Awhile back you may remember me writing how excited I was for the 22-year-old lefty, Aroldis Chapman. I really couldn’t contain my excitement of seeing the next great bearer of last name Chapman (which is my last name), and was hoping he would be the best since Rex Chapman (the basketball player). I already had a nickname picked out for him “The Cuban Missile”. He has tons of upside, and will get his shot at the big league level just like anyone else who has hit 101 mph on the radar gun with some accuracy. I’m still curious if he really is 22, but that’s for Cuban immigration to figure out. I would still be behind him, but yesterday it was reported that the Angels agreed to terms and have locked him up for $21 million. I’ve been an advocate of not paying guys before they throw a pitch at the big league level, and do think giving Chapman and Strausberg contracts this size isn’t the smartest thing to do for unproven talent. Alas, I’m at a loss, because I can’t stand anything Angels related, so this might bring an end to me rooting for him to succeed. Donning the Halo’s uniform, I’m scared to hear what Rex Hudler (Angels Announcer) has to say about him. If you’ve never heard Rex Hudler announce, he puts Angels players on the same pedestal as NFL announcers put Brett Favre. If Aroldis does succeed, I hope they find out he’s really 33, and trade him away to a team I don’t care about so I can root for him again! Actually I hope they trade him before he ever gets to the bigs, but we all know that the Angels hold on to prospects tighter than Gilbert and his guns.
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
January 7th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
chappy 81
Let the bidding wars begin. ESPN did piece on him a while back and this kid is well grounded. The unfortunate thing is he leaves behind a wife and young child in Cuba . And the government there aren’t prepared to allow her and the child to leave the country to be with her husband.
You’ve been a shout-out in my latest piece and the site is also mentioned.
The State of Play What Irks You About Sports At Present ?
Alan Parkins
January 7th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
The Blue Jays gave it a good run, but it sounds like he’s leaning towards going to the Angels… He sounds like a good guy, but I can’t root for any Angel. We’ll see, I have a feeling Moreno wants this guy…
Thanks for the shout out! I commented on your post!
January 7th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
chappy 81
The Blue Jays ? Not if either the Angels , Yankees or Red Sox snap him up first. The Blue Jays are cheap skates and even you ought to know that.
If the Blue Jays haven’t got the money re-sign Halladay what makes you believe that this guy’s agent would make him want to even sign for a team like the Blue Jays ?
Alan Parkins.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:32 am
They may not have signed Halladay, but they did sign Rios and Wells. Those were two of my top ten worst MLB contracts in my post not too long ago… They have money, they just spend it terribly!
January 8th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
chappy 81
The Rogers’ family is one of the wealthiest Canadian families north of the border. But much like the majority of the owners within MLB they’d rather feast off the monies afforded them via the league’s tax sharing revenues. It’s left to teams like the Yankees and Red Sox to pay that in large part. In 2007 $190 million was was collected by this system. Off that $120million came from the Yankees. Now you tell me which teams are actually making out like bandits and which are not ?
The Blue Jays have been a joke for a long time and will continue to do so, for long into the future.
Alan Parkins