubhouse nonsense. Talent on the field wins games, so that is how he should be judged.
You can have 25 saints in the clubhouse, but they still won’t win if the talent isn’t there.
So what if some of th evets thought he was too brash. This isn’t basketball, so it’s not like they can not pass him the ball or something.
Fans also can’t have it both ways. If the team was too placid (scared?) last year, then isn’t someone with a cocky attitude a good thing?
IMO the team was too cocky last year. They acted as though they had won the WS in 2006, and fell apart under adversity.
I’m with you, this chemistry stuff is for the most part silly. This may be a fine trade for this year, but Milledge has some real talent and I think we’re going to watch him be a star in Washington.
People who say all you have to do is pitch him a breaking ball outside to get him out give no mind to the fact that young players develop, and learn.
I hated this trade when we made it. I don’t hate it now because we did get two major leaguers for him, but I still dislike it.
It’s beyond silly. It’s downright stupid. Character is impossible to quantify in any meaningful context, especially concerning baseball. Character rhetoric is used by those who are too dumb to understand statistics. They’d prefer to make the story about the uppity black player whose gold chain is too big, or the Latino players and their crazy handshakes, or the Jewish player and what he’s going to do on Yom Kippur, or the redneck who can’t shut up. They want to talk about everything but actual baseball.
this is in the running for post of the year. well said.
I don’t recall ever bringing up his race/ethnicity… Most of us don’t like him because he threw block parties with DJs and champagne on the base paths after hitting singles and rubbed everyone in the clubhouse the wrong way.
And the 86-88 teams at least kicked arse and took names…Milledge was only potential…
… unless you have secret statistics of his bizarro world league phantom performance in another dimension of Hawkings-esque time and space to go by, his MLB performance was mediocre at best and he sucked at the corners… remember him playing the green monster in 06 during the inter-league play?
I agree on both your assessment and feelings. Milledge will be a star. In 2-3 years we will rue the day that we traded him. The trade might make sense for right now but long term… we gave up far more than we got back.
Speaking of stats, where did milledge put up ANY numbers that indicated he is going to be a star?!?!?
Please, provide solid numbers.
I’m guessing that you’re basing your “Milledge star” on your own feelings, aren’t you?????
People forget so quickly was the ‘86 team was like.
Or pretty much any other World Champion team. There are a lot of guys with bad “character” wearing World Series rings.
The 86 team won 108 games. They backed it up … they didn’t sleepwalk.
Wags will drill him. But so does everyone else in the league. He didn’t get hit once a game because everyone likes him.
makes for a good on base percentage
Yeah I guess he’s gunna have to “bend ya knees”
I wouldn’t worry too much about Milledge or the Nats this year, they’re still a long way off.
And I agree, the team seemed to think the playoffs was a given last year. They were all expecting a World Series. This year looks to be different, I think there’s a great attitude in the clubhouse right now.
It worries me that everyone seems to have forgotten about the Braves. With all this Phillies rivalry nonsense going on nobody seems to notice how stacked their lineup is this year. If their pitching staff stays healthy this will definitely be a 3 team race in the NL East.
I definitely agree that ATL is as much or more of a threat than philly.
While I agree that Atlanta should definitely be considered to be in the mix, one of the “big three” starters (Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine) is going to have probelms this year–probably Smoltz. Hampton is 100% right now, but how long is that going to last? My guess is a couple of games. With a starting staff of two former Cy Youngs and two 15-game winners from last year back, it’s going to be tough to match us. It can be done; it’s just going to be tough.
And, going north to Phillthy, yeah, Kyle Kendrick was 10-4 in 121 innings last year. Let’s see how he does when he’s gone 175 innings or so. Hamels will go 15-10 or so. Myers? Ain’t he better as a closer? Moyer should be collecting Social Security soon (right in line behind El Duque). And the #5 could be Adam Eaton or Mr. Anna Benson. What a combo.
The Nats will be tough–Manny Acta will have his team ready to play–but the total talent level there is a tad underwhelming. And the Marlins . . .
Good riddance to him…..we’ve been down this road before with young players…put it this way – if he was so valuable why was Washington the only team to take a flier on him…?
the problem with Milledge is the same problem that is hurting the NBA and the NFL
the ghetto black menality
before you call me a racist I am a proud african american but these kids dress like they come straight out of prison.
