There are two different types of pain tolerance. The first is how much pain a person can handle in one single blow, or the “how much?” The second involves managing prolonged or repeated pain, or the “how many?” When a player gets hit by a pitch, it’s a matter of the first kind of pain tolerance: the “how much?” This […]
Tag: Aroldis Chapman
Aroldis Chapman is (Probably) Fine
When the Yankees signed Aroldis Chapman to a 5-year, $86 million contract, they expected to have an elite relief pitcher for most of that term. They did not expect the first year to feature a very shaky 3.22 ERA/2.53 FIP/3.34 DRA, lots of blown saves, and for Chapman to lose his closing job briefly over […]
The importance of Aroldis Chapman’s slider
If you were watching the ninth inning of the Yankees’ Tuesday night game against the Tampa Bay Rays (which, hooray, the Comcast customers among us can finally do now), you may have seen closer Aroldis Chapman do this to Rays second baseman Brad Miller: Aroldis Chapman threw an early contender for Pitching GIF of the […]
It’s Not Gleyber Time… Yet
There are few times when a fanbase feels excitement after the injury bug bites a player who posted 20 home runs and a .276 average in the prior year, but with the news trickling out of Steinbrenner field on Tuesday afternoon that shortstop Didi Gregorius will miss the month of April with a shoulder hematoma, […]
Aroldis Chapman suspended 30 games for domestic violence
Closer Aroldis Chapman has been suspended 30 games under the league’s domestic violence policy, commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Tuesday. Chapman will not appeal, and will lose about $1.7 million in salary. Since the ban is just 30 games, Chapman will become a free agent after the season. There was a chance he would be […]
How the Yankees can remain contenders through their rebuild
Last week on this site, Ben Diamond wrote that the Yankees might be approaching a brief drop in the standings as they prepare for the massive off-season in 2018 that could feature Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, Manny Machado, Jose Fernandez, Matt Harvey and eleventy-seven other All-Stars. A year ago I would have wholeheartedly agreed with Ben’s […]
Building a Bridge to the Elite Relievers
Following Monday’s trade for fireballer Aroldis Chapman, it’s quite clear that the Yankees have the best 1-2-3 ‘pen punch in the game, if not the best ever. Obviously, this absurd combination of high-strikeout and low-ERA relievers—Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Chapman—has the Yankees’ relieving corps receiving some high praise. There’s one thing to keep in […]
Aroldis Chapman and the Cost of an Improved Seventh Inning
The Yankees might have the best bullpen of all-time in 2016. Between Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and now Aroldis Chapman, manager Joe Girardi will have at his disposal a three-headed monster of fire-balling relievers to guide him through innings seven through nine. Having an incredible bullpen will obviously help the Yankees. Besides thwarting comeback attempts […]
Aroldis Chapman Has No Need for Conventional Wisdom
It can be said a million ways with numbers, charts, and even flowery chains of adjectives, but put simply Aroldis Chapman throws baseballs harder than anyone else and it isn’t close. Parents are consistently telling children that they are one-of-a-kind, and for most of us it’s absolute poppycock. However, if the Chapmans ever relayed this […]
Wrestling with the Ethics of the Aroldis Chapman Trade
Sports fandom, as you’ve read so incredibly often, is inherently illogical. We root for an organization and their players wearing a certain uniform to beat the guys wearing the other team’s uniforms, especially those guys who play in that city. Why we especially dislike those guys from that city is beyond us, but you know, that’s just how it is, so damn […]