Wednesday, August 25, 2021

It's time we had a talk about Aroldis Chapman, because something is dreadfully wrong


Sadly, this we know: 

There is no realistic path to a 2021 Yankee world championship with Aroldis Chapman as closer. 

Nope. Ainta gonna happen. You might as well believe in leprechauns, or QAnons.

Listen: I'm not here to demean El Chapo. The evil that men do lives long after them; the good is oft interred with their ERAs. Chapman can help the '21 Yankees, maybe even play a pivotal role. But if the Yankees think they can ride him through an October - they've ingested too many edibles. We'll see the same finale as in the last two seasons - another walk-off meltdown. 

At this point in his career - pushing 34 - Aroldis has become a nightly roll of the dice, a waterfall hallucination, capable of imploding at any moment. No lead is safe, and a one-run lead looks especially dire. Going forth, Aaron Boone's rules for engaging Chapman should go this way:

When he goes 3-0 on a batter, start warming his replacement.

If he's not showing 100 mph velocity with control - regardless of how he's doing - start warming someone. 

If a runner reaches base - regardless of the reason - take him out.

Once the sweat droplets start rolling off his cap like a quart jug of Mountain Dew, take him out. 

Throughout his career, El Chapo has been a dominating, fearsome presence, a powerhouse on the mound. Right now, he's a giant inflatable, holding up a porcupine. On any given night, he might look superhuman - or go poof. And he won't correct everything in time to win a world series. 

Last night, we learned our other former all-star closer, Zack Britton, is likely done for the year. With trade restrictions choking the waiver wire, the Yankees must promote someone from within to pitch the ninth. 

We have two de facto closers - Jonathan Loaisiga and Mean Chad Green. Both have struggled, including some absolutely disastrous losses that, at the times, seemed to define the '21 Yankees. Last night, Wandy Peralta came through, surviving an incredible pressure cooker. But whatever it's worth, I lean toward the most interesting player on the Yankees - of course... Nasty Nestor. 

Though it would hurt to drop him from the rotation, here's why Nestor Octavio-Cortez can close. (And for whatever it's worth, if El Chapo doesn't like being demoted, "Tough titty" said the kitty with the milk so warm.) 

1. Throughout his career, Nestor has been a reliever. He's used to getting entering games on short notice. 

2. He's actually a better reliever than starter. In eight relief appearances this year, opposing batters are hitting only .197 against him. His 2.29 ERA in relief beats his 2.70 as a starter.

3. Nestor gets the leadoff batter. This year, the first batters he face are hitting a meager .143 against him. In his first inning, they are hitting .192 - an on base percentage of .222. He's not one of those pitchers who doesn't figure out his stuff until the fourth inning.

4. Nestor's problem this season has been the third time around in a batting order, when hitters are .342 against him. As closer, he never has to deal with this.

5. Can you imagine batters - after facing Cole, Green, Loasiga and maybe even El Chapo, fireballer after fireballer - and then, in comes this ballsy, kewpie doll slinging frisbees.

One other possibility, in a Disney fantasy sort of way: Could Luis Severino return to resume the one-inning role that began his career? Don't hold your breath. But seriously, folks, we need a unicorn. And it's time for a ninth inning intervention.

NOTE TO READERS: BEGINNING TONIGHT, I WILL BE DOING MY (FORMERLY ANNUAL, WE DIDN'T DO IT LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF COVID) DRUNK YANKEE BLOG.

 I WILL BE IMBIBING WITH OLD FRIENDS, INCLUDING REDSOCK FANS, THROUGH SUNDAY. POSTS WILL BE SPORADIC AND PERHAPS NOT AS COGENT AND LIFE-FULFILLING AS USUAL. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.

54 comments:

Rufus T. Firefly said...

The problem with Nasty Nestor as the closer is -- who would replace him in the rotation? Gil?

Parson Tom said...

use Gil as closer. they can't touch this.

Celerino Sanchez said...

Putting Chapman is the definition of Insanity, Doing the same thing over & over again and expecting a different result.