Jackie Robison didnt act like this. Willie Randolph and Marlon Anderson don’t have dangling chains and huge earings and tattoos.
I say good riddance all the talent in the world but his bad attitude will make him just another black kid falling into the sterotypes of the black community
And how many kids in any profession, be it professional sports or elsewhere, have that “ghetto-black mentality” have been model citizens and successful at what they do?
And before we kill all these kids with that “ghetto black mentality” who haven’t tried so hard to fit our preconceived notions of what is acceptable and what is not, why don’t we try to change society so that young African American kids don’t feel like they have to compete in a racist world where the cards are stacked against them in various ways.
People (white establishment people) got all over Paul Robeson for not being a model citizen, because he was a Communist and civil rights activist and refused to sing until he saw justice for his people. Bad guy, right? Well without Paul and people like him, the black community isn’t where it is today, which is still dreadful but improved over where it was in his day.
And while we’re at it… the NFL is doing just fine.
I think you’re in denial, my friend. oleo hit the nail on the head. Now, this may be more a political issue than it is a baseball one, but there’s no denying the fact that there are two types of African Americans: there are those who fall into the “ghetto-hood image” and there are those who stay away from it.
The two have nothing to do with any “preconceived notions” – while there is a standard that society tends to dictate, this standard doesn’t apply here. The “ghetto” image is generally associated with crime and bad behavior, it is associated with being a hoodlum and being a rogue. Generally, black people who EARN their wealth through education and hard work steer away from the ghetto image – for not reasons of fitting in with society but in order to get away from the criminal mindset of the “hood”. Now the problem with kids turned professional athletes – same as the one with rappers is that they get rich so quickly, often lacking education and intelligence. I hate that you’re making this a white and black thing – there are plenty of Hispanic, Japanese, Korean, Australian players who don’t get into trouble – whether it is for drugs, dog fighting, etc. Don’t get me wrong – I am not racist and I’m not saying that it’s only the black people who constantly get into trouble – not at all, however, it is usually the “ghetto” image athletes who wind up being the bad seed in the clubhouse. May be it has something to do with the fact that they’re coming out of poverty and are looking for anything and everything that will make them a quick buck. It’s all about the “paper” – may be if they concentrated more on playing the sport, they wouldn’t have an issue with anyone – nothing having to do with the way they dress or talk. All you have to do is make your sport #1 priority in your life and every single person in your organization will love you and respect you. Just show up and try your hardest ALWAYS. But who am I kidding? Practice? We’re talking about Practice?
The ghetto black mentality you speak of is just a reflection of the glorification of greed and gluttony everywhere in American society. We used to be called citizens. Now they call us consumers.
He may have “attitude problems”, but if he can play baseball well who cares?
“I can’t go through anything worse than I went through in New York. It only gets better from here.”
really? Ouch.
I remember you having fun and hi-fiving fans after your Home Run. People wearing homemade jerseys of yours at your first game. A chance to play on a champion contender…
I remember when I was 21 and burned a couple bridges … looks like stories of immaturity were right on.
You know, I’m really tired of hearing about how Milledge “needed to grow up” and was a “bad character guy.” Heaven forbid somebody approach the game with some honesty and not give in to the veterans (like Wagner) who think they should be worshipped.
So he made a rap record and said the “n-word.” He didn’t kiss Wagner’s ass. He slapped some hands on the sideline after hitting a big homerun. Again, heaven forbid someone be happy that they got a big hit and share some of that exuberance with the crowd.
Solely based on talent, I thought the Mets made a good trade for Church and Schneider, but it makes me sad and angry to hear this kind of crap… makes me wish he was still here to make you all squirm in your seats.
The hypocrisy involved in the prevailing attitudes about Milledge is repulsive. Why don’t some of you look in the damned mirror?
during the offseason while Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Santana are back home working out 8 hours a day, Milledge is going to strip clubs, working on his “music” and partying.
That is the problem with him is that he is not commited to making himself a better player or person.
Schneider and Church are going to work their ass off for their team. Can you say the same thing about Milledge??
