Is it me, or have we heard nothing from Price about the Chapman decision?
not a peep. None of the beat reporters have asked him about it? I find that hard to believe.
Just seems odd is all
Is it me, or have we heard nothing from Price about the Chapman decision?
not a peep. None of the beat reporters have asked him about it? I find that hard to believe.
Just seems odd is all
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
jimbo (03-26-2013)
People change their minds
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...s_mlb&c_id=mlb
The bottom line from Chapman: He prefers the rush of the ninth-inning save situations over the long-haul nature of starting.
"In the beginning when I started closing, it was something I didn't know," Chapman said. "But as I started throwing and getting into the late part of the game when the game is more exciting and has more meaning, I kind of liked it. Yeah, the adrenaline goes up and I like to be in that situation. I would like to be a closer, yeah, but there are some things that I can't control."
Earlier in camp, pitching coach Bryan Price said he could not imagine a 25-man roster without Leake being on it.
One way or the other, Chapman would like to know what's in store for him as soon as possible.
"I'm waiting for this," Chapman said. "I want to feel better about the situation and I want to concentrate more on whatever they tell me to do. I will sit down here and wait for their decision."
Ok.. but Leake has a career ERA of 4.23 over 3 years/485 IP.
He doesn't K 10 per 9 IP, but during the regular season, you want the BOR guy to give you innings/quality starts (so you have a chance to win).. Whether the starter does run prevention through K's or any other method really doesn't matter to me.
So I guess Chapman at a 4.50 ERA isn't really much of an upgrade to me.
In fact, it might be a downgrade. And yes, a 4.50 ERA as a starter is mediocre.
For Leake's career, he averages 6.2 IP per start (That's real decimal: 6 1/5 innings). That's not something to jump up and down with excitement with, but
it's pretty steady, and Chapman would not have been able to average that many IP per start. Chapman starting would put a toll on the pen, much like Volquez did in 2011. That tires out the pen, and impacts games in which Chapman does not start.
If Chapman needs a "personal long reliever" like Leake or Lecure to be available at every start to bail him out and keep his IP low, I really question the value of him starting. If we were rebuilding, I'd have no problem with it, but I think Chapman starting is much more likely to hurt us in the pennant race than Leake starting would.
Beyond 2013, maybe starting him this year pays dividends, maybe not.
But beyond 2013, Choo is gone, and everyone is a year older, etc.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
I am sure Price was given the opportunity to give his input.
Price believes that Chapman is not going to reach his full potential as a reliever.
I can see that logic.
However, I bet Price also sees that the team MIGHT be better with Leake starting and Chapman closing.
Honestly, Price has been around baseball for a long time. I'm sure he can accept decisions like this and realize that he's not always going to get this way.
This is not a "kick in the nuts"
I just don't see him getting so upset that he would quit over this.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
He stole about $50 worth of merchandise over what appears to have been a dumb misunderstanding on his part.
Everyone here must be a freaking saint!
One incident (good or bad) is not enough to form a judgement of a person's intelligence.
Honestly, I really don't care what Leake's real IQ is..
He seems to know how to pitch effectively. He can't always execute what he wants to do (and HRs are often the result, that's a fair criticism).
Hopefully that can improve with time. I can't guarantee that will improve, but it's a reasonable hope. He did have a great 2011. Heck, 2010 was respectable too.
Not an ace season, but a valuable guy, especially at the salary he's making.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
There is nothing wrong with staying around the strikezone. Plenty of really good pitchers don't depend on getting hitters to chase bad pitches. What a pitcher can't do is miss his spots INSIDE the strikezone. If you miss outside the strikezone it is no big deal (unless it is a three-ball count). If you miss inside the strikezone, there is a high probability of giving up an extra base hit.
Leake's stuff is good enough to be effective if he locates his pitches. Where he gets in trouble is when he throws a mistake pitch. A guy like Chapman can blow a mistake pitch past hitters. When Leake makes a mistake, it gets hit HARD. Leake certainly has room for improvement when it comes to his consistency inside the strikezone. The more he can limit his mistakes, the less hard contact hitters will make against him.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if Leake became an Arroyo clone as he gains more experience and better command. As a best case scenario, I could even see him becoming a Tim Hudson-type if he really gets his control dialed in.
jimbo (03-26-2013),mth123 (03-27-2013),Revering4Blue (03-26-2013)
So, Leake "knows" how to pitch, he just can't execute?
the very definition of damning someone with faint praise. I know what i want to do with my money...i just get distracted at Best Buy.
As for people changing their minds... again I point to Price who has yet to weigh in on this decision.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
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