Everyone knows that Dr Sam Beckett invented the high five in the early 70's when he was playing high school basketball in Indiana.
Everyone knows that Dr Sam Beckett invented the high five in the early 70's when he was playing high school basketball in Indiana.
One point made in this thread that warrants further discussion is the idea of how realistic it is to get Chapman ready before the 9th, on the fly. To me, its the most important factor in the enitre decision on whether Chapman can be used to "put out the fire." I think maybe it's overblown.
If it's the 8th inning of a one or two run game, Chapman should get up and do some light tossing to get loose as soon as somebody gets on base. If its a bigger lead, Chapman should start loosening as soon as the tying run comes to the plate. If the next hitter gets on, the catcher goes out to stall/talk to the pitcher while Chapman revs it up a bit in the pen. When that time is all used up, Dusty comes out to make the change and Chapman still gets 8 more pitches on the mound before the hitter steps in. That should be plenty of time to get him ready. He really shouldn't need to go full bore more than 5 to 10 pitches to be ready. If he needs more prep time than that ....
Conversely, if its a three run lead, I probably wouldn't go to Chapman immediately in the 9th to get the save. I'd let Hoover or Lecure or somebody try to get three outs. If they start getting hit, the same logic as above could be used to bring Chapman in. I think Chappy could be spotted in the 8th inning once in a while without adding a lot to his workload by letting him have the day off with a 3 run lead. He may end up with fewer saves as a result, and it's why I think it isn't done more. The contrived stat is contributing to when he (and all other closers) get used IMO.
Last edited by mth123; 06-15-2013 at 08:22 AM.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
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