Corky Miller fires to second base as the Reds battled the Marlins Tuesday. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        The Reds' 6-1 victory Tuesday over Florida hit a crossroads in the top of the fourth.

        The game was tied at 1-1, and the Marlins had the bases loaded with two outs. Reds pitcher Chris Reitsma worked a 1-2 count on Andy Fox, but Reitsma and catcher Corky Miller couldn't agree what to throw next.

        After shaking off Miller twice, Reitsma called his catcher to the mound.

        “I wasn't real sure what he wanted to do,” Miller said.

        “I convinced myself I wanted to throw the change-up,” Reitsma said.

        Miller wasn't going to argue. “Whatever he said, I was going to agree with, unless it was a fastball down the middle,” Miller said.

        Reitsma asked Miller if he thought Fox was looking for the off-speed pitch.

        “I said, "No,'” Miller said. “Walking back to the plate, I thought, "It doesn't matter, because if he throws a good one, he's not going to hit it anyway.'”

        Fox was ahead of the pitch, swinging and missing.

        Miller's defense is the big reason Miller has emerged with a share of the Reds' No.1 catching duties four years after going undrafted and signing as a free agent. The three catchers the Reds did draft in 1998 are no longer in the organization.

        Now that Miller has shot into the Big Leagues on his ability to catch, he plans to stay up by continuing to improve his hitting.

        “Early in my career, I didn't care about hitting, and that's why I was struggling to hit .250,” said Miller, 26, the Reds' second-leading hitter at .321 entering Friday night's game. “Now I'm able to adjust in the box.”

        But calling a game and working with pitchers are where his heart is.

        “I always felt they're my runs out there, too,” Miller said. “I want our pitchers to do good, and I need to understand what they're thinking and what their process is and how they want to do it. For me to help them out, that's bigger than me going 3-for-4. If I can go out there and catch a one-run or a shutout game, that makes my day.”

        Reitsma went 7 2/3 innings Tuesday, and he and closer Danny Graves limited Florida to one run. That made the day for Miller, who doubled and walked in four trips to the plate.

        In manager Bob Boone's rotation, Miller catches Reitsma and Jose Rijo. Rijo, in his 13th big-league season, said he likes throwing to Miller.

        “I compare Corky Miller to Bo Diaz,” Rijo said of his former Reds teammate. “Corky's the type of guy who, when he's behind the plate, he doesn't care what he's hitting. He's putting the pitcher ahead of his own concern.”

        Rijo, himself regarded as a positive force in a locker room, sees the same quality in Miller.

        “He has a perfect personality for our clubhouse,” Rijo said. “He's always smiling, very laid-back.”

        Miller's easy-going demeanor comes from his father, Greg, who passed his love for the game onto his son without the pressure that normally accompanies such relationships.

        “Cork's always had a way with people,” Greg Miller, 51, said on the phone from his home in Yucaipa, Calif. “I taught him how to recognize my friends, and, in the store, Cork would always go up and say hello. He's never been shy with people.”

        Corky is his given name. He has two middle names, Abraham and Philip, “in case he became a lawyer instead of a ballplayer,” Greg Miller said. As soon as Corky could sit up, Dad started rolling baseballs at him. He also was his son's youth baseball coach, “but it was always more about going out and having fun,” Corky said.

        Greg Miller ordered and assembled a batting cage for the backyard. The netting still couldn't stop Corky from hitting balls through it and breaking windows and windshields.

        He played junior-college ball at San Bernadino Valley before moving on to Neveda-Reno, where he was second-team All-America as a senior. He spent all of 2000 and parts of 1999 and 2001 at Double-A Chattanooga, where he was an all-star and voted the “player you most want in your clubhouse” and player “who will make best future manager.”

        Boone, a former catcher, also likes what he sees from his rookie catcher.

        “He calls a terrific game — has since the day we called him up last year,” Boone said. “The work he did with (Reds hitting coach) Jim Lefebvre this spring really upgraded his hitting ability.”

        Said Lefebvre: “We worked on getting him in a real good hitting position, getting his hands back a little bit. Everybody knew he could catch and call a good game, but he never had a reputation as a hitter, but he's always been a pretty good one.”

        He had a .269 batting average in four minor-league seasons.

        But all this talk of hitting grows tiresome for Miller. He's a catcher, and Job 1 for a catcher is to get the most out of his pitchers.

        His two starters, Reitsma and Rijo, are 3-0 and 4-2. The Reds and 7-2 in Reitsma's nine starts.

        “Every pitcher is different,” Miller said. “Every pitcher needs for me to do something. You can't catch different people the same way. As far as your setup and your glove, that can be the same.

        “But as far as mentality and pitch setup, you have to go from pitcher to pitcher. You can change mentality four or five times a game depending on how many pitchers you're bringing in. That helps me get along with them better. I think of them as a person out there instead of just a pitcher.”

Reds 6, Braves 4 Reds box, runs Reds Q&A with John Fay Reitsma drawing all aces in deck Rijo to miss next start because of fatigue Miller's tale Cinergy Moment No. 26 - May 13, 1993 Reds chatter Ottawa 5, Louisville 2 Prep pitcher's stock rises as velocity increases Green breaks another homer record John Fay's power ratings Kevin Mitchell ejected for throwing a punch Mets' revenge could come soon - Clemens slated for Shea NL roundup AL roundup Notes from Saturday's games

Bengals Q&A with Mark Curnutte
Feisty Eagles keep intensity
Tristate preps highlights
Aves' turnaround leads to regionals
CCD girls win 5th straight district title
Extra effort by Colerain yields a win
St. Henry seniors show way to boys title; Brossart girls shine
Wyoming's title haul: It's 2-for-2
CovCath, Notre Dame cruise
Highlands boys cruise to region victory
56th place offers rare sight of Tiger
Golf scores
Jones trails Diaz by 1 at Corning
Veterans' day looms at Memorial
Buckeyes beat Gophers to win tourney
Kagy uses flare, wins freestyle
Pro-bike ranks a mixed bag
The ripple effect
Drivers warned to keep Indy start clean and safe
Gordon looks to end drought at Coca-Cola 600
Green holds off Biffle to win Carquest 300
Indy 500 driver profiles
IRL brings CART to its knees, but at what price?
Montoya grabs pole at Monaco
2002 World Cup Schedule
'Crane's voice' to be heard at World Cup soccer
Player-by-player capsules of the U.S. team
World Cup Preview
Avalanche 3, Red Wings 2
Maple Leafs 1, Hurricanes 0
Kings hoping to extend their time in the sun
Magic Johnson now winning at business; politics could be next
Miracle comeback downs Nets
Coming up this week
Enquirer Page Two Power Rankings
NCAA softball tourney roundup
Princeton 11, Johns Hopkins 9
Sunday Break earns berth in Belmont
Syracuse 12, Virginia 11, 2OT
War Emblem: Super or subpar?

• Return to Reds front page...