Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the end of the all-AL-Central ALDS, what the future holds for the White Sox, the ALCS opener, the Brewers’ 2-0 NLCS lead, the contrast between postseason Shohei Ohtani and José Ramírez, the difference between the Rays and Guardians, and more, plus postscript follow-ups.
Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the ALCS games today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Guardians play the Rays! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual staff Q&A chats, your messages will be posted immediately.
Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.
soddingjunkmail
The response (as of this writing) to the 2nd poll is peak Cleveland.
6/6 respondents want Cleveland to win but only 1/6 believe it will happen.
Sean Dolinar
Hello everyone! We got a few polls for you. The likability ranking from last night, we'll let that ride for at least another day. Then we have the standard who ya got for the game and the SP poll.
Phil
I've been thinking about possible ranked polls. If there's an all-midwest WS you'll definitely need some food polls and they will have to feature cheese curds (does Tampa have a cuisine?). I'm also mulling over one on the poignancy of loser heroics–Randy Arozarena, Rajai Davis, Carlton Fisk. I know there are other good ones I'm forgetting.
Matt Martell
Bob Gibson in the 1968 World Series is the all-timer
Phil
Yes, absolutely.
Matt Martell
Also Chase Utley in 2009
lzfreak
Any word on if Caminero and DeLuca are banged up at all after the collision yesterday? Looks like both are good to play at least which is a good sign
Jon Becker
Caminero just got the wind knocked out of him, DeLuca was fine
Jon Becker
Hi everyone!
Keaton Arneson
Who else is doing Star Wars Legos during the game?!? I assume the answer is just me.
Sean Dolinar
What are you making?
Keaton Arneson
My son kind of wrecked the AT-AT Walker so I'm rebuilding it. I just got the Tantive IV in the mail yesterday
Benny The Jet
Every time I see the Billy Bob Thornton commercial I think the cops are coming for the crazy guy who keeps bothering people trying to relax in the massage chairs by presuming they want to hear about T-Mobile
Sean Dolinar
Jon, what do you think about this camera angle? For the pitcher-batter matchup?
Keaton Arneson
Didn't Tropicana have an almost perfect straight on angle before the hurricane? I could be wrong. Maybe I need to replay MLB the Show for the answer.
Jon Becker
Pretty good but it's perfect in the regular season, yeah
bosoxforlife
I have a strange question for the group after watching Diaz lope down the line. Should a player go hard on such an easy play and risk a hammy or give himself up?
Phil
Depends on the state of his hammies going in. I was OK with Willson Contreras taking it easy when it came up with him–he was clearly hurt, and he's not in the lineup to get infield hits.
lzfreak
I remember Tony La Russa taking a lot of heat in Chicago when he told his players not to hustle on routine plays. Then they fired him and the next season the 3 best White Sox players all got hurt running the bases in April. Sometimes you just can't win
bosoxforlife
I lean to the don't risk injury side.
Benny The Jet
What was that commercial!
drplantwrench
i feel like dodgers sorta have to play shohei at this point, whats there to lose
Rollie's Mustache
Well this is a bad challenge.
ncphl
Good thing they get two
bosoxforlife
The replay coach needs a pair of glasses.
Dan Szymborski
G'evening
lzfreak
Messick only retired one batter that inning but still faced the minimum
Phil
Dan, obviously there's a long way to go in the NLCS. But from what we've seen so far, do you think projection systems need better ways of accounting for players not on the IL but playing hurt? I feel like all of them, not ZiPS particularly, have been projecting LA at their best and not as they are.
ncphl
A rare Walls hit!
Dan Szymborski
Phil, it would definitely hurt, but the problem is the actual data itself.
Dan Szymborski
I've always wondered if there's something that can be done here, such as sudden change in playing time over a seven-day-period, but I haven't really dug into it
Dan Szymborski
errr, it woudl definitely HELP
drplantwrench
how would you even predict injury?
Phil
Yeah, I recognize that reliable data is a huge problem. You don't want ZiPS scouring the papers.
Dan Szymborski
Maybe some day AI can figure that out, but that day is not now!
Philedited
The problem is that both players and teams lie. I don't know that AI will ever get to the point where it can see through an obvious lie. Our greatest advantage over the machines!
bosoxforlife
I just checked Eric's 2023 Guardians prospect list and a remarkable 14 players on that list are on the roster today. The Rays have only 4 from that year.
Phil
RosterResource has CLE second to STIL in number of homegrown players.
Phil
Rays dead last.
Dan Szymborski
Oooh, I should check my 2023 Guardians prospects
Dan Szymborski
From ZiPS Top 200
Bo Naylor
Brayan Rocchio
Logan Allen
Tanner Bibee
Gavin Williams
Daniel Espino
Angel Martinez
George Valera
Juan Brito
Gabriel Arias
Tyler Freeman
Sean Dolinar
That’s an impressive list.
lzfreak
Lotta double plays already
Sean Dolinar
This won’t be one though
coldbagel12
Messick doesn't look as sharp as he usually does. The double plays are bailing him out.
lzfreak
First to third on an infield hit!
Dan Szymborski
That seemed fast even for Simpson
lzfreak
Yeah as soon as that bounce went way up he hit another gear
Dan Szymborski
It looked like he ran through first by liek 50 feet too
comradeyurika
Ramirez not having a good inning
Sean Dolinar
Bucknered
Sean Dolinar
Bucknered
Matt Martell
Oh my – rough two plays for J-Ram
lzfreak
It's the green glove
Dan Szymborski
Buckner's wasn't hit as hard!
Nick Smith
I'm seeing double, 4 Seans!
Sean Dolinar
4? Did the message send 4 times?
Nick Smith
Simpsons reference.
Sean Dolinar
lol, scared me that something was more wrong than just client sending twice.
Benny The Jet
Yikes
lzfreakedited
I wonder if Tyler Wells ever takes an at bat for Taylor Walls just to see if anyone is paying attention
bosoxforlife
The ball Ramirez failed to come up with hit the edge of the infield grass and stayed down. It is impossible to foresee that and it is more like bad luck, but still an error, than anything else.
Dan Szymborski
The Megan Fox commercial leaves it kind of ambiguous if she's trying to sell us the drug or she's actually the drug
Dan Szymborski
J-Ram kinda has to wonder how come that's an error and the other 750 bloopers not by the Yankees are hits
Jon Becker
Oh hell yeah Junior
Jon Becker
☝️😏☝️
Dan Szymborski
I liked the competent inelegance of the Caminero catch as he kinda just threw his body in the general direction as a reaction and then caught it
Benny The Jet
"That first pitch to Jo Adell was the fastest pitch of Freddy Peralta's career, including playoffs, at 99.4 mph" via the great Sarah Langs
Dan Szymborski
I don't know how Sarah does it, she's way faster and more productive than 99% of us that don't need health aids.
bosoxforlife
Fastball Freddy's heater is the definition of carry.
Nick Smith
Hot take: HBPs shouldn't count if it hits your armor.
asf123
I had the same thought, but I don’t think we want to incentivize “Wear it!” culture more.
bosoxforlife
Don Baylor used to make no effort to avoid being hit by the pitch. Of course he was made of concrete.
asf123
It’s at the point now where Little League kids are being pressured not to get out of the way.
Nick Smith
That's fair.
asf123
Jeez. Yet another inane challenge.
Dan Szymborski
I was always told to not get out of the way in Little League tand that was 35-40 years ago
asf123edited
Your coach was a sociopath ahead of his time!
Sean Dolinar
I looked away for a second and not sure why you'd waste a challenge on that. At least it's not the first 3 innings.
Dan Szymborski
And I didn't. I was an overcompetitive kid. I would lose my s%#@ about the mercy rule even if we were on the bad side of it
BigHurtBeer
Fastball Freddie really needed to get away from the Mets. Put a bow on that performance.
jcathtraverse
Where on earth did Petey Halpin come from? I've now watched a game and a half with him in the starting lineup, and I still have no idea who he is.
asf123
San Mateo, CA, sez here.
asf123
Man, they’ve really doubled down on that Sydney Sweeney ad.
Nick Smithedited
I almost feel bad for her. It's like she blew her Euphoria money on ice sculpting lessons or something.
Sean Dolinar
That sounds like investing in herself.
lzfreak
Oof that's the shortstop's ball
Sean Dolinar
We had Messick and Peralta going 5 IP for the median, and almost 5 IP for the mean. We were spot on for Messick. And short for Peralta.
asf123
Wow, a pinch hitter without a mound visit? How often does that happen? It’s almost like they knew Palacios was on the roster before the game!
Dan Szymborski
Guardians bats gotta do better than pop on toast
Pedantic A-hole
This is a good series for undersized sluggers. Palacios , Mesa Jr., Hicks, and of course the great J-Ram
Dan Szymborski
not so great for J-Ram's D!
Dan Szymborski
Arby's commercials always make me a little sad because I'm reminded of my cat Galileo
asf123edited
I saw your story about Galileo and Arby’s in a chat recently. It made me smile, surprised to know that Arby’s has done some small bit of good in this world. I’m glad you have those memories.
asf123
I was saying how there’s no way Hicks should be starting against a lefty, but SSS >>> my brain.
bosoxforlife
The Guardians started Hedges at catcher so they could use Bailey as a PH. I hope that sounds as ridiculous to others as it does to me as I write it.
Nick Smith
Gotta keep the other team thinking. Zag when they expect you to zig, etc.
lzfreak
It's amazing how often in recent postseasons Vogt has had Hedges at bat in extremely high leverage situations. Now he has competition for that spot!
Dan Szymborski
"I put my hand on the stove because it feels so amazing when I take it off!"
Phil
Was that punitive for heading to first early?
Dan Szymborski
He LOOOOVED Arby's. I couldn't eat Arby's for a year after he died. I mean, he was 20, so he was a really old cat, but still miss the guy because he was the cat who was invariably around me when I was working, including all ZiPS work from origin to 2019.
coldbagel12
Vogt has been having Hedges and Bailey pinch hit for each other all year. Drives me up a wall
asf123
Gotta think of it as more of a catcher funging than pinch hitting, I guess.
coldbagel12
Yeah, that's how he uses it. I just wish he'd pinch hit someone else then make a defensive sub. Although it's not like there's a slugger on the bench.
Dan Szymborski
I was gonna dispute the factoid, but I didn't realize that Kwan was THAT good total in the second half. 155 wRC+
lzfreak
You are allowed to pinch hit with a non catcher though
Dan Szymborski
I mean, he turned it on, but I didn't see the number
Dan Szymborski
I like when they mention Booser, because it's always in a situation where saying boozer sounds funny
Dan Szymborski
THERE'S A BOOSER GETTING WARMED UP
asf123
He’s actually a recovering alcoholic.
Dan Szymborski
OH geez, I didn't know that
asf123
True story.
Dan Szymborski
Not a convenient name to have
asf123
I know, right?
Dan Szymborski
My dad drank himself to death, but he didn't have an ironic name.
Nick Smith
How would you explain changing it, though?
Dan Szymborski
"Call a lawyer?"
asf123
I just read an article about him the other day. He was out of baseball when he was 27 due to injuries, which led to depression and addiction. But he made it back. So, major hat tip.
Dan Szymborski
Seems like it's a story i should have remembered. Good story
asf123
I mean, these days there’s always a chance that the article was a total AI fake, but it seems unlikely that a fake article about a Rays reliever would be real high on anyone’s AI priority list.
bosoxforlife
Not the matchup Cash would want here.
Dan Szymborski
Man, Adell looked horrible on that changeup
Matt Martell
I want to see another Jo Adell triple
Dan Szymborski
That was not a good at bat for Adell
Matt Martell
Yes, I'm still here – just went down a deep rabbit hole looking for the best World Series performances from players on losing teams
jj1986
Lenny Dykstra was tearing it up in 1993
Matt Martell
Yes, Dykstra is on the list
Matt Martell
A 6-inning rabbit hole
Phil
Sorry if I sent you down it! But I'd be curious to see the answer. Wondering about CWPA, too.
Matt Martell
Send it as a mailbag question!
Nick Smith
Yikes! Terrible bunt.
bosoxforlife
I mentioned that I watched him several times in Worcester and thought nothing of it. He was just an old never-will-be. Perusing his history shows he did not appear in organized ball between his 26-28 year old years.
lzfreak
Armstrong is a good name for a pitcher
Rich Hill's Fastball
Certainly better than Flimsyelbow
lzfreak
The Twins used to have a starter named Kevin Slowey
asf123
And the guy actually named Tommy John ended up having to have Tommy John surgery. How ironic is that?
