[Stardust]

Since returning from Louisville with my story about the "Cuban Missile," a lot of people have asked me, "So, is he ready?http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100...ig-leagues

They refer, of course, to Aroldis Chapman, the kid with the $30 million arm. His nickname refers to his country of origin, his body type (6-foot-4 and 185 pounds) and his payload: a 104 mph fastball.

I did not include the following six paragraphs in my story; I should have.

I asked Louisville Bats catcher, Wilkin Castillo, if he thought Chapman is ready for the big leagues.

The Dominican answered it this way in his lightly accented Spanish accent: "Slider on the corner, fastball low and inside. Right there. He is ready."

That said everything.

I like and trust Castillo. I have spoken to him before.

Right there.

It is Castillo's way of saying, "When Chapman is locating his pitches, nobody can hit him. It doesn't matter if they are Triple-A or major league hitters."

Chapman didn't pitch the night I was in Louisville, and so he wasn't allowed to talk with me afterward. (Those are "the rules," I was told; they emanate "right from Cincinnati.")

I wasn't after state secrets. I didn't care what the Cuban Missile thought about the Cuban government or whether Chapman had been able to talk with his girlfriend, toddler daughter or parents since he defected, or if the Cuban Missile could get me some Cuban cigars. I just wanted to do a human-interest story about a rich, young Cuban trying to acclimate to American culture.