They're seemingly at it again, this time with a more youthful approach, after acquiring talented lefty Andrew Miller from the Florida Marlins in exchange for fellow southpaw Dustin Richardson.
Miller, just 25, was made the sixth pick overall in the 2006 amateur draft by the Detroit Tigers following a stellar career at the University of North Carolina, where he was a teammate of Boston reliever Daniel Bard. Miller was named the 2006 recipient of the Roger Clemens Award, given annually to the nation's top pitcher.
At 6-foot-7 and with a fastball that occasionally flirted with triple digits, Miller was a can't-miss kid upon entering the Tigers' system. The Sox saw some of what former Detroit catcher Mike Rabelo called "freaking awesome" stuff when Miller limited them to a run on just three hits in seven innings in his sixth career start back in 2007. Comparisons to Randy Johnson began to emerge.
Shortly thereafter, Miller's struggles with consistency, location and health began to curb his progress. He failed to last longer than five innings in his final seven starts of the year and was traded to Florida in December of '07, only to struggle even more in the National League.
In three years with the Marlins, Miller went 10-20 with a 5.89 ERA and had an unsightly 7.2 walks per nine innings in limited action last year, during which he was 1-5 with an 8.54 mark.
Ankle, hamstring and oblique issues certainly have not helped Miller regain his form while bouncing back and forth between the majors and minors. But even when healthy he has continued to struggle to find the plate.
"It comes down to a matter of whether I can find my control again," Miller said last summer while pitching for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. "I still have the velocity you need, and I still have the talent to pitch in the majors. But you have to throw strikes."
Interestingly enough, Miller's velocity has tailed off. He threw his fastball an average of 92.1 mph in 2007, his first year as a starter (he averaged 94.3 as a reliever in eight games in 2006). That number has slowly dropped to the 90.1 figure we saw last season.
In Boston, Miller will gain the tutelage of new pitching coach Curt Young, who helped develop young left-handers Gio Gonzalez, Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden in Oakland. That trio, the oldest of which is 26, combined to go 33-29 with a 3.24 ERA in 2010. Young, also a lefty, won 69 games in an 11-year career.
Perhaps that pairing, along with Miller's undeniable talent, will allow for a turnaround.
