Sox sign Aroldis Chapman

bosox1534

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Dec 17, 2022
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This is a business. While firing off gunshots in the home is a horrible thing to do, he never was guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. He served his suspension and no issues have come since. Is there no such thing as learning from past mistakes? He’s a good reliever and the team desperately needed lefty relievers. The move based on a baseball standpoint makes all the sense in the world.
 

Bozo Texino

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Well credit to Jimmy Stewart I guess. He said a move was coming we'd all hate and he was right. No interest in rooting for this asshole. Hopefully, Bailey and Breslow tinker with his mechanics and he blows out his arm so we don't have to watch him.
Shit. I'd rather the Sox signed Mr. Potter.

No idea who this Breslow guy is, though. Is he another Bedford Falls person?
 

TapeAndPosts

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Jul 21, 2006
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This is a business. While firing off gunshots in the home is a horrible thing to do, he never was guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. He served his suspension and no issues have come since. Is there no such thing as learning from past mistakes? He’s a good reliever and the team desperately needed lefty relievers. The move based on a baseball standpoint makes all the sense in the world.
Genuine question because I didn't choose to follow the details carefully, did he express anything that seemed like real contrition?
 

nattysez

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Just canceled my MLB.tv subscription and gave Chapman as the reason. Not spending my summer rooting through gritted teeth.
 

bosox1534

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Dec 17, 2022
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Genuine question because I didn't choose to follow the details carefully, did he express anything that seemed like real contrition?
He apologized for the gun use, saying it was bad judgment. He never apologized for the other charges as they were never proven to be true.
 

Remagellan

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Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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From a personal standpoint:

He sucks as a person.

That said, if I'm not missing something, this stems from an issue back in 2016, the domestic charges were dropped, and nothing has come about since. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and there is something else. (I advocated for his signing earlier in the off-season, someone, I think @chawson pointed out the allegations from 2016 which I admittedly had no recollection of).


From a baseball standpoint:

Since that time Theo traded for him once and he was a huge part to the Cubs winning the WS. I can see this as a low cost move that helps the 'pen, gives them someone to close and someone that can be used in a set up role if they are able to land someone else. If you're not going to trade Duran for pennies on the dollar for being an a$$hat and showing no contrition, then I get singing Champan as something that tracks.

People always want to be the Braves, and they have players like this (Marcell Ozuna), same with the Dodgers (Urias, the first time back in 2019) or even just the 2003-2019 Red Sox and it's not like the presence of Steven Wright makes me think any less of the 2018 team.


In summation - he's (allegedly) a horrible person, but from a baseball standpoint he's a good fit as a proven closer that can also pitch different innings and for better or worse hasn't exactly sunk clubhouses.


Edit - amended to he DOES in fact suck as a person. Thanks to those that had the information.
 
Last edited:

curly2

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Genuine question because I didn't choose to follow the details carefully, did he express anything that seemed like real contrition?
No.

Here's what he said.

"Today, I accepted a 30-game suspension from Major League Baseball resulting from my actions on Oct. 30, 2015," Chapman said in a prepared statement. "I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to my actions, and for that I am sorry. The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family. I have learned from this matter, and I look forward to being part of the Yankees' quest for a 28th World Series title. Out of respect for my teammates and my family, I will have no further comment."
 

moondog80

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Sep 20, 2005
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There better be a good news move coming soon.... to make us forget this for a bit - going to get roasted.
Roasted by who? The Yankees both traded for him and signed him (7+ years in total) he's also been acquired by the Cubs (and Theo Epstein), Rangers, Royals, and Pirates. For better or for worse, MLB has decided he's served his time and moved on.
 

grimshaw

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Couldn't we have just brought Jake Diekman back instead? Or Matt Strah. ...oh never mind.

