FORT MYERS, Fla. — Seven pitches. Seven strikes. If you blinked, you missed it.
Such was Andrew Miller's first inning in a Red Sox uniform.
The lanky lefty, perhaps the most intriguing figure in camp due to his vast, but unrealized, potential, struck out the first two men he faced on three pitches and then got the third on a first-pitch weak grounder to shortstop.
"Extremely exciting, that was really fun to watch," manager Terry Francona said. "That was about as good an inning as you're going to see."
At the very least, Miller figures to give the Red Sox another option in middle relief. He could be much more than that, perhaps as another late-inning shutdown reliever or as a starter, as has been the case for most of his major league career.
Francona is undecided as to how the organization will proceed with Miller this spring, whether strictly as a reliever or with a start sprinkled in. One thing the manager knows is he would love to see more of what he saw Monday in the club's 7-6 win over Minnesota.
"It would be nice to get him stretched out a little bit to see him throw a number of pitches. We'll see," Francona said.
Miller, signed as a free agent this offseason after three rocky years in Florida's system, is throwing from the third-base side of the rubber, a change that the Red Sox installed in order to keep him throwing easy, rather than across his body.
If there was any strain in his delivery Monday, it was hard to see.
"We want to get him in a comfort zone and try to simplify as much as we can, the arm slot that he has when he plays a natural catch in the outfield," Francona said.
