In Chapman, the Reds Have a Lights-Out Closer, for Now Kathy Willens/Associated Press Aroldis Chapman did not allow an earned run this season until June 7. If it were four months ago, or perhaps next season - if the Reds had their way, Aroldis Chapman would be a starter. Or so was the plan. Chapman, with an arm that has fired fastballs clocking in the triple digits, is stuck somewhere between his past and his future, between an issue tugging at the heart and the head, between where he is needed and where he would prefer to be. A sign in Dusty Baker's office in Cincinnati best explains the organization's anxiety over Chapman: "The most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen. Not necessarily in that order. Maybe only a talent like Chapman could make Baker violate his baseball morals. Sitting in the visiting manager's office at Citi Field, Baker remembered the last time he made a decision like the one that he will someday have to make with Chapman. In 1993, in his first season managing the San Francisco Giants, he had to decide where he would pitch Billy Swift, who had experience as a reliever and a starter. "The problem was, potentially he can be your best reliever and your best starter at the same time," Baker said. There aren't many guys around like that. So we decided to start Billy," and Swift won 21 games that season. This spring, Baker said, the Reds" powers that be were split: would the 24-year-old Chapman be the top-of-the-rotation starter they had envisioned, or the automatic closer they knew his stuff was made for? They decided they had to see what he could do as a starter to make up their minds, said the Reds" pitching coach, Bryan Price. Besides, the Reds had signed Ryan Madson to be their closer, so starting Chapman only made more sense. They had him work up to four innings, and he made rapid improvement, something Price credits in part to Chapman having matured. The Reds called up Chapman late in 2010 as they closed in on a postseason berth. They felt his blazing fastball - and his lack of command as a starter - made him better suited for shorter stints. But as a relieve his body language seemed to suggest he was cursing every time he allowed a base runner. A left-hander who had defected from Cuba, Chapman had reason to press after signing a six-year, $30.25 million contract with the Reds in January 2010. If you feel like you're disappointing yourself or your teammates, or your fans, and how do you deal with that? Price said. And in this environment, on this stage, it was really difficult for him to manage that emotion. With a chance to start this season, Chapman learned to control his emotions, realizing, Price said, that he could not strike out 27 batters, no matter how fast he threw. But as spring training wore on, Chapman's fastball, which once touched 105.1 miles per hour, leveled off. He did not need to waste energy trying to throw each pitch harder than the last. His slider steadied, and it got better the more he threw it. He threw first-pitch strikes. He got ahead in counts. He finished batters in five or six pitches. The splitter he brought with him from Cuba proved better than the changeup the Reds had taught him. The improvement, the proof that Price had wanted to see, was there. Chapman had only needed a chance to start, Price said. But he would not get that chance. Madson went down before the season and is out for the year after having Tommy John surgery, and the Reds lost their top two setup men, Nick Masset (shoulder) and Bill Bray (groin). "We felt like we were a little bit naked," Price said. Chapman's immediate future "was decided for us," Baker added. Thrust into the role the Reds needed him most, as a setup man, Chapman allowed one unearned run in 18 appearances through May 20, when he was promoted to the closer's role. He did not surrender an earned run until June 7, which started a rare three-game stretch when he did not seem invincible. He entered this weekend's series with the Mets having allowed four earned runs in his previous three appearances, the only earned runs he has allowed all season. He bounced back with a scoreless inning in each of the first two games against the Mets, and 59 of the 102 outs he has recorded entering Sunday have been strikeouts.