You think Wright doesn’t do any partying? Get real. Because the kid takes some time to enjoy his life a bit doesn’t mean he’s not also working hard.
A year ago one of the regular stories from ST was that Milledge had worked hard in the winter, was in great shape, came early to camp, etc. But once the season began Willie never gave him a chance even though he was clearly better than Shawn Green.
The Mets have a bias against young players who don’t fit a certain mold and it’s going to hurt them in the long run. I think they’ll regret this trade big time.
Clearly better than Shawn Green? He played about the same defense (bad) and Green actually hit pretty well last year if you look at his stats. No way Milledge could put up those numbers here this or last year.
That’s funny, because if you look at his stats he actually did. The difference in their OPS+ is negligible and Milledge was on pace to surpass Green’s HR and RBI totals in half the at-bats.
Am I wrong or was Milledge injured in the first part of last year? Wasn’t that the reason why Gomez was playing and he wasn’t? Besides, I think it was smart to sit him more – if he played and hit .240 his stock would have plummeted even further down and we wouldn’t be able to trade him straight up.
Veterans SHOULD be worshiped by the rookies. That’s the way it has always been and that’s the way it should continue to be. The more talented they are, the quicker they will get past that, but every single player in the game paid his dues. Why should Lastings be any different?
It’s called respect. Why does Wagner, who spouts off at the mouth every chance he gets, be respected by Lastings MIlledge if he doesn’t show any to Millz? Because he’s been in the league longer and has “paid his dues?”
You want respect, show some yourself. Wagner is an ignorant hick who has no authority – at least no legitimate authority.
If Wagner can question the team’s management and ownership, then why can’t Millz question that status quo as well?
We should all take more time to question the so-called authorities that make decisions for us. Good for MIlledge.
I agree good for Milledge and even better for the Mets. Hopefully it works out for both but I would not bet anything on Milledge.
I predict pain.
I think he is goingto shove it down our throats every chance he gets. All I see is Lenny Dykstra all over again.
Boy we sure could use some of that confidence.
Are you seriously affraid of Lastings Milledge hurting the Mets? With what, a knife? bad music? not mentioning us in his next joke of a rap song?
You’re absolutely right Krumbled….its called respect….something Milledge needs to learn.
Can Wagner be a little too much at times, yes. But i’m sorry, last I checked, the guy is one of the best closers in baseball and he has every right to speak his mind. He’s been there and done that. That’s like comparing Nolan Ryan to Phil Humber….come on!
Lastings Milledge and Jay Payton are one in the same. Great tools, very athletic, but lacking in baseball instincts necessary to become great.
ninja puh-leeze
I see Milledge as having a ceiling of a Milton Bradley, plagued by random injuries and clubhouse fights. He’ll bounce around from team to team his whole career.
Even though he’s generally been healthy with last years injury the exception? And he’s never been in a clubhouse fight?
Fights as in verbally fighting with other teammates.
Reading that makes me happy he is gone. I was a huge fan of Milledge and I always gave him the benefit of the doubt, however, after that remark about not going through anything worse than what he went through in NY???? Come on Lastings!!! You were a fan favorite before you even stepped on the field. You played for a playoff contender in your first two years in the bigs. You were embraced by the fans and given every opportunity to show us your talent.
Stop crying about a little hazing by the veterans. Everyone goes through that at every level of competition. What a little baby. Have fun in D.C. and in last place.
He won’t be in last, the Marlins will take care of that.
the comment is a little ridiculous, but then again, you don’t know what he went through behind the scenes. it’s a lot of pressure being the “top prospect” or the “future” of a contender in nyc. he’s right, his situation in DC won’t be any worse than it was in NY, I think that’s what he meant. He’ll get regular playing time and he won’t have to deal with all the media attn.
he couldn’t go through anything worse? Really? Oh the horror, veterans who didn’t like some of his antics, he wasn’t handed the starting job on a silver platter. The poor guy, he’s my hero. Just wait till you are out of it in July, see how that sits with you LMilz
I can’t believe Lastings Milledge has polarized people in this fashion…
He might be great, he might be average, he might be out of the league soon. Nothing about him says special to me. Omar rolled the dice and brought in two starters in exchange for a maybe something someday…Sure, those two starters weren’t all-stars, but what was expected in exchange for Lastings?
