2023 FanGraphs Wild Card Games 1 Chat

by Meg Rowley

October 3, 2023

3:01	Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to the first leg of our first chat of the 2023 postseason! We’re just a few minutes away from Game 1 between the Rangers and Rays at Tropicana Field, with Jordan Montgomery and Tyler Glasnow and getting the ball.

3:02	Jay Jaffe: Kyle Kishimoto’s preview is here https://blogs.fangraphs.com/american-league-wild-card-preview-tampa-ba…

3:03	Jay Jaffe: And the ZiPS Postseason Game-By-Game Odds for the series are here https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds/postseason-zips. Dan Szymborski himself should be along soon to join the party

3:04	ricardo: why does it feel like postseason game times are not convenient for everybody involved

3:06	Jay Jaffe: Because squeezing four games into waking hours isn’t easy if you want to minimize the amount of games that overlap and have to deal with time zones and other logisitics. Rob Manfred has done a lot while commissioner — not all of it good — but he hasn’t been able to make the day longer.

3:07	Dan Szymborski: G’day!

3:07	Dan Szymborski: Sorry, had to reboot my computer

3:08

Wireless Joe Jackson: Has there been behind the scenes changes to the WS odds listed on the projections page? The Twins went from 1.7% to 4.9% overnight. The Braves were previously listed as twice as likely as the Dodgers, and that also appears to have been corrected. The new numbers seem much more real, just curious what changed.

3:08	Dan Szymborski: It depends exactly when changes were made. Jason changes up the depth charts, at playoff time, to reflect the playoff rosters

3:09	barrust: When the Rays are in the postseason, why does it seem their games are always the earliest, most inconvenient?

3:10	Jay Jaffe: East Coast games have to start first, the Rays are on the East Coast, generally with less of a built-in audience than many other East Coast teams (some of which, admittedly aren’t in the playoffs this year)

3:12	Dan Szymborski: Sorry, having issues with MLB authentication and spectrum

3:12	Tim Tebow’s Thunder Thighs: At this point I wonder if the Rays should treat Glasnow like Clemens at the tail end of his career – just sign him to pitch the back half of the year so he’s at least healthy and sharp come playoff time.

3:13	Jay Jaffe: Remarkably, Glasnow’s 21 and 120 innings are both his highest season totals in a career that goes back to 2016 at the major league level.

3:14	Jay Jaffe: Given the other injuries to their rotation — including TJs for Jeffrey Springs and Shane McClanahan and internal brace for Drew Rasumussen — the Rays really couldn’t have afforded to wait on Glasnow’s availability.

3:15	Thom: going with the Devil Rays throwbacks to start the playoffs is a bold choice

3:15	Jay Jaffe: Reverse exorcism to let the devil back in

3:16

nowionlywantatriumph: I think MLB accidentally stumbled into a great thing last year with the wild card series being over a weekend (because of the delay from the lockout)—having the start of the playoffs be on a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday is just incredibly dumb. Start the season on a Sunday or Monday, end on a Wednesday, start the wild cards Friday!

3:17	Jay Jaffe: The problem with that, I think, is that the 4-games-per-day volume is more unwieldy when it’s going up against college and pro football on October weekends.

3:19	Dan Szymborski: God that was annoying, Spectrum said I had exceeded my maximum number of attempts with my first one

3:19	Dan Szymborski: So I’m using…dodgy until it allows me to log in SPectrum

3:19	Wireless Joe Jackson: I can’t wait for the winner of Twins/Blue Jays to eliminate the Astros so we can get some playoff series we haven’t seen before..

3:19	Josiah: Buxton didn’t make the Twins playoff roster. How much more dangerous would the 2023 Twins be if they had 2022 Buxton?

3:20	Jay Jaffe: Certainly more dangerous, but this 2023 team has Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien, where last year’s didn’t, as well as a productive Max Kepler, better pitching… and so on.

3:20	Dan Szymborski: Hey, I can put in 2022 Buxton!

3:21	Dan Szymborski: I was hoping to never here the arozarena macarena again

3:21	Dan Szymborski: hear

3:21	Dan Szymborski: They move from 44% in ZiPS to 47% in ZiPS

3:22	Princess Leia: Help us Obi-wan Clemon-obi! You’re our only hope! They spread the playoffs just enough to demand a new SlingTv renewal if the WS goes to game 7! The Empire must be stopped.

3:22	shortstop: how do we feel about throwback unis in the playoffs? (I know these are alternates technically)

3:22	Dan Szymborski: I think you should use all the throwbacks you want BUT they have to be a uniform that you’ve worn in at least that round of the playoffs before.

3:23	Dan Szymborski: So the Brewers can wear 1982 Brewers throwbacks anytime they want

3:23	Jay Jaffe: Wow, nice diving snag by Evan Carter on a bloop by Isaac Paredes to end the first

3:23	Jay Jaffe: On that subject, I’ll have a thing about team defenses tomorrow, based on the Standard Deviation scores thing I did with team defense in late June

3:24	Dan Szymborski: So the Brewers can’t wear 90s throwbacks into the playoffs at all

3:24	Dan Szymborski: and can only use 2010s uniforms up through the NLCS

3:24	5 Run Homer: I know that lineup construction doesn’t matter that much but batting Robbie Grossman third against a righty in this lineup is… strange

3:25	HIGH_FLY_BALL_TO_LEFT: Last year also created a situation where the home team in the NLDS got weekday games while the underdog got weekend games at their park…now the better seed gets weekend home games

3:25	Jay Jaffe: Last year was something of a mess due to the fallout from the lockout. We were lucky to get anything, not that I like the Wild Card Series format’s existence at all

3:26	Adley’s Embrace: Dan: you have to pick the ones with the hydrants

3:26	Kiermaier’s Piercing Green Eyes: Of all the players I expected to have their names botched by national announcers, Tyler Glasnow was not on the list.

3:27	Brian: Thanks for doing this chat. Lets start by simply saying thank you to the entire Fangraphs staff for once again providing the perfect sauce complement to the meal of baseball. Food metaphors are still cool, right?

3:27	Jay Jaffe: We’ll take the compliment, thank you!. Not every day is equally good, ahem, but it is both a privilege and a pleasure to write about baseball for a passionate group of readers like our audience.

3:27	shortstop: Anyone else feel like this isn’t the “real” playoffs? I’m excited for these games, but it doesn’t feel as hype to me as the DS and beyond.

3:28	Dan Szymborski: It’s just that we have so many teams now! So if you grew up with a lot fewer teams it still feels weird

3:28	Jay Jaffe: This isn’t nearly as fun as the one-and-done Wild Card Games.

3:28	Dan Szymborski: Especially since it took away our game 163s!

3:29	Jay Jaffe: indeed. Pouring one out for Rangers-Astros as well as last year’s Mets-Braves

3:30	Jay Jaffe: And the Rangers are on the board first, as Jung drives in Lowe with a sacrifice fly.

3:30	Dan Szymborski: When they first made that announcement, my first thought was literally “damn, they’re totally killing Jay’s yearly piece.”

3:30	Jay Jaffe: Team Entropy had been a big part of my annual cycle! They’re taking bread off my table!

3:31	Dan Szymborski: I’ve still heard Jung pronounced with a hard J way more often from random people than it should be at this point

3:33	Dan Szymborski: If they want to add yet more playoff rounds to the mix, instead of adding two even worse teams, they should make the WS champion play another series against last year’s winner! And that team gets all those original players back!

3:33	Ben Schneider: The Orioles should definitely break out some 1966 throwbacks to honor Brooks and bring in some good WS vibes

3:34	Dan Evans: Thanks for doing this! Love your site! Which Wild Card series is most likely to see an upset?

3:34	5 Run Homer: As a Blue Jays fan, I certainly don’t feel like my team was in the playoffs last year, and I probably won’t this year unless they beat Minnesota

3:34	Dan Szymborski: I think that’s probably fair

3:34	Dan Szymborski: If you don’t beat the Twins are you really in the playoffs? They’ve become the Glass Joe of the playoffs

3:35	Dan Szymborski: You gotta get to at LEAST Von Kaiser or you’re not in the playoffs

3:35	JBigs: I still don’t understand why people disliked the 1 game wild card. I treat WC like the first four in NCAA, the winner is a playoff team, the loser is basically forgotten. If you want to be guaranteed a playoff spot, win more games! There should be a reward for the best teams.

