Skip to main content

Okay With Chapman


I have to say, the sticker price has me in shock. As someone who loved Mariano Rivera (still my favorite athlete of all-time), I am having a hard time imagining a closer in pinstripes making $17M per year that isn't, you know, Mariano Rivera! But as the saying goes, "that's baseball, Suzyn". And that's baseball, especially in today's market. 

Yes, I really did like Andrew Miller more than Chapman. I actually, really, really, really liked Miller! Still do. But, here we are. Needing a closer. And Chapman fits the bill without us losing a draft pick. 

Am I concerned? Of course. Anytime your team commits to any star long term, there is that trepidation. Five years is a long time for a reliever, and the last time a reliever got that, it didn't go so well (Remember B.J. Ryan and the Blue Jays?). 


More questions come into play such as, will he lose his fastball? How will he age? And of course, what does he have left after the Cubs used him like the rented commodity that they viewed his as? 

While those answers are on the table, a part of me remembers that he is indeed Aroldis Chapman. He's not B.J. Ryan, or even Mark Melancon, or Jonathan Papelbon - the other three big time reliever contracts. Chapman is Chapman. The dude is indeed a stud. In fact, I had bleacher seats in the bullpen several times this past season prior to him heading to Wrigleyville, and the dude is an absolute beast. 

And honestly, if he loses his fastball, that leaves him at what, 98mph? At the worst 96mph?

So yeah, I'm feeling a bit better. Chapman is back in tow, and you know what? I'm okay with it. I'm okay with Chapman. Betances can now slide back into the set-up role, pitching the eighth, or high leverage situations prior to that, along with Clippard. If we can add one more piece, possibly a lefty (Boone Logan?), I'll be really content about the bullpen for 2017. 

Nonetheless, I'm sure this is just the beginning of some more moves this off-season. With the Chapman deal complete, I'm sure, issues like moving Headley and/or Gardner are now on the front burner. 

Baseball's off-season, gotta love it. 
Labels:

Recently Read

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 2/11/19

3 Up 1. Eva Ramon Gallegos Cure HPV - Could Cervical Cancer be a thing of the past? It very much looks like it as after twenty years of work, Gallegos has found a cure that completely eliminates the cancer. This is remarkable work, and it's pretty awesome to see the Mexican Medical community come together proudly in this achievement. 2. "This is America" Grammy - Finally!! Childish Gambino got some national love for the work he did on this great song, and even more so, on the overall art/video that was "This is America". Of course, he wasn't there to pick it up as the Grammys and their long standing issue with the hip-hop community continues... 3. Women at SOTU - Women continue to be bad ass in the current age. Their solidarity within the Capitol for the President's SOTU was a great sight to see. 3 Down 1. Venezuela Crisis - The country of Venezuela is in absolute shambles right now as they tussle over leadership, and really, a move toward d...
Read more

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 2/9/25

3 Up 1. Eagles Defensive Live - I'm no football aficionado or even a huge fan - but what the Eagles front four on defense did was dominating.  1a. Philadelphia Eagles - Congratulations to Eagles fans and the city of Philadelphia on the Super Bowl win.  2. Kendrick Lamar - I'm sure it'll be controversial - we all knew it would be going in. Throwing my two cents into the arena of public opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed Kendrick's performance. I'm a fan, so that's easy. Tough night to be Drake though. Yikes!  3. Human-Like Teeth in Pigs - Science can be cool. But stories like this are absolutely amazing.  3 Down 1. Plan for Education? - Look, I'm all for cutting wasteful spending from the government. However, I also want to know the plan to replace or support the areas that are being cut. Eliminating the Department of Education? Ok, cool. What's the plan after that? 2. USAID - We live in a VERY blessed country. My heart is with the countries and people who re...
Read more

Thoughts on TNA on AMC Debut: "Yup, TNA is back. It is so back."

TNA is back.  And I know that because it is heavily under scrutiny by the internet. But that criticism comes with being back on a major platform like the AMC Network, and of course, taking the next step after a super successful 2025.  So, what did I think?  The show was...ummmm okay, at best. Some of the challenges the company faced heading into this weekend were well documented among the rumor mill, which didn't bode well for the company. In balancing reported visa issues with talent, pivoting after losing core talent to free agency, and attempting to build and manage talent workload with a premium live event on Saturday, TNA found themselves in the usual TNA stuff. The most peculiar - and strangest - of situations to be in going into a big network premiere. This company, man! All in all, again, the show was okay. It had its flaws. It had some cool moments. It didn't live up to the hype (or the expectations we each had for such a premiere). But it's one show. TNA has put...
Read more