Dan Szymborski
Don't get me started on Lou Gehrig!
lzfreak
Cy Young never won a Cy Young award
Nick Smithedited
I hate to break it to you about Bill Goodenough.
asf123edited
In retrospect, it seems inevitable.
Keith
Why wasn’t Kwan sent home on the double? I thought he was fast.
bosoxforlife
I couldn't believe he wasn't sent. I guess the 3rd base coach was afraid of him being thrown out in the 1 in 10 chance that might have happened. I hate 3rd base scared 3rd base coaches as you might have ascertained.
asf123
Will there ever come a point at which people decide they’ve had their fill of Day-O, “boom boom boom and let me hear you say hey-o” and “Everybody clap your hands!”? Can we poll that?
jcathtraverse
I much prefer "everybody clap your hands" to the relatively recent alternative "I can make your hands clap"
lzfreak
Yeah I don't love a disembodied voice bragging about how he has control over my body
asf123
Rotten potato, rotten potahto.
Solitaire
Jeff Sullivan once live-blogged a Mariners game which included a post "everybody clap your hands clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap" and I will never not laugh about that now
Sean Dolinar
We’ll do a stadium chant poll tomor
asf123
The “free mound visit for a pinch hitter” rule is such a farce.
asf123
“Gotta give the pitcher the scouting report,” my ass.
Dan Szymborski
I'm grumpy and never ever participate in fan things, even as a kid
Phil
One of my earliest memoried is my older brothrr explaining why the wave is stupid.
asf123
I just genuinely don’t get why people apparently like the same five sound bites over and over and over and over again for years on end.
bosoxforlife
Another of life's imponderables. How did Bryan Baker morph into Mariano Rivera?
Phil
That's just Ray Magic.
lzfreak
You should see what they did with the Butcher and the candlestick maker
asf123
Patrick Bailey, pinch hitter, folks.
lzfreak
Mesa is entertaining even on the routine plays
Rich Hill's Fastball
Ballgame
bosoxforlife
See ya' all tomorrow.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Excited to suffer through a Snell start?
Phil
Good night, all.
Dan Szymborski
I would go see a band called Bryan Baker's Primal Scream, though the actual band might be unhappy
Every October, FanGraphs grades each playoff manager. We focus on their in-game decisions, because a lot of the most important parts of the job – things like keeping players ready to go and making sure relievers understand their role so they know when they might be deployed – aren’t always visible to us from the outside looking in. A lot of what managers do never reaches the public eye, so these report cards instead key in on the remainder of their decisions, the ones that come when the lights are bright and the game is on the line.
We attempt to evaluate those decisions based on process, not results. A pitching change isn’t necessarily bad because the reliever who comes in gets shelled, or good because he gets out of a jam. That’s not to say it can’t be a bad decision – if you bring in your closer up eight, or let your worst reliever face Yordan Alvarez with the game on the line, you made the wrong call. But we’re interested in the before, in what we could expect to happen when a manager makes a pitching change or calls on a pinch-hitter. It isn’t good to completely ignore results, but it’s also bad to fixate on them, and it’s my hope that our report cards strike the right balance.
Have you seen Jhonny Level at all this year? I think he's become underrated among the glut of young SFG MiF. Was skeptical on him at SS but looked great this year and just hits everything
Brendan Gawlowski
Several times. He doesn't have the same defensive ability or upside as the younger guys, and at some point he needs to get a little more selective. But it'd be wild if there was prospect fatigue settling in here already, he's a good hitter with sneaky pop. Easy T100 guy.
leoneforthird
With the move into Cardinals org Tai Peetehas seemed to take a big step forward. What did he do differently this year and is he a top 100 candidate
Brendan Gawlowski
Repeating High-A was a good idea. There's still a lot of swing and miss, probably too much for realistic T100 consideration, but it's really encouraging that it didn't skyrocket after he was promoted to AA. And of course, there are more than 100 or 110 interesting prospects with everyday upside!
ADoctolero
How would you rank Flora, Bresnahan, Keyner, Marquez and Cayama within the Giants system?
Brendan Gawlowskiedited
Flora, Marquez, Keyner, Bresnahan, Cayama.
apeloton
Last week you wrote that Dax kilby looks like one of the best guys in the league – with guys like Walcott here, that was a bit of a wow moment for me. Reading too much into it, or has the last week been that for you too with kilby?
Brendan Gawlowski
He doesn't have the same kind of freaky, elite upside that Walcott does but he looks like a high-probability regular. Solid defender at short, really good feel to hit.
nuxie
Which would be a greater concern for a hitter-chase rate,in zone contact or contact vs 95mph+?
Brendan Gawlowski
Depends; who do you have in mind?
kipsooth
If you're in AZ or have heard from others, how's Bonemer looking in the OF?
Brendan Gawlowskiedited
Raw. Not unexpected, most guys struggle in their initial exposure, particularly in center. It's not true in every case, but I think as a general matter you need to live with growing pains out there for at least a few dozen games before you have any idea if the guy has the instincts to play the outfield.
Alex Remington
With Josue De Paula set to potentially play a larger role for the Dodgers as they fight for their lives, is there anything that a prospect like him could show you in a short series like this that could meaningfully affect your view of his outlook?
Brendan Gawlowski
He could pull an Arozerena I guess. That's probably the best example of a guy playing himself into a significantly higher grade just based on postseason performance alone.
WonderWall
When you watch a player on defense, what are you looking for to say that this player can stick at the position?
Brendan Gawlowski
Depends where they are on the journey. If it's a teenager on the complex, speed/athleticism are big. You'd also like to see good hands/feel for the hop if it's an infield position, but reliability is a little less important at that stage. For a guy in Triple-A or the majors, the bar is higher, and you want to see him make plays that an average player at that position can handle.
drplantwrench
of the angels many holes on the major league roster, which one(s) do you think can be reasonably filled by their non existent farm? or will stan kroenke need to spend his way through everything
Brendan Gawlowski
I wouldn't say the farm is non existent, there are some dudes down there. They're kind of far away though, Rada could help in '27 but that's probably going to be a rough big league season regardless of what they do.
Bud Smith
Back in the day, John Sickels had a theory that prospects with boring names tend to get underrated a bit (Brad Miller was the example that I recall). Have you encountered anything like that?
Brendan Gawlowski
I appreciate the unique angle here but… no?
schwarber raleigh burns
Who's a more promising version of the Joey Gallo archetype: Spencer Jones or Lazaro Montes?
Brendan Gawlowski
They take different routes to a similar place. I'd maybe lean Jones but they're fairly close together on my personal pref.
apeloton
Sss in full effect, but davalan hasn’t been hitting much in the afl – any sense of what the balance is of that being due to focusing more on fielding/it’s the hardest competition he’s faced/just random?
Brendan Gawlowski
It's a handful of games.
millvillemeltdown
on the subject of defense: how much are the "instincts" actually coachable? i'm spoiled as a frisbee player because i have a large, slow object that has fairly observable and predictable flight patterns, but i learned to make reads pretty fast. i don't know how that translates to baseball, esp supremely gifted athletes who seem to struggle to track fly balls
Brendan Gawlowski
I think good instincts give you a higher baseline from which to start. Guys can/do get better at things like tracking a ball in the air or reading a hop on the ground, but some people have a lower ceiling than others.
ADoctolero
Would it be fair to say that no farm system has jumped further up the power rankings than the Giants in the last calendar year?
Brendan Gawlowski
They're up there. St. Louis has an argument too. Atlanta is coming from a lower spot on the rankings but that system's up a decent bit, too.
Solitaire
Would you want to be a scout back in the pre-draft, no tech, no advance knowledge era? When a scout might show up at a game not knowing who anyone was looking for diamonds in the rough? Or is knowing who and what to look for, getting to review video and radar and such make it more enjoyable?
Brendan Gawlowski
Positives and negatives to both environments. The old days probably a tiny bit more fun but travel logistics were brutal back then.
nuxie
Alexander frias’s numbers dropped post trade.any concerns?
Brendan Gawlowski
No.
Kyler Jesanis
Who are some of the biggest risers since mid season reports?
Brendan Gawlowski
Kilby and Flewelling for me personally. Bernal has probably played his way onto the T100.
Ice Cream Helmet
How deep into off-the-field stuff do teams investigate potential draft picks to make sure they guy isn't a knucklehead? Do they ever hire like PIs or psychologists to screen kids?
Brendan Gawlowski
I don't know about a PI but teams do their homework.
epigene13
Have you gotten any looks at Angeibel Gomez in the AFL, and if so, what were your impressions?
I know we are looking at the "whole" player, but can't we take a minute to appreciate how good Josue De Paula must be to go from Double A to be in consideration to start on the Dodgers in the playoffs?
Brendan Gawlowski
He's very good.
schwarber raleigh burns
Have you done much youth scouting overseas? I'd imagine a lot of that is still low-tech wild west style. Or am I naive and do these teams know every 14 year old worth looking at?
Brendan Gawlowski
Zero personally. Some teams are more organized than others in Latin America but there's a limit to how deep into the future you can peer when you're evaluating a 14 year old. There are tons of guys, pitchers especially, who don't pop until late into their teen years.
toshi
If you were in charge of the Mariners, would you be comfortable with Young and Emerson at 2B and SS next year?
Brendan Gawlowski
Young yes, Emerson I'd sure want to have a capable Plan B on hand.
Big Fan
Hello BG!
Brendan Gawlowski
Hello Big Fan
TheHeavy217
For the past several years one of the big talking points during the postseason has been how important it is for teams to have the ability to hit home runs. Yet Milwaukee, Cleveland and Tampa were 29th, 27th and 22nd respectively in that category. Not to mention they were right next to each other on the team ISO leaderboard (25th thru 27th). Why does this work for them? More specifically, how has Milwaukee been able to maintain the best OBP and nearly the best walk rate over the last couple seasons with so little power?
Brendan Gawlowski
Two slightly different things here. The home run factor in the postseason is magnified because there are fewer runs/baserunners in general, which means that homers have a disproportionate impact on run scoring relative to the regular season.
Brendan Gawlowski
To the question of how have teams who don't really hit homers are succeeding this postseason: There are still multiple ways to be successful and there's a lot of variance in a short series.
Brendan Gawlowski
As for Milwaukee: They have a lot of guys with really good approaches and hit tools. And, as Sam Miller said more eloquently than I'll paraphrase in one of his newsletters, there are some real benefits to being the team that hustles in an otherwise non-hustle league
Brendan Gawlowski
It's not that they get a ton of value in the aggregate out of infield groundballs but they squeeze more out of them than anybody else.
Jasperdog3329
Is S. Walcott on the major league roster and starting next spring? Timeline for J. Farmelo who has tools but has lost so much time to injuries?
Brendan Gawlowski
Walcott I'd be very surprised, for a couple reasons. He's blocked, for one, but also not ready. I spoke with a scout who made a persuasive case that he's the kind of player who could use a full year in Triple-A.
Brendan Gawlowski
Farmelo is another one who I don't think is on the fast track. Wouldn't be surprised if he needs most/all of '27 at Double-A. I think even an 85th-90th percentile season has him getting to Triple-A late in the summer.
Sonny L
After attending a lot of MiLB games at different levels I’m in awe of anyone who can ID an A ball player beyond ‘that guy is better than everyone here’ with any certainty that it means ‘he’ll play in the league’ or ‘he’s a star.’ What are markers at that level (hitter side) you found useful
Brendan Gawlowski
Nobody's good enough to tell you with certainty how many WAR a 20 year old in A ball is going to accrue in his career, but some blend of size/athleticism/tools/physical projection can usually tell you who's got a shot to be impactful.
mbushskbum
Did you have a chance to see Sam Horn, GDD? Does he have a future in MLB?
How concerned are you about Emerson going forward?
Brendan Gawlowski
I still think he's going to be a good player. But if I'm trying to contend next year, I don't think I'd plan on him as a "set it and forget it" SS from day one.
triplesandtea
Do you enjoy seeing a prospect attempt to make the knuckleballer conversion?
Brendan Gawlowski
Sure. Tend to think more guys should play around with it.
longsuffering
Is there a guy in the Jays org that no-one is talking about? I was wondering if Ryan Sprock might be that guy.
Brendan Gawlowski
I've just about wrapped up Toronto's list. He'll be on there, likely as a 40 unless sources are all over the guy in a way I'm not anticipating.