3:35	Dan Szymborski: I like that it’s a severe punishment for teams that don’t win the division!

3:35	Adley’s Embrace: Jay! You’re watching too fast for my feed.

3:37	Jay Jaffe: Ha, and my office feed is a pitch or two behind my living room feed (which my wife is watching). I thought I was safely on delay when I typed that.

3:38	Dan Szymborski:

3:38	Sean McDonough: Why is Texas batting Robbie Grossman third? I need to say something about it on the broadcast and don’t know what

3:38	Dan Szymborski: I like them better as the Devil Rays

3:38	Dan Szymborski: or if you just keep one word, keep devils

3:38	Tim Tebow’s Thunder Thighs: One way to shorten the wild card round and have the DS start on a Friday would be to adopt the KBO process whereby the higher seed hosts for two games, but the lower seed has to win both games to advance. Thoughts?

3:38	Jay Jaffe: I like that idea a lot more than the current arrangement. In fact, our close viewing of the 2020 KBO season led contributor Brendan Gawlowski to write about applying that to MLB https://blogs.fangraphs.com/lets-rethink-the-playoffs/

3:39	John Thacker: I dislike that under the current system the second best division winner often has an easier path, with the #4 and #5 teams both being better than the #3. The five team system was brilliant.

3:40	Jay Jaffe: Agreed. Loved that the Wild Card teams were penalized and the division winners rewarded, with nobody getting too much extra rest (rust?) between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.

3:39	Guest: I sort of like that the new system will punish the central divisions for only trying so much.

3:40	Dan Szymborski: that is a nice feature

3:40	Jacob: Announcers said Lowe has the most power by a lot on the Rangers. That seems a bold choice. Lowe’s a good player with pop in his bat and all but…

3:41	Appa Yip Yip: Hello yes I have beer and nachos I am here for some baseball

3:42	sac bunt hater: What’s with all the bunts?

3:42	Derek: Okay Jordan Montgomery!

3:42	5 Run Homer: To be fair, the announcers said Bochy said Lowe has the most power on the team

3:42	Dan: Dan if this years winner played last year’s winner what if there were the same team?

3:43	Jay Jaffe: Noted Game 1 Starter Jordan Montgomery with a great play to catch a popped-up bunt

3:43	Jay Jaffe: Siri, show me a lousy bunt

3:43	Dan Szymborski: Easy.

3:43	Dan Szymborski:

3:43	Dan Szymborski: Either play shadow versions of yourself.

3:43	Dan Szymborski: or you don’t have to play yourself

3:44	Dan Szymborski: I guess the second option is better since I’m not sure how teams find shadow versions of themselves to play

3:44	5 Run Homer: Siri is hurt, Jay

3:44	Anon21: Rays radio announcer outraged that they didn’t get the bunt down, “that’s a run right there,” but doesn’t seem to have occurred to him that the reason why the bunt is a bad play is that modern players don’t practice it and aren’t good at it

3:44	Adley’s Embrace: Siri really bringing it with the cleats/gloves/necklace combo. Love how well the Devil unis work with neon.

3:45	Dan Szymborski: Bunts always sound better until you actually have to do them. They’re like all-you-can-eat buckwheat pancakes

3:45	Brian: On a per inning basis which starters are currently better than Glasnow? Lets exclude injured players…

3:45	Jay Jaffe: Well, at a 120-inning cutoff only Sonny Gray and Spencer Strider had lower FIPs than Glasnow, and only Cole Ragans had a lower FIP in the second half, so I think that gets pretty close to what you’re asking — when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best around.

3:46	SubOptimalDad: new rule proposal: you can keep your bat as you run to first and take a second swing at the ball as long as you stay in the baseline. bunts just got 100 times more exciting.

3:47	Kwah: Jordan MontGoldGlovery!!!

3:47	YardGoat: Putting aside the absurdity of a 3 game wild card series, I still don’t understand why the division series is only 5 games

3:48	Dan Szymborski: the nice thing about the devil rays caps is that it’s CLEAR what the devil rays other. Way better than Rays, which they try to make both the animal and the sunlight

3:48	Kwah: Kwah has rebranded and now only does terrible defense-highlight-praising wordplay.

3:53	Larry: Counterpoint: divisions are largely arbitrary, maybe we would be better without

3:53

Jay Jaffe: Without geographically-driven divisions (which admittedly are prone to some quirks because population isn’t evenly distributed), the travel load for teams becomes unwieldy. Given what we know about the impact of travel on the human body, that compromises the on-field product. All that extra flying is not going to fly

3:53	Dan Szymborski: Siri, show me at-bat odds that you pulled out of your digital buttocks

3:53	Adley’s Embrace: It seems like only a few months ago Tyler Glasnow was inventing the atom bomb in a major motion picture, and now look at him!

3:53	Jay Jaffe: Digital Buttocks is the name of my other band!

3:55	Jay Jaffe: Even as somebody who has come to care about batting average a bit more lately, I missed that Yandy Diaz won the AL batting title

3:55	Dan Szymborski: No, broadcasters, Yandy Diaz did not win the batting title because he suddenly got way more aggressive swinging

3:55	Dan Szymborski:

3:56	Jay Jaffe: He didn’t do it by elevating the ball more, either!

3:56	Dan Szymborski: He won the batting title because he hit 40 points over his career BA with a BABIP 41 points over his career BABIP

3:57	Dan Szymborski: Yup, 5.7 degree LA, lower than either of the last two years

3:57	Dan Szymborski: It’s OK to not know something. There is lots of stuff I don’t know

3:57	Jay Jaffe: Arozarena SZN, and damn, his mom did a great first pitch

3:57	Dan Szymborski: But don’t make up that you know something or say something that anyone with 45 seconds can demonstrate is objectively wrong

3:57	Dan: What’s the name of your first Band?

3:58	Dan Szymborski: If I ever have a band, I reserved the name The Cheeseburger Bourgeoisie

3:58	KC Pain: How about we bring back the Baltimore Chop in batting? Would be amazing to see if someone in modern day could make it work. Soft hitting speedster

3:58	Michael Haneke Paneke: get your head out of the spreadsheet and watch the game, Dan! 😉

3:59	Dan Szymborski: Hey I’ve always got like 5 screens of stuff going!

3:59	Brian: Dude… its Captain Dan and the ZIPS all day long. You are not escaping that one.

3:59	Dan Szymborski: IVE BEEN PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN

3:59	Dan: Could they let the highest seed pick their opponent and then the next highest seed? Extra they don’t believe in us storyline and extra incentive to get higher seed. I assume you could set the picking deadline early enough to have travel and ticket sales work.

4:00	Jay Jaffe: If I had a band I’d call it the Vigilante Sabermetric Brigade. Which is what my friends in the Subway Ghosts should call themselves given that it’s MLB.com’s Mike Petriello and Michael Clair, our own Davy Andrews, and Baseball Prospectus’ Daniel Epstein.

4:01	Jay Jaffe: They’re not quite as prone to throwing bombs as I am, however. Too reasonable, those guys

4:01

Dan Szymborski: Another wacky playoff option better than going to 14 teams next: let the worst team in each league have a play-in game opportunity. BUT, the team they play gets to pick who pitches and the starting lineup. If you can’t beat the A’s with Langeliers pitching and Waldichuk playing big left-handed shortstop, are you REALLY a playoff team?

4:02	Michael Haneke Paneke: there’s a Filipino band called “This Band,” which I assume they picked because “The Band” was famously already taken. I’d go with “A Band”—it’s much less stuffy.

4:02	Dan Szymborski: Popular Music Group

4:03	Jay Jaffe: yes but is it, “A Band” like A-Ball or “a band” like, uh, a band?

4:03	Brian: Paneke, you could then hold an “a Band Aid” concert. I hear its going to be a killer concert!

4:03	Andrew: Team Entropy must be having a field day with the House of Representatives today

4:03	Jay Jaffe: I’m really not a fan of entropy in politics and governance. “I feel bad for our country. But this is tremendous content” doesn’t fly with me.

4:04	Adley’s Embrace: Is using Siri going to be confusing because of the outfielder? What if he answers?

4:04	Jay Jaffe: My advice is don’t take your iPhone into the outfield. Save it for selfies at home plate with Joe West.

