May 24, 201214 yr This debate is hysterical. The Reds have a very good starting rotation, and one of the best pens in the majors. So lets change it up? Things are going well right now which is why I'm okay with Chapman in the bullpen...for now. At this point, it's really a non-issue. But what happens if a starter gets injured? Leake is 1-5 with a 5.32 ERA. He's pitched well his last few starts, but what happens if he (or Homer) start to struggle again? In his career, Leake has made 9 starts in July & 8 in August. He has a 4.20 & 6.10 ERA, respectively. Bailey has made 9 career starts in June & 15 in July. He has a 7.29 & 5.98 ERA respectively. The Chapman debate is not over what's best for the team RIGHT NOW. Clearly, Chapman has been dominant and the bullpen needs him towards the backend. The issue is what happens if/when #4 or #5 in the rotation struggle or get injured. Do you turn to Sam Lecure? Jeff Francis? Or Aroldis Chapman? I love having Chapman available for a few innings here & there to shut the door, especially while Masset & Bray are on the DL. But the thought of running Cueto, Latos & Chapman out there for 3 playoff games makes me giddy.
May 24, 201214 yr I don't have a ton of confidence in Leake, and I'd love to see Aroldis start, but the way he's throwing out of the pen right now, it's a lot of fun to know when he's on the hill the inning is as good as over. Would it be sweet to see it over 7 or 8 innings sometimes? Duh. But I love having that dominant of a guy in the pen somewhere.
May 24, 201214 yr Don't forget that dominant numbers as a reliever don't always translate to being a starter. Take Daniel Bard of the Red Sox as an example. He is right handed but otherwise a lot like Chapman. He regularly hit 100 mph and piled up strikeouts in relief. Now that he has been moved to a starter he is just an average pitcher. Take a look at his splits: [table] [thead][tr][th]I[/th][th]Split[/th][th]W[/th][th]L[/th][th]W-L%[/th][th]ERA[/th][th]G[/th][th]GS[/th][th]GF[/th][th]CG[/th][th]SHO[/th][th]SV[/th][th]IP[/th][th]H[/th][th]R[/th][th]ER[/th][th]HR[/th][th]BB[/th][th]IBB[/th][th]SO[/th][th]HBP[/th][th]BK[/th][th]WP[/th][th]BF[/th][th]WHIP[/th][th]SO/9[/th][th]SO/BB[/th][/tr][/thead] [tr][td][/td][td]as Starter[/td][td]3[/td][td]5[/td][td].375[/td][td]4.75[/td][td]8[/td][td]8[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]47.1[/td][td]46[/td][td]26[/td][td]25[/td][td]3[/td][td]28[/td][td]0[/td][td]28[/td][td]5[/td][td]2[/td][td]1[/td][td]211[/td][td]1.563[/td][td]5.3[/td][td]1.00[/td][/tr] [tr][td][/td][td]as Reliever[/td][td]6[/td][td]13[/td][td].316[/td][td]2.87[/td][td]193[/td][td]0[/td][td]34[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]5[/td][td]197.2[/td][td]132[/td][td]71[/td][td]63[/td][td]16[/td][td]77[/td][td]10[/td][td]213[/td][td]7[/td][td]2[/td][td]5[/td][td]798[/td][td]1.057[/td][td]9.7[/td][td]2.77[/td][/tr] [/table] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/24/2012. [table] [thead][tr][th]I[/th][th]Split[/th][th]G[/th][th]PA[/th][th]AB[/th][th]R[/th][th]H[/th][th]2B[/th][th]3B[/th][th]HR[/th][th]SB[/th][th]CS[/th][th]BB[/th][th]SO[/th][th]SO/BB[/th][th]BA[/th][th]OBP[/th][th]SLG[/th][th]OPS[/th][th]TB[/th][th]GDP[/th][th]HBP[/th][th]SH[/th][th]SF[/th][th]IBB[/th][th]ROE[/th][th]BAbip[/th][th]tOPS+[/th][/tr][/thead] [tr][td][/td][td]as Starter[/td][td]8[/td][td]211[/td][td]174[/td][td]26[/td][td]46[/td][td]11[/td][td]0[/td][td]3[/td][td]6[/td][td]3[/td][td]28[/td][td]28[/td][td]1.00[/td][td].264[/td][td].378[/td][td].379[/td][td].757[/td][td]66[/td][td]5[/td][td]5[/td][td]2[/td][td]2[/td][td]0[/td][td]1[/td][td].297[/td][td]146[/td][/tr] [tr][td][/td][td]as Reliever[/td][td]193[/td][td]798[/td][td]695[/td][td]71[/td][td]132[/td][td]25[/td][td]4[/td][td]16[/td][td]19[/td][td]2[/td][td]77[/td][td]213[/td][td]2.77[/td][td].190[/td][td].274[/td][td].306[/td][td].581[/td][td]213[/td][td]10[/td][td]7[/td][td]11[/td][td]8[/td][td]10[/td][td]8[/td][td].245[/td][td]88[/td][/tr] [/table] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/24/2012.
May 25, 201214 yr Things are going well right now which is why I'm okay with Chapman in the bullpen...for now. At this point, it's really a non-issue. But what happens if a starter gets injured? Leake is 1-5 with a 5.32 ERA. He's pitched well his last few starts, but what happens if he (or Homer) start to struggle again? In his career, Leake has made 9 starts in July & 8 in August. He has a 4.20 & 6.10 ERA, respectively. Bailey has made 9 career starts in June & 15 in July. He has a 7.29 & 5.98 ERA respectively. The Chapman debate is not over what's best for the team RIGHT NOW. Clearly, Chapman has been dominant and the bullpen needs him towards the backend. The issue is what happens if/when #4 or #5 in the rotation struggle or get injured. Do you turn to Sam Lecure? Jeff Francis? Or Aroldis Chapman? I love having Chapman available for a few innings here & there to shut the door, especially while Masset & Bray are on the DL. But the thought of running Cueto, Latos & Chapman out there for 3 playoff games makes me giddy. What happens if Chapman doesn't do well as a starter? Your point is all based on an assumption.
May 25, 201214 yr What happens if Chapman doesn't do well as a starter? Your point is all based on an assumption. Yup, I'm assuming that Chapman is a serviceable starting pitcher and his ridiculous numbers lead me to believe that's probable. Maybe not as dominant, but most definitely serviceable.
May 25, 201214 yr What happens if Chapman doesn't do well as a starter? Your point is all based on an assumption. Seattle screwed up by not making Randy Johnson a full time closer instead of a starter, I mean that guy would have shut people down in the bullpen... Yes Chapman is doing great in the bullpen, no doubt about that. However I want to see the Reds not only make the playoffs, but win the dang thing. If Chapman can be a good starter too, then their chances of seriously making a run at it goes way up. We know how this offense performs against good pitchers, we don't score much. So we need shut down starters too for the post season. Its worth the risk to try to start him, and if he fails as a starter then you already know he can do great in the bullpen.
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