Our Nightmare is Over
At 3:30 this afternoon, Dave Miley informed the media that Danny Graves had been released from the ballclub. Implicit in that is the message that the Reds are willing to pay him to do nothing rather than pay him to do worse.
I would have been fine putting him into the mop-up slot to see if things got better, but he has been really, really bad, and I can see why the club decided the time had come to let him go.
A couple notes. First, I hate that the bird in the dugout is being tied in with this. He decided to go because he was awful--flipping a fan off is nothing.
Second, the other players had an initial reaction that was not comforting. All season, there has been a palpable lack of crisis in how our guys have played, and they seemed to think Graves had some kind of right to a roster spot. Sean Casey (who is coming around), was more strong in this.
Fair enough. Sean is a clubhouse chemistry kind of guy. Casey did say one thing that was right. This wasn't the only thing wrong with this team.
Now, the secondary reaction from the players might have been a little better, because we had a good win over the Nats, who started the game 8.5 games better than our team. Milton finally pitched a good game, and Weathers got the close. I mentioned yesterday that we're hit a patch of a weak schedule, and it would be nice for morale and crowd support if we put some wins together. Winning a series would be nice, and we can get that done tomorrow.
Hopefully, at some point, the situation will stabilize, and an upward vector can begin. But we were 1-5 last week, and are 6-15 in May.
Monday, May 23, 2005
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2 comments :
In regards to Graves, much like when B.K. Kim flew the Bosox fans the bird, he finished himself in the organization. Had he been pitching well, they may have kept him. As desperate are the Reds are, why didn't they hold out and get at LEAST marginal prospects and a package of hot dog buns from a team like the Cubs, Giants, Braves, et al who are desperate for help in the bully? I realize the Braves have rooked the Reds before with Bruce Chen, etc but I think just releasing him is a sign that they undervalue him a bit. In regards to Milton, why has he given up three times as many homers as most of the pitchers in baseball? His struggles in Philly were understandable. hasn't he heard of a two-seam fastball or some other means of keeping the ball down in the strike zone?
I hear you. My guess is that he wouldn't have had much value in a trade. I do think he will be signed. I think the Reds were as sick as anybody of watching Graves get lit up. He has lost 5-6 off his pitches, and his sinker doesn't really seem to bite all time (though it does sometimes), and that has essentially made it batting practice.
Milton is a gopher ball pitcher in a gopher ball park. The fact that the Reds put him in this situation shows that they clearly don't understand the effect the ballpark has on the pitching. And no, I don't think there is any evidence he can keep the ball down.
Now, he had a decent start yesterday, so maybe he's starting to turn it around. But look at his numbers--he's never going to be great, only good.
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