I just don’t get the big fuss…
Man i’m so glad this punk kid is gone and off the Mets. He was about as overrated as can be….I love how some fans just excused his antics and acted as if he was going to become this big baseball star….which he will, for the wrong reasons. Willie and the vets were right to pick on him….he’s like the kid in your class who wants all the attention when everyone else wants to learn….and when called on it, he plays the victim card. That’s Lastings Milledge….have fun on a last place team kid….you earned it.
Lastings speaks about the mets….Big surprise. By the way I guarentee he will absolutely kill the mets when we see the Nationals.
I hope he has a great year, I’m still a fan of his. I think the trade was a mistake. the mets organization is afraid to let young players/rookies play on a regular basis, and i’m not sure why. i mean, even the red sox (elsbury, pedroia, papelbon) and yankees (joba, hughes, melky, cano) have historically handed jobs to rooks during seasons where they were viewed as W.S. contenders and have never looked back. When’s the last time the mets gave a regular job to a rookie during a season they were considered W.S. contenders?
Because those guys respected the Vets and paid their dues. Even after winning the WS last Fall, Ellsbury and Pedroia were humble and talked about how hard they worked and how much they respected the vets and relished the opportunity to play.
Its a simple equation. Shut your mouth and pay your dues until you can back up your smack talk. Milledge acted as if he was Sheffield when he was barely a 7th spot hitter.
The horse was put before the cart.
Lastings Milledge is black.
Willie Randolph who decides who plays and who doesnt is black.
Any suggestion that Lastings Milledge not playing was b/c he is black is ridiculous.
Who do you think had a harder time because of his race/religion. Shawn Green who is Jewish or Lastings Milledge because he is black.
Now Billy Wagner is an absolute moron and a hick and his extreme glob of chewing tobacco in his mouth every time he pitches is disgusting.
I think two many vets on the Mets have sticks up their butts. I like lastings, I think he has personality. He cared. I hope he does really well in Washington.
Boo Hoo. What a tough time I had in NY as a 21 year old for a team that drafted me out of High School after sexual assault allegations and invested in me and watched my stock continue to drop. All that being said, he will probably come back and kill us in a few spots. I’m thinking he’ll end up around a .265 avg, 18-22 homers and 70-85 RBI’s. Those numbers you can get from a number of players without the headaches. If he does better good for him. At the beginning of last year I looked forward to him establishing himself as a fixture to be one of the core young guys and was disappointed he didn’t catch on. I also liked that he was one of the only guys to show some fight in September. But this sour grapes considering his history is from the SNL Chico Escuela school of Ed Kranepool been very, very bad to me. Good luck Lastings, see ya.
Lastings received the raw end of a bad deal in NY, especially from the fans as evidenced in this thread. Good luck in DC, and always remember you’ll be hitting your stride after Alou, Beltran and Church are long gone.
The fact that Millege had 2 home runs in his final game played at age 22 or however old he is makes the schneider church trade awful. A guy with that much potential who breaks out and hits 2 home runs in his final showing makes the trade a joke
Trades are made to address specific needs on a roster. We needed a solid catcher with defense and game-calling skills, not a corner OF with a lot of potential and a lot of baggage. Endy can out field him anyday and Beltran will own him season to season in both defense and offense until he retires.
Meaning his assets weren’t important. We have bats…too many really, we needed a solid catcher and pitching and the Mets have acquired both with spades…
I disagree….we could have just let Castro sit behind the plate and picked up some scrub to back him up and play once every few games. Castro has better offensive ability and is the man. On the other hand…Milledge’s value was rock bottom. We could have waited half a season just to see if Milledge may have blossomed. If he blossomed…we have ourselves an all star. If he has attitude and is a loser but is an all star…we could have traded him for some prospects or even some very good major league talent. This was not a good trade no matter how u look at it. I mean we coulda just let him play in AAA…and if he hit .330 with 30 HRs and 100 RBI he woulda had 0 negative effect on our team and we coulda unloaded him for god knows what talent
Castro isn’t a full-time starter. He has a bum back and isn’t all that young, either. Schneider plays better defesne and has been rumored to call better pitches…