The Reds really need to try Aroldis Chapman as a starting pitcher. Really.

I know full well just how futile this article is. There is no way in blue hell that Aroldis Chapman will ever start a baseball game for the Cincinnati Reds (or any other team, for that matter). So consider this my hope's dying wish. Any hope that Chapman would develop into Clayton Kershaw East is long dead, but my hope now is that that hope could possibly - maybe - live again.

Check out Jeff Sullivan's latest piece about Chapman. To briefly summarize, Aroldis Chapman, Baseball Pitcher is one of the most unfair things on this planet. He has developed a devastating changeup to go with his fastest-in-the-world fastball and his lethal slider. My favorite: "(B)atters made contact with one Aroldis Chapman changeup in 2014, out of 63 opportunities." I wanna say that again, this time real big:

"(B)atters made contact with one Aroldis Chapman changeup in 2014, out of 63 opportunities."

The strongest argument against Aroldis Chapman, Starter was always that he was strictly a two-pitch pitcher. Starters need to - quite literally - change it up more than relievers do, so a guy with his pitch selection was best suited as a reliever. He turned into one of the most dominant relief pitchers the game has ever seen. I ain't mad about that.

But I swear to God, I will go down with this ship. I won't put my hands up and surrender. There will be no white flag above my door. Never giving Aroldis Chapman a chance to become something greater is a brutal sin against the baseball gods.

At this point in the season, the Reds' bullpen is clearly the Achilles heel. Chapman is the only arm down there right now upon which one can count to get some outs. But I don't care about that. He is Samson in chains. He is a rainbow in a birdcage. He is now merely a novelty. He could be a god.

Let him start. I beg of you, from the depths of my being. Please. Let him start.