Dantes said...

The ghost of severino will stroll out of the field of dreams corn, catch a greyhound and become our closer late next week.

JM said...

I'm still sad about Charlie Watts. Losing Chapman is nothing new and pales in comparison to that news.

ZacharyA said...

I know it's bad form to complain about the manager during an 11-game winning streak, but I'm going to anyway:

Why was Aroldis Chapman left in the game after the 4-pitch walk to Ehire Adrianza? Boone has got to have a quicker hook.

Rizzo is 1-18 (.056) since coming off the IL and 5-41 (.122) since the Miami series. How do you let that guy get all the 1B plate appearances when Luke Voit is red hot? Luke is hitting .320/.393/.620 in 56 PA this month. I get it, Rizzo is a better glove blah blah blah. Bring him in as a defensive replacement in the 7th, whatever. Can we FOR ONCE ride a hot bat?

Why the hell was Rougned Odor still at third base in the 9th inning? He's made a couple bungling mistakes over there (I don't really blame him, he was forced to play a position he never had before on the fly in the middle of the season). Get Tyler Wade in for defense for crying out loud. This is basic stuff.

I was a few whiskeys in but I seem to remember Boone used Jonathan Davis as a pinch hitter. Pinch. Hitter. PINCH. HITTER. Davis is a career .171/.272/.248 batter and Boone used him off the bench just for his bat. He didn't come in for defense or pinch running. Boone looked at Davis and thought, "there's gotta be a way to get his bat in the game." Boone just let the pitcher hit next time.

Remind me again why Boone (and/or Cashman) chose to start Andrew Heaney over Luis Gil yesterday? Gil has thrown 15.2 scoreless innings to begin his MLB career and was good again in AAA last night (6.1 IP, 2 R). Heaney wasn't a disaster or anything, but what's the thought process here? Heaney is a pure rental, he has no longterm role on the team. Why are we showing him such loyalty? Here's what Boone said on the matter:

“Look, we have five guys in our rotation that are making starts right now, and in a lot of ways, you’d have to get rid of one of ‘em to have [Gil]. And I don’t know if that’s the smartest thing to do right now, especially when we are getting a lot of really good starts. Obviously Luis came up here and pitched really well and has put himself in that mix and in that conversation, but … [we’re] trying to hold on to some depth, especially not knowing what you’re going to need down the stretch.”

What the hell is he trying to say. Gil is already on the 40-man roster so no finagling is needed to get him up here. If you don't want to DFA Heaney just send Jonathan Davis back to AAA and call up Gil. Easy.

This winning streak has been fun but I can't shake the feeling that Boone is gonna cost us big in October.

JM said...

Zach, Boone is an idiot. Every point you make is totally correct. He's been as lucky as Torre in that the players he chooses have tended to come through many times, but that doesn't excuse his choices.

The Davis move was particularly inexplicable. They brought Davis up, he pinch (didn't) hit and they sent him back down. Why was he here? Why is Allen still ignored?

I thought the same thing when Odor took too long to throw on that 9th inning grounder. Why wasn't Wade there? Why is Gil starting?

And the $64 million question--WHY IS CHAPMAN PITCHING IN THE NINTH???

Ol' Mushmouth doesn't really have any answers to these questions. He's just a terrible manager. But the Yankees are winning, so Fox and ESPN guys are saying he's in the running for Manager of the Year.

Holy fucking Jesus on a stick.

JM said...

Sorry, meant "Why is Gil not starting?"

But you knew that.

Anonymous said...

Just wait. When/if Kluber returns he'll be replacing Nestor not Heaney in the rotation since both their salaries are higher than Cortes'. Boone will say something like "We're excited about the the versatility Nesty brings to the bullpen." Translation: When (not if) Kluber/Heaney implode in the second inning there's someone available who's already stretched out to mop up.

- Melquíades

Parson Tom said...

The questions raised are too legit to argue against.