4:04	Dan Szymborski: Me, I’m here for lulz-based nihilism

4:04	Kwah: I don’t like how the Texas Rangers are somehow winning the trade from last year between the Cardinals (Harrison Bader) and Yankees (Jordan Buntsmothery).

4:05	David Laurila: Hey, all. I’m mostly at this party for Twins-Jays, but unlike cool people who arrive at parties late, here I am.

4:05	Dan Szymborski: Kinda like when the Padres acquired Wil Myers from the Rays and it turned out to be a massive victory for the Nationals

4:05	Jay Jaffe: Hey, David!

4:05	Dan Szymborski: Hey DL!

4:06	Smiling Politely: My roommate and I had a fairly crappy band that we named “Special Guest” so we could plausibly open up for any more credible bands in the area. It was a better idea than most of the musical decisions.

4:07	David Laurila: Got both the new COVID vax and a flu vax earlier today, so hopefully I will be chatting without post-vax symptoms.

4:07	Jay Jaffe: Ah, that combo kicked my ass last Thursday and into the weekend

4:07	Dan Szymborski: The Double Dose!

4:07	Jay Jaffe: Best of luck

4:08	Dan Szymborski: I was planning on holding off until after playoffs

4:08	Dan Szymborski: I skipped flu shot and I was sicker than I’ve ever been in my life in February including COVID

4:08	Dan Szymborski: (last year’s flu shot)

4:08	Brian: Laurila are you allowed to mix with the unwashed masses? Seriously though, your articles are a weekly highlight. Thank you.

4:08	David Laurila: I am the unwashed masses (in singular form). That said, I appreciate the kind words.

4:09	Dan Szymborski: I actually slept in one of my guest rooms for a week because it was next to the kitchen and I literally didn’t have enough energy to work farther than that

4:09	Jay Jaffe: I’ve had a couple close calls lately with people getting COVID around me — including my mother-in-law — so I didn’t want to wait to get another shot.

4:09	Andrew: as someone who just caught covid and is miserable, it’s probably worth getting the booster ASAP. This sucks.

4:10	Wireless Joe Jackson: As someone who lives in an out of market area that doesn’t have any good baseball bars, these chats are really a great companion to watching the games. Thanks for doing them and do some more!

4:10	Brian: I know none of that was meant as an indictment of the vaccine or its efficacy but many many people will take it as such.

4:10	Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but ignoring the bad also has a bad effect because then people will accuse you of hiding it

4:10	Guest: Dan do you get nervous in these group chats that your regular weirdo chatters (hi!) are going to embarrass you in front of your friends with questions about chili or geoism?

4:10	Dan Szymborski: Jay and David already know I’m weird

4:10	Planet Dust: I had my third and by far worst covid case end of August

4:11	Rollie’s Mustache: Pablo Lopez had the 2nd highest rate of first-pitch strikes among qualified starters this season (also threw 50% fastballs in 0-0 counts). The Blue Jays lineup tends to be aggressive early. Feels like something’s gotta give here, right?

4:12	Andy: Jay can you talk about why you like AVG more recently or link to a piece about that?

4:12

Jay Jaffe: I’ve been threatening to write a piece called “Let’s Give a Shit About Batting Average Again” for literally four years — if you can find the podcast of the November 2019 FanGraphs event in NYC, it began there — but it’s a confluence of AVG being at something of a historical nadir, the lack of action the current game has with its higher volume of Three True Outcomes, and an historical understanding of why fans/viewers do gravitate to high-average guys. This winter I’ll get it down, hopefully.

4:14	Michael Haneke Paneke: gotta go with “uhhhh Band.” “Ay Band” sounds too British

4:14	Jay Jaffe: They could do a career-end doc called “A Last Waltz”

4:14	Dan Szymborski: As I always say, if you want BA to be a bigger thing, baseball needs to incentivize in the rules and equipment putting the ball in play

4:15	Jay Jaffe: equipment-wise what do you suggest?

4:15	Frank Thomas the Tank Engine: Best band name is “Major Recording Artist”

4:15	Dan Szymborski: deadened balls, fatter required bat

4:16	Half Measures: Why didn’t the Giants just fire Farhan as well. He handpicked Kapler

4:16

David Laurila: No inside knowledge, but this could have been a one-or-the-other-had-to-go situation. On a related note, I’m beginning to believe that Chaim Bloom being let go in Boston wasn’t so much an ownership desire as it was an Alex Cora desire. Cora is hugely influential within the org, and I think (again, no inside info) he wanted to trade future assets for a better shot at the postseason down the stretch.

4:16	Dan Szymborski: I’d experiment in indy ball with making first base 86 feet from the plate

4:17	Dan Szymborski: “Siri, give me the phone number of a local orthopedic surgeon to treat my wrist”

4:17	KC Pain: Dead Balls Fat Bat is a good band name

4:27	Dan Szymborski:

4:17	Dan Szymborski: or just a guy

4:18	Dan: My favorite time of year is here. The time fangraphs does random extra long chats with multiple writers/editors popping in at surprising times.

4:18	Andrew: if we’re doing cheeky band names, I’d go with Tailor At A Moderate Speed

4:19

Jay Jaffe: It’s a good question re: Zaidi. It really does seem to me that the stars-and-scrubs-but-no-stars roster and the total lack of deadline help (AJ Pollock? Really? That’s it?) was the reason this team faltered, and Kapler could only do so much. That saw about how if your front office doesn’t get your team deadline help then they might lose the clubhouse seems applicable here. From what I gather, Zaidi may have had to axe Kapler and pledge to do things differently in order to save his own job.

4:19	Ben Schneider: My band would be called “Nonsense” so people would say “I’m listening to Nonsense”

4:20	The original greaser bob: Well me and the fam finally caught the COVID but I get to stay home and watch the playoffs, so push?

4:20	Jay Jaffe: Glad you have a full slate of entertainment on tap, Bob. Best of luck with a strong recovery.

4:21	J: I was at that NYC event and my god how was that 4 years ago

4:21	Jay Jaffe: It was the Before Times

4:21	Dan Szymborski: I wasn’t there, was I? My memory of pre-COVID is getting spotty

4:22	Jay Jaffe: No, Dan, I don’t think you were.

4:22	Dan Szymborski: Oh yeah, I think that’s the december I had back surgery

4:22	Dan Szymborski: (one of them)

4:22	Perd Hapley: The Name of the Band Is The Name of the Band

4:22	Jay Jaffe: More Songs About More Songs

4:22	Wireless Joe Jackson: Just like we all predicted, Rangers playing great defense and taking advantage of Rays defensive miscues.

4:25	Jay Jaffe: The Rangers do great by my Z (for not-ZiPS)-score defense thing, 2nd in the majors, while the Rays are ninth among the 12 playoff teams. But some of what’s weighing the Rays down is catcher framing, which isn’t apparent when you’re watching batted balls be converted into outs.

4:24	YardGoat: Rangers offense doing things

4:24	David Laurila: Texas’s hitting program is very good. Meanwhile, as much of a postseason long shot the Rays are due to the myriad injuries, their ability to somehow/anyhow win games is remarkable.

4:24	Dan: How long are you expecting today’s chat to go?

4:24	Dan Szymborski: Until just before the final comment!

4:25

Brian: David, is there any truth to the stereotypes of positions in your experience? Are catchers more attentive, are SS and CF generally aloof savants. I suspect this crosses all positions as with any reasonable sampling of population, but these are highly specialized individuals. I guess I am asking are there valid personality type distinctions between positions (obvious caveats are obvious, this is a question about your experience only).

4:25	Ben Schneider: Might be too late to ask, but any guesses which player hits the first homer of the playoffs?

4:26	Dan Szymborski: Let’s say Pinto because baseball likes to pull that crap

4:27	Michael Haneke Paneke: Jay: I’ve liked Bill James’ view that more players could hit for a higher average if they wanted to. “If you’re a lefty, just knock one a little over the shortstop’s head. There’s so much space there!”

4:27	Wire Fan: If Rene Pinto gets hit by a pitch is it called a pinto bean?

4:27	Dan Szymborski: Yes

4:28	Dan Szymborski: You know defense has been bad when the home team gets tagged with three in six innings

4:28	David Laurila: My answer to Brian’s question is that I haven’t really noticed that. I will say that relievers and backup catchers tend to be more media friendly than players at other positions.

