After the 1st inning he was good. He will be far from our problem this season, that's how I look at it. He has better stuff than Leake or Arroyo, you can't argue that. And they'll stick all season barring injury.
2009 Attendance Record: 3-5 2010 Attendance Record: 2-9 2015 Attendance Record: 2-0
2011 Attendance Record: 3-4 2012 Attendance Record: 3-4
2013 Attendance Record: 5-2 2014 Attendance Record: 3-1
Do spring training games count for anything? Should they receive more merit than regular season games?
I like Chapman, but he's never pitched a full game at The Show. I'd much rather see him pitching in AAA until he gets stretched out. If he pitches well for 10 games and shows the improved control we think he has, great! And if Bailey stinks up the joint in the meantime, then I'd have no problem trading Homer in favor of Chapman.
Bailey had an attrocious first inning, but bounced back pretty nicely. It was a bad start, but it could've been worse.
The reality is that I would much prefer Chapman to Arroyo at this juncture. And further, I would prefer Bailey to Arroyo at this juncture. But we know that's not going to happen.
Homer Bailey is a big-time victim of having a fan base expect the world out of him. To hear people talk about him, you'd expect to go look at his numbers and see 6.50 ERAs each and every year.
He has actually been very solid the last three seasons, he just hasn't been healthy. People must really get his bad games stuck in their head because there have been quite a few really good ones the last three season that everyone has seemingly forgotten about.
Homer is far from the biggest problem in the rotation. That would be the tall lanky guy with long blonde hair, who can't break a pane of glass with his fastball and is usually gassed by 75 pitches. Do something about him before you even think about demoting Homer.
Yes, it was a joke. Kind of. Comparing what someone has done as a reliever to what someone has done as a starter is silly.
Chapman gave up 7 home runs in AAA in 2010. He has given up 2 since coming to the Majors (all as a reliever). Is that to say that AAA hitters are better than MLB ones? Of course not, but pitching out of the bullpen is an entirely different animal than pitching out of the rotation.
You kind of made my point.... I didn't really know how to respond to the original post. So I went out and found a stat that also said something that has next to no meaning to it.
3 home runs in an inning is bad. No argument. But is 3 HR in an inning a litmus test of some sort?
Homer Bailey gave up 3 home runs in an inning. Therefore Homer Bailey is ________?
Colby Lewis gave up 3 home runs in an inning. Therefore Colby Lewis is ________?
Y Gallardo gave up 3 home runs in an inning. Therefore Y Gallarado is ________?
Doug, I sense you are on my "side" here so what ever you say will probably be objected to...but in the game thread I was shut down when I mentioned that Chapman is not ready for the rotation. (regarding his stamina) What are your thoughts on the matter...I can't imagine today just sliding him on in (for arguments sake, Bailey's slot) and things going smoothly.
The guy who has pitched more innings and won more games than any Reds pitcher since Jose Rijo is the problem child? Yeah, Arroyo had a bad 2011. Given the amount of good he's done in a Reds uniform, and that three times previously in his career people insisted he was finito only to be proven wrong, I'm perfectly fine with giving him some leash.
Meanwhile Bailey hasn't done squat. He's done nothing to earn an automatic slot in the rotation. As far as he knew, he was pitching for his job during spring training ... and he responded by soiling his boxers. If he doesn't get himself right then there's no justification for handing him a baseball and sending him out to start a ballgame. It's go time for the Reds and they can't afford to waste time on some ex-prospect who never arrived.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
I think it would be a fools bet to toss Chapman into the rotation today and expect good results. I want Chapman starting, but I don't think he has shown that he can, yet. He has never thrown a change up/splitter to a Major League hitter. He has never gone 6 innings in back to back games. He leads all of baseball in walk rate over the last 2 years. I would send him to Louisville, give him 4 weeks worth of starts, see where he is, and then re-evaluate both him and the MLB guys and go from there.
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