It's probably the Yankee organization, not just Boone, that decides what slot each pitcher and each hitter gets. So, we have Clay Holmes, after 9 pitches in a 1-2-3 6th, getting pulled for pinch hitter Davis. The guy -- Holmes -- is unhittable but we have to replace him with a pinch hitter who can't hit .... just because that's the plan.

Boone/Cashman refuse to play a hot hand, whether hitter or pitcher. They think Chapman has some sort of special closer DNA, and they can't imagine anybody else on the staff could possible get three outs with a two-run lead.

It's clear to us here that Chapman ain't what he used to be and his role needs to change. At the same time, we have several pitchers nobody can touch -- Loaisiga, Gil, Holmes and sometimes Green and perhaps Peralta. Maybe Severino comes back throwing lightning bolts again? But I'm not going to bank on that. Even Nasty Nestor, love this crafty little guy, seems to have more of a stomach for pressure than Chapman, who really looked like he was freaking out last night. Never in 60 years of watching sports, saw anybody sweat that much and definitely never saw a pitcher apply rosin to the brim of his cap to stem the flow. He was clearly uncomfortable. Maybe he'd be happier working earlier innings?

HoraceClarke67 said...

Ghost of Hoss here.

Great stuff, Duque, and loved the "Julius Caesar" reference! And great stuff everyone else!

I think that between us, we constitute a greater brainstrust (yes, the original of that word was with "brains" plural) than currently employed by your New York Yankees.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Ma Boone, who I suspect is a good clubhouse manager—especially when things are going well—but who is just following the company line or is an idiot all on his own. AND he's beginning to get testy with the press, usually a sign that a Yankees manager is about to crack...

HoraceClarke67 said...

GOH:

...But all that said, I think we've got the solution.

The closer should be Cortes the Conqueror, Green, Severino, Wandy, Gil, etc.? Yes, please. All of the above.

Time to finally go with what many good baseball minds have urged for a long time, and discard the set closer model for the best guy in the situation. And that may include putting your hottest hand in come the 7th inning, depending on who is batting.

Of course, such maneuvering would work best with a truly astute field manager, and as I've just mentioned that, we haven't got...

ZacharyA said...

Greg Allen has hit .436/.511/.744 (1.255 OPS) in 46 PA since being sent back to AAA.

That's not a typo.

I'm not a huge Allen believer given his career numbers, but if we're using JONATHAN DAVIS as a pinch hitter, maybe we need to rethink our roster construction a bit.

HoraceClarke67 said...

GOH:

...But...Ma showed at least some signs of reality by removing Chappie before it was too late last night. Maybe he's wising up.

And certainly, something is wrong with our erstwhile closer—who was a pretty terrible, big-game closer even when he was younger and faster.

No human being in the history of humanity sweats like he did last night, unless he's seriously ill, on some sort of bizarre medication (juice), or having an emotional breakdown.

If the Yankees insist on still pitching him, he should never see any work beyond a middle inning, preferably in a game where we're already behind. If he can handle that, we can talk. Otherwise, the DL is there for a reason.

TheWinWarblist said...

Didn't Flopsweat destroy two seasons by giving up October walkoffs? Seasons where he had pitched well? Why is he still a Yankee?

TheWinWarblist said...

I love the idea of Flopsweat working the middle innings. In Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

Anonymous said...

Gotta agree with everything Zach A wrote.

1) Glad he mentioned Rizzo. He seems to be getting a pass because of his hot start. Perhaps he's putting too much pressure on himself to "Prove" he should be the 1st baseman. I like the guy.

2) I think Urshala is supposed to come back in Oakland. If so, and if healthy that will take care of the 3B problem. No more Odor there.
DJ can go back to being the number 2 3B as well.

3) I like Duque's formula for taking Chapman out. Mostly because they all end with "take him out"

Doug K.

ranger_lp said...

Hey...Hey...everyone brings up why Chapman is still with the team? It's posted almost daily on somebody's thread.

Google it. Chapman has a no-trade clause. He has an extension through 2022. He's NOT going anywhere. Don't waste your fingers typing anything associated with trades. Can't be traded unless he waives his clause. Trading deadline is long gone. He's with the team the duration this year. We collectively have to deal with that.

