His name is Aroldis Chapman, and he has been identified as a Cuban player with a 100 mph fastball, and that’s big time stuff in major league baseball.

Trouble is, that’s about how fast he just disappeared in the Netherlands. And my impression is that he was kidnapped!

That means it was not a “defection,” as many conjecture.

The last time a Cuban player “defected” was in 2002, and it was Jose Contreras. But this looks like a kidnapping…serious stuff, and I have my doubts this lad will come out of it well.

The price of talent is not always paid to the talent. Sometimes they pay. Something seems radically wrong with this picture.

[Impressions from 7-4-09 at 11:15 AM CDT & posted at 12:22 AM CDT]