4:29	The original greaser bob: As a Cubs fan I’m disappointed with the late collapse but happy that there were meaningful games in late September. Having said that can the Cubs contend in 2024?

4:29	YardGoat: Just like when Jose Lima hit a batter it was called a lima bean

4:29	David Laurila: Having been at Wrigley for a few late September games, their fans deserve the team to contend. Outstanding atmosphere.

4:30	Bud Selig fan: Now that games are only 2.5 hours, can we bring back the loogy? Or can we at least expand rosters to 28 year round and 30 in September?

4:30	David Laurila: And do away with the ghost runner while we’re at it.

4:31	Dan Szymborski: Just once, I want to see a sideline reporter respond to an answer from a manager or coach by being a dick and then asking “OK, same question, but with an answer that actually means something.”

4:31	Dan Szymborski: God, kill the zombie/ghost/manfred man

4:32	Appa Yip Yip: DO FIRST BASEMEN SHOTGUN BEERS AND CRUSH THE CANS ON THEIR HEADS?

4:32	David Laurila: Kevin Millar played 800 games as a first baseman.

4:33	Mystery Name: Glasgow’s breaking stuff is absolutely disgusting.

4:34	Jay Jaffe: Eno Sarris had an interesting observation about Glasnow’s slider declining late in the year via Stuff+, but he’s got 7 whiffs in 12 swings on the pitch today https://twitter.com/enosarris/status/1709244045862830319

4:33	Dodgers Bullpen: Would you guys go with the lefties Caleb Ferguson and Vesia over the young flamethrowers Sheehan and Hurt? Seems like the young velocity might play up in October

4:37

Jay Jaffe: Ferguson has been pretty good for the Dodgers, Vesia so-so, but both have significant postseason experience. It’s asking a lot to put a guy with literally 2 MLB innings on a roster for the postseason, and I’m not sure how much bullpen experience Sheehan has but he’s walking too many guys to be a comfortable option.

4:35	David Laurila: I’m inclined to say no on Ferguson/Vesia. Regardless, I think I might lead my forthcoming Sunday Notes with Ferguson.

4:36	Brian: Lets say the monster trio (Bibee, Allen, Williams) regresses for CLE, reasonable assumption, how good does Bo have to be for the roster to be playoff viable? Assume normal ZIPS projections for everyone else…is MVP level enough?

4:37	David Laurila: They could always trade for Nolan Jones…

4:38	Brian: I hate you so much right now David, I have been harping on the Jones and Benson decisions all year, in another org they would be getting crushed for both.

4:39	guest: as a rangers fan, montgomery with such a low pitch count thus far is amazing

4:40	Jay Jaffe: Man, the Yankees really undervalued Montgomery. he’s been a top-20 pitcher since the start of 2021 in terms of innings and WAR. That’s a trade Brian Cashman would like to have back, I’d guess.

4:39	David Laurila: Talent aside, Benson and Jones are top-notch humans based on my handful of interactions with each, and what I’ve heard elsewhere.

4:40	David Laurila: Twins-Jays underway.

4:42	David Laurila: Fellow Yooper Adam Hamari, the pride of Marquette, Michigan, umpiring at first base in Minnesota today.

4:42	Thom: thankful that in Canada we get Dan Shulman calling the game on sportsnet instead of Kay-Rod

4:42	Jay Jaffe: With Twins-Jays starting up right now, what really sucks about this situation is that I’ve only got one TV within viewing distance and can’t stream the second game on a device due to blackouts. Just a total failure by MLB on that score.

4:43	Jay Jaffe: Siri, what the hell are you doing?

4:43	David Laurila: Dan Shulman is 5,000 times better than the ESPN pairing. Maybe 6,000 times better.

4:44	Dan Szymborski: This defense is…interesting today

4:44	Jay Jaffe: jeepers

4:46	Dan Szymborski: “Hey Siri, show me the New York Giants offensive line but baseball players defense”

4:47	guest: @all fangraphs folks, how does Manfred and MLB solve the easy problem of playing games later so 1. people can go to the games and 2. people can watch them! its infuriating two of the best teams all year are playing at 2pm on a tuesday.

4:47	Dan Szymborski: As if Manfred’s job is to solve problems for the customers!

4:47	Ben Schneider: Jay now has to rewrite his piece on playoff team defense

4:48	Jay Jaffe: ha! I actually have only barely started the writing! I’ve had a day already, folks, and it’s not even 5 pm ET

4:47	Guest: Siri, show me the worst defensive game you can imagine

4:49	small e: decided to go with the Twins radio broadcast on MLB Audio and the 90 second delay or whatever is still preferable to listening to Kay-Rod

4:50	Wireless Joe Jackson: Pablo Lopez doing an amazing job of making pitches despite some suspect play behind him. Must have been watching Glasnow.

4:50	David Laurila: Pablo Lopez imore than just a good pitcher, he is a class act.

4:50	David Laurila: As is Kevin Gausman.

4:50

Floyd: I think the easy answer regarding the scheduling problem is to have the Wild Card series go Sat-Sun-Mon and stagger the start times (noon, 2:30, 5:00 and 7:30 ET). By Monday there likely won’t be 4 games to schedule. Then stagger ALDS/NLDS so there’s only one day with 4 games. One league goes Tu/W/F/Sa/Su and the other W/Th/Sa/Su/M. Yes, eliminate the 2nd LDS off-day.

4:51

Nervous Flyball Pitcher: Q for David: I think your pitcher/hitter interviews are some of the best content on FG since you see a real diversity in how players approach the game. But do you ever sit down with a player and he doesn’t give you anything to work with? How far do you get in before you can no longer scrap it? Or do you know in advance based on email?

4:52	David Laurila: Email has nothing to do with the interviews. I do get duds for interviews, but rarely nothing I can at least include in Sunday Notes.

4:54	Kershaw Future: Next year, would you give Clayton the Clemens treatment? Playing half the year. Or the Ohtani schedule? Pitching every 6 days. How else could he get through the season and October?

4:54

Jay Jaffe: We’ll see what they do in free agency (if Kershaw even comes back, which isn’t a given) but with so many of their youngsters in play for rotation spots, a 6-man rotation might make some sense when it comes to managing workloads. That said, Kershaw has been very effective in recent years, but he’s missed big chunks in the middle of the season, and I’m not sure the end result would be better than just getting the best 22-24 starts out of him that you can even knowing he’ll probably need a midseason IL stint.

4:55	David Laurila: Only once have I deleted a short interview from my recorder while I was walking away from the conversation. It was with a NYY prospect in Double-A close to a decade ago. He made Derek Jeter’s careful answers sound unscripted and daring by comparison.

4:55	Chip Locke: He was rightfully overshadowed in the rookie scene this year, but I’m looking forward to Julien’s rise in the next couple years. Maybe, just maybe, he can replace Votto as The Walking Canadian?

4:57	Princess Leia: Anyone else just want to see Jays Vs Rangers to see how much bad blood is left over from The Bat Flip

4:57

Jay Jaffe: I think Josh Donaldson and Marcus Stroman are the only active players left from that series (are there more?) but neither is on either team, so, uh, I doubt there’s any real bad blood.

Fun fact, my wife and I covered that series for Sports Illustrated. She got the better end of it, with the Toronto games. I just got some decent BBQ and beers with a few friends in Texas

4:57	Nat: How do we feel about City Connects in the playoffs.

4:57	David Laurila: I’m not in favor. That said, Minnesota’s are among the better ones; Texas’s are the worst.

4:57	Brian: So Royce Lewis question then… it is a remarkable story of overcoming adversity and literaly everyone seems to like the guy. Is there any comp for a player overcoming that injury history and being a stud/star player. I really hope he does.

4:58	Jay Jaffe: he’s been amazing

4:58	Wireless Joe Jackson: So it’s good that Royce Lewis got healthy.

4:59	David Laurila: Meanwhile, talking to players in-game during the postseason is not something I’m in favor of.

4:59	Wire Fan: So why did the Yankees trade Monty away again? Too solid of a pitcher and they preferred massive injury risks. In guys like Montas and Rodon?

