Comments on: Reds still haven’t decided whether Aroldis Chapman will start or close

By: Kevin Gillman

Kevin Gillman — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:59:35 +0000

Can Chapman go 7? How can he get out of a shaky inning, and minimize the damage? Better yet, what happens if his bullpen blows the game for him, how does he react next time, and what will he do when he has to hit? These are questions Chapman must answer if he is going to indeed start. I disagree that “any” reliever can close, because if that is the case, then anyone can go out and get that last 27th out. Your Reds already proved Sean Marshall can’t neccessarily get the job done in that spot, so what happens if the bullpen blows the game? The Reds also had 5 durable starters, because every single one of them had 31 or more starts. Can Chapman even do that? All questions he will have to answer this season.

By: Marty McKee

Marty McKee — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:08:32 +0000

It is broken. The Reds were using a young, highly paid, intimidating, talented, dominating pitcher to do a job that literally any decent major league pitcher can do. Your closer should be the seventh-best pitcher on your staff…maybe the sixth.

Your five best pitchers should be starting. This is common sense, giving your best pitchers the highest amount of innings. Your sixth-best is the guy you use in clutch situations, no matter what inning it is. If the bases are loaded, no outs, I don’t care if it’s the sixth inning, this is the reliever you use. Your seventh-best is the one you use in the ninth inning when you’re leading…unless, of course, bases loaded, no outs, yada yada.

Again, this is just common sense gathered through the use of basic mathematics. Unfortunately, Dusty “Clogging Up the Bases” Baker isn’t blessed with a lot of common sense. Walt Jocketty seems to be, however, and I think Bryan Price may be too.

By: Kevin Gillman

Kevin Gillman — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:52:43 +0000

I just don’t neccessarily agree with the move right now. If it’s not broke, then why fix it?

By: Marty McKee

Marty McKee — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:23:25 +0000

Yes, Chapman can easily pitch 6 innings right away.

By: cggarb

cggarb — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:50:01 +0000

Chapman’s save percentage last year was lower than Francisco Cordero’s was in 2011. Chapman was obviously a better pitcher — the point is that “closing” games is not all that hard, and Chapman’s excellence was wasted in an easy job.

It’s like having Michaelangelo drawing caricatures. Yeah, he does a nice job. But there are 80 other guys who can do it. Let Chapman paint ceilings.

By: Kevin Gillman

Kevin Gillman — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:41:44 +0000

One more thing too, we know if Champan is the starter, he will be on an innings limit of say between 150-180 IPs. Let’s hope the Reds stretch out his starts so he can pitch in October, unlike the “Braintrusts” in Washington did with Strasberg.

By: Kevin Gillman

Kevin Gillman — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:36:44 +0000

Okay, he has “experience” as a starter, but not one Major league start. Are you going to tell me that he can throw 6 innings right away? Are you going to tell me the Minor Leagues, or Cuba league is the same as the Major Leagues?

By: Kevin Gillman

Kevin Gillman — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:34:46 +0000

Why do you think I have bias? I like the Reds, I just think they are a better team with Chapman as their closer, and silly me for thinking that, because they won 96 games last season, with CHAPMAN closing. But there is history there of a reliever, turned starter who either gets worn out, or gets hurt. We also know Chapman will not be throwing max effort when he starts, so how good can he be?

By: cggarb

cggarb — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:46:52 +0000

Paul Daugherty (surprisingly) has a great commentary on this today. Money line: “Baker wants Chapman to close because it makes his job easier. With all due respect, this isnt about making Dusty’s job easier. I can give you three million reasons why. If you want to win it all — and they do — the only place for Aroldis Chapman is in the starting rotation.”

My own quick/crude review of game logs shows that after becoming closer on May 22, Chapman entered the game 50 times – only 23 with the game on the line (in a tie, or where allowing a HR would lose the lead).

That’s a horrible misuse of a great arm. Unless you have solid reason to believe that Chapman cannot start — unlikely, since he was signed and developed as a starter — this is a no-brainer.

By: Marty McKee

Marty McKee — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:37:11 +0000

There is ALWAYS a risk of getting hit by a car when driving in traffic. What does that mean? Fact is, Chapman has been a starter his entire career except last year. He was a starter in spring training last year. He has experience as a starter, he knows how to do it, he wants to do it.

Chapman has at least three pitches. He has the potential to be the most overwhelming pitcher *in the history of baseball*, and you think he should be relegated to a spot that should belong to the sixth or seventh best pitcher on the staff?

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:55:47 +0000

Chapman has > 2 pitches, he only uses 2 when he closes.

Feliz only pitched 42 innings last year. You are assuming the problem was only going to manifest if he started. Closers throw much closer to maximum effort, increasing the stress on the elbow. Feliz was a starter throughout his time in the minors, he was moved to the pen out of need (which was greater in the MLB pen than MLB rotation), not for health reasons.

What you have here is confirmation bias, ignoring all of the times guys move from the pen to the rotation without injury, and all of the guys that get injured while remaining in the pen.

By: anthonyverna

anthonyverna — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:45:01 +0000

If he closes, Dusty won’t have him to clog up the bases.

By: captainwisdom8888

captainwisdom8888 — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 07:57:18 +0000

my fantasy draft is comin up soon i wanna know wtf is up toooo brahhhh

By: Kevin Gillman

Kevin Gillman — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 02:51:57 +0000

Marty, how is Nefali Feliz doing now? There is ALWAYS a risk of switching a guy that pitched 70 innings, and relying on him to pitch 150-180 IPs the very next season. Plus, Chapman only has 2 pitches, you have to have 3 to be an effective starter.

By: yahmule

yahmule — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 02:25:13 +0000

I don’t know who thumbed this down because it’s the truest thing ever posted on here.

By: 78mu

78mu — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:34:25 +0000

Joe Pos just wrote a long post about closers – maybe Dusty should read it.

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:29:48 +0000

Ryan Madson.

By: onbucky96

onbucky96 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:56:49 +0000

Whichever way Dusty feels will ruin his arm faster.

By: watchfullhose

watchfullhose — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:38:43 +0000

I’m with Dusty on this one. The kid should close.

By: boyofzimmer

boyofzimmer — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:49:16 +0000

Best option for Reds is to keep him as closer… Starting will ruin him, but as a Cubs fan I say go ahead and start him.

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:04:52 +0000

Jocketty certainly decided when he signed Broxton to a 3/$21M deal.

By: danglesnipecelly24

danglesnipecelly24 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:28:37 +0000

Why would they? You know opening day is only 20 days away or so. Dumb

By: Marty McKee

Marty McKee — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:36:06 +0000

Sometimes I think Dusty would rather be proven right than win ballgames. Think about all those times he wrote Patterson, Taveras, Valdez, Cairo, etc. into the top of the order, even though only a complete fool could believe it was a good idea. But, come hell or high water, if it took 400 at-bats to prove Willy Taveras was a competent leadoff man, Baker was gonna give him those at-bats, no matter how terrible he was.

You would have to be a tremendous idiot to believe Chapman is better served pitching ten *important* innings per year than pitching 150 to 200.

By: chomsky66

chomsky66 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:34:24 +0000

He does have his legacy to consider.

By: thekcubrats

thekcubrats — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:32:56 +0000

Dusty wants a shot at ringing up a TJ on a closer for once.

By: joshfrancis50

joshfrancis50 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:19:26 +0000

I think the Reds HAVE decided and it’s Dusty who’s dug his heels into the ground with the hopes of getting his wish.