He's a shell of his former self right now. I don't know what they do outside of putting Rolaids in situations to succeed. Obviously he's not presently. And being a veteran, he can't be sent to the minors unless he AGREES to that also.

So the only thing they can do is...put him on EL if there's an injury (fake or real), keep putting him in late innings and pass out tranquilizers to everyone or put him in earlier to get out of the funk.

Anonymous said...

Just checking in from Hotlanta. Great game last night. Every pitch in the ninth counted. Big crowd and at least 1/3 Yankee fans.
Great throws by the squid to nail two base runners.
Chapman not as bad as it looked. A regular third baseman makes the throw to end the ninth. Plus, Abies K'ed. That ball wasn't ticked.
Really nice park and venue nearby.
Heartily reciprocate recommend a ball game here.
Will definitely come
Back in 3 years.
TheSouthern Archangel

Parson Tom said...

Chapman may have a no-trade, but even if he didn't, he would be difficult to move as an overpaid, ineffective relief pitcher. This is the Yankee way. What the Yankees are good at is making overpaid or ineffective players miserable so that they are willing to go away, either with a pay-off or a trade to an otherwise undesirable team. Start calling for Chapman in the 4th inning, and I'm guessing he will be less than happy.

Anonymous said...

Archie,

Glad you had a good time. We were worried that the strain of watching Chapman live would be too much.

Doug K.

Anonymous said...

Enough with all the comments about Chapman's sweating--this is pure frat-boy malicious racism. "Black skin has many more mixed apocrine-eccrine sweat glands than does white skin." OK? Enough already, ya' beer-bloated smug suburban old farts.

Now--as for Chapman's performance: there's nothing awry with him mentally: certainly that's less of a problem for him than for most of the racist assholes on this blog. The problem is that his fastball sits several MPH slower than it did at his peak, and his slider is FOUR MPH slower than it was five years ago. Cashman covets big stars and big names and grabs them just when they are peaking, so he's stuck with them for several years of their decline, when they are ONLY a name and a memory.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/019096229170148U

Kevin said...

Yeah, guy sweats, we are racists. Riiiiight.....

Anonymous said...

Kevin--you are not only a racist, but a psychotic bullshitter of the lowest order. You have no reason to be on the planet. You're stupid. You're lonely. You're bitter. You're a loser. No purpose here or anywhere.

Anonymous said...

It's not just that he sweats, moron, but people comment derisively on the copiousness of his sweating--a classic racist trope. But you, in your typical fashion, can't even acknowledge what the main point is, so you distort and belittle, as though people are merely pointing out that he sweats. Are you that stupid? Or just that dishonest? Or both? I vote for both.

Anonymous said...

And you don't speak for "we." You don't even speak for yourself. You have no idea who you are. You are a schizophrenic. You slather your diseased ramblings on a variety of Yankees blogs all day, under a variety of names. Get help.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Buck's Puckered Hemorrhoid --you are not only a racist, but a psychotic bullshitter of the lowest order. You have no reason to be on the planet. You're stupid. You're lonely. You're bitter. You're a loser. No purpose here or anywhere.


Couldn't have phrased it better.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Buck's Puckered Hemorrhoid:

https://www.sbnation.com/users/nab0610

Rufus T. Firefly said...

https://www.pinterest.com/nab0610/

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Nick Baratta

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Bye bye

Anonymous said...

That's it--I'm busted, Dufus! Even though I have no idea who Nick Barrata is, even though I've neve posted on any other Yankee board but this one, YOU ARE A FUCKING GENIUS, a veritable Inspector Clouseau! Now just be sure that you don't trip over your sagging balls when you're running to the bathroom to change your Depends, you dumb old fart!

