Why I Really Wanted a Chapman Trade to Happen

Well, the trade deadline has come and gone, with the Diamondbacks not making any moves (unless you consider trading JC Ramirez for future considerations a move). The D-Backs did create some waves though after making an offer to the Reds on Aroldis Chapman, something that was able to generate 350+ comments here on the 'Pit, which was pretty funny considering nobody even knew what the Diamondbacks were offering.

Anyways, while the general thought here was that a Chapman trade would be a bad idea because of reliever volatility, not wanting to give up prospects, and all that boring stuff, I would've LOVED a trade for Chapman. So without further rambling, here is why I wanted the Diamondbacks to trade for the hardest thrower in baseball.

1. He's the closest guy to a sure thing out there

As I'm sure you know, Chapman is by far the hardest thrower in the Majors, and this velocity isn't going away anytime soon. Here is a graph showing his average fastball velocity by year, courtesy of Brooks Baseball:

As you can see, this year and last year have been his best seasons in terms of fastball velocity, so that's here to stay. As long as Chapman has this velocity, he will remain one of the best relievers in the game. It's not like one day hitters are going to wake up and say, oh now I know the secret to hitting a 100+ MPH fastball. He's gonna keep bringing the gas, and hitters will continue failing to hit that gas.

2. The Diamondbacks would have one of the best 8-9 inning combos out there

You'd have to go back to 2011, when Arizona had the combo of David Hernandez and JJ Putz,  to get to a time where the D-Backs could get to the 8th with a one run lead and you'd be totally confident they'd get the W. Chapman could bring that type of security to this team, with him in the 9th and Ziegler in the 8th. Over the past 3 years, the two of them have a combined ERA of 2.28. Tell me you wouldn't enjoy having that in the back of the bullpen. If David Hernandez could return to that 2011 form, you're suddenly looking at a trio of dominant relievers. When was the last time you could say that.

3. It would be awesome to watch

Forget about whether or not the trade would be logical, from a fan's perspective this would be awesome to watch. Deep down in your hearts, beneath all those stats, beneath that anger you're still holding onto about the Touki trade, beneath the scars you have from Addison Reed and Heath Bell, you know you want to see him pitching for Arizona. You want to see him out there 70 times a year, making hitters look like little leaguers.

Also, think about the atmosphere at Chase. Remember 2011, when Thunderstruck would play, Putz would come out of the bullpen, and you knew that the game was in the bag. Those 9th innings were loud, they were fun, they were exciting. All respect to Brad Ziegler, he's a fantastic pitcher, but he's a 35 year old guy who throws 85 and has Daughtry as his entrance music. Who is going to get you more excited in the 9th inning at a game, Ziggy or A GUY WHO CAN THROW 104, IS NICKNAMED THE CUBAN MISSILE, AND HAS THIS AS HIS ENTRANCE VIDEO???!!! (Watch it with the volume on)

I know my answer.