Loading ...The Redleg Nation editorial staff put together a fine article on the recent developments regarding Aroldis Chapman’s move back to the bullpen. Word reached me late as I was in Jalalabad, a city near the Pakistan border that is very active — if you know what I mean. The 101st Airborne – the Screaming [...]
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I was all set to move on. Steve Mancuso had written a fantastic editorial on behalf of the editors of RN and I knew I couldn’t do better. I was set to swallow my disappointment (to the best of my ability) and move on with the season. Then I read yesterday’s Cincinnati Enquirer. Specifically, this article by John Fay. It contains no real explanation as to why this decision was made. I’ll highlight some of the quotes: Walt Jocketty says: “It was like last year. It was what gave us the best opportunity to win as an organization this year. The rotation as it was, we had four guys who pitched 200 innings. We have another guy who is capable of pitching 200 innings. That’s a very strong rotation.” I don’t disagree, but what about improving the team? Do you believe that Chapman in the rotation can’t top 8 wins and a 4.58 ERA (Leake’s contribution last season)? Jocketty also says: “Leake’s had a good spring. As long as we felt he was close to coming back to where he was a couple of years ago, we thought we were a better team.” Good spring? By what definition? I’m not big on spring stats, but what makes you believe this is the case? In addition, what makes you believe that Leake won’t continue to regress (his ERA went from 3.86 in ’11 (with a very low .269 BABIP) to 4.58 (fairly average .306 BABIP) last year). He also says: “We’re a team built to win. In our opinion, this gives us the best chance to win now.” And you believe that Chapman in the rotation (vs Leake) and Broxton closing (or Marshall, or Hoover for that matter) (vs Chapman) would have made a difference between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs? Because if you don’t believe that, then you have to look at the big picture also. Jocketty also said: “We approached this spring exactly the same as last year with Chapman. He was either going to be a starter or closer.” This is simply untrue. [This post was written by Steve Mancuso and co-signed by the editors of Redleg Nation.] Research on the brain shows that when we witness or learn of an emotional and shocking event, a surge of adrenaline encourages the formation of vivid, lasting recollections. They’re called “flashbulb memories” because of their nearly photographic nature. Depending on [...] I hadn’t written about this subject, because I really wanted the whole issue to go away. I should have known better than to be optimistic about that. Here’s our friend Dave Schoenfield from ESPN: Manager Dusty Baker — and the players — think Aroldis Chapman should remain the team’s closer; general manager Walt Jocketty, [...] You can’t hide in Jungle Jims. The florescent lighting won’t allow it. I’m in aisle 4 eyeing the Dead Guy Ale when I spot him. You know you are officially a sorry little baseball geek when you can spot a bench coach wearing civilian clothes across a beer cave and a football field of party [...] Spring Training isn’t as dramatic as it was years ago. There was genuine competition for jobs, rotations were being established, and many times this lasted into the last week of spring training. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen anymore; it’s just that with long term contracts and the salary structure of the game, [...] As was reported a few days ago, Reds pitching coach Bryan Price interviewed with the Miami Marlins for their managerial job. Today, Mark Sheldon reports that Price is no longer in the running for that job and will remain with the Reds. Reds pitching coach Bryan Price has withdrawn his name from [...] |
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