Tommyfastball
When you look at a guy like Justin Gonzales, what are the things that you'd see to say "Wow, he's going elite" as opposed to "Let's see how this goes…"
Brendan Gawlowski
I'm more in the 'let's see how this goes' camp with him. He's got a lot going for him, and the power is clearly nuts. Odd swing, stiffer mover than most big prospects. It's not a slam dunk case where everything lines up.
wheelhouse
What’s the deal with George Lombard Jr.? Does he have to move off the position
Brendan Gawlowski
I don't have anticipate that. I think he can be above average at short, and I'm the low man here on his glove.
Michael
In your eyes, what happened with someone like Jasson Dominguez? Did pressure of being 'The Martian' get to him? Constant analysis of defensive miscues got to his head? Is there a post-prospect hype arc he could conceivably stumble upon? League average hitter in '25 with semi-regular at-bats…
Brendan Gawlowski
From what I can gather, there seems to have been a sizable gap between how baseball people evaluated him as a player — both publically and with teams — and how the public perceived his talent. Eric has a theory that the baseball card community is a factor here, particularly with players from the Yankees.
Brendan Gawlowski
And I can buy that.
Brendan Gawlowski
As a player, he projected as a regular but not a star. Guys like that fall short all the time.
Brendan Gawlowski
As for Dominguez himself, a second act as a 110-115 wRC+ player with shoddy defense in some kind of role — maybe more against righties than lefties? — wouldn't shock me.
apeloton
Emma Rodriguez and Mike Sirota have kinda similar offensive profiles and are the same age – does erod’s injury history explain the 2 grade gap between them? Something else I’m missing?
Brendan Gawlowski
It's a factor. The bigger thing is that it looks like Rodriguez will be vulnerable in a huge swath of the strike zone in a way that Sirota won't.
triplesandtea
Reverse of the Dominguez question – who is the player in recent memory that baseball folks were way, way higher on than the general fan public?
Brendan Gawlowski
This is one where different pockets will have different answers. The A's, for instance, were way higher on Esteury Ruiz… For scouts it'll often be toolsy guys with scary data… I really liked Spencer Jones the two times I saw him as a scout and was kind of oblivious to how he was a punchline online for all the strikeouts.
Charles Bengal Tiger
Hao-Yu Lee had a decent but not overwhelming rookie season. Is there another gear?
Brendan Gawlowski
I hope so, he's so fun to watch. He's limited enough defensively that I think "good reserve where you pick your spots/stretches to play him" is the reasonable projection.
Sonny L
Muni’s in zone fastball issues sure came out against Cleveland. Is this a case where over 162 enough pitchers will miss the hole and he punishes but in October better and more focused arms hammer that spot until he adjusts?
Brendan Gawlowski
Everybody suffers a little in the postseason as the competition gets tougher.
Brendan Gawlowski
But also, stuff happens in five games
Brendan Gawlowski
In five games from August 1 through August 6, he hit .136 /.208 /.182 with 12 K's and one double in 24 PA's.
Brendan Gawlowski
In five games from May 6 to May 12 he hit .111 /.238 /.278 with 12 strikeouts in 21 PA's against the mighty Angels/Mariners/Royals.
Andrew
Kellon Lindsay and Joendry Vargas are their stats inflated by the minor league hitting environment?
Brendan Gawlowski
Them and everybody else this year.
adbernardi
Much hope left for Carson Williams? Or is he an odd man out in Tampa?
Brendan Gawlowski
I don't think he's going to hit.
Big Fan
Any updated Braves news you haven't shared with us before? The trade deadline refresh was much appreciated, and there were slew of promotions after that.
Brendan Gawlowski
Nothing beyond what I published in the AZ notes. I suspect they'll go fairly early in the list cycle.
smoothio
What did Salas’ performance with the Padres do to his prospect ranking?
Brendan Gawlowski
Very little, more because he's already 10th on our board. Not much room for us to move him!
Tristan
Unless he morphs into a LF this offseason, Sean Keys seems awfully blocked in Toronto. But he's also look a lot like the kind of bat they could use, particularly with the power and patience profile. Could he be a serviceable outfielder with reps, pushing others to DH at bats? Or do the Jays look for a trade partner? They often deal with the Guardians, who sure don't seem inclined to use Bibee for much this postseason…
Brendan Gawlowski
I don't think you're going to flip him for Tanner Bibee, if that's the question behind the question. You can find ways to get him in the game as a PH or at DH with occasional starts elsewhere. I think trying him in left and seeing how it looks is a reasonable idea. If he hits, they'll find a way to get the bat in there.
Tommyfastball
Are you taking an Amador victory lap?
Brendan Gawlowski
No, but glad he's a relevant player for COL again and cautiously optimistic that there's still a regular in there.
Brendan Gawlowski
You can never take a victory lap in this business.
Sonny L
If he’s not going to hit is Carson Williams the in-house all glove SS when Walls gets expensive?
Brendan Gawlowski
Could be, yeah.
Tommyfastball
You mentioned J. Gonz. was stiff. I've seen that critique for lots of guys. Have you ever seen someone get considerably less stiff? Like they went all yoga and loosened up their core?
Brendan Gawlowski
Usually goes the other way. There was a really good article 10 years ago or so about how Justin Verlander revived his career by limbering up, but that was more of a case where he'd let his flexibility atrophy a little bit rather than finding something brand new.
pdunes
How much of a leap do you expect Konkor Griffin to make next year?
Brendan Gawlowski
A pretty big one. I expect him to be very good next year.
crossedup
Were you able to look into some of the low lower Mariners starters like Jack Bowery?
Brendan Gawlowski
Thank you for your patience. Bowery/Easterly look like HM/35+ types. I like the strikes but they're succeeding by leaning on good execution of shapely but not particularly nasty secondaries. Never say never in this era but they don't strike me as especially projectable, either.
rdf8585
What do you make of what Vance Honeycutt did late in the season in AA and so far in the Arizona Fall League?
Brendan Gawlowski
I liked him more than I thought I was going to. Flawed hitter, still see a path to value as a good glove/danger bat off the bench even if he's pretty limited at the plate.
tmh198
Can Lazaro Montes become Murakami-lite (poor BA, acceptable OBP(.320's-.330's?), 35+ HRs?
Brendan Gawlowski
That's the projection right there.
tmh198
Does Anthony Eyanson have a chance to break camp in the rotation, or are we likely looking at May/Jun debut?
Brendan Gawlowski
~90/10 the latter.
Exile in St. Louis
Any thoughts on Nehomar Ochoa at the AFL? Classic big tool, big swing & miss profile the Dana Brown-led Astros fell for.
Brendan Gawlowski
Bench bat.
Charles Bengal Tiger
Who will emerge from the scrum to become the Cardinals' near- and long-term catcher?
Brendan Gawlowski
Reminds me of the situation the Jays were in about five years ago, lot of potential options, tough to go wrong. I've been a Bernal fan for a while, why stop now.
pdunes
Best baseball comp for Arch Manning?
Brendan Gawlowski
Jackson Holliday?
Chuck Berry
How badly has Winston Santos fallen in rankings this year :'(
Brendan Gawlowski
Sigh. From a valuation perspective, clearly a lot. We'll see how stubborn I'm feeling come the Rangers list.
tmh198
What's Kendry Chourio's upside?
Brendan Gawlowski
Sonny Gray.
Patrick Burke
What happened with Elmer Rodriguez this season? So you still see him being successful in the majors as he was in AAA?
Brendan Gawlowski
Very effective in AAA, major league cameos shone a bright light on his crudeness as a strike thrower. Still like him as a GB-generating SP prospect.
apeloton
Thanks for all the answers!
Brendan Gawlowski
And thank you for all the questions, always fun to hang out. Disappointed about the lack of enclave chat but like that we got to hit on a bunch of different teams/some players we don't often get to here. Let's do it again next eek.
A year ago, even eight months ago, it would have been difficult to envision Victor Mesa Jr. emerging as a postseason hero for the Rays.
The son of a legendary Cuban outfielder and manager, he made his major league debut with the Marlins in 2025, but even by then, his standing as a prospect had faded due to his long swing and his aggressive approach. Designated for assignment by Miami before camps opened in February to make room for a waiver-wire reliever, Mesa was traded to the Rays and began the 2026 season in Triple-A.
Yet by June, the lefty-swinging 24-year-old (now 25) had carved out a platoon role with the big club thanks to his speed and defense. His role expanded as he far outdid his power projections, demonstrated an ability to hit same-side pitching, and played outstanding defense. In Game 3 of the Division Series, he administered the decisive blow against the Yankees, a towering two-run homer on lefty Max Fried’s final pitch to give the Rays a 4-2 lead. His adventurous night didn’t end there — in left field, he attempted to catch Anthony Volpe’s sixth-inning homer-that-wasn’t, which was ultimately ruled a run-scoring double because of fan interference — but the Rays held on to complete the sweep and advance to the ALCS against the Guardians.
“At the beginning of the year, I started being designated for assignment and look at me now,” a beaming, champagne-soaked Mesa said in the aftermath of the Wild Card Series victory.
“Victor Mesa Jr. is a very talented player both sides of the ball,” manager Kevin Cash said that night. “And when we got him up here and he found comfort in playing in that role that he was in basically every day, he really lengthened out our lineup.” Read the rest of this entry »
After a nine-year hiatus from managing, which he mostly spent with the Braves as Brian Snitker’s bench coach, Walt Weiss made a triumphant return to the top step of the dugout this year. Promoted to replace the retiring Snitker, Weiss made the playoffs for the first time as a big league skipper, winning 94 games, the NL East crown, and the Wild Card Series against the Phillies. With his season completed, following a 3-1 NLDS loss to the Dodgers, I’m making a trip to the grade book for the last time this year to evaluate his performance at the helm.
I’ll remind for you, as Ben Clemens also has for his AL manager report cards, that I care about process and not results here. It’s easy to say, “That was a great move because it worked,” or “That was a bad move because it failed,” but managers obviously can’t know the results of their decisions as they’re making them. I’ve tried my best to transport myself back to the moment of each decision — taking into account the pitches, innings, and plate appearances that led up to it — while ignoring its outcome.
Before we get into the grades, I’ll also reiterate that while these are ostensibly manager report cards, there’s a much larger group of people behind the skipper that helps to inform his decisions. Before the game, that includes discussions with the front office, which provides the reams of data that every manager has at his disposal during play. During the game, he’s getting feedback from his coaching staff and players on their levels of health and readiness. It really does take a village to get through a baseball game, and realistically, the praise and scorn doesn’t belong to the manager alone. —>
Good afternoon, folks! Welcome to another edition of my weekly chat. THis is my second time on our new internal platform and I'm still feeling my way around this thing.
Jay Jaffe
As a reminder, you need to be logged into your user account (not necessarily a paid member, but thank you if you are) to submit questions.
Jay Jaffe
I've got a piece on Victor Mesa Jr. in the pipeline for today
How much does Jose Ramirez finally having a postseason to remember impact his HOF odds?
Jay Jaffe
It doesn't hurt him, obviously, but I think the heavy lifting has already been done. He's not yet at the JAWS standard for third baseman, but he's above the peak standard (44.7 vs. 43.4). He'll get some additional limelight when he passes 300 homers (he's at 297) and 2,000 hits (1,779). Another trip to the World Series would be a feather in his cap, too.
Jay Jaffe
I've got a piece on Ramírez's rebound from his slump on track for later this week, incidentally.
Matthew Tobin
Why did the Fangraphs Playoff odds change in the past hour? I noticed the Dodgers were below 25% and they seemed to have inched back up above 25% since then?
Jay Jaffe
Without looking, I'm not sure, but it could be because starting pitchers were named or lineups were adjusted. The odds aren't set in stone, they're adjusted as we get new inputs.
Jamey
Are you familiar with King of the Mound?
It’s on my kid’s school reading list and is apparently about Satchel Paige and his time with the integrated Bismarcks. I’d never heard of that part of Paige’s barnstorming.
Jay Jaffe
I'm not familiar with that book, either. I don't have a strong recollection of the Bismarcks, but they're covered in Larry Tye's Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, which was pubbed in 2009 and which I really liked.
Jay Jaffe
We don't have many questions in the queue at the moment, so don't be shy about submitting yours
sourbob
Going into collective bargaining, a Brewers vs. Guardians or Rays WS is just about the best outcome for the MLBPA and the worst for the owners, right?
Jay Jaffe
Yes, and it's probably even better now that the Dodgers are down 2-0 and looking like they're on the ropes.
Kwanbelievable
What's your personal ranked choice vote for the remaining 4 teams in order of how much you are rooting for them to win the WS?
Jay Jaffe
Beyond the obvious links to my growing up a Dodgers and and generally defaulting to them as a rooting preference, I really don't have strong preferences here — the Brewers and Padres are kind of neck-and-neck in terms of the NL teams besides the Dodgers and Mets (for geographic reasons) that I watch most, so maybe Milwaukee if I had to pick?