5:00

Jay Jaffe: They needed to get Judge out of center field and liked Bader’s defense. Unfortunately he couldn’t stay healthy and his offense went to seed. I didn’t like the trade given the state of the Yankees’ rotation at the time — and it looks even worse even now that Montgomery’s ERA has gone above 1.whatever it was in the first few starts after the deal

5:00	MLB Expansion: 4 new teams would make the trade deadline more interesting. Do you see MLB doing a 90’s type expansion? 2 times in a decade? Would 4 new teams in 5 years be too much too fast?

5:00	Jay Jaffe: No, they’ll add two teams and be done for awhile. 32 is a very easy number to manage for divisions, 34 is a mess.

5:01	bosoxforlife: Sorry David but the atrocious blue and yellow RED SOX are far and away the worst.

5:01	David Laurila: Not a fan of those either…. although, as you know, they have a good record while wearing them.

5:01	Dan Szymborski: I’m really going to hate eight four-team divisions

5:02	Jay Jaffe: actually, it’s gonna be 16 two-team divisions

5:03	Dan Szymborski: 32 one-team divisions and the four best division winners in each league play each other!

5:04	Brian: 32 1 team divisions would be best!

5:04	Dan Szymborski: dangit, brian bea tme to it (the message was at 5:02

5:04	Ben Schneider: I wrote about possible realignment last week. Don’t put it past Manfred to just tack on a sixth team instead of making divisions symmetrical

5:04	Dan Szymborski: I like it better!

5:06	4 divisions: Will the Rockies be saved from the NL west? They might fit better with the NL central teams.

5:06

David Laurila: Something that irked me all year was certain Red Sox scribes repeatedly referring to them as a last-place team. While technically correct, they were usually middle of the pack record-wise in what is now a balanced-schedule league where records within the division aren’ close to as important as they once were.

5:06	Dan Szymborski: The Rockies land as the only team in NL Mountain. And they somehow lose the division in their one-team division

5:08

Jeremy: What non Hall-of-Famer spent the longest period of time as the best player in baseball? I know a bunch of non-HoF players spent a year as (arguably) the best player in baseball, as evidenced by the fact that they won MVP awards (e.g., Josh Hamilton in 2010). But has any non-HoF player been the best player in baseball over some much longer span of time?

5:08	Dan Szymborski: I assume we can’t count A-Rod and Bonds?

5:08	Jay Jaffe: Dan, didn’t you do something on this in relation to when Trout would no longer be the best?

5:09	Chip Locke: RE: Rockies moving divisions – My grandfather used to say “you can move anywhere in the world but you can’t move away from yourself”

5:09	Dan Szymborski: Yeah

5:09	Dan Szymborski: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mike-trouts-inevitable-decline/

5:10	Jay Jaffe: Bonds and Ruth had the longest runs by WAR

5:10	Jay Jaffe: Schmidt and Mays the other top post-integration guys

5:11	Dan Szymborski: Basically, only two non-HoFers who aren’t in for PED reasons were projected as the best in baseball at any point

5:11	Ben Schneider: Regardless of the format I hope Montreal gets a team again

5:11	Jay Jaffe: Hey, the Rays are getting half of the stadiums they need to pull off the two-city plan!

5:11	Dan Szymborski: either by ZiPS or a Marcel-like method

5:11	Dan Szymborski: Charlie Keller and Snuffy Stirnweiss and part of that was WWII

5:11	Michael Haneke Paneke: Ross Barnes was the top player in baseball his first 6 years in the league, but hasn’t sniffed the Hall of Fame. What?? That sport was technically baseball!

5:12	shortstop: Caminero is the most junior player in baseball

5:12	David Laurila: Among the players featured in my most r4cent Sunday Notes column!

5:13

Brian: I can give an honest review of the Denver (Coors or whoever the current sponsor is field) It is a wonderful place to go to a baseball game. Outside ball park is a great atmosphere, Union station while not the best public hub for transit is unique and the remodel was an unmitigated success. If you can tolerate a sidewalk, there are many fun breweries and offerings near the stadium. As much shit as Denver gets for public transit, the baseball stadium is no issue. Sitting in the rock pile in the sun sucks, but if you bought a less than 15 dollar ticket, why are you staying in your seat. There is good food and good people and fun everywhere in this stadium. Team aside the fan experience at Denver is great. Maybe that is why ownership is so complacent.

5:13	Dan Szymborski: I like Denver

5:13	Dan Szymborski: and I like Coors

5:14	Jay Jaffe: We did a FanGraphs staff event in Denver (with a meetup, even) and it was great. Love the ballpark, enjoy the city. Deserves a better-run franchise

5:14	Farhandrew Zaidman: Brent Rooker on twitter states emphatically that 92 on the black is harder to hit than 97 down the middle. Analysts rush to tell him he’s wrong. Who should I believe?

5:14	Dan Szymborski: I don’t want to get into that, but I LIKE TO DO CHECKING

5:17	Dan Szymborski: Well, Rooker’s hit .150 and slugged .350 against pitches of at least 97 mph thrown in Statcast’s “heart” of the plate

5:18	Dan Szymborski: but of pitches 91-93 mph in the “shadow” part of the plate, he’s only hit .170 ith a .245 slug!

5:19	Dan Szymborski: the league hits .255 and slugs .396 in the latter scenario

5:20	Dan Szymborski: while the leauge hits .282 and slugs .445 in the 97 mph heart

5:20	Farhandrew Zaidman: (Ignore my Rooker question I have poor reading comprehension apparently)

5:20	Dan Szymborski: dangit, too late!

5:20	Vin: You’re just afraid Brent Rooker will beat you up and stuff you into a locker

5:20	Dan Szymborski: needs to be a pretty fat locker

5:21	Wire Fan: Is Trout’s contract movable without the Halios eating a substantial portion of it?

5:22	Jay Jaffe: I certainly don’t think so. Wrote about it last week https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mike-trout-is-probably-staying-in-anaheim/

5:22	Floyd: 19,704 at the Trop

5:22	Dan Szymborski: 1000% of the normal attendance! (ducking)

5:22	Dan Szymborski: Switching over to Twins/Jays as primary

5:23	Ben Schneider: It’s embarrassing to not sell out a playoff game. I don’t care what time of day it is

5:23	Dan Szymborski: There are like a billion playoff games now!

5:23	Michael Haneke Paneke: How did the Rays score so many runs this year? Didn’t pitchers notice they have no good batters? Their #5 hitter in a playoff game is someone named “Mead”

5:23	Dan Szymborski: Mead has a lot of upside

5:24	David Laurila: Check out TB’s injured list. And suspended list.

5:24	Jay Jaffe: They’ve had a lot of turnover

5:25	Dan Szymborski: Did hey just say “he popped up his shit in the first inning?”

5:25	Nat: i don’t know about that strike call on julien

5:25	Alcahawk: Even the best Mead I’ve tried tastes like gasoline.

5:25	Dan Szymborski: I like mead

5:26	Kwah: Michael A. TaylorSwiftlyGotToThatShallowFlyBallForTheAwesomeCatch #seo #keywordsforclicks

5:27	Brian: Dan, how much of the blame do you think rests on a bad product and how much on Florida focusing on other entertainment options in their state?

5:27	shortstop: What is the probability that Wander never suits up again for TB? I’m a bit out of the loop on his situation (beyond how abhorring it is in general).

5:27	David Laurila: My guess is that he doesn’t. Meanwhile — this is obviously apples to oranges — but did Hector Neris get suspended for his slur?

5:27	Dan Szymborski: Hard to say. The teams themselves haven’t helped

5:27	Dan Szymborski: The Marlins and Rays have both been like 25-30 year experiments in negative marketing

5:28	Adley’s Embrace: Rocco speaks softly

5:28	David Laurila: And goes to a lot of good concerts when he can.

5:31	Silent J: what takes longer, the Twins playoff run or the time it will take to replace McCarthy as speaker

5:31	David Laurila: The former, by a wide margin.

5:32	KC Pain: Was there a better one off playoff game than the Tigers-Twins in ..2010 I think? Extra innings, throw from outfield to plate to gun down a guy, a HBP that…wasnt…but should have been called???

5:32	David Laurila: It pains me to say it, but Red Sox-Yankees 1978.

5:35	Michael Haneke Paneke: Umm, Royals-A’s 2014?