Now Dufus: Why not treat us to another of your famous airhead treatises on the dangers of COVID vaccines, ya' diseased old--VERY OLD--piece of shit.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about the malefic moron Dufus T. Firefly--thanks to his militant opposition to COVID vaccination, he'll soon be whimpering for mercy and dear life with a tube down his throat, and no one will be able to help him as he dies a lonely preventable death BECAUSE HE IS SO FUCKING STUPID.

Anonymous said...

Looks like I've really triggered the psycho Dufus T. Firefly--he's in a compulsive posting manic lather OVER LITTLE OLD ME. Can't get enough of me. Are you a frustrated homosexual, Dufus, so easily triggered into slavering overdrive at the sight of one of my posts? Or just a demented geriatric stupid anti-vaxxer with so little life that you find your remaining moments of surly satisfaction swatting at virtual flies on the Internet?

Not to worry--soon you'll be gasping your last in an ICU, you anti-vaxxer piece of shit.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Nick,

Tell us more about that 'out of town' girlfriend you have.

Right after you out me by hacking my IP address.

Talk about triggered.

Oh, you so funny!

Anonymous said...

Just can't stop, can you homo boy. I bet you daydream about sucking my dick when you're not cruising anti vaxxer sites. What a life you have, until the delta variant puts you out of your tortured remnant of a life, old fart.

Anonymous said...

See? I'm so abashed and intimidated now that you've ID'd me, anti- vaxxer scum, that I'm still posting. Guess you just made an ass of yourself yet AGAIN, Dufus. Keep trying, Inspector Clouseau.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, Dufus T. Firefly, let's hear more about how hilarious it is that black folks sweat so damn much, you racist worm, or one of your Hitlerian rants about how you'd like to annihilate Red Sox fans. Or maybe you should just revert to your psychotic repetitive Pizza Boy rants deriding the working poor, you deformed freak. Or maybe just vomit up what's left of your diseased life into a rusty pail. Your choice!

Kevin said...

I've seen a LOT of profusely sweating white people. I doubt that a laddie who has never worked in his life would have had the experience. Yeah, sleeping in the parent's cellar with, no, uh, "special friend" to listen to your Snowflake loser ideology must really make you feel a bit bitter and mean. And having those student loans to pay for unusable credits... Yep, that could turn any disturbed lad into a prick. Now get back on your meds and make something of your life.

Anonymous said...

Ever see an entire thread in this blog about a profusely sweating white person? Always distorting or missing the point, like a fucking retard.

Kevin said...

IDIOT, NOBODY SWEATS LIKE CHAPPIE. SINCE HE SWEATS LIKE THIS NORMALLY, IT'S NOT LIKELY TO BE NERVES. My bet is either The Juice, large amounts of creatine, amphetamines, or some blend. It should be noted, and this you'd know nothing about, the better conditioned athlete, the faster a sweat is worked up. Something, however, Is odd with our man, there's a lot of salt in his sweat which, if I recall correctly, should be less in Black People than Whites. Maybe Winnie could shed some light on his prodigious amounts of sweating and sodium "emissions".

Anonymous said...

NOBODY SWEATS LIKE CHAPPIE, says the racist loner/failure. Maybe that's because he's a black man and has more sweat glands than a white man, as I have documented. Yet you state that sweat "should be less in Black People than Whites." If you recall correctly? From what? You don't read anything. You don't cite facts. You invent shit to sound authoritative, as with your fictive baseball "stats" that you pull out of your ass and that always prove to be wrong--just shit you make up. You're a psychotic ignoramus and psychopath. Are you proud of being in ignorant piece of shit? You brazenly brandish your stupidity in public for what perverse purpose? You're a terminal masochist?

""Black skin has many more mixed apocrine-eccrine sweat glands than does white skin." OK? Clear enough, ya' dumb fuck? Here's the source.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/019096229170148U

Now shut the fuck up already.

Kevin said...

Take your Ritalin and notice that I wrote that Blacks should have LESS SALT IN THEIR SWEAT. I didn't say anything about sweat volume Are you aware of EVOLUTIONARY advantages? Are you trying to make a name for yourself as the "Sweat SJW"? Come to think of it, submit your resume to Harvard. Be sure to mention your affliction as a know it all sociopathic nit-picker with a minor in sweat glands. You mouth off when you should be paying attention, which you can't seem to help. Blame it on improper toilet training.

