Baker Falls Into Closer Trap

It's happened.  Thursday night in San Diego was the perfect example.  Aroldis Chapman is no longer being used when the Reds need him most.  He is being used like a traditional closer.  In other words he comes in almost exclusively when the Reds have the lead and need three outs to end the game.  That is a waste of talent, and not just any talent, but one of the best arms in major league baseball.  Some of my friends will give me the old "Mariano Rivera did it for 15 years with the Yankees" routine, and in recent years that has been the case.  But not in earlier seasons when Rivera was a young buck.  And do the Reds have the lead late in the game as often as some of Rivera's Yankees teams?  The Reds need Chapman pitching an inning or two in a tie game instead of hoping like heck the Reds get the lead and then have a chance to use him.  Plus, he is already warming up several games he doesn't appear in.  So what the????   Dusty Baker needs to use his best weapon in critical points of the game.  If that's the eighth inning, so be it.  The best arm in the league does you no good sitting in the outfield bullpen while others are costing you the game.