Chapman

[phins]

I never said I didn't like the kid....in fact, I said he was silly, like silly silly.

[Swirls]

side note: his lack of experience also means he has considerably less wear and tear on his arm.

You just made Dusty Baker's day.

[Mound_Patrol]

side note: his lack of experience also means he has considerably less wear and tear on his arm.

You just made Dusty Baker's day.

Duhsty gets a lot of slack from his Cub days, and deservably so. But he's actually been great in dealing with the Reds young pitching staff. Now I dont know if that's all his doing or if Walt or pitching coach Bryan Price have been the reason. But none-the-less I can't complain with the Reds pitcher's workload.

[vinsanity]

Maybe things have changed in the last 10 years....but does little league, like pre-high school, non-legion ball even really count? Wouldn't you be more likely to get bad habits then anyway? And when I had to stop playing at 13 pitchers weren't throwing curveballs, basically control and velocity ruled - and few had that.

I mean that's about when my brother started pitching lessons, so I guess you could argue he's got 3 years less than most, but I wouldn't say a kid who started at 6 is any more 'experienced' than a kid who starts at 12. 12 to 16? I'd say all of those years is fixed with one season of Legion or fall ball at the high school level (which Chapman didn't have).

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Having only pitched since he was 16 means his arm is relatively fresh compared to the HS draftees who have been pitching since they were half that age, but he's not new to baseball. That phrase comes with an implication that he still has nuances to pick up on that others grasp easily, and if he hasn't in 6 years(at least 4 of them in professional ball, right?) then he's not going to.

[phins]

Having only pitched since he was 16 means his arm is relatively fresh compared to the HS draftees who have been pitching since they were half that age, but he's not new to baseball. That phrase comes with an implication that he still has nuances to pick up on that others grasp easily, and if he hasn't in 6 years(at least 4 of them in professional ball, right?) then he's not going to.

Man, I hate liking a Cubs fan.

[jim]

Less wear and tear .... I don't know Chapman's background but the comment in general that it would be good for a player to start later is false. IMO, kids today don't throw ENOUGH. The problem is that at a young age, with these travel programs they are playing games 3-4x per week and going all out. It was better when kids played 2x per week, practiced 2x per week, and then went out goofing around with friends 6x per week.

If you have a little one and you want a healthy arm, tell the boy to throw and throw and throw.

[phins]

Long toss, Jim. Long toss.

Lots and lots of long toss.

[Mound_Patrol]

Less wear and tear .... I don't know Chapman's background but the comment in general that it would be good for a player to start later is false. IMO, kids today don't throw ENOUGH. The problem is that at a young age, with these travel programs they are playing games 3-4x per week and going all out. It was better when kids played 2x per week, practiced 2x per week, and then went out goofing around with friends 6x per week.

If you have a little one and you want a healthy arm, tell the boy to throw and throw and throw.

I dont believe I've ever said its good he's thrown less. I was simply implying that because he has pitched less he still has time to develop as a pitcher/starter. He may be 22 years old but he's still young as a pitcher and can improve on things like control and mechanical repeatability.

[Swirls]

I dont believe I've ever said its good he's thrown less.

side note: his lack of experience also means he has considerably less wear and tear on his arm.