Who is yankees new closer

Some of my fellow writers and I have been tearing our hair out trying to figure out where it all went wrong for Chapman. How could he be so lights-out in the first few months, only to forget how to throw a strike in many subsequent outings? This game coincided with the same week that MLB announced that they would enforce the sticky substance ban on pitchers. Prior to that June 5 announcement, Chapman threw the four-seamer for a strike about Post-announcement, that fell to roughly While there is no definitive proof that Chapman was using a foreign substance, the numbers paint a pretty damning picture.

Sticky grip enhancers can be just as important for locating pitches as they are for generating extra spin. So, for a pitcher like Chapman who already has a tenuous grasp on fastball command, taking away something that allows him to control the pitch means he can no longer trust it. On an individual game level, as soon as the trust in the fastball goes, Chapman is reduced to a one-pitch pitcher. Because he cannot reliably throw his splitter for strikes, Chapman is forced to rely solely on the slider.

Everyone and their mother knew a slider was coming to Jorge Soler Tuesday night, which allowed him to spit on five straight. So what do the Yankees do? The simple solution would be to remove Chapman from the closer role until he irons out the issues with his fastball. There are two major hurdles that could ground that plan before liftoff. First, the best Yankees team includes a full-strength Chapman in the ninth inning, and who knows what effect demoting him in the interim could have.

Aaron Boone says Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees closer. Indeed, the hard-throwing lefty seemed to have righted himself from a July slump with a 0. Zack Britton, Chad Green and Jonathan Loaisiga combined for five blown saves while Chapman — who entered one save shy of becoming the 31st reliever to record for his career — was sidelined.

He had other big league ballplayers back there watching him, getting giddy just watching him execute pitches and do his thing. I think it lengthens our bullpen, puts everyone else in some different roles. It will allow Loaisiga and Green to pitch in some jams in the middle of the game again. Spin-rate has been down across the board for big-league pitchers ever since MLB cracked down on the use of illegal sticky substances. The reason is the control of the fastball. When you're trying to locate and use that pitch and it's not where you want it, you run into trouble and I think that's the main cause for me now.

You gotta keep working at it, you gotta find your level point again, especially with the fastball, and find myself again with with that pitch. And come back and return to be the Chapman that started the season. The year-old must also find a way to cut down on issuing walks, and reducing hard contact, which are both areas that batters are finding success against him. The Yankees need Chapman to turn things around as soon as possible.

But time is running out fast with their season on the line. Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter ragazzoreport.