The fact that the Brewers, Rays, and Guardians are all among the more analytically inclined teams obviously has some appeal here too. USA Today's Gabe Lacques had a good piece on these teams' interconnections yesterday https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/gabe-lac…
crew87
The "sit Ohtani?" discussion is ridiculous, right? Like, yeah he's been bad but can the solution to your problems possibly be "bench the greatest player alive?" Feels like there should be 10 more things to adjust before that.
Jay Jaffe
I feel like we're back to the 2024 World Series after he injured his shoulder, where the information regarding his true condition was a closely-kept secret and his value in the lineup rest partially on being a decoy. His at-bats haven't been great, and he hasn't pulled a ball in the air since August. I'm not 100% sure I don't pull the DePaula lever myself with the team down 2-0, but I don't know exactly what he's dealing with.
Matthew VanWinkle
Thoughts on MLB's proposed changes regarding season and playoff length?
Jay Jaffe
Didn't love it but it didn't stink on ice like every other MLB trial balloon they've launched during this propaganda cycle. If you're going to shorten the schedule, 154 games is the obvious number to start with, but what will happen is the owners will say, ok, your salaries will be cut 5% to account for this shorter schedule and then the proposal will be deader than Babe Ruth.
Kwanbelievable
Have you ever thought about a JAWS equivalent for managers/coaches?
Jay Jaffe
I've thought about lots of applications for JAWS — and a medical journal even cited it for a "peak plus average" study that they did that was unrelated to sports — but I haven't come up with anything useful enough to unveil.
If there's a lockout I'll go back to the lab.
Jay Jaffe
The most fun I've had thinking about a JAWS application is Astronaut JAWS because I'm a bit of a spaceflight nerd. I watch Apollo documentaries and just about any sci-fi movie where They Puttin On Helmets.
crew87
regarding the Brewers making the world series being bad for owners' bargaining position, do you think players on eliminated teams see it that way and are actively rooting for the brewers? Or is it such a small factor and MLB players are recuperating from the season to a degree they don't get that invested in the playoffs after they're out
Jay Jaffe
Mostly the latter, I don't think the players get particularly invested unless they have ties to certain players, coaches, or execs with those teams.
crackbaldo
How far back would the mound have to be moved for there to be a notable change in the way pitchers have to pitch?
Jay Jaffe
I think even a foot changes things. I know this is a common suggestion for how to fix baseball but every time it comes up I look at the injury data and think "You wanna place more stress on pitchers' arms?" because it's human nature that they're going to work harder to approximate their current velocity rather than deciding to live with lower velo.
mragbayani
If Posey is the most likely inductee, and Utley and Felix are running 2nd and 3rd, who do you see making a big jump this year? Pettitte? Pedroia/Wright? Rollins riding Utley's coattails?
Jay Jaffeedited
I think Pedroia riding the coattails of Utley (and to some extent Andruw Jones) is the mosst likely of t hose outcomes, maybe a bit more momentum for Pettitte as voters realize that he'll be a dead letter in front of the Era Committee given the Hall's engineered panels.
drtracy
With Chris Sale seemingly cementing his place in Cooperstown after his stint in Atlanta, which other active starting pitchers, who are maybe at a career inflection point, could put themselves in that discussion with a strong run in their mid to late-30s?
Beyond that, maybe the next hope would be Max Fried, who has lacked volume but has performed well, but he's had just one season above 5.0 WAR and that's not gonna turn any voter's head.
Rose Keenan
If ohtani were to be healthy enough to pitch, in what role would the dodgers be most inclined to use him. It feels as though they wouldn't necessarily need him in the starting staff but could they use him as a reliever?
Jay Jaffe
The problem with using him as a reliever is that once he comes out he'd have to take a position in order to remain in the game. The rule built specifically to showcase him doesn't apply in those cases.
xandercho23
Joe Espada is being interviewed by the Mariners for their Manager position. Is this the right fit for both sides?
Jay Jaffe
I don't know that he's a perfect fit but I haven't seen anything to suggest he'd be a bad one. it's been awhile since I thought the Mariners had a good manager, and if they hired him, I'd probably think it was a solid move unless there was a candidate I thought more highly of.
Matthew Tobin
Posey shouldn't be eligible until he is completely out of baseball IMO. There is conflict of interest and puts especially local writers in an impossible situation.
Jay Jaffe
Did you see the knives come out for Posey during all his screw-ups this year? I trust the professionalism of the Giants' beat reporters who have votes and their ability to separate the player from the executive.
InsertWittyNameHere
Are the Phillies now in the same spot as the 2010-11 team where the title contention window is almost closed and they have to play out Ryan Howard’s contract (Now Trea/Harper’s contract). Unless a magically pop up prospect happens, I cant see any path to a winning team until a tear down happens.
Jay Jaffe
I don't know about the EXACT spot, and I don't think Harper at this stage is nearly the mllstone that Turner looks like he is, but they do need an overhaul. This team has both Luzardo and Sánchez tied up long term whereas that one had only Lee beyond the 2014 option for Halladay that they declined.
crew87
my idea to fix the mound is to shorten the pitching rubber by a few inches on each side. Not a drastic fix, but eliminates *some* pitcher advantage, because they're all over that thing trying to have more deceptive deliveries / angles.
Jay Jaffe
Hmm, I'd at least entertain the notion of seeing this implemented in the AFL or Atlantic League for a closer look.
Jeremy Fox
Thoughts on the AFL experiment restricting outfielder positioning? Also, if that becomes the MLB rule, surely we need to call it the "Strawberry Patch" rule after Daryl Strawberry, right?
Jay Jaffe
and speaking of which, I don't like this one at all, given the amount of tech involved. So far, I think the answer is move the fences back and make them higher, and revisit the strike one boundaries (or maybe check swings) in order to help increase offense
jamespaul94
By my count there has only been 1 world series in the last 100 years where neither team had won a title before. If Milwaukee and Tampa advance, it would happen, likely for the last time. How exciting would you find that matchup on those grounds alone?
Jay Jaffe
Are you telling me we won't see a Padres-Mariners World Series?
Jay Jaffe
(Ever, I mean. Obviously not this year)
Jay Jaffe
I do think it would be cool to see a World Series that guarantees a first-time title, but I don't want to knock the other possibilities. The Guardians are long overdue for a title, especially given the high quality of that organization over the past 30+ years . If the Dodgers come back, they'll be in a rematch of one that happened in 1920 or 2020 and in pursuit of just the fifth threpeat ever and first of any NL team. Those are all interesting outcomes.
New Brit Fan
I don't quite understand the "if you move the mound back, pitchers will just maximise velo and break even more". Aren't they already pushing as hard as they can?
Jay Jaffe
Yes, but that obviously hasn't stopped anyone from pushing the envelope. It's always going to be "how can I keep my velo in the upper tier" before it's "gosh, i better learn to throw a new pitch"
tjcook87
Just read Mike Vaccaro’s (sp?) new book on George Steinbrenner – good read! In your opinion, Do books like that coming out have any sway with the Hall as it sets up the latest Eras committee? Something that makes them more inclined to add a Steinbrenner/stack the committee accordingly?
Jay Jaffe
Eh, minimal I think. And I don't think there's going to be a crushing rush to make Steinbrenner a candidate when there are so many managers on the doorstep. the Boss got less than five votes in 2017 and '19, which would be a strike against his future candidacy if he gets another one under the newish rule.
Also, I don't think the Hall wants a twice-suspended owner in, to be honest.
xandercho23
If you were making the dodgers lineup, would you make radical changes in hopes of a spark or trust the veterans who got you there? Examples being struggles of Smith, Betts, Ohtani with De Paula on the bench and Tucker/Muncy further down in the order.
Jay Jaffe
I think this is an overraction to two games. Tucker's hitting .300/.391/.500 in the postseason, Muncy is slugging .684. If there's particular matchup stuff regarding the starting pitcher for Game 3, I might give it more sway but I'm not sure Robert Gasser represents such an imposing opponent that they're going to upend everything.
Jeremy Fox
Where do the Phillies turn for a manager now that Cora has (reportedly) rebuffed their approach? Remove Mattingly's interim tag? It's a veteran team that's clearly on the downswing. Feels like a bunch of potential candidates either wouldn't want the gig, or wouldn't be the right fit for it because the vets wouldn't respect them.
Jay Jaffe
I think bringing back Mattingly would be on par with returning Turner to shortstop and assuming Nola is a top-of-the-rotation guy. Just a foolish waste when the clock is ticking. Current coaches like Kai Correa, Ruben Niebla and George Lombard Sr. might be fits as might experienced guys like David Ross, Rocco Baldelli, and Espada, but so much will come down to who Dombrowski connects with.
Jeremy Fox
Will we ever see a healthy Ohtani for a full season as both hitter and pitcher again?
Jay Jaffe
We're never going to see a 200-inning Ohtani and I'd be surprised if we see a 162-inning Ohtani. I think 100-120 innings is going to become the target if he's healthy.
If you were asked, would you accept a position at the Hall to help formulate committees and make decisions on voting?
Jay Jaffe
I'd be happy to consult with them so long as it didn't mean giving up my day job here as well as my voting privileges.
Jay Jaffe
But I don't see myself as winding up on a Hall payroll, if that's what you're asking.
Sonny L
I’m interested in the idea that a Tamp/Cleveland v Brewers WS undercuts the cap logic (it probably does) but might miss the forest for the trees in that it tells the massive middle tier of franchises they don’t have to spend in FA to win. Noses, faces, spite, etc
Jay Jaffe
Eh, if the runs by the current teams haven't already underscored it, the reason they're playing in an LCS is because they are well-run, forward-thinking teams that search for any edge they can get, not simply because they don't spend money in free agency. Theirs isn't the only way to succeed, but it's not a recipe that's replicable just because you *don't* spend in FA.
daml91
Pat Murphy about to win MOY for the 3rd consecutive season in the NL. His regular season W% currently is top 25 in history surrounded by HOFers. There is basically no precedent for someone who started this late, but is there a pathway to the HOF for him especially if he leads the Brewers to their first WS?
Jay Jaffe
I think that's a tough lift for a guy who's already 67. If we presume that the Brewers' current success will be harder to maintain as their current core gets more expensive – and as their pitchers deal with injuries, ahem — they'll be subject to the usual gravity any competitive team faces. Will he ride that out? Will his career look as impressive after three years below .500 somewhere in there? I'm just spitballing here but I think he's a longshot simply because of the late start.
Beer:30
The Dodgers aren't successful because they spend money, it's how they spend it that counts. And the Brewers aren't successful just because they don't sign FAs, they invest heavily in other areas (that many teams neglect) to help offset the approach. Easy to attempt, far harder to replicate from both sides, as evidenced by ample teams failures.
Jay Jaffe
yup yup yup
Tommyfastball
I am left wanting by the metrics I've seen on who is good/bad on pitch challenges. We need metrics that consider the number of opportunities to challenge, how egregious the original call was, even maybe some leverage stuff and accounting for how many challenges a team has left. Current "How many times did a guy challenge correctly?" or "What % of time are challenges correct?" need to be improved.
Jay Jaffe
Players and managers aren't the only ones feeling their way around the new system. Give it time and I imagine you'll see more advanced applications — and for all we know some teams are working on this
sourbob
How seriously should we take the talk of a possibly "juiced" ball in minor league play in 2026? (Whether intentional, or just a variance in the seams.)
Jay Jaffe
I'd like to see some actual data before I take it seriously. PCL scoring went down, IL scoring went up but was still below 2023-2024 levels. Lower than that isn't really something I'm attuned to but if there's something there, let's see the numbers.
InsertWittyNameHere
Do you think the HoF arguments now need to be “TikTok”ized? Meaning the 500 HR, 300 Wins benchmarks need to be severely cut down? The debate of DeGrom is what drives me on this. Any Fangraphs reader who watched him pitch knows that he’s on a very short list of all time great pitchers.
Jay Jaffe
voters already largely recognize the increasing rarity of those once-automatic benchmarks but I think it's going to take a more radical shakeup to get deGrom into the Hall. I'm not incredibly sold on him right now, as I wrote in the piece linked above
Fun-Hating Dork
FWIW, Savant's ABS data does have leverage aspects and they did just add some accounting for losing a challenge. I don't necessarily agree with the exact implementation/numbers chosen, but it's at least a start.
Jay Jaffe
Thanks
Bud Smith
regarding the minor league ball, it's a different ball for AA and below so the PCL/IL scoring is not relevant. BG/Eric have been all over the juiced ball in the lower levels
Jay Jaffe
Noted, and yes, that rings a bell.
