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A Test of the Nationals' Patience
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"See how quiet your head is now? Just keep that head still! That's how you see that outside pitch!"
Crack.
"Easy swings."
Crack.
"Now you're starting to feel it!"
Crack, crack, crack.
"I got four hours of sleep last night watching your [swings]."
"Stay on it! You're coming at me. One more! Nuh-uh; try again."
Satisfied that Milledge had regained some comfort with his swing, the two exited the cages and prepared for the evening's game. Measuring a ballplayer's true progress requires a long view, which is why Milledge's truest tendencies are still evolving. Still, among the 213 major leaguers who've seen at least 1,000 pitches this season, only 34, Milledge included, swing more often than they take. That makes Milledge, who swings at roughly 50.5 percent of all pitches, one of the most aggressive hitters in the game. The line between encouraging such an approach and restraining it requires balance.
One National League scout, who's followed Milledge since 2005, when he played at Class AA Binghamton, said Milledge has become more impatient since making the big leagues. "But that's a natural tendency," he said. "See, playing time takes care of that. He has all the necessary tools."
Said Harris: "Everybody is saying he has all the potential in the world. Maybe so. He has all the potential. Now he has to learn to put it together."
In the next days, Harris fed Milledge a simple message. Stay confident, he said. Swing easy.
Milledge started doing just that. Friday, pregame, he bounced through the clubhouse with the buoyant smile of a player who likes what's about to come. He had no idea that he'd break out with two hits that night, or that he'd homer in each of the two days following. He just felt like he could. His swing, for the first time in weeks, felt just right.
"In about three days," he said, imagining a big weekend, "you'll be writing a big story about me."