5:35	shortstop: Rockies-Padres in 2007 was my personal favorite

5:35	David Laurila: Per Texas Rangers PR, Evan Carter is the youngest batter (21 years, 35 days) in MLB history to reach safely 4+ times in his postseason debut.

5:36	Dan Szymborski: ROYCE CLAYMORE CHOPS OFF ANOTHER HEAD

5:36	David Laurila: Royce. Lewis. Wow.

5:36	Adley’s Embrace: Royce Rolling

5:36	Mystery Name: Rolls Royce

5:36	Jay Jaffe: good gravy

5:37	Jay Jaffe: wrote about Lewis a few weeks ago, and he actually added four points to his 151 wRC+ https://blogs.fangraphs.com/royce-lewis-has-arrived-in-grand-fashion/

5:37

Brian: Im gonna call it contributors, thanks for the replies. It was an honest thank you at the start. It will never be less. Please let Meg know she does good if difficult work. I gather from Jay that not every day is happy. Thank you all for enduring the bad ones so I get so smile when I wake up. It is not a small think, and you all should be proud. I will likely poke back into chats in the playoffs. Thank you all!

5:37	Jay Jaffe: Thanks, Brian!

5:38	David Laurila: Royce Lewis in his September Talks Hitting interview: “I try to think about things like, ‘What do I have to do in this situation to get the runner over?’ Sometimes it’s just, ‘How can I get on base for my team?’ Maybe I’m even thinking about a home run. “

5:39	Jay Jaffe: https://twitter.com/TylerKepner/status/1709322127889858637

5:40	Mike: Thank goodness he’s healthy enough to play. Wow.

5:40	Brian: I can only smile. Baseball really is a joy sometimes.

5:41	David Laurila: The Tyler Kepler into linked above… Ugh.

5:44	Dan: The link (and most Twitter links I click here) doesn’t work

5:44	David Laurila: Kepner tweeted that today’s attendance of 19,704 at the Trop: according to @Stathead , it’s the lowest (non-Covid year) attendance for a postseason game in 104 years.

5:45	Michael Haneke Paneke: just checked StubHub, and tickets are SO CHEAP too. $25 for section 130 (lower level, by the right fielder)). For a playoff game!

5:48	Mike: Building that new stadium in the same place is nuts. Just nuts.

5:48	Jay Jaffe: Yeah that was my view. For all of the talk about how part of the Rays’ attendance problem was based on infrastructure, pffft. this does nothing to solve that problem.

5:48	David Laurila: Meanwhile, the COVID and flu vaccines I received roughly six hours have begun making their side-effects appearance. A nap looms after Twins-Blue Jays are finished.

5:51	David Laurila: Old friend Travis Sawchik, on Twitter, re attendance at the Trop today: “It’s not just a day game problem, folks. There’s been postseason games played under sunlight dating back to 1903.”

5:51	Appa Yip Yip: That was a poor send

5:51	Wireless Joe Jackson: Correa’s arm strength still not up for debate.

5:51	Jay Jaffe: Ok folks, the Rangers take Game 1, 4-0, and that’s it for me. I’ve got a tiny human to tend to and… apparently I just bought a house and have to gather some paperwork. Thanks for spending some time with us today and enjoy the rest of today’s slate!

5:52	Wraith: It’s pretty obvious to me that the stadium deal the rays landed is more about the real estate potential (the new hip thing for mlb owners) than it is about improving fan experience or drawing more fans etc

5:55	Vin: Bichette needed to do a Chris Coghlan style flip slide there

5:55	David Laurila: I wonder where Christopher Brockett Coghlan is these days. Bright guy, so I assume he’s being successful somewhere.

5:55	Dancing on my Own: In grad school class right now and watching the games in the back. Being judged for being a baseball fan. I’m judging everyone else for not being fans.

5:57	Dan Szymborski: I enjoyed the random shot at Kevin Slowey

5:58	David Laurila: Anyone catch time of game for Rangers-Rays? How long postseason games are this is something to watch,

5:58	Dan Szymborski: Michael A. Taylor was traded for a Hall of Famer too, if you give him Michael Taylor’s past, future, and mother.

5:59	Guest: This playoff system is completely broken. Gotta love the 2nd best AL team hosting the tied-3rd best while the 7th best team hosts the 6th. Why won’t MLB just seed teams based on record?

5:59	David Laurila: Winning the division has to count for something, I suppose.

5:59	Jay R: Mlb.com says T:2:41. for time of game

5:59	Kwah: Michael K. Taylor[swift]

5:59	Kevin: I wonder if Tampa Bay committed four errors in any other game this season.

6:00	Dan Szymborski: They didn’t!

6:00	Day Care: Phillies are adding a bunch of new food to their stadium for the post season like carmel apples and smores cookies. Wonder why it wasn’t a thing to add more fall based food in the past

6:00	Dan Szymborski: I gotta dig up my AI stadium food

6:01	David Laurila: A team being charged with four errors in a game is hard to do these days. Benefit of a doubt goes to the hitter waaay too often in recent years.

6:02	Dan Szymborski: Daulton Varsho’s gotta be relieved his dad wasn’t teammates with William VanLandingham

6:05	Kwah: The Fangraphs mods have obviously banned Brian Kenny from the chat. #ErrorsDontExist #TheyreAllHits

6:05	Dan Szymborski:

6:06	KC Pain: and he blows it past Belt

6:06	small e: Pablo Lopez is so good

6:06	HoF: Went to the Hall of Fame earlier this summer, and watches these games made me realize nobody playing today really has great nicknames like Catfish Hunter

6:07	Ben Schneider: ^Late Night Lamonte!

6:09	David Laurila: Will be interesting to see how long Baldelli sticks with López. He’s at 77 pitches and obviously throwing well. Went 100 or more nine times this season with a high of 106.

6:11	shortstop: What’s the deal with pulling Gausman after 4? A couple hiccups but overall was looking pretty good.

6:11	David Laurila: Good question. Any Jays fans have insight here?

6:11	Wireless Joe Jackson: I have to admit I’m nervous about Pagan in a close playoff game. He’s been good this year, but I’m still scarred from last year.

6:11	KC Pain: I know he has a cut on finger. Flared up last start for Gausman IIRC

6:11	Vin: Seems like they didn’t want him facing the top of the order/Lewis a third time

6:14	Sniffles McGee: Broadcast seemed to think Gausman was tipping in those first innings. But if he was he sorted it out and got swings and misses on the splitter

6:16	David Laurila: I was once told that the Twins nearly drafted Gausman (who ended up being taken fourth) instead of Byron Buxton with the second-overall pick in 2012.

6:17	Oddball Herrera: I think at this point we all can agree that Royce Lewis ought to be the new speaker of the house

6:18	Kwah: Most feared Royces : 1) Gracie, MMA legend 2) Lewis, hits too many Grand Slams 3) da 5’9″, rapper who is friends with Eminem

6:18	Dan Szymborski: What about Bronze Yohn Royce?

6:18	KC Pain: Man the Giants gotta regret letting him go. Nastier 1-2 than Webb and Gausman?

6:19	InternetStranger: Broadcasters/the internet think that every pitcher that gives up a run in the playoffs is tipping

6:19	Day Care: Will be interesting to see how the Woodruff situation impacts the Brewers going forward

6:19	David Laurila: Losing Woodruff is a tough break for the Brewers, Not sure that many fans around the country realize just how good he’s been — 1 142 ERA+ over the past six seasons.

6:22	David Laurila: TV showing Twins pitching coach Pete Maki in the dugout. He’s done a really good job with this staff.

6:22	KC Pain: What about a Rolls Royce driven by a 99 yr old half blind person? I got fear

6:23	Farhandrew Zaidman: We need to come up with a better word for 90+ mph changeups. How about “death ball” or “fastball number 2”

6:23	Dan Szymborski: Frank Tanana Megasmoke

6:25	David Laurila: Of note, Pablo López’s third time through the order numbers this year are better than his first and second times through numbers.

6:28	Dan Szymborski: Tommy John going into pouch underwear is real mission creep

6:28	Wireless Joe Jackson: Lopez got squeezed hard. The umpire basically forced him to throw it there.

6:28	Kwah: A changeup measuring 90+ is a nonagenarian — surprisingly lively yet also prone to die any instant. AKA the Jimmy Carter

6:28	KC Pain: We gonna eventually has some finesse noodle arm to come in and keep them off balance. Starter throwing 105 w 94 change up? Soft tosser out of pen comes in throwing 77 heat w a 65 change. 2034.

