Alex Graman
Posted by Steve L. on July 20th, 2005 · Comments (9)
From the news last night:
At Columbus, Ohio, Mike Vento had an RBI single and three Columbus pitchers combined for an eight-hit shutout, leading the Clippers to victory over Buffalo in the International League.
Columbus (54-42) right-hander Kris Wilson tossed four innings, allowing four hits. Pete Munro (7-6) then struck out three hitters in three innings. Alex Graman worked the final two innings for his first save.
Make that a save and a ticket to The Show. Wayne Franklin is looking for a new ho…..me.
Yes, that’s Alex, lifetime 19.80 ERA, Graman.
So Joe Torre threw a hissy-fit in Texas and lost the team a game in order to prove a point? Is that the message we are to read from this? But anyone is better than Franklin.
I said as much in an earlier post. Torre has developed a nasty habit of throwing games away just to make a point to the front office. Remember Enrique Wilson playing rightfield? Maybe most of Womack’s 250 ABs in the first half were due to this attitude. Instead of doing what Bobby Cox is doing…working with the homegrown talent they have…Torre always expects Cashman to get him David Justice, Raul Mondesi, Esteban Loaiza, John Olerud, etc. Oh, and don’t tell me every one of those Atlanta rookies is going to have his number retired. Outside of Betemit and Francouer, they’re C+ prospects at best. It’s about recognizing their specific skills and using them properly. Pete Orr and Ryan Langerhans are never going to be regulars much less All-Stars. Ask Schuerholz why he started the season with Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi as his corner outfielders if Braves’ prospects were that damn good. If Torre were half the manager Cox is, we wouldn’t be reading all the sneering denunciations of the Yankees’ farm system.
JohnnyC, that you posting over at Replacement Level Yankees Weblog? I think it the same JohnnyC.
As for Bobby Cox, how many WS victories has that gotten him? One, I believe. How many managers have four? Since 1960, how many have four?
Have Torre and Cox trade rosters from 96-05. Do you think a man who managed TWO franchises to the post-season as well as had a hand in building one of them as GM before Schuerholz took over and has been in the playoffs 15 times in 20 years without George Steinbrenner’s money needs to compare himself to a man who had one playoff appearance in almost 15 years of managing 4 different teams before stumbling into a goldmine?
Now you’re ranting.
Those teams from 1996-2001 had few high priced FA’s. George’s money was a small part of that run.
And Torre is 2-0 against Cox in the WS.
Wilson was an emergency start in RF.
Womack was on the roster, may as use him, see what you have. I know, I know, he should never have been signed, but the damage had been done.
The fact is that since Steinbrenner bought the team, there has never been an emphasis on the farm system. All that changed when he was suspended, and the Yanks rebuilt from within. The Yanks have gotten away from that in recent years, but they have plenty of talent at the lower levels.
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Once again, the playoffs are a crapshoot. The fact that year in and year out the Braves have finished first every year since 1991 is far more impressive than winning a World Series. Especially, when you consider the fortunes of some of the teams they’ve squared off against.
And don’t kid yourself, Ted Turner had $$ too (:
You don’t keep Glavine, Maddux & Smoltz as long as you do by being cheap (:
I”ll take a WS championship or two (or four) to finishing first every year since 1991. Sort of like the old GS retort about the 1980′s: Sure we didn’t win a Ws, but we won more games than any team in the decade.
Yeah, the Braves have one won WS in all that time. Imagine the lynching of Torre if the Yanks finish first but won just one WS?
And the years the Yankees didn’t win the WS under Torre (except 1997) the WS winner had to beat the Torre Yankees somewhere along the way.
It has been a great 10 years boys!
I”ll take a WS championship or two (or four) to finishing first every year since 1991. Sort of like the old GS retort about the 1980′s: Sure we didn’t win a Ws, but we won more games than any team in the decade.
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Which was nice, but the Yanks only finished first in 1980, you want to count ’81? (Brewers had the best overall record in the division). Maybe you give them points for consistency during the 80′s.
Probably was the high point, given all the stupid signings and firings that happened during the decade.