Beer:30
What do you see for Bauers on the free agent trail? He's earned a contract but the short history and current age suggest something pretty nominal, 2/$30? or does that fall short?
Jay Jaffe
I think some kind of 2-3 year deal is a likely outcome. It's not the nicest thing to do to his market but I wouldn't be surprised if the Brewers QO him but also make clear that there's some kind of longer-term option available as an alternative.
Jeremy Fox
The Brewers bullpen is amazing, but can they keep riding it this hard all the way to a title? I kind of feel like playoff managers collectively have tend to lean a bit too hard into "win today and worry about tomorrow tomorrow."
Jay Jaffe
The nature of the Division Series with its extra off days makes it a different creature than the LCS when it comes to bullpen management. I expect we'll see teams balancing the usage more, and familiarity effects setting in.
Jay Jaffe
Ok folks, that's it from me for today. Thanks so much for stopping by, please tip your servers, and enjoy the baseball!
It wasn’t how manager Stephen Vogt drew it up, but after stealing Game 1 in St. Petersburg, the Guardians have won four in row and they now find themselves in the driver’s seat of the ALCS. On paper — on pretty much any surface you can think of — the Rays held the advantage coming into the series. They were the better team all season long. They dominated the Yankees in the ALDS, while the Guardians nearly fell to the White Sox. They were rested, while the Guardians had completely worn down their pitching. They had fearsome bats, and they had their rotation lined up the way they liked it.
Drew Rasmussen was coming off one of the most dominant playoff starts we’ve ever seen, throwing eight scoreless innings against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS while allowing just one hit and striking out 10. What’s more, the Rays staked him to an early lead against Cleveland. But these Guardians just don’t seem to quit. After coming back from two games down in the ALDS, the Guardians came back from two runs down to beat the Rays on Monday. Then they poured it on, scoring in each of the last four innings to earn a 7-3 victory.
From the first pitch of the game, Rasmussen looked much less sharp than he had against the Yankees. His velocity was down compared to his regular season average. In each of the first two innings, he allowed two singles and notched just one whiff. Thanks to some help from his defense – catcher Nick Fortes threw out a stealing José Ramírez in the first and Victor Mesa Jr.’s rocket arm held Nathaniel Lowe to a single on a tailor-made double in the second – he escaped those two frames without surrendering a run. He allowed another single apiece in the third and fourth, but kept the Guardians off the board. His velocity ticked back up, but he didn’t throw a clean inning until the fifth. It would be his only one. Read the rest of this entry »
MILWAUKEE — Game 1 of the NLCS was an exemplary display of mid-2020s playoff baseball, a dramatic and finely poised showcase of high-powered pitching and expansive defense. Game 2 was a hot dog, loaded with chili and onions, and dropped clumsily down the diner’s shirt.
And yet, the result was the same: The Brewers got the odd solo homer to center to erase an early Dodger lead, and a small-ball run put Milwaukee up for good. This one had a little more action — the 7-4 final marks the highest-scoring NL playoff game this year, as well as the Brewers’ highest offensive output in their past 13 postseason games. They are now halfway toward answering a humiliating sweep in last year’s NLCS with a sweep of their own.
Heroes outnumbered passengers for Milwaukee in Game 2. William Contreras went 3-for-4 with a walk and a monster home run, but four of his teammates also had multi-hit games. Every Brewers position player except Jackson Chourio reached base. As they piled on the insurance runs, four of their pitchers contributed perfect relief stints. When Game 2 started, only two Brewers in history had scored three runs in a playoff game; David Hamilton and Brice Turang both tied that record in the span of three plate appearances. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the LCS games today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Dodgers play the Brewers and the Guardians play the Rays! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.
Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Poll results have 0 faith in the Dodgers' bats to disappoint
Solitaire
Even after losing Game 1, Fangraphs has the Dodgers at 53% to beat the Brewers (and an implied 76% to beat whoever comes out of the AL). Surely this is crazy right? Even with the Dodgers rotation? More likely the Dodgers win 4-of-6 than the 103 win Brewers win 3-of-6?
Solitaire
Having a 53% of taking at least 4-of-6 implies ~60% of winning for each game. 60-40 is an awful lot for a single baseball game and all its randomness. The Dodgers had a 61% win rate against all teams. Surely you expect that to be more than a single percentage point lower against the strongest opponent?
Benny The Jet
I've been meaning to ask, is the poll question for the game, or for the series?
Sean Dolinar
Welcome everyone! I'm excited we get two games tonight. We got some polls today, including the SP poll I wish I had yesterday with Misiorowski not getting through the 5th.
Sean Dolinar
Game.
Benny The Jet
Thanks Sean, and thank you as always for hosting these chats, excited to talk baseball for the next 8 hours!
Sean Dolinar
Thank you all for being here (these chats would be quite lame otherwise) and being Members.
notbrandonzink
I think it makes sense when you line up the pitching matchups, especially with the Miz looking vulnerable (though projections probably don't take it into account). The Brewers are essentially doing a long opener into bullpen game for games 3 and 4 while the Dodgers get Snell and Glasnow, not to mention that the Dodgers have a deeper bullpen.
war2d2
Is it just me or did MLB somehow manage to time these games to get the lowest possible ratings? I live on the west coast and I’m going to completely miss the Dodger game and probably miss half or more of the Guardians game before I get home from work.
Sean Dolinar
I'm guessing MLB is about as happy about this as you are.
Sean Dolinar
These broadcast schedules for the LCS are setup and released in August.
lzfreak
If the Dodgers lose this series, how much falls on Ohtani? He's been underperforming for awhile now
Sean Dolinar
Isn't this the part of the movie where the superhero loses his powers and you have to find a way to prevail anyway?
Rich Hill's Fastball
Man, he really has lost his powers 🙁
Matt Martell
Interestingly, this is the only two-game day that has the Dodgers-Brewers playing the early game.
Matt Martell
Also hi
Christiaan Honig
brutal
war2d2
Seems weird that they wouldn’t be able to talk to the networks and get consensus on moving game times. A 6pm EDT start for CLE vs. TBR and 8pm EDT start for LAD vs. the amoral deviants should work for everyone.
Sæder
perhaps because it's a holiday for some?
war2d2
You know what, I didn’t even consider that. I don’t get it off so I wasn’t thinking of it. You’re almost certainly right.
Sæder
i think it's my first time off, to be sure
Sean Dolinaredited
I don't think TBS wants to lose a prime time game.
Rich Hill's Fastball
I'm not off with the holiday. No one tell my boss I'm here!!
Benny The Jet
Random thought: how fascinating would it be to see these two managers switch dugouts and have to manage the other team
Matt Martell
This is a fun thought. I think Roberts could manage the Brewers, but I don't know if Murphy's schtick would fly with the Dodgers' superstar roster
war2d2
Where do you think Roberts ranks on all-time managers list? My personal feeling is that managers pretty much never add victories (even Francona couldn’t make the Reds a winner), but they absolutely can remove them (early-2000s Cubs eg). Roberts seems to be able to at least keep the egos all pointed in the right direction.
Matt Martell
I think he's one of the best there is. I think his job is significantly more difficult than it seems, beyond just the egos. It's also the expectations the team has every year, the mixing and matching his lineup requires, the dealing with injuries, etc. He also is the best around at criticizing his guys publicly and privately when they need it. He doesn't coddle
Rich Hill's Fastball
He also has more press personnel to manage on a daily basis, just due to the media market
Matt Martell
Yes, and from my experience (only covering him on the road), he's very good at that compared to other major market managers/head coaches I've covered
Jon Becker
One thing that this (bad) camera angle does show really well is Yamamoto’s step back as part of his delivery
Rich Hill's Fastball
I'm gonna see Brice Turang in my nightmares
Doug Gray
It is Spooky Season
Matt Martell
Lol Contreras checked his challenge
brewersbibliophile
Got me. I thought he committed to it.
Benny The Jet
How did he hit that?
Jon Becker
Smoltz describing competitive two-strike pitches as “putting pressure on the umpire” was a very interesting way to put it, gotta give him credit where it’s due
Rich Hill's Fastball
For all his [many] faults, Smoltz is a good pitching analyst
Matt Martell
Some players described it to me earlier this year with ABS similarly, oddly as a reason to hold onto challenges for later in the game. I thought that was funny but didn't think that would last as a strategy
drplantwrench
seeing yamamoto give up any runs in the postseason feels strange
Anonymous Member #46
Given all of your flair, this must be an incredibly exciting development for you.
Jon Becker
And immediately thereafter Smoltz makes me roll my eyes by saying the art of pitching is declining
beanbong
It's hard to imagine Tampa or Cleveland going toe-to-toe with either of these teams (especially Cleveland), this kinda feels like the de facto World Series. At least it's the two best teams this year
Matthew Tobin
Been having severe gastric issue the past few days, But at least I have baseball to watch while I am in the hospital. It make my day!
Matt Martell
Hope you get better soon!
Christiaan Honig
Does anybody like Smoltz?
lzfreak
I actually think he did a pretty good job in last year's World Series when he was enjoying the baseball in a fantastic series. And he's good at breaking down pitching mechanics. But 95% of the time he's either making things up, complaining about the modern game, or both.
Sean Dolinar
Tangential, but I muted the pregame because I'm tired of the Yankees and Red Sox players.
Benny The Jet
Does he have high approval? Not even trying to hate, but how has he held on to the top job for so long while being so obviously ill-equipped to everyone who watches?
Sean Dolinar
But I'm slightly indifferent to Smoltz. There have been a few times, though.
beanbong
he's putting up ba'athist party numbers in front of older gen x/boomer focus groups
drplantwrench
idea for poll: who are the most and least likable teams left in the playoffs?
Rich Hill's Fastball
Maybe we don't need the "least likable team?" 😆
drplantwrench
doth thou protest too much? (actually think dodgers are underrated in their likability)
brewersbibliophile
Compared to the Yankees team that ruined baseball, the Dodgers are extremely likable.
Sean Dolinar
Let me see if I can build out a ranked choice poll.
Sæder
not having A-Rod helps.
war2d2edited
I mean, on a player-by-player basis it’s hard to be less likable than these Brewers. I realize I’m heavily biased, but almost all of them come off as classless jerks. Contreras, Miz, and Uribe in particular.
drplantwrench
this is my main *gulp* pro-dodgers argument – all their top talent and stars are nearly lovable (shohei, betts, freeman, yamamoto, teo, etc.) personally i dont like will smith and max muncy but thats about it really
war2d2
Agree on Smith, he just never seems to be having any fun. Muncy however is kind of a lovable weirdo.
lzfreak
Dodgers are doing a good job of making these Brewers starters throw a lot of pitches. Could pay dividends down the line this series even if they aren't putting up big runs scored totals yet
Sæder
i really like JRAM
Sæder
glasnow and snell are a hoot
war2d2
I don’t know if there’s a bigger delta between perception and reality than Snell. He looks like he should be selling meth behind a 7-11 in Redding CA, but by all accounts (specifically from Eno) he’s a wonderful guy.
Sæder
totally agree. i didn't think he'd be someone i'd find compelling. turns out he's just a video-gaming rapper bro down to get weird with adolescent humor.
drplantwrench
i of course am the self appointed Mayor of Jo Island, so its gonna be hard for me not to say the Guardians are the most likable with Jo and Jram. but i think its actually closer across the 4 teams than one might have assumed
war2d2
JRam is probably my favorite non-Cub in the game (assuming Scherzer retires). And I like him a fair bit more than most of the current Cubs.
lzfreak
Where does Yamamoto rank among all time Japanese baseball players already?
drplantwrench
already 11th in all time bWAR just in front of angels legend Shigetoshi Haegawa. more seriously, everyone in the top 5 has played for almost 10 years, hes on year 3. i think hes got a good chance of being top 3
drplantwrench
but right at this moment, maybe 5 thor 6th?
brewersbibliophile
As a frequent radio listener, Tom Hamilton is my most likable Guardian. I’d be really conflicted as to which broadcast to tune into if it came down to Guardians and Brewers
Sæder
I think Nicole Kidman should do one of these sincere prose ads
Sæder
We come here to find out how many days there are in October
Rich Hill's Fastball
Heartbreak does feel better in a ballpark
Michael Baumann
Back to the manager swap question: Doc would do fine with the Brewers. The Dodgers would beat Murph to death with hammers by Memorial Day
bosoxforlife
WOW!!