6:30	Oddball Herrera: As a Minnesota sports fan I am conditioned into believing that our moment of utter implosion has arrived

6:30	David Laurila: Inches away from being right.

6:30	Nat: twins get away with one there. playoff baseball!

6:31	Michael Haneke Paneke: As a Minnesotan, I am required to point out that Louie Varland is a local kid (born in St Paul and went to tiny Concordia College….first Concordian to reach the Majors in 70 years!)

6:31	Kwah: MichAUel AU. tAUylor. (AU is chemicalese for “gold”.)

6:32	Dan Szymborski: Wouldn’t gold gloves be rather heavy and thus impractical gloves? Also a lot of deflections

6:32	CTA: There were a lot of Minnesota hearts just dropping a beat…

6:32	small e: MAT’s offense obviously hasn’t been nearly as good but it was such a good move by the Twins to acquire a gold glove alternative to buxton in CF

6:33	Riggio: Is unp siding either Jay’s pitchers over Twins pitchers in the zone …..or is it just me?!?!?

6:33	Adley’s Embrace: It really sounded like he called him “Jack” Green just then

6:36	Dan Szymborski: the chair in this commercial looks way too expensive for me

6:37	Dan Szymborski: please don’t dip fries into pumpkin spice smoothies

6:40	KC Pain: What caused the Orioles to constantly give up on pitchers and then they go do better elsewhere? Arrieta, Gausman, and Bundy for a bit. Was it the GM back then? Im looking at Gausman # and they were better than I recalled when he was on the O’s. Not elite, but back of rotation type.

6:41	David Laurila: As many of you have seen, our staff postseason predictions went up today. Jason Martinez was the lone person picking the Blue Jays to win the World Series. Three picked the Twins to win the World Series. I have the Twins losing to LAD in the Series.

6:42	Dan Szymborski: The O’s back then were in the disjointed Duquette/various Angeli/Showalter years

6:43	David Laurila: Of note, my preseason pick for the World Series was Cardinals over Twins. Big whiff on at least half of that. (I hate making predictions.)

6:43	Mike: speaking of Tommy John, I have a partially torn UCL. We’re trying rest and treatment right now…

6:43	Guest: Today I learned that dipping fries into smoothies is a thing. Humanity ascends one more rung on the ladder of hopelessness

6:43	Ben Clemens: Hey everyone, I’m showing up as a bridge chatter. I’m gonna be part of the later crew, but probably only peripherally involved as I’m also recapping, so thought I’d get an early start

6:43	Ben Clemens: Hi Dan, hi David

6:43	Dan Szymborski: Binyamin!

6:45	David Laurila: Welcome to Ben, who is on record as having predicted the Orioles would win the AL East — only FanGraphs writer to do so.

6:45	Ben Clemens: I also picked the Mets and Cardinals to win their divisions, but luckily I wasn’t alone on those

6:45	War2D2: Better yet, don’t have pumpkin spice Frosties. My kid tried one the other day it was awful. He regretted his decision.

6:46	Ben Clemens: They wondered whether they could make Frosties pumpkin spice. They didn’t worry whether they SHOULD

6:46	shortstop: that was a milkshake, Dan!

6:46	Dan Szymborski: ITS NOT ANY BETTER

6:46	Dan Szymborski: french fries should not be touching dairy products

6:46	KC Pain: I can see that Dan. Just surprised they let Gausman of the 3 go (okay in a trade). Arrieta was the one who had the horrific #s that I attributed to Gausman…who was lower 4 ERA then.

6:46	shortstop: cheese fries???

6:46	Dan Szymborski: oh yeah, cheese

6:47	Ben Clemens: Dan how do you feel about California burritos?

6:47	Dan Szymborski: OK, they shouldn’t be touching SWEENTED dairy products

6:47	Dan Szymborski: sweented?

6:47	Dan Szymborski: why would you name your prescription drug to sound like “abysmal?”

6:48	KC Pain: Dan, AL Central got the worst food on your list right? It looked bad!

6:48	David Laurila: Eighth pitcher of game entering. Score is 3-1. The days of Babe Ruth throwing a 14-inning CG in the World Series are long gone.

6:48	Dan Szymborski: ChatGPT, which tends to give you less crazy results than Inferkit, had its share of horrid items too

6:49	Dan Szymborski: Minnesota Twins: Item: “Twin Cities Juicy Lucy Juicer” Description: A Juicy Lucy burger in juice form, featuring a blend of stuffed cheeseburger ingredients, served in a souvenir mini baseball helmet.

6:49	Ben Clemens: discussion question: is a cheeseburger still stuffed if both the burger and stuffing are liquified?

6:50	Vin: Are you allowed to dip your fries in that juiced burger?

6:50	Dan Szymborski: no, it’s a smoothie

6:51	Ben Clemens: To get peripherally back to the game, don’t you wish that TD would do an alternate TD logo on the Jays jerseys?

6:51	Ben Clemens: like….. blue

6:51	MattStats5: Anybody else have a feeling the Twins are gonna blow this? Hope I’m wrong. Big Orioles fan here, but the Twins have to break the streak.

6:52	shortstop: at least the TD logo isn’t in Phillies colors

6:52	Ben Clemens: I actually think that would look better. But yeah, presumably Steve Cohen fired the person who came up with that patch idea

6:53	David Laurila: Brewers-D-Backs on tap shortly. AZ went 4-2 vs MIL this year. Zac Gallen allowed one run over 14 innings in two starts.

6:53	Ben Clemens: Brandon Pfaadt getting the start is really cool for the country’s likely ability to pronounce his name

6:54	Dan Szymborski: If the Twins hang on, they should celebrate like they just won game 7 of the WS

6:55	Ben Clemens: That would be incredible, as would hearing A Rod’s reaction

6:55	MattStats5: Serious question about roster locks. What’s the timeline for teams to submit their rosters for each playoff series?

6:55	Dan Szymborski: I’ma ctually not sure th exact deadline

6:56	Guest: I hate to admit it, but I really have no idea how to say Pfaadt. Help me please

6:56	Ben Clemens: “Fought”

6:56	Dan Szymborski: Brandon Pfaadt the law and the law won

6:56	Phil: I always say Brandon Fart in my head. With respect, though.

6:56	Dan Szymborski: Steve Sharts respect knuckles

6:56	Ben Clemens: David, I just realized we picked the same World Series matchup and winner

6:56	Ben Clemens: Quite a coincidence

6:57	Appa Yip Yip: Vladdy keep your helmet on, difficulty: impossible

6:58	Ben Clemens: A Rod just described “a)striking out and b)not getting the runner over to third” as “double negative”

6:58	Ben Clemens: I can’t find the confused meme I want, but…

6:59	Mike: thankfully I can’t listen, but the Twins’ site I follow sure isn’t in love with AROD’s announcing (I’m guessing no one is, but….)

6:59	David Laurila: Jax had three appearances versus the Jays in regular season. Went one scoreless inning in each. One hit allowed (Varsho). No walks, two Ks.

6:59	Ben Clemens: This secret pitching matchup series is living up to its billing so far

6:59	Ben Clemens: Jax looked awesome there

7:00	daddyvladdy: That strike also wasn’t a HR and didn’t cure cancer, so, kind of a quadruple negative if you think about it

7:00	bosoxforlife: This has to be the first time a team opened a playoff series with a pitcher with a 3-9 record and a high FIP.

7:01	Ben Clemens: The exigencies of making the playoffs and the fact that more bad teams are making it now combined to do this. That said, I think Pfaadt is a lot better than his stats suggest

7:03	Ben Clemens: Hicks doesn’t have his fastest fastball tonight, but his movement looks exceptional

7:03	David Laurila: Jace Peterson replacing Jake McCarthy on AZ roster.

7:04	Paul Ehlers: Revenge game for Jace

7:04	Oddball Herrera: Pfaadt vs Burnes has to be in the neighborhood of the highest ever ERA disparity between game 1 pitchers (2.33)

7:05	Ben Clemens: That would be a fun thing to look up

7:05	Ben Clemens: Note to self

7:06	Guest: Fun trivia: Without looking, who led the AL in walks this year?

