Didn't Phillips get pulled over for doing like 95 too? Is it less bad because he was with his mom?
Reminds me of what a masterful job Sparky Anderson did managing those knuckleheads on the Big Red Machine. I wonder what RedsZone what have been like then. Slower, of course.
"mental midget"?
good grief.
bigredmechanism (02-19-2013),OnBaseMachine (02-19-2013),Scrap Irony (02-19-2013),Screwball (02-19-2013),Superdude (02-18-2013)
As I was reading this article i just knew SOMEONE would write that this was an AWESOME article. I don't get why everyone loves the "personal side of .... "
I thought the writer is simply writing content in an effort to get noticed. I don't perceive the guy is a real baseball guy but instead one of the free rag writers who found a subject a lot of people in Cincy read...sure enough...it got picked up and here we are talking about it.
"Sometimes, it's not the sexiest moves that put you over the top," Krivsky said. "It's a series of transactions that help you get there."
Just about all of the article was old news to us that religously follow the Reds. But the one takeaway that I got was the mention that the Reds front office asked other teams (or ex-Reds like Alonso) to keep quiet about Chapman if the media comes asking. Don't really care about that but I found it interesting.
Okay, now I'm really lost. Your claim about Chapman as a "mental midget" -- which apparently rests on the trivia that he changed his vanity plates -- is now passed up by the preposterous claim that Olympic-level sprinting is a "one-dimensional" event. I'm not even sure whether Chapman or Bolt should be more offended by this...
“Every level he goes to, he is going to compete. They will know who he is at every level he goes to.” -- ED on EDLC
Although I don't fully comprehend your post. "...passed up by..."? I'm certain that if AC or Bolt are offended by anything I have to say, they have bigger problems than being attention hounds. But yeah, I kinda like the analogy that Saluki brings up. I think AC's pitching strength is more suited to sprint/closing than say, a decathalon/starting.
As a closer, he's got one job. Throw hard and get the last 3 outs as quickly as possible. Don't worry about pacing yourself. Pump gas unless Hanny tells you otherwise. "Don't think Meat. You can only hurt the ballclub" Just like a sprinter goes from blocks to tape as quickly as possible. Straight ahead, singularly focused.
A starter/decathlete has to be more well rounded and disciplined. He can't just be good at one thing. He's got to study and train A TON. He has to be able to keep his wits and know that one event/inning is not the end-all-be-all of the contest and that you can lose the battle but still win the war.
Are you aware that...
* Chapman was not only a starter in Louisville, but in Cuba?
* The majority of his baseball career has been as a starter?
* Chapman throws more than a fastball?
* That relievers can lose the battle and the war with one pitch? Gotta think that takes a bit of mental toughness.
Yes. Nowhere in either of those leagues did he face the type of hitters up and down the lineup that he will in MLB
Yes. See above
Yes. Not at a commanding enough level to be a dominant starter in MLB (IMO of course)
No. I don't see it that way. Most of your better closers (not talking elite like Mo. Rivera and T. Hoffman) are freaking space cadets and that is their strength. They don't have to think about anything other than "this pitch right now". That is what makes them good them at what they do. Short sighted by design does not necessarily = mental toughness.
Last edited by TSJ55; 02-19-2013 at 07:48 AM.
Honestly, I don't see anything in the article that makes Aroldis look like Rocker or any extreme wildling. I think it's a good sign that in all of the speeding tickets, there hasn't been a citation for alcohol or drugs.
He's very young, he's in the spotlight, he has new money, he's in the enviable position, at 24, of having women chasing him, and he doesn't speak English well enough for the fans to really feel like they know him. I don't see a big deal here.
In the end, my reaction is whama-lama-ding-dong.
Last edited by marcshoe; 02-19-2013 at 08:17 AM. Reason: The Universe is expanding, so all things must change.
It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.
reds44 (02-19-2013)
Admittedly, the author did not interview anyone directly connected with Aroldis, so his conclusions are circumstantial, at best. The only thing I really learned from the article is that the Reds appear to be doing a good job in helping Aroldis mature.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who did some rather questionable things in my early 20s. The only concern I have is that I did those things without great resources - certainly not 30 mil. The extent of trouble Aroldis can get into is much greater because of that.
I believe he should be given room to grow. He has to find and determine his own way.
No relation to the real discussion here, but I find the term "extreme wildling" to be an excellent turn of phrase, marc. I'm going to be adding that to my personal lexicon from now on!
We now return you to your regularly scheduled RedsZone pop-psychology 101
If evolution is outlawed, only outlaws will evolve!
Last edited by Salukifan2; 02-19-2013 at 11:29 AM.
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