Rich Hill's Fastball
Nice catch Sal
Sæder
my annual reminder that Sal Frelick exists and can blow my mind
Rich Hill's Fastballedited
Does that count as smallball? /joke
lzfreak
The smallness of the ball is inversely proportional to payroll
Sæder
Tommy and Mookie are playing diminutive ball
drplantwrench
why would you even try that
wenz
Me, watching on the couch after recently dropping the remote while trying to turn up the volume: Bauers should've caught that
moomin
good thing for the Brewers it's Ohtani up here (/s)
Rich Hill's Fastball
Shohei seems so compromised (injury) that I want JDP to start…which is wild
moomin
I kind of want that, both because JDP's approach has been fun to watch and because I would love to see pinch-runner Ohtani
lzfreak
I've felt that JDP is such a weird fit on this roster. Is his defense really bad enough that he's completely unplayable in a corner outfield? If so he almost has to get traded or improve considerably. The dude can hit!
Rich Hill's Fastball
I have a feeling the Dodgers will move Teoscar over the offseason
beanbong
I get he's Shohei but at what point do they have that uncomfortable conversation if he doesn't show up somewhat in this series? If ohtani's 3 for 23 with 11 Ks after this series and the Dodgers move on, do you really sit him down and tell him he's coming off the bench in the world series? probably not
bosoxforlife
I think that will be difficult and they will have to take a beating value wise.
Sæder
is that a spike lee thing? do the right thing?
Ostensibly Ridiculous
Why is this game on so early!?
drplantwrench
the simple solution is for the dodgers to move off of shohei. simple solution is to trade him back to the angels (unbiased take)
bosoxforlife
I really enjoyed David Hamilton when he was on the Red Sox. Jus ta little more offense and would have been a very good player.
Sæder
what is the reflector on the forehead of the catcher's mask? i've never seen a catcher pull down a visor?
wenz
Solar panel to charge the pitchcom
bosoxforlife
Turang is going to get quite a bit of down ballot MVP votes. I see him around 5th-7th overall.
lzfreak
Think I'd have him around 3rd
beanbong
got curious and saw the Vegas o/u on this game is 6.5. Maybe an overreaction to all the low-scoring games this year, this game could blow the lid off that
drplantwrench
>2 base runners
> nice catch to prevent damage
time for yamamoto to throw the ball away on a pick off
wenz
Almost!!
Rich Hill's Fastball
He almost did lol!
drplantwrench
i am nostradamus
bosoxforlife
When I first saw ABS in AAA there were several pitcher challenges. Yamamoto wanted to challenge ball 4 to Turang so badly but they are as rare as a unicorn.
drplantwrench
who benefits more from having to go to the bullpen early? id assume brewers?
Sæder
is that woman with the spiral notebook the famous front row amy?
bosoxforlife
Yamamoto proved he has a rubber arm in last year's WS but at 70+ through 3 he isn't long for this game.
Rich Hill's Fastball
What an at bat!
drplantwrench
bauers is making yamamoto work, and also muncy work (chasing down foul balls). genius move
wenz
Do pitchcom replacements count as a mound visit? They should
Phil
Blatant stalling like this especially.
lzfreak
They do not and I strongly suspect pitchers feign a pitch com issue to get a break/mound visit pretty frequently
mr. burrito
the pitch calling device failing on the 414th pitch of this at bat might be strategic…
brewersbibliophile
I see what you did there
Sean Dolinar
That solar panel failed!
Sean Dolinar
Our SP IP poll isn't looking great.
Matt Martell
That was an incredibly exciting walk
Sæder
major
Rich Hill's Fastball
Are we sure swear words aren't allowed in this chat? (/s)
bosoxforlife
This matchup is what we come to see and Yelich wins.
Phil
That walk was huge.
mr. burrito
this is the least yamamoto game he's pitched in awhile… sign..
Sean Dolinar
I love these lead changes.
Benny The Jet
Man this series has the juice!
wenz
Wow, what an inning
Sean Dolinar
(Just a reminder, you can delay the chat using the cog/gear icon in the top right corner. If you a lot of latency on your streaming source.)
Rich Hill's Fastball
Same number of outs as his game 7 relief appearance…in a start
Benny The Jet
Wow
Sean Dolinar
We had Yamamoto Med: 6, Mean: 6 1/3, Real: 2 2/3.
wenz
I know what everyone is thinking after that hit…why is Yelich's captain C squeezed in above the Nike logo when there's plenty of room on the other side?
lzfreak
I think this Brewers team is the best Dodgers postseason opponent in quite awhile
Phil
I got home from work 20 minutes ago but I feel like a lot has already happened since then
Brian Reinhart
Would it be exaggerating to call that a career-defining hit for Yelich? There's something magical about the team captain guy whose prime was years ago becoming the guy who steps up.
Sæder
do you throw Roki for multi innings?
Matt Martell
A 36-pitch 2/3 of an inning for Yamamoto
Sean Dolinar
18 pitches per out.
Rich Hill's Fastball
This game, and potentially series, changes a lot if Teoscar or Muncy catch one of those foul balls
jtrichey
Turang could have had called strike 3 in both at bats if ump/or Will Smith had made the call. All 3 runs have scored because of those.
bosoxforlife
Or Yamamoto who clearly indicated he wanted to challenge but apparently is not given the opportunity.
mr. burrito
have the dodgers struck out in this game? i'm probably jinxing something by asking, but…
Rich Hill's Fastball
Ohtani struck out in the first
jtrichey
Ohtani struck out
wenz
Wow, this is my first time seeing Sasaki's clown glove. I do not like it
brewersbibliophile
That is pretty wild
Brian Reinhart
It looks like he stole it from Bernie Brewer himself
war2d2
Is it the same as the massive red glove Gausman had at the end of the season? I’m at work and can’t look.
mr. burrito
muncy is best fielding gnome in baseball and gardening history
Lagom
Even if they don’t hold on to this lead, really fun to see such resiliency from MIL. Will really make LAD earn it
Davy Andrews
Just got here. What's everybody talking about? Baseball?
Sæder
my goodness
Matt Martell
Bulworth, actually
lzfreak
Small ball!
Davy Andrews
Alright, it's been fun everybody.
Sean Dolinar
Henderson should only be throwing the ball toward home plate.
Sæderedited
i guess i guessed right about Henderson. 4+ is the same as 4IP. certainly didn't guess right about YY going 7
bosoxforlife
Pitchers throwing to 1st is an adventure in and of itself.
Benny The Jet
This game is drunk already
David
So all 3 Dodgers runs are the result of Henderson's throwing errors/wild pitches
springtraneing
"watching baseball" – jon bois
Matt Martell
baseball rules
bosoxforlife
I would like to see a stat on the percentage of bad throws pitchers make on bunt attempts.
moomin
sometimes I idly wonder how well a strategy of "bunt to the pitcher every time" would go
Sean Dolinar
We were high on Logan Henderson too. Mean 4.45, Median 5, and actual 4+.
Phil
We were influenced by yesterday. Had that game been higher scoring we would have expected a messier game today.
Sæder
do Roki and May count to the SP innings?
Benny The Jet
Who is starting Game 3?
bosoxforlife
Gasser for the Brewers.
wenz
I'd think about an IBB here
Matt Martell
That fist-pump was incredible
Sæder
SMOL BOL
Sean Dolinar
Didn't seem that close, but you get two challenges in the postseason.
JakeDubois
You gotta try
bosoxforlife
That last angle shows the foot on the plate. Looks safe to me.
Sean Dolinar
As much as I think of the production quality as cheap, the ACC football review system with the audio between the ref and the command center is great to learn about their process.
Sean Dolinar
I want to know what these umps are talking about. And see the relevant angles, just not just multiviewers in their room.
brewersbibliophile
I’m guessing this won’t be the last lead change tonight
Davy Andrews
Are you at the game again?
brewersbibliophile
Unfortunately not. I’ll be back Sunday if it goes that long
Sæder
is smoltz thinking of Weird Science?
Phil
I don't understand the earned run rule. Henderson has three ERs. But the errors influenced more than one run, yes?
Patrick Burke
Pretend like the error hadn't occurred and it was just a groundout. Tucker scoring is considered earned, because he likely advances to third on the grounder to Henderson, then scores on Mookie groundout.
millvillemeltdown
what is a baseball
millvillemeltdown
i'm still supposed to be doing thermo homework. i am pretty bad at this student thing
Sæder
entropy?
Phil
All I know is you're not allowed to have perpetual motion machines.
millvillemeltdown
first week on cycles! i love me some heat engine
drplantwrench
imho one of the great skills of academia is learning when to delegate time to doing your homework and when not to (im just advocating for baseball really)
millvillemeltdown
it's due in 2 hours, i'm afraid i'm well and truly cooked
drplantwrench
then another greak skills of academia is to face the music and accept failure
Sean Dolinar
At least you can measure and calculate how much you are cooked.
millvillemeltdown
ΔHvap of a millvillemeltdown is… not very high as it turns out
ichiro262
Does any part of the glove count for the tag? Like the strings? Or just the main body of the glove?
millvillemeltdown
oh hello ichiro, big fan of your work. i heard about the statue though, what a shame
Davy Andrews
Strings don't count.
Phil
Yep.
lzfreak
This game already feels like it's been 3 games
drplantwrench
BAAANG
Davy Andrews
Every team should have a Contreras brother.
Patrick Burke
What a fun game! One of my favorite ballparks to watch on TV.
drplantwrench
the Rays lab scientists are building the Contreras cloning machine as we speak
millvillemeltdown
i think yama having such trouble this time out is enough of an indictment of like. "grr starting pitchers these days" like
Phil
This was the first year since 2022 that Willson had more fWAR than William. On the other hand William looks really good right now. Who would you rather have next year?
Davy Andrews
Sorry, I'm too busy coming up with names for the 28 other Contreras brothers. Willton, Willbur, Willgernon, Willnando…
millvillemeltdown
willyer for extra confusion
drplantwrench
angels would be the team to end up with the Wilbur…
brewersbibliophile
Willenium
wenz
I tried to get tickets to this game from his brother Willcall
millvillemeltdown
willsmith
Matt Martell
Willians?
Brian Reinhart
Willt Chamberllain
millvillemeltdown
la tortuguita!!!
Davy Andrews
There is only one Willians.
millvillemeltdown
and he's a stud, illo
millvillemeltdown
is he in npb? i feel like i heard he was playing in npb
Phil
Looks like only until 2023. Since then Astudillo has played in Mexico and Venezuela.
Matt Martell
I covered Willians Astudillo' major league debut when the Twins were playing the Cubs at Wrigley during a crazy weekend heatwave on Saturday, June 30, 2018. He only entered the game because multiple Twins left the game due to heat illness. He replaced Eddie Rosario in LF and later had to move to CF when Max Kepler left the game. He started the next game at 3B.
Anonymous Member #46
Willians Astudillo is the perfect Immaculate Grid answer for Twins/center field
lzfreak
I was at this game! Miserably hot
Matt Martell
That whole weekend and the days after were also brutal
lzfreak
My friend and I were at the Lincoln Park zoo a couple days before the game and it was a survival battle just to find shade. It was a dangerous few days
millvillemeltdown
if the rubberiest-armed guy, known for having rubber arm, cannot do the thing where his arm is rubber for 5 innings in the post season, maybe the hitters have just gotten better to the point where 200ip is just not that common anymore
Phil
And also, would William have a similar hitting resurgence to Willson's if he quit catching?
millvillemeltdown
also, like, huge credit to the brewers, but still.
Davy Andrews
@Baumann This has got to be the headline of your gamer.
millvillemeltdown
oi, i don't work for free
millvillemeltdown
i want press box cookies
Davy Andrews
Matt didn't get any!
Davy Andrews
They were gone! Such a tragedy.
Matt Martell
I left the stadium at 3:15 AM after filing my column, and stil no cookies. I was destraught
Sean Dolinaredited
this was Yankee Stadium not Am Fam? (I feel weird calling it that, I didn't even get the name right on my first try.)
Davy Andrews
That first pitch looks like the best one Frelick will get in this AB.
Davy Andrews
As I was saying.
Brian Reinhart
this would be a good time for a ball to hit a bag or some such nonsense
Brian Reinhart
welp
Davy Andrews
Ohtani looks unwilling or unable to pull the ball. Surprised they're not going inside more often.
Brian Reinhart
thanks Tom, I forgot which band did "Hey Jude"
Phil
Wings?
Brian Reinhart
recently learned that if you get "Hey Jude" stuck in your head, your head will never fade the outro
millvillemeltdown
paul mccartney is riffing "jooo-jooo-da-joo-da-jooo-joooo-da-" into oblivion
Patrick Burke
Yeesh Ohtani looks really rough.
