At the beginning of October, the Cincinnati Reds announced they would be using this off-season to convert Aroldis Chapman to a starter.

Originally, the plan was to have Chapman build up arm-strength in Goodyear, AZ before sending him to Puerto Rico for winter baseball. After two appearances in the Arizona Fall League, that plan has changed.

“We’ve decided against sending him to Puerto Rico,” GM Walt Jocketty said. “He’s on a strength-and-conditioning program in Arizona. He’ll go to Florida after that and continue to work out.”

Of course, the immediate concern is that Chapman is injured, but Jocketty denied that. Instead, the Reds simply decided the risk of winter ball was too high for the reward. “Unlike the [Arizona Fall League], Winter Ball is not a controlled situation and it is very competitive.”

Given Chapman’s tender status, I can’t argue with being more cautious. It’s only November. There should be plenty of time to get in shape to start by next season.

In what I think is a good move, the Cincinnati Reds today announced that Aroldis Chapman will begin his transition to becoming a starter for next season.

The plan is for him to build up arm strength at the Reds’ facility in Goodyear, AZ before heading to Puerto Rico for winter ball.

“We’re finalizing plans right now,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. “He’ll gradually build up his innings. He’ll pitch two or three innings to start. Eventually, we’ll get him up to five innings.”

Chapman will spend about a month in Winter Ball.

“That will give him time to rest before spring training,” Jocketty said.

Sounds good to me. Chapman has never been given a chance as a starter. He spent half of 2010 in the minors as a starter, and this year was sadly wasted. He might not be suited for it–he has a history of being wild–but it behooves the Reds to find out. As this year showed, their starting pitching depth isn’t nearly as deep as they thought.

Aroldis Chapman made his return to the major league playing field tonight, and he did not disappoint. Though his ninth inning appearance against the Baltimore Orioles did come with a 5-run lead, it still wasn’t exactly a no-pressure situation. After all, before he went on the DL, he might have gotten the loss in this situation.

But not tonight. Tonight, Chapman was all strike-outs, mowing down Matt Wieters, Mark Reynolds, and Robert Andino. The last pitch I saw clocked in at 101 mph. That’s the good stuff people pay to see.

So, welcome back, Chapman. We’re all looking forward to you outperforming Bad-royo the rest of the season.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everybody!

What I’ve always found interesting about this holiday is how it’s celebrated more in the United States than it is in Mexico. One thing I never stopped to consider was, what does Aroldis Chapman think of the holiday?

You might remember that he’s from Cuba, a country that has nothing to do with the minor Mexican holiday. But don’t tell Pepto-Bismol that.

They contracted Chapman for this commercial showing a novel way of breaking apart a piñata.

What the hell was in that thing? Real stomach acid? This ad was weird in so many ways.

Maybe next year Pepto can tap Joey Votto for a St. Patrick’s Day commercial. You know, because he’s Canadian.

No, he’s not a Pokemon, but Cincinnati Reds fireballer Aroldis Chapman seems to add to his move set the more battles he’s victorious in.

Remember back to Saturday when the Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals? Chapman got the win in that affair, shutting down the Cardinals in the 7th inning.

Yesterday, Chapman did it again, this time against the Milwaukee Brewers. He was brought in in the bottom of the 8th in a tie game with runners on first and second. He promptly hit the first batter he faced to load them, but after that, the Brewers didn’t have a chance. He struck out Carlos Gomez and then got Ryan Braun to ground weakly to third for the final out.

But he wasn’t done. The game was still tied heading into the bottom of the 9th, so rather than use his closer, Dusty Baker sent Chapman back out. Again, the Brewers didn’t have a chance. He made Prince Fielder look silly, striking him out, got a fly-out from Casey McGehee, and then picked off the one runner he did allow to reach. Oh, and all of this with his fastball consistently north of 100 miles per hour. John Fay described it as Chapman’s best game so far.

Chapman threw 19 pitches, 17 strikes.

“That was the best he’s looked,” Baker said. “He was throwing quality strikes and getting quality hitters out. … They got guys over there who can hit in the clutch.”

Obviously the guy would be more valuable in the starting rotation, but he sure is a nice option to have right now. And until then, he might just be making Baker a better, smarter manager.

Let’s hope he he’s not reached level 100 yet. I’d hate to see him maxed out so early.

Today was a nice win, but it doesn’t blot out the shining weakness that was a strength just a few weeks ago: the starting pitching. Volquez, as #1 starter is expected to absorb something like 220 innings. How is he going to do that when his pitch count is usually in the mid 50s by the 3rd inning?

Bronson Arroyo (he of the golden hair and rubber arm) is struggling with some kind of upper respiratory problem that had doctors scratching their heads, leading to tests. Inititally the tests were for something bizarre called ‘Valley Fever’ but then suddenly the much more well-known Mononucleosis (aka Mono) became the final prognosis. If you know Bronson like I know him, you know he is on his yacht during the offseason, somewhere in the Flordia Keys or thereabouts.

Bronson, as an athlete, is unfortunately insulated from independent news outlets such as this one. He probably relies on getting his information from the Main Stream Media aka MSM. That can be deadly. The MSM will have you believe the Oil Spill is a thing of the past and you can eat Atlantic Lobster at $9.99/lb. Nevermind the countless independent reports citing oil just beneath the sand, of insane amounts of aerial Corexit spraying, and of vast die-offs of marine life. So forgive me for thinking that Bronson maybe inhaled some of this poisonous vapor cocktail while patroling about on the SS Curveball.

