Monday, September 27, 1999Graves shakes off mistake
Reds closer not dwelling on blown save
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati EnquirerDanny Graves — first the closer, then co-closer, then setup man — is the closer again. Sunday's game doesn't change that, despite Graves blowing a save in the Reds' 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Cinergy Field.
Graves gave up a two-run homer to Fernando Tatis in the ninth that tied the game at 4-4.
“That's one pitch,” Reds manager Jack McKeon. “He got it up and he hit it out. That doesn't change anything. He's done a great job.”
Graves has the Reds' last nine saves, and he'll get the chances that are left in the last six games.
“That's fine with me,” said Graves, who leads the Reds with 27 saves.
That's what McKeon likes about Graves.
![[Scott]](/img/photos/1999/09/092799williamson_200x95.jpg)
Reds relief pitcher Scott Williamson sits alone in the dugout after giving up an RBI double, giving the Cardinals a 5-4 lead in the 12th inning.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
| ZOOM |“He always wants the ball,” McKeon said. “He has that fire, the desire.”
Graves started the year as the closer. But in April, the Reds traded for Mark Wohlers with the hope he'd return to form and become the closer. That didn't work out.
That was not the last challenge to Graves.
By mid-May, Scott Williamson was getting as many opportunities as Graves.
Graves took it all in stride.
“Competition makes you better,” Graves said. “You can't relax. You work harder at your job.”
Graves has been as consistent as anyone in the bullpen this year and is 8-7 with a 3.13 ERA. Opponents are hitting only .229 off him. His 27 saves have come in 36 opportunities. That's not a great percentage, but Graves, unlike the typical closer, has entered the game at times in the eighth or even seventh inning.
Lately, Graves has been saved for the ninth. Williamson lost his share of the closer job when a sore shoulder kept him on the sidelines for several days in late August. Williamson's last save came Aug. 26.
At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Graves doesn't have the mound presence of San Diego's Trevor Hoffman. Graves' fastball hits only the low 90s on the radar gun, so he doesn't have the pop of Houston's Billy Wagner.
But Graves does have the stuff to be an effective closer. Reds TV analyst Chris Welsh thinks if Graves can develop a good changeup, he can be a great closer.
“He has great movement on his fastball,” Welsh said. “You don't see that from many right- handers.”
Another major part of being a big-league closer is learning to deal with the mental rigors of the most pressure-packed job in baseball.
“That's the fun part,” Graves said. “No matter what happens, you have to be ready to take the ball the next day.”
Sunday could have easily been one of those goat days, but the Reds came back and won it in the 12th. And Graves was right there in the celebration.
“Anyway you can get (the win),” Graves said. “This team is unbelievable. I knew if we held them (after the home run), we'd come back.”
Graves has made 72 appearances and pitched 104ô innings, an extraordinary number for a closer. But he says he feels fresh.
“I feel better than I did when I had 50 or 60 innings,” Graves said. “I've got a second wind. My arm's in great shape.”
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![[Scott]](/img/photos/1999/09/092799williamson.jpg)