Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Chapman fine and dandy
Posted by Harry PavlidisJust a few days ago, Aroldis Chapman's declining velocity was raising concern and drawing attention. The hope was Chapman was merely fatigued, the result of working four nights out of five. The fear was the Cuban southpaw was hurt.
Sounds like hope trumped fear in this case. Chapman took the mound on Monday night and his triple-digit velocity was there. After dropping all the way to the low 90s on April 13, Chapman hit 100 mph 10 times (12 if you round up on some 99.5+ pitches), with his top pitch coming in at 103.2 mph. Folks watching the Reds broadcast reported speeds up to 106, but these PITCHf/x bases numbers (adjusted to 55 feet from the back of home plate but not for weather/park) seem more reasonable.
Whichever set of numbers you go by, Chapman is fine. Just keep him rested, Dusty.
Harry Pavlidis admits he has a baseball problem. He is a member of Complete Game Consulting and has his own blog, Cubs f/x. Feedback, questions and comments are appreciated - Email harrypav@gmail.com and Twitter @harrypav
I think that Chapman tiring from what is often typical bullpen usage that significantly should be more fuel to send him back to the rotation. Derp Red’s management, derp.