Millwood Taking Positive Attitude To Mound Sunday

The reviews on Kevin Millwood during his stay at Yankees extended spring training have been mixed, to be kind.  In his most recent column, ESPN’s Jayson Stark passed along a nugget that gave this unattributed review of the former National League All-Star: “He looks terrible. Here’s a guy who used to throw 94-95 [mph]. Now he’s throwing 86.”

Trenton Thunder fans will get a chance to find out for themselves on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 PM, when Millwood is scheduled to face the Harrisburg Senators in his first actual game action of the season.  In his first interview since joining the Thunder, the pleasant 36-year-old righty, sat down with me for a one-on-one chat.

Mike Ashmore: What time did you find out you were heading to Trenton?

Kevin Millwood: “Yesterday morning.  It was kind of a quick turnaround, but it’s no big deal.  I have plenty of time to relax and get ready for Sunday.”

Ashmore: There were some conflicting reports on how things were going for you down in Tampa.  How would you describe your progress?

Millwood: “Well, I guess stats don’t really affect me down there.  It’s a totally different ballgame.  My whole thing was trying to build up arm strength and trying to get my pitch count up, and I did that.”

Ashmore: So where do you feel like your arm strength is at right now?

Millwood: “It still probably has a little ways to go, but it’s definitely closer than it was when I got here.”

Ashmore: A lot of people saw your numbers from last year, and they are what they are…how would you describe your 2010 season?

Millwood: “The first two months and the last two months, I threw the ball really well.  The middle two months, I threw the ball really bad.  That’s really all you can say.  If you split it up into thirds, two thirds were good and one third was really bad.”

Ashmore: Coming into the Yankees organization, there was some talk that you wanted a Major League deal only…what went into accepting the minor league deal?

Millwood: “Well, it was too late for a Major League deal.  There was no way I’d be ready for a season.  I just went in and tried to go in and start playing right away.”

Ashmore: Excited to get into an actual game then, Double-A or otherwise?

Millwood: “Yeah.  It’s definitely better than being in Tampa, you know, being in extended spring.  It’ll have more of a feel of a real baseball game.”

Ashmore: Have they told you anything about how long you’re going to be here or what the plan is for you while you’re here?

Millwood: “No.  I don’t know, I have no clue what the plans are.”

Ashmore: How many pitches do you think you can throw on Sunday?

Millwood: “I can probably get it up to 90.  Last outing down there, I threw 75.  So I should be able to get there.”

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com