Chapman will get another year to his deal, stay with team

One year @ 18 isn't that big of a deal. I'm glad the Yanks didn't do something silly, like add multiple years to his already existing two year contract.

Missed opportunity for them to reallocate this payroll to someone more useful. Let’s hope we don’t now hear that they can’t afford Cole because between this guy and Didi they would have had his salary covered next year.

He apparently works out constantly so I’m not terribly concerned about whether he holds up or not. I just don’t think he’s so much better than their other relievers to warrant the investment when they have other needs. And also, he’s an asshole. So there’s that.

Chapman can be very effective even when he's throwing <100mph. He's got a killer slider. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him show a good 3rd pitch over the next year or two. He had one of his better seasons in 2019, even with his diminished velocity. And let's be real about that decline....he can still crank it up to the 3-digits now and then. I don't expect him to be terrific in 2022, but I think he'll still be good. He's a very gifted pitcher and he won't be old.
As for how his contract extension affects other factors, like signing Gerrit Cole, that's really just a matter of the Steinbrenners preferences. If, after free agent signings--including Cole--and luxury taxes, the Yankees' budget were $265million, the Steinbrenners would still make a ton of dough. For their Dad, winning meant at least as much as profits. For the sons, this hasn't been the case. Will that change?

Blue, I appreciate that the slider is an excellent piece of his arsenal, but like all sliders, once in a while he’s going to throw a hanger. Altuve certainly got one and did what good hitters are supposed to do.

I saw Chapman pitching with fear vs. both Springer and Altuve in that crucial inning that sent the Yanks home. His fast ball was being kept outside, trying to avoid contact, and that made it pretty obvious that the slider was going to be the go to pitch.

The point here is that if he’s afraid to throw the fastball, perhaps doubly so to throw it inside, I’m concerned that something is not physically right.

I should have said previously as well that while I was crediting shoulder turn for his velo, that is in turn grounded in remarkable hip flexibility that would seem to be beyond the limits of most pitchers. That puts a huge amount of stress on the planting leg.

To be honest, when I was mentioning Chapman’s knee issues, I wasn’t (and still am not) aware of which knee is troubling Chapman. I had just assumed the issue to be with his landing leg, which is what CC and many pitchers deal with. Now, I’m curious if it might be his planting leg. That might even concern me more. I wish I could say I had faith in the Yanks medical staff to have those concerns covered, but... you know. Now I have find out which knee (or is it both?) is barking.

In any event, I hope you’re correct that he’s gifted and capable of maintaining effectiveness. As for the third pitch, he does feature a sinker that seems to be maintaining perhaps even a bit more velo than his 4-seamer. His past attempts to develop a change up were abandoned...Yes, he may present that pitch again at some point, and perhaps develop something entirely different...

* Edit: The issues (which are said to be “in his past” in articles I read, was with that left knee that must absorb the torque of that tremendous body turn. I’m wondering if that is true, and if perhaps even if it no longer hurts he may be consciously or subconsciously protecting that knee... Or maybe I’m reading far too closely between the lines... (:

I used to play golf with a guy that pissed a lot of people off because he was so “lucky”. As a newcomer to golf, I would Charlie play, especially since we were often team mates on the course. He didn’t hit the ball very far, but he was consistently straight and accurate, more so than most players.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that he wasn’t all that lucky. He was just able to keep himself in a position to succeed. So, if there was a mound near the green, if most of us missed our shot we would often wind up on top of the mound or we’d hit the ball on the side of the mound that would make the ball bounce further away. Charlie would miss on the side toward the green, and get a “lucky” bounce onto the green. But it was his skill and ability to keep the ball straight that would let him miss closely.

Sometimes it’s nice to be lucky, but you usually do a lot to influence how much luck you have. No one is actually born under a dark star. Those that believe they are usually won’t work hard enough to see light...

Now that I’ve said all that, maybe I’ll watch the video. I’m not a believer in the title, so maybe I won’t... the last thing I want to do is to influence myself in a negative way...I can watch if I want, I suppose. That’s because the notion of luck over skill isn’t a notion I’m likely to buy into...