No, I'm the fool for engaging this nut case in any topic. He never addresses points made, or answered. All he can do is sling gutter trash, he even wants to draw us into race-baiting, where I draw the line, and I hope that others do as well. All of this coming from a cowardly son of a BITCH afraid to even use ANY name.

Anonymous said...

The antecedent of "which" was ambiguous--it could easily have been interpreted as "sweat" rather than "salt," because you're an incoherent writer. And there is no evidence that blacks have less salt in their sweat--you just made that up, like everything else you dribble psychotically out here. And what evidence do you have for the amount of salt in Chapman's sweat? ZERO. And what does the issue of salt have to do with the volume of sweat? ZERO. As for creatine and sweat rates: "The most common effect of creatine supplementation found in the literature has been a change in body mass, but this finding does not seem to alter exercise sweat rates." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2657025/#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20effect%20of,to%20alter%20exercise%20sweat%20rates.&text=Investigators%20on%209%20of%20the,a%20result%20of%20creatine%20supplementation.

Clear enough, moron? You're an incoherent psychotic who makes shit up, can't document anything--you're just a laughable, incoherent fraud and failure.

I addressed all your points--your points are all fraudulent, made-up garbage that you can't document because you are a BULLSHITTER and a PSYCHOTIC. Moreover, you think it's fine to have a good laugh at black people because they sweat more. You're sick. You're stupid. You're hilarious. What you aren't is smart. You're just a dumb old fart who makes shit up. How pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Really--what was it, Kevin? Did your mother drop you on your skull when you were an infant? Intentionally, no doubt?

Kevin said...

When did I laugh at anyone over sweating? Document it, or STFU.

Anonymous said...

Nice diversion, you dummy and FRAUD. I guess you foist on that because you lack the intelligence and honesty to acknowledge that I factually refuted all the points in your previous incoherent jumble of a post. Where have you been laughing? The whole BLOG, led by duque, constantly makes sick jokes about Chapman's profuse sweating. duque elaborates whole streams of metaphor on the subject. Others like Warblist note that they won't have to water the field when he's done, etc. Do you ever object? NO--you DEFEND it all, you stupid fuck. You're a moron. And I refuted all your pseudo-science and customary made-up bullshit, as usual. You're a pathetic liar, loner, and loser. No one will miss you when you pass from this earth.

Anonymous said...

@Anon, you've really gone way way too far. If you wouldn't say all this to someone to his face, you shouldn't be doing it on the internet. And for Pete's sake, use a stage name, so we can stop calling you Anon.

The Hammer of God

Kevin said...

I, I, feel so intimidated, so intellectually crushed. Sorry, but your crazy rants don't work on me, nor do they merit refutations. Now fly away with your imaginary friends.

Anonymous said...

Hammer of God--when I play, I see and raise. Your lack of indignation over Kevin's opening rounds of abuse demonstrate that you are a hack, riddled with double-standards, not fit to judge a marbles match of anything of greater moment. Fuck off.

Kevin said...

MY ROUND of ABUSE!? REALLY? Get lost, kid....

Hazel Motes said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Shut up, liar. Loser. Loner. Pathetic worm.

Anonymous said...

@Anon The Hammer of God is a hack? I'll take that as a compliment. Frankly, I don't think I'd be able to hack my way into a Taliban outhouse. I don't consider hacking one of my talents.

I know this has been going on awhile now with you and a couple of bloggers here. I don't know the full history of this, nor do I care. What I see on this particular thread is that you, Anon, initiated the name calling on 8/25/21 @ 8:11PM. (Take a look for yourself.)

Posting without name calling and personal insults would greatly enhance your ability to get your points across and make you more persuasive. Do you explode whenever someone makes a comment that is critical to your position? Why is that?

Internet civility is just as important as civility face to face. I'll leave it at that.

The Hammer of God