I know this gets batted around in various threads and beaten to death by everyone from us to the national media, so I thought I would just start a thread to consolidate everything (I poked around and didn't see one.)

Now, to the topic: In light of Chapman's recent comments and his spring training so far, where do you land on Chapman's role with this team? I have always been in the camp of "leave Chapman as the closer" and his comments just strengthen my resolve in that position. My reasons are as follows:

1. He seems to have better control of the strike zone when he isn't having to "pitch" and can just "throw".

2. He has shown obvious fatigue when he pitches and has shown he is hittable if he can't dial it up in the triple digits.

3. Hitters can be patient and force him to hit his spots as a starter. Not so much as a closer.

4. The energy and emotion he garners from the fans, teammates and national media as a closer is something which I haven't seen in years. I really believe the starters and other relievers feed off the energy which fills the stadium as the Reds take a lead late in the games.

5. Long term, his shelf life is greater as the closer than as a reliever.

Those are my basic reasons but after his comments, a final reason to add would be that it keeps Chapman happy and I want Chapman happy.