Photos from Chapman's start:
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...4110805&Ref=PH
Photos from Chapman's start:
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...4110805&Ref=PH
Larry Parrish said this:
Hey Larry, correct if I'm wrong, but isn't that called pitching? Did you really expect Chapman to throw nothing but fastballs just because your hitters were expecting fastballs? A huge part of pitching is to keep the hitters guessing by mixing up pitches."Against us he walked one," Mud Hens manager Larry Parish told the Toledo Balde. "(Pitching against) big-leaguers, today he walks eight. Big leaguers wouldn't have swung at balls over their heads or at balls a foot outside. He would throw a breaking ball when guys were cheating to catch up to a fastball, and they would swing at balls that weren't close to the plate."
From Baseball America:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/...8281#more-8281The Mud Hens hit just three balls out of the infield against Chapman, who topped 90 mph 57 times—43 of which went for strikes—and had only one of his 85 pitches under 80—a 79 mph slider in the second.
Chapman threw more breaking pitches in the fourth, striking out two of the three hitters he faced that inning.
“The reason I used the breaking pitch is because I wanted to depend on all of my pitches, not just my fastball,” Chapman said.
“I thought my fastball was good, but a lot of the changeups didn’t come in the way I wanted them too. The location wasn’t what I wanted, so I wasn’t happy with it.”
Sweet said Chapman has been working with Reds coaches on his breaking pitches.
“He’s got a pretty good breaking pitch,” Sweet said of Chapman’s slider. “They’ve made a few changes that have made it (break) bigger.
It's interesting that reading the Toledo Blade story on the game, Parrish was also putting some of this on his own players. From the story: “He throws the ball pretty firm, but a lot of guys throw that hard in the big leagues,” Mud Hens manager Larry Parrish said of Chapman. “If you want to play there, you’re going to face guys like [Chapman]. This quote was followed by the comment that Chapman wasn't like Ryan or Richards out there.
I found the most important comment was from Rick Sweet in which he said Chapman has much to learn at this level, fielding being one of the areas. No doubt we'll see Chapman some time this season, but I'm glad he's getting the seasoning he is.
http://toledoblade.com/article/20100...TS07/100419963
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I kind of agree with him. Chapman against major leagues probably walks 4 or 5 guys and loses a few strikeouts. The lineup top to bottom almost was cheating on the fastball. It caused them to really expand the zone, something that won't happen as much in the majors.
From John Fay:
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/201...leake-chapman/PRICE ON CHAPMAN: Pitching coach Bryan Price was encouraged by Aroldis Chapman’s Louisville debut.
“I saw the highlights and he was beating guys with fastballs,” Price said. “In spring training, he was trying to trick guys with the change-up and slider. One of the things we focused on was him being able to finish hitters with his fastball. I was happy.”
I found this interesting:
It'd be nice if we'd get that kind of detailed scouting report more often.“He doesn’t stay over the rubber very well,” Parrish said. “He gets way out in front and the arm is either dragging or flying trying to catch up.
“Actually, when we had a guy on base and he quickened his delivery from 1.8 (seconds to the plate) to 1.4, he kept himself together better at 1.4 and threw a better quality of strikes.”
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
from ctrent (via twitter): Mario Soto is with the #bats and will be for the next couple of weeks. #reds
safe to say soto is going to be working with mr. chapman?
From Fay:
Chapman will start tomorrow for the #Bats at 2:05. Game's sold out. SRO tickets will be sold.
http://twitter.com/johnfayman
from the Reds website:
http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin"I've listened to all of his press conferences and [media appearances], and the one thing he keeps saying is about the work ethic and how many things we work on fundamentally -- things I guess they didn't work on [in Cuba]," Sweet said. "We did bunt defense today, stuff they normally don't do down there, but it's the stuff we do every day. That's the one thing he keeps talking about -- how involved we are in the game."
When Chapman, who threw 85 pitches last Sunday and probably will toss close to the same amount on Saturday, takes the mound, he'll look to keep improving his changeup. In Sweet's eyes, that's the one key pitch that will help him break through the Major League barrier and make him a potential star.
"It's a new pitch for him," Sweet said. "He needs to use it more consistently. But he's picked it up fast."
From C. Trent:
http://cnati.com/cincinnati-reds/cha...-a-day-001779/Former Reds standout Mario Soto joined the team after their roadtrip and has been working with Chapman on his changeup, a pitch Sweet sees as vital for Chapman's development. Soto, a special assistant to Walk Jocketty, will be with the team for a couple of weeks, Sweet said.
"The one key pitch that's really going to put (Chapman) over the hump is his changeup and more consistency with it. It's a new pitch for him, he's picked it up fast," Sweet said. "One thing we've noticed is that he picks some things up fast. I had some baserunning with him yesterday and he picks things up fast, it helps having Mario here to explain it in Spanish. He's learning fast. Obviously command of all his pitch, every pitcher is working on that. His command is not so much, it's command in the strike zone, better quality pitches that he throws in the strike zone. I'd say command of all his pitches is what he's working on, but I'd say that with almost every one of my pitches here."
Will Carroll - checking out Aroldis Chapman
full report:I finally got the chance to see Chapman live last night in Indianapolis, and he didn't disappoint. Forgive me if I sound like a scout (reminder: I am not a scout), but he's a smooth lefty with a live arm, showing two plus pitches and the makings of two more. The Reds' prospect with Triple-A Louisville throws a very good fastball that lives at 92-94 mph and can touch 100 when he gets angry. He has a slider with two-plane movement, enough to buckle the knees of a good hitter. That good hitter, Pedro Alvarez, saw three pitches in his second at-bat. First was a 93-mph fastball that tailed back in over the outside of the plate.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...rticleid=10639
Soto + Chapman = Win
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
Kurkjian on SportsCenter says Chapman will most likely be in Cincinnati in June, probably more toward early June than later.
Domo Arigato, Here Comes Joey Votto
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