7:06	Ben Clemens: I’ve been looking at this one for a few minutes

7:07	Ben Clemens: I guess I would say… Semien? I just know he gets so many PA’s. I truly don’t know

7:08	Ben Clemens: Wow shocking one!

7:08	KC Pain: How come we dont get baseball movies anymore? I realize all the baseball movies I liked as a kid where from previous decades. You had kids baseball movies, comedy baseball, serious baseball. Now you get like 1 a decade and a couple documentaries and direct to stream movies.

7:08	Dan Szymborski: Because movies are all IP and sequels now

7:08	Dan Szymborski: If it’s not part of the Major League Cinematic Universe, it doesn’t work

7:08	bosoxforlife: Am I the only one who thinks that both of the home teams not wearing their traditional jerseys is B—S—? The Rays haven’t been the Devil Rays for years. Baseball fandom is based on tradition, period!

7:08	Ben Clemens: I’d accept The Sandlot 2

7:09	shortstop: There already is a Sandlot 2. And it’s pretty good!

7:09	Adley’s Embrace: I’m working on an original NBA comedy at present, fwiw

7:09	Dan Szymborski: But is it set in the Kyrieverse?

7:10	CTA: Whenever I hear ARod I can’t help myself but think about his absurd “even over odd lead” comment. Still can’t believe he said what he said.

7:10	Adley’s Embrace: If by Kyrieverse you mean REALITY, then yes?

7:10	Ben Clemens: CTA, I don’t think you get it. A solo home run can’t tie you, and a grand slam can’t beat you.

7:11	Dan Szymborski: I liked A-Rod’s commentary back when they just used him in post-games the first couple years, but I do not like him a broadcaster full time

7:11	David Laurila: Nasty stuff, but Hicks not exactly commanding the baseball.

7:11	Appa Yip Yip: What kind of contract do you think Hicks gets this offseason? Are any teams going to promise to try him as a starter like he wants?

7:11	Ben Clemens: Yeah, perhaps not weirdly, as Hicks has started throwing harder he’s commanding the ball less

7:11	Dan Szymborski: I don’t think anyone pays him to be a starter given his health. He might have to take a significant discount to get that

7:11	Mike: 102.4 mph….how are you supposed to hit that? You have zero time to make up your mind.

7:11	Dan Szymborski: The thing with Jordan Hicks is a lot of games you can just decide to not swing.

7:12	Vin: I honestly don’t know why Mike Trout wasn’t part of Avengers Infinity War/Endgame

7:13	CTA: Ben, that must be it. I probably don’t get it because I am German and have no clue about baseball. By the way, let’s go Max Kepler and greetings out of Germany!

7:13	Ben Clemens: That A Rod rant is just an all time great

7:13	Ben Clemens: My wife has started doing it to me every time the Giants take an odd lead at a game we’re watching

7:15	Ben Clemens: Corbin Burnes starts things off with a clean half inning

7:16	David Laurila: George Springer, who has 19 postseason home runs, is due up fourth this inning.

7:17	Colton: Imagine being able to throw 105mph and just deciding, “Nope I’m gonna throw curveballs instead” lol Duran’s stuff is a joke

7:18	J: Duran starting with 6 curveballs in his first 7 pitches is fun

7:18	Colton: Wish they would’ve stayed on the game to see Duran’s entrance

7:19	Mike: all of MN expecting a walk here to up the tension….

7:20	David Laurila: Springer is last hitter the Twins want to see here.

7:20	Dan Szymborski: The Twins win! The Twins win!

7:20	MattStats5: Whew….nice job, Twinkies!

7:20	CTA: A playoff game n 2 hours, 40 minutes So great!

7:21	Ben Clemens: Indeed, he ended up being the last hitter they saw

7:21	David Laurila: My Twins to the World Series predictions remain in play.

7:22	Ben Clemens: Ketel Marte tried a deke on Christian Yelich there

7:22	Ben Clemens: and uh, it was not believable

7:22	Phil: You guys are like a minute and a half ahead of my feed, sigh.

7:23	Ben Clemens: Wow I’ve heard of lag but that’s brutal

7:24	Adley’s Embrace: I like rooting for Carlos Santana

7:24	Ben Clemens: I believe we’ll be welcoming in the night shift soon; me, Davy Andrews, and Kyle Kishimoto

7:25	Dan Szymborski: OK, that’s 4 1/2 hours of chat for me, so time for me to hit the dusty ol’ trail

7:26	Ben Clemens: Hop along, pardner

7:26	Ben Clemens: I don’t actually know what people said in the old west but you get the idea

7:26	Wireless Joe Jackson: Let’s mosey.

7:26	David Laurila: And my three-and-half hour shift will be ending shortly.

7:28	Ben Clemens: I’m very confused by this mound visit

7:28	Kwah: Writers strike ends and suddenly dudes in the profession think overtime pay should kick in at half a shift.

7:29	Ben Clemens: wow he Pfaadt his way out of a jam there

7:29	Ben Clemens: thank you, thank you, I’ll be here for the duration of this game give or take. Remember to tip your waiters

7:30	David Laurila: OK, dinner and recover from COVID vax time for me. Later, all.

7:30	Ben Clemens: Have a great night, David

7:30	Ben Clemens: …. and then there was one

7:31	Ben Clemens: I’m salivating at all the puns I can create in the recap for this game

7:31	Ben Clemens: Fought and Burns? yes please

7:32	bosoxforlife: Thank you Dan, David and all the rest for these chats. In the Fangraphs universe of wonderful articles, superb baseball information and great stats these chats are the the cherry on top.

7:32	Davy Andrews: Hi everybody! I just filed the Rangers/Rays story and am a little wiped but happy to be here.

7:33	Ben Clemens: You know, maybe we shouldn’t have both agreed to do recaps and chats at the same time

7:33	Ben Clemens: live and learn

7:33	Drinks at MoMo’s: Ben, your thoughts on the Giants and Kapler and Zaidi? We got Jay’s take during the early game but if I remember correctly you live in the Bay?

7:33	Davy Andrews: I knew it was a bad idea, but I love the chats. They make me feel like part of the team.

7:33	Ben Clemens: I do! And I too enjoy pregame drinks at MoMo’s. I am a bit sad that Kapler took the fall for Zaidi’s general planning

7:34	Ben Clemens: But I suppose that it’s easier to woo a player if your front office seems somewhat stable, and they want Ohtani

7:34	Ben Clemens: They need a star badly

7:35	Ben Clemens: A team that is so good at turning 1 WAR players into 2.5 WAR players should not be struggling as much as they are

7:35	Drinks at MoMo’s: Does a player and their agent compare more about a front office than a clubhouse manager?

7:35	Ben Clemens: I think that not every player does, but for Ohtani coming off of the whole Anaheim disaster, I think he wants to be sold on a winner

7:35	Ben Clemens: I think that’s an easier pitch to make for Farhan than for a new GM/POBO

7:36	Ben Clemens: All speculative. But I want Ohtani so bad

7:36	Drinks at MoMo’s: I also definitely want them to fire the money cannon at Ohtani

7:36	Ben Clemens: and if they don’t get him, an extra year with Farhan is not gonna kill them. It might even be good. I feel like he’s good! He just cannot figure out how to get stars

7:36	Francoeurstein: Ben, I saw some of the commenters earlier mentioned that Kepler lost the clubhouse. If that’s true, I think it’s perfectly reasonable that he got axed.

7:36	Ben Clemens: Yeah, I heard conflicting reports about that

7:36	Ben Clemens: That’s on Farhan, though! Kapler was hand picked

7:37	Drinks at MoMo’s: Gausman was a star and they chose not to keep him

7:37	Ben Clemens: A misstep for sure

7:37	Ben Clemens: did everyone have Christian Walker as the first base stealer for Arizona?

7:38	Davy Andrews: I did not, but I did check his stolen base totals yesterday.

7:38	bosoxforlife: Christian Walker, almost incognito, has emerged as quite an offensive player.

7:39	Davy Andrews: I love the way his line worked out. His xwOBA dropped, but his BABIP jumped up to make it look like he had the exact same year.

7:39	Ben Clemens: This seems like a good time to plug Jon Becker’s managerial vacancy matrix

7:39	Ben Clemens: https://twitter.com/jonbecker_/status/1709050395941536015

7