I'm usually just a strictly root for the uniform guy, but the risk/reward for bringing him here seems extremely questionable.
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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This is a business. While firing off gunshots in the home is a horrible thing to do, he never was guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. He served his suspension and no issues have come since. Is there no such thing as learning from past mistakes? He’s a good reliever and the team desperately needed lefty relievers. The move based on a baseball standpoint makes all the sense in the world.
Yeah, this reminds me of the "well they couldn't prove he raped any minors he just got the underaged girls drunk then left before the rape happened according to him" when we traded for Verdugo. I don't really care if he was never convicted of abuse, and merely was guilty of terrorizing her with a gun. I don't care about what can be proved in court, I care that the things we do know tell me he sucks as a human being and strongly suggest other behavior.
 

Ed Hillel

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Dec 12, 2007
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From a personal standpoint:

He sucks (or at least allegedly) as a person.

That said, if I'm not missing something, this stems from an issue back in 2016, the domestic charges were dropped, and nothing has come about since. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and there is something else. (I advocated for his signing earlier in the off-season, someone, I think @chawson pointed out the allegations from 2016 which I admittedly had no recollection of).
There were pictures of his gf afterwards and he undoubtedly fired 8 shots into his garage as intimidation/civil assault. I’m a Due Process guy, but not a pretty picture.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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From a personal standpoint:

He sucks (or at least allegedly) as a person.

That said, if I'm not missing something, this stems from an issue back in 2016, the domestic charges were dropped, and nothing has come about since. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and there is something else. (I advocated for his signing earlier in the off-season, someone, I think @chawson pointed out the allegations from 2016 which I admittedly had no recollection of).


From a baseball standpoint:

Since that time Theo traded for him once and he was a huge part to the Cubs winning the WS. I can see this as a low cost move that helps the 'pen, gives them someone to close and someone that can be used in a set up role if they are able to land someone else. If you're not going to trade Duran for pennies on the dollar for being an a$$hat and showing no contrition, then I get singing Champan as something that tracks.

People always want to be the Braves, and they have players like this (Marcell Ozuna), same with the Dodgers (Urias, the first time back in 2019) or even just the 2003-2019 Red Sox and it's not like the presence of Steven Wright makes me think any less of the 2018 team.


In summation - he's (allegedly) a horrible person, but from a baseball standpoint he's a good fit as a proven closer that can also pitch different innings and for better or worse hasn't exactly sunk clubhouses.
https://www.tmz.com/2015/12/08/aroldis-chapman-domestic-violence-photos/
 

PedroisGod

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Didn’t he think those guys that worked for him were in on it, so he was interrogating them about a gun that was part of it?

I might have confused the incidents.
To the best of my knowledge, the two incidents had nothing to do with one another.

The story from Feb 2005 about his mom's kidnapping: https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=1994812
The story from Nov 2005 about the attempted murder: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/ugueth-urbina-faces-attempted-homicide-charges-1.534959

Regardless, there's no argument from me that Chapman sucks. I understand the disappointment. I root for a soccer team that wanted to bring back Jerome Boateng who was found guilty for assaulting his girlfriend. Fans protested and the team decided not to sign him, but it's not like not signing him makes it any better. They still considered it despite all the baggage.

Teams are going to do what they're going to do, unfortunately. Chapman can still throw hard and strike guys out so that's good enough for teams.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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There were pictures of his gf afterwards and he undoubtedly fired 8 shots into his garage as intimidation/civil assault. I’m a Due Process guy, but not a pretty picture.
Thanks.

I'll amend to "he sucks" as a person.

But again, Ozuna (Braves), Urias (Dodgers), Chapman himself (Cubs, Yankees), Duran and Steven Wright (Red Sox).

He's more the latest in a long line of "these guys suck" but they often end up on teams we want to emulate. I'd have rather signed Kirby Yates to 2/$20m/$10m, but plenty of a$$hats on MLB rosters.
 

Strike4

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Yeah, this reminds me of the "well they couldn't prove he raped any minors he just got the underaged girls drunk then left before the rape happened according to him" when we traded for Verdugo. I don't really care if he was never convicted of abuse, and merely was guilty of terrorizing her with a gun. I don't care about what can be proved in court, I care that the things we do know tell me he sucks as a human being and strongly suggest other behavior.
And the old "this is a business" card which in our society is a pass for anything and supposedly absolves the bearer of community transgressions because...capitalism?
 

jon abbey

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This is a business. While firing off gunshots in the home is a horrible thing to do, he never was guilty of assaulting his girlfriend.
I agree with this, and it wasn't even the house, it was his garage.