The good news is that he is under treatment and out of that toxic environment. If anything, Arroyo has proven to be a resilient character having never touched the DL as a Red, if memory serves me correctly.

Nontheless one must be concerned at the state of the starting pitching staff. Arroyo is recuperating from illness, Cueto has a mystery arm ailment, and Volquez can’t keep his pitch count at reasonable levels to last deep into a ballgame. I almost forgot that Homer Bailey is gone for an unspecified time period, and is not even throwing a ball these days.

The good news is the Aroldis Chapman is lurking in the shadows. You’d think this would be the opportune time to stretch him out as a long reliever and prepare a transition to the starting rotatation. Things would be looking mighty good at that point and might even have Pete Rose looking more cheerful than this:

As always, be sure to stockpile food, water, firearms, gold and silver coins, and alternative medicines…. and like that old cop on Hill Street Blues used to say: “Stay Safe Out There.”

AND GO REDS!

THC REED
Red-Hot-Mama.com Contributing Writer

Today at the Cincinnati Reds spring training facility in Goodyear, Arizona, it was all about Aroldis Chapman.

First, John Fay interviewed pitching coach Bryan Price about things Chapman needs to work on and his future role.

“First and foremost, especially with young guys, it’s going to be about command and commanding the count. Where he would be vulnerable is if he sets a precedent of being behind in the count and guys are comfortable enough to lay off some pitches. You don’t want to get to two strikes with this guys, he has a lot of ways to put you away.”

“He has to continue to work on the slider and make it a higher-percentage strike pitch as well as finish pitch.”

Price again reiterated the Reds position that Chapman’s eventual roster spot will be as a starter, but that it’s best to introduce him to the majors via lower pressure relief situations. I like how the Reds have been handling Chapman. Letting someone break into the big leagues in a relief role allows the club to better control the pressure and the number of innings, not to mention it allows the pitcher to focus on perfecting a couple pitches instead of the arsenal a starter needs. I do look forward to seeing what Chapman can do as a starter in another year or two, though.

Dusty Baker also spoke about Chapman and his role with the Reds this year.

“One thing I want squash right now is closer-situation controversy. I know everyone want’s to be in a hurry to rush him in there. But we’ve got to get him acclimated to what he’s doing first. (Francisco) Cordero, even though it’s been exciting at times, he’s still second at least our leagues in saves the last two years. That’s something that most people overlook.”

Are there lots of people clamoring for that? I know Cordero was frustrating as hell last year, and it was nice to have Chapman available to bail him out on occasion, but I don’t think it would be wise to throw Chapman into the pressure-cooker of the 9th inning.

Lastly, John Fay interviewed Chapman via interpreter. He’s happy in his relief role and has a lot of desire to improve. Given his flashes of success last year, I’d like to see him improve, too.

Chapman also talked about the intense expectations that he feels from the crowd whenever he takes the mound.

“I really feel good when I see those things the fans want me to do,” he said. “But, really, the truth is that particular moment I don’t think about those things. I just do what I have to do. I think about my job. . . At that moment, I just want to pitch.”

That’s probably wise. Otherwise, those 105 mile-per-hour fastballs might be flying over the fences, or leaving mighty painful bruises.

Aroldis Chapman was brought into the extra-innings game against the Pittsburgh Pirates last night and dominated, striking out 2 and getting a ground-out from the third. I don’t know where he fits into the future versions of the Cincinnati Reds, but he was electric last night, and I could easily seeing him supplanting Francisco Cordero in the playoffs, should Cordero continue to struggle.

Here’s Chapman throwing a 101mph heater and striking out a batter.

The RHM crew were there in Spring Training for one of Aroldis Chapman’s appearances. And we caught one of his performances with the Bats when they stopped by Indianapolis. We weren’t in Cincinnati for his Major League debut last night, but we were glued to the television. Dusty Baker said it best, “We weren’t disappointed.”

No, no we were not.

Aroldis Chapman came on in the 8th with the Reds holding a comfortable 8-3 lead. It was the perfect opportunity for him to get his feet wet, and if he wasn’t sharp, the damage could be controlled. There was no need for damage control. Chapman’s first pitch was a 98 mile-per-hour fastball strike to Jonathan Lucroy. Next was an 86 mph slider that Lucroy swung and missed at, followed by fouling off a 102 mph fastball, before striking out on another 86 mph slider. Lucroy just became Chapman’s first big league strikeout.

Chapman’s pitch count ended up being 8 for his inning of work. 7 of them were strikes. After the initial strikeout, he got groundouts from Craig Counsell and Carlos Gomez, all while continuously throwing 100 mph or above.

What a debut. The crowd was on their feet for the 8th inning, to see the marvelous Cuban pitching phenom. And I sat at home, visions of Chapman mowing down postseason opposition in my head. A long time ago I worried about Chapman getting some terrible injury before he ever made it to Cincinnati and how hard I thought it would be to be the people in charge of deciding when Chapman was called up. Kudos to them. They’ve done a perfect job.