AdvantageSchneider
Boo hoo
millvillemeltdown
tbh to my untrained eye he seems like he's… not having fun this year
millvillemeltdown
idk if it's a pain thing or a home life thing (having young kids can do things, so i hear) but i'm just used to ohtani displaying a bit more joie de vivre
Anonymous Member #46
Can we all just take half an hour and have a neutral third party put on some PFPs before we restart the game?
Sean Dolinar
I do love a good interference call.
ooglyman
tough night for pick off throws
wenz
Walk to get to the guy who hit the home run? Interesting…
AdvantageSchneider
Yeah that was dumb
Phil
Well, that IBB didn't really work out.
lzfreak
I wonder if this series gets William over the hump to become the most famous Contreras brother
millvillemeltdown
i remember being excited for sean murphy (he of the ass hbp) to join a larger-market team but man. will the younger really is a helluva ballplayer huh
AdvantageSchneider
Will Vaughn pinch hit for Yeli after Bauers?
Dan Szymborski
I can't fully accept William until he gives back one of the l's his family stole for Willson. Either Willson has to be Wilson or he has to be Wiliam.
millvillemeltdown
consider that two Ls make a W and When you're a Will* Contreras You Gotta Win
lzfreak
Well Willson is on the Red Sox this year, so the 2 straight L's must have been contagious
millvillemeltdown
i think i may be a bit delirious
Sæder
this is stressful
AdvantageSchneider
The entire brewers postseason has been played within 2 runs up or down.
xandercho23
Dodgers offense is iceeeee cold
millvillemeltdown
abner uribe one of the better name tools in the league. ratings, 20-80?
Davy Andrews
This may seem harsh, but I'm only at a 60 because it doesn't scan all that well.
millvillemeltdown
i was gonna give 65, it's certainly unique/outlier but as a package i'm not selling the farm for it
Matt Martell
Hey, at least that one Polymarket commercial shows that parlays don't always hit
Matt Martell
in an ad for 20-combo bets
Matt Martell
wild
AdvantageSchneider
Betting site ads = 1950 commercials for cigarettes.
millvillemeltdown
i'm going to put one cent on a 10^23 leg parlay and pray
Anonymous Member #46
you're gonna want to do your thermodynamics homework too, just in case
millvillemeltdown
hey, chances of me hitting are better than (checks paper) the air in my room configuring itself such that half of it is vacuum
Nick Smith
I like those odds!
Sean Dolinar
The WS starts on mol day!
Anonymous Member #46
That was about two inches away from a hospital stay.
Davy Andrews
They're calling it the most Brewers hit in the history of the Brewers.
Davy Andrews
I am loving how pissed off Pat Murphy looks during this game.
AdvantageSchneider
He should be pissed. Wind sprints for the entire team after the game. Should be a 5-1 laugher.
millvillemeltdown
i think pat murphy would only be happy if his team literally never made an out
Dan Szymborski
I just don't care for gambling. I'll put something down if see a real +EV opportunity, like I did two over/unders this year, putting a tidy sum on over 72.5 for Twins and over 69.5 for Cardinals. But I don't get any adrenalin rush for gambling; I don't care apart from making the numbers in my account go up
Nick Smith
But the dizzying highs! The nauseating lows! You're missing out.
Nick Smith
Just kidding. I don't gamble either, so I can't back that up.
AdvantageSchneider
Maybe you should start betting the brewers over.
Dan Szymborski
feels disloyal to zips
AdvantageSchneider
Ashby for Ohtani or does Megil come in?
Nick Smith
Oh, good, baseball stats filtered by lunar phase. Can we get some "mothers' basement" jokes ready while we're at it?
Sean Dolinar
Is this a splits leaderboard request?
Nick Smith
Goodness no! Just a reaction to a Google ad.😆
AdvantageSchneider
Thank you Red Sox
Davy Andrews
I'm on the Rays-Guards game tonight, so I'm likely done chatting for the night. Nice to be with everybody!
lzfreak
Hamilton is not throwing away his shot
wenz
Related to Billy Hamilton?
bosoxforlife
Squeeze!
Jeremy Fox
COME ON SQUEEZE BUNT
Jeremy Fox
or base hit, that's good too
Sæder
wow. this brewers team
Jeremy Fox
How many do the Brewers have to get for their closer to sit down? 2 more? 3 more?
Phil
More. Day off tomorrow.
wenz
Bauers pushing for that NLCS MVP award
Phil
I honestly thought this would be a tight, well-played game.
AdvantageSchneider
I’m happy with this rock fight.
Bryan Baldwin
Finally!
Nick Smith
Daaaaaaaaaaang!
Jeremy Fox
Pages with a pretty casual-looking basket catch on that fly ball. Did he get a bad read and have to basket catch it?
Bryan Baldwin
So yesterday we were talking commercials, today I’m hoping we can talk about the proliferation of bad haircuts
Nick Smith
I miss the playoff mountain-man beards.
Jeremy Fox
Brandon Marsh got knocked out in the wild card round.
Nick Smith
It used to be that every team had a guy who looked like he had strong opinions on who really ran the banks. Shame.
Matt Martell
I, too, would wipe Biberty off my windshield
Jeremy Fox
Here in Canada I'm watching ads for Konto Furniture and an Italian grocery store in Calgary.
wenz
Might as well leave Ashby in there to face the pitcher
Jeremy Fox
Leaving Ashby in to face Will Smith? I guess it's Ashby's game until someone reaches?
Sæder
brutal. gg
Antonio Bananas
I'll watch nothing but Biberty ads if it means I dont have to see these political ads (I live in Texas, so just imagine)
Anonymous Member #46
Governor Bovernor? Senator Benator? Congressman Bongressman?
lzfreak
Congressman Bongressman would have my vote
Keaton Arneson
As a guardians, I love the TB sac bunt. But even 12 year old Billy Heywood in 1994 wouldn't have done that.
branflakes
Love seeing America be introduced to this wonderful bullpen I've been watching all season
Bryan Baldwin
ChiSox be like “maybe we dodged a bullet”
Sean Dolinar
I just switched over to Guardians/Rays…and I missed something.
Sonny L
Listening to the ALCS on radio while I watch soccer practice, anyone have a rec on which team’s broadcast is better?
Anonymous Member #46
Cleveland's broadcaster is a recent Hall of Fame honoree.
bosoxforlife
Tom Hamilton is the absolute best! His calls reverberate over the airwaves like none other.
Jeremy Fox
I find the Cleveland play-by-play guy to be an acquired taste.
bluestraggler
Rays radio guys are excellent
docgooden85
I just logged in to say I hope the Dodgers keep losing purely since I think it will improve the odds of an earlier post-lockout start to baseball next year. (And Dodgers suck)
bosoxforlife
It is rare to see the batter surprised when the umpire has tot ell him he was hit by the pitch.
lzfreak
Getting clipped in the loose part of the jersey on a 1-2 count is good living
docgooden85
A Yankees-free ALCS is a breath of fresh air too. Baseball is so good. I wish there was more.
Bryan Baldwin
International leagues?
docgooden85
I am not above watching some Caribbean winter league when I can find it.
wenz
The TBS app crashed for like 1 minute with one runner on, and now the bases are loaded??
bosoxforlife
I was watching on the Spanish network.
Phil
I cheated on the poll because it was already 2-0 when I saw Sean had posted the new one. Sorry.
Sean Dolinar
Someone answered the pitcher IP poll for Henderson as he was being pulled.
Rollie's Mustache
Mesa Jr just showing off with that throw. Cannon.
docgooden85
Lineup thoughts: 1. Vilade cleanup is Very Rays. 2. I don't think I would have batted Rocchio after Bailey and Halpin with 184 career ABs. 3. Bottom half is light on both sides.
Phil
Guards getting surprisingly good swings.
Rollie's Mustache
Petey Halpin sounds like a baseball name from the deadball era.
Jeremy Fox
Why do catchers not put their throwing hand in a fist behind their back the way I was taught in Little League centuries ago, to prevent taking a foul tip off the hand?
Phil
I was wondering about thay. The answer to all such questions is "framing," but I don't see the advantage in this case.
docgooden85
His nickname should be Second Halpin' (this might only to be funny to me because I'm fat)
Nick Smith
That looked painful! My hand hurts now.
Jeremy Fox
No one has ever been happier catching a routine low leverage foul pop than Jose Ramirez just now.
Ben Clemens
You know a throw is good when they show multiple angles of a cutoff throw that didn't even produce a tag play. I gasped out loud at that throw
Ben Clemens
(little delayed on the reaction, I had to get to my phone)
Sean Dolinar
Hi Ben!
Bryan Baldwin
Can I just say how much better this chat is than MLB Discord? Holy cow.
Sean Dolinar
Is there an official MLB Discord? I know there are a bunch of places that have them.
Bryan Baldwin
Yes, and there are chats for each game.
Ben Clemens
Hi Sean! Just dropping in briefly, I have dinner plans tonight, but I had to say something about that throw
Ben Clemens
I watched a ton of Victor Mesa Jr. tape for fielding bible voting this year. He's electric, but I don't think I saw a throw that good
Ben Clemens
It's not quite playoff Randy, but really fun debut-into-postseason-success arc
Davy Andrews
It's not too late for him to do some pushups and eat some chicken.
Rollie's Mustache
I can't articulate why, but Brian Anderson is easily a top 5 pbp announcer imo. He's just… really good? (Benetti, Davis, Cohen, Shulman up there too)
bluestraggleredited
Joe Davis? I find him utterly forgettable. But all those other guys are great. Shulman and Benetti are elite.
Jeremy Fox
It's so weird that there's a big puff of dirt every time a ball lands in the outfield.
Philedited
I think it's little pieces of rubber, or something like that.
Rollie's Mustache
Used to be rubber, the new turf is a mix of coconut husk and sand apparently.
Davy Andrews
Yup. Having played a lot of soccer on turf like that, I can tell you that those little pieces of rubber get in your shoes and stick to your socks forever.
Sean Dolinar
Oh, artificial turf!
Bryan Baldwin
I thought the field was just perpetually wet!
asf123
That’s only when Brandon Marsh is playing.
Nick Smith
The Manual is a pretty good nickname. No Second Halpin, though.
lzfreak
It's a good nickname except that it implies he's not Automatic
Jeremy Fox
Why was Espino warming up without his hat?
Davy Andrews
I see this surprisingly often. I wonder if it's because somebody's busy putting the PitchCom in their hat.
lzfreak
This reminds me of when I was in high school and I used to help coach my little cousin's little league team and one of his teammates hated wearing his hat. He'd be standing in the outfield mid game and just take it off, then would demand that we show him where in the rule book it said that he had to wear a hat when we'd ask him to put it back on. And like… we definitely didn't have a rule book handy nor knew where the hat clause is so it was hard to argue with this 11 year old.
Rollie's Mustache
I think that's exactly it. But the number of times a reliever comes into the game and motions to the ump before throwing a pitch that he can't hear anything leads me to believe they are not very skilled at doing this.
Davy Andrews
Wow, Cleveland's defensive positioning cards are enormous. They're the size of bingo cards.
millvillemeltdown
printing my defensive positioning cards in dyslexia fonts (legitimately not terrible idea)
Jeremy Fox
All the ads for Google Cloud "insights" are such overfitted small sample nonsense that if I were in charge of buying web services for some big company I'd go with AWS instead.
Nick Smith
Agreed! Did we learn nothing from Fire Joe Morgan?
asf123
Anyone want to go in with me on FireJohnSmoltz.com? IP reboots are all the rage these days…
Jeremy Fox
Smoltz has improved, I think. I used to find him unlistenable, and now I think he's ok. Curious what others think.
asf123
The biggest thing for me is how he constantly positions his aesthetic preferences (contact, small ball, yada yada) as facts of good strategy.
Nick Smith
He's a good analyst. But if he gets going, his back-in-my-day nonsense is a killer.
Rollie's Mustache
If Smoltz isn't hating on something about the modern game by the 2nd inning I start to worry that he's been replaced with AI.
asf123edited
Also that he will without fail start talking about “slow heartbeat” by the third inning.
Jeremy Fox
Jose Ramirez is great, but his green glove is terrible. Your glove should either be brown, black, or your team's color.
Jeremy Fox
Wait, the Rays have a tank of rays at their ballpark? How did I not know that?
bosoxforlife
I am dumbfounded that you didn't know that. The team was the Devil Rays for years and there have been rays in the tank since the franchise was first organized.
It seems like a decade ago when Daniel Espino was the #1 pitching prospect in the game. Then his arm fell off and the doctors had a tough time reattaching it.
Matthew Tobin
I know this is the whole “Ship of Theseus” problem, Bur How many surgeries before we admit a player is just fundamentally different? Where is the line? We surely can or will just invent a better ligament. Wouldn’t that be a huge issue?
Rollie's Mustache
Can't wait for a fight over PEL clauses (performance enhancing ligaments) when the CBA is up in 2032.
lzfreak
I didn't know Rasmussen was allowed to give up a run
bosoxforlife
Speaking of players whose career has been disrupted more than once by injury, Chase deLauter certainly fits that template.
Nick Smith
Wait. Is it possible for a park to be difficult to go opposite field regardless of which side of the plate you hit?
millvillemeltdown
i think it is harder to go oppo *in general* because the spin doesn't help you as much. don't know if there's an "uphill both ways" way to do it though…
Sean Dolinar
Got that most likable and least likable poll. You'll probably have to refresh this page / reload this page for it to work.
Phil
Did you invent that ranking thing just for this poll? We will have to think about other things you can do with it.
Rollie's Mustache
That worked. When I first saw it with the checkboxes I thought it was a trick question.
millvillemeltdown
i'm still shocked that someone thinks the miz gives bush league vibes… he's literally a small, 6'6 child chewing a wad of gum the size of my fist and throwing harder than anyone in history. he rips packs of pokemon on road trips.
Sean Dolinar
Yeah, it was a good suggestion, so I made it tonight. It can do ranked choice voting, too, and that's like rounds eliminating the lowest vote getting. This is just an MVP-style voting with 4,3,2,1 points given out.
Sean Dolinar
But yes, I want to have it used for a lot more things!
Sean Dolinar
I'm going to reuse that poll through out the week.
Jeremy Fox
It would be insane for any pitcher to drop that bunt on purpose to try to get two.
Davy Andrews
Really proud of Ramírez for sniffing the baseball just now. I think he read my article.
asf123
I, for one, am a fan of Ramirez’s glove. It’s Christmasy!
Jeremy Fox
We need a poll on whether Ramirez's green glove is good or bad.
Matthew Tobin
Bye bye Walls
Phil
Everly Brothers deep cut.
bosoxforlife
I am such a big fan of Ramirez that he could play with a cesta and I wouldn't complain.
lzfreak
I think it's bad but it's Jose Ramirez so he's earned the right to have a mismatched glove
Nick Smith
Funky glove colors are an inalienable right.
Jeremy Fox
Did Bazzana forget how many outs there were for a moment? Or did he think he had time to get the third out at second and then think better of it?
bosoxforlife
Thought he could beat the runner.
asf123
I like Abner Uribe’s electric blue model too.
Sonny L
I know I’m asking this on the every stat is available site but is Carson Williams that much worse than Walls right now? Rays seem to think he’s not ready to go C Montgomery for them w a 30 HR/220k season.
Jeremy Fox
Blue is a Brewers color tho.
asf123
Not that blue!
millvillemeltdown
does jram get a pink glove now 🙂 i hope he does 🙂
bosoxforlife
We have an entirely new ballgame!!
Rollie's Mustache
Ah yes. Noted slugger Patrick Bailey.
Rollie's Mustache
Huh. Just checked and surprised he had 10 this year in just 345 PA. That's one more than Vlad Jr!
bosoxforlife
Sorry Blue Jays fans
Benny The Jet
Wow
millvillemeltdown
clutch is a skill, this is known
Jeremy Fox
I don't see what's so hard about hitting Rasmussen if Patrick Bailey can do it.
asf123
Patrick Bailey, AL Kiké Hernandez.
Jeremy Fox
This is why the Guardians traded for Bailey.
millvillemeltdown
has bailey even seen a postseason before
lzfreak
Maybe on tv
Nick Smithedited
"Do you know the postseason? " "….I know of it."
Davy Andrews
More Scott Pilgrim references.
millvillemeltdown
every time i have a hunk of a really good bread in my hand, i take a big bite and scream around it "BREAD MAKES YOU FAT!?!"
millvillemeltdown
speaking of, my roommates just made some incredible bread. i'm over the moon with the crumb texture.
GammaDraconis
Thought Rays were going to run away with this thing the way they handled Griffin in the first, but he settled in nicely. Aces not doing their usual seems to be a theme in this round. Is it possible that hitters on top teams are catching up to the pitchers?
Rollie's Mustache
I'm always suspicious of tipping with starts like Yamamoto's today where he got just 4 whiffs.
Sonny L
LA had Miz’s grips whenever they were on 2nd yesterday. Helped foul off pitches but he was still Miz :shrug:
Jeremy Fox
We need an article on the most shocking long home runs/hard hit balls of the season. Bailey's HR just now, Bryson Stott's 464 foot jack earlier this year…
millvillemeltdown
i don't know how i'd optimize it but i want to see, like, minimum bat speed, maximum tank, optimally squared up and backspun and pulled
jcathtraverse
@Sean if you're implementing changes based on this chat, maybe a show results button for polls? Could cut down on the votes in the who will win polls after there's already been scoring.
Sean Dolinar
I could do that. Though I don't think responding later is necessarily bad…like it's tied right now.
drplantwrench
oh did i miss the most and least likable team vote
Sean Dolinar
Yes and no. I shipped that about 20 minutes ago, but you can still respond!
drplantwrench
it says "This question is unavailable" fwiw
GammaDraconis
You might need to reload the page.
drplantwrench
Ope, that worked thanks!
bosoxforlife
I watched Cam Booser pitch for Worcester a couple of years ago as a 32 year old never-will-be and here he is in a high leverage situation in the ALCS at 34. "Don't give up, don't ever give up".
lzfreak
It's weird seeing a Rays series where the other team has more Lowes
asf123
Not sure that slide got him there faster.
drplantwrench
slide was for style not for speed
millvillemeltdown
aura farming, slidemaxxing, dirtmogging, etc.
ncphl
Maybe he expected a bad throw and a swipe tag?
lzfreak
Is there a way for new polls to trigger a message? When you add polls mid chat, it can be hard to notice right away unless someone points it out
millvillemeltdown
i think sean has been manually doing that, idk if it necessarily wants to be automated? could be wrong, i have been somewhat tuned out/foggy
Sean Dolinar
I've thought of making them louder. Like I can have it expand on its own or have NEW! tag in bright red on it.
Sean Dolinar
And yeah, I did send a message about the ranked likability poll.
millvillemeltdown
i am strongly considering logging off, walking into the forest, and calling it a night
drplantwrench
my top two likable are the bottom 2 vote getters …….
asf123
You know what? Ramirez should use a green bat too. That would be awesome.
Rollie's Mustache
Players Weekend allowing hitters to use funky looking bats is delightful . Ernie Clement's pencil bat is 80 grade.
millvillemeltdown
not because the baseball has been bad but i should probably take care of myself and my deliverables
millvillemeltdown
good night all, the forest beckons
keenej
Question for the Fangraphs writers who are way smarter than me: would it be fair to say there's a little Vlady Guerrero, Sr. in Jose Ramirez? It's been on my mind since Jose hit that homer not even a foot off the ground
drplantwrench
as a huge vladdy sr fan, i feel like theres some similarities, but i always thought vladdy's approach was a little wild whereas JRam is under control
drplantwrench
but maybe i was too young and its just nostalgia
Rollie's Mustache
You could run a Baseball Savant query, filter for chase/waste pitches on contact and xwoba (or stat of choice) to maybe get a rough idea of guys like Vlad Sr?
lzfreak
Nice outcome for the infield positioning
Benny The Jet
Wow I did not realize the 2B was standing there off the bat
Jeremy Fox
Contact play on now?
bosoxforlife
Man on 3rd – one out, you go on anything on the ground.
lzfreak
These pitching decisions are interesting. Cash not going with his A relief team yet
danodea
It's very funny that MLB is running a pro-salary cap ad talking about how small market teams can’t compete during the Rays vs Guards ALCS
SadaharuWhoa
They have zero feel
drplantwrench
THE GUARDIANS ARE UNSTOPPABLE
bosoxforlife
0-2 and he gets a pitch in the zone? Not good.
Jeremy Fox
It'd be hilarious if Bailey went yard again here.
Jeremy Fox
Successful catcher ABS challenge after a backpick!
Snerd
I don’t understand that defensive playcall on that Lowe at bat
Rollie's Mustache
Like playing in or the way they shifted? I thought it was standard for the situation.
Snerd
Shift was standard for sure but both MI’ers were way in on the grass. If they’re playing normal thats a soft lineout to SS
Rollie's Mustache
Gotcha. Seymour isn't a ground ball pitcher either so I get your point. It's the Rays so I'm assuming the percentages still say that's the best alignment given all variables.
Snerd
Yea it just felt like peak getting too cute with it
Snerd
Playing the MI way in on nothing but pitches above the zone??
Phil
Many events in this game.
danodea
Cedriiiiiic
Rollie's Mustache
If Mesa were to go long and tie the game here his bat flip might hit a roof ring.
Rollie's Mustache
Alas.
bosoxforlife
Cedric Mullins against a tough lefty is just the match-up the Guardians would want so………boom. Nobody ever said it better than the late John Sterling.
Keaton Arneson
Who wants to be the millionaire, ask the audience was the true #1 lifeline… The poll tonight says 91% think the Rays will win. I thought wisdom of the crowd was king?
lzfreak
There's a decent chance we get a central division team to the World Series for the first time since 2016
bosoxforlife
To paraphrase a great philosopher "It ain't over till it's over".
Phil
Woah.
danodea
Oh nooooo
lzfreak
Oh this is bad
ooglyman
oh no
Jeremy Fox
oh no
Nick Smith
Ouch.
Benny The Jetedited
Edit: Oh no
Benny The Jet
Oh no
bosoxforlife
Shoulder to the ribs and pretty solid contact.
Bryan Baldwin
Wow what an epic miscommunication
Nick Smith
Whew!
lzfreak
Honestly feels like that could've ended way worse
bosoxforlife
Caminero could still be compromised. He has to be hurting.
dalewilson13
I don't understand the Rays decisions this game: Aranda bunting in the first, Ras going back out for the 7th, where is Kevin Kelly (one of the best Rays relievers all year), using a rusty Tyler Walls and Cole Sulser in a tight game.
asf123
Anyone else think this new “oooh, we’ve got two strikes on the batter” sirens and whistles etc. thing has gotten a little out of hand?
Bryan Baldwin
Generally yes but it is the post
Bryan Baldwin
Welp.
Philedited
Challenge here but where was he going? [Edit: never mind.]
danodea
I was rooting for the White Sox and now I'm rooting for the Rays, but Jose Ramirez getting hot at the right time is pretty cool to watch
Snerd
I think this is getting overturned
Nick Smith
A good Ramirez is so much fun!
bosoxforlife
His loyalty to Cleveland when he could have left for a lot more money has endeared him to me.
bosoxforlife
If he left the bag he was pushed off?
Bryan Baldwin
The Guardians can win the World Series, they still won’t be the best team in baseball.
Phil
To me, the Dodgers' creakiness, particularly Ohtani's, show what a contingent definition that is. The Dodgers are the best team in general, but they don't seem like the best team right now.
Bryan Baldwin
Good point
GammaDraconis
Baseball is so wonderfully unpredictable!
Bryan Baldwin
I suppose…or it’s gonna give me a heart attack.
Bryan Baldwin
These pitches in the dirt are really disappointing.
Nick Smith
I'm lightly rooting for the Rays, but still disappointed he didn't get that triple.
lzfreak
Ramirez seems to be enjoying himself
soddingjunkmail
I did not expect this.
SadaharuWhoa
14 hits. That feels like a lot of hits! #analytics
soddingjunkmail
And I really don’t get Cade Smith here. Why give the Rays extra looks at him, plus put inning on his arm?
Phil
You'd have to have him warming anyway to back up whoever else you brought in.
asf123
Yeah, Vogt’s refusal to adapt to changes in leverage is a surprising postseason storyline.
lzfreak
Eventually this guy is gonna get tired from pitching so much
Phil
Good night, folks!
lzfreak
Or not
Nick Smith
G'night!
asf123
Game’s over, guys. You don’t have to talk into your gloves now.
SadaharuWhoa
It's just a defense against Jomboy
soddingjunkmail
I guess he was already up before the insurance runs, but still
Sponsor Us on Patreon
Give a Gift Subscription
Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com
Effectively Wild Subreddit
Effectively Wild Wiki
Apple Podcasts Feed 
Spotify Feed
YouTube Playlist
Facebook Group
Bluesky Account
Twitter Account
Get Our Merch!