But what I'd be more concerned about as a Sox fan is that he has a gigantic ego and quit on the Yankees before the end of the season in 2022 because he wasn't the closer anymore. One article:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34760715/aroldis-chapman-left-yankees-roster-missing-workout#
 

BaseballJones

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On the baseball side he's a walk machine and is going to be a nightmare to watch.
Yeah this isn't going to be fun. He misses tons of bats, but it's going to be extremely stressful watching him pitch. He usually gets the job done ultimately, but it'll be a high-wire act.
 

simplicio

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I hope the next time Craig gets a question from the media it's "what type of message do you think signing Chapman to the Red Sox sends to survivors of domestic violence?"

"Pending physical" ... find something, docs
92622

This is a business. While firing off gunshots in the home is a horrible thing to do, he never was guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. He served his suspension and no issues have come since. Is there no such thing as learning from past mistakes? He’s a good reliever and the team desperately needed lefty relievers. The move based on a baseball standpoint makes all the sense in the world.
This is business where the key personnel are about as publicly facing as possible, and signing a DV guy to be one of them sends a message that terrorizing or assaulting your partner/family isn't a deal breaker if you're a good pitcher. How do you think Sox fans that survived DV are feeling right now, and why is it worth that to get him specifically? It's not like he's the last pitcher on earth and we'll have to run a man down all year if we don't get him.
 

Salem's Lot

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On the baseball side he's a walk machine and is going to be a nightmare to watch.
This is my main concern. He walks way too many batters.

As far as the off the field issues, I think he’s a piece of shit, but if the Red Sox didn’t sign anyone that I wouldn’t think was a piece of shit for one reason or another, they wouldn’t be able to field a team.
 

chawson

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Aug 1, 2006
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I strongly dislike this signing for the obvious reasons.

Also:

2023-24
Player A: 2.87 xFIP, 3.05 SIERA, 39.3 K%, 14.6 BB%, 0.68 HR/9, .319 BABIP, 120 IP
Player B: 3.01 xFIP, 3.08 SIERA, 31.3 K%, 10.0 BB%, 0.36 HR/9, .269 BABIP, 150 IP

Player A is Chapman. Player B is Tanner Scott.
 

greek_gawd_of_walks

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phrenile

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(I almost said they’d sell like hot cakes. Why are hot cakes such a volume purchase?)
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms attributes the expression to church bake sales in the mid 1800s:

92624

(Etymological tangents are more fun than this signing.)
 

johnnyfromspain

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Nov 10, 2006
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This is a business. While firing off gunshots in the home is a horrible thing to do, he never was guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. He served his suspension and no issues have come since. Is there no such thing as learning from past mistakes? He’s a good reliever and the team desperately needed lefty relievers. The move based on a baseball standpoint makes all the sense in the world.
This.

I can also add that as a scout I had the opportunity of meeting him when he deflected the Cuban national team which was competing in Netherlands. He came to Barcelona and finally got residency in Andorre, which allowed him to sign an MLB contract. Believe me, he is not the sharpest tool in the shed. But looking into his past and getting references from other Cubans who knew him quite well, he is not a bad guy. And his stuff and athleticism was off the charts. Our organization offered him 8.4 M, but the Reds were much more aggressive and ended up signing him.

The culture shock of coming from a poor communist dictatorship to becoming an international wealthy sport icon is enormous. Many Cubans can simply not cope. I have seen this happen time and again. He seems to have made the necessary adjustments.

Let's hope he learned his lesson and has calmed down as far as his personal life is concerned. There is no doubt he is a very interesting addition to the roster as far as his baseball skills are concerned. I suspect/hope Breslow et al have done their due diligence. I am sure they have the Pirates GM's phone number, so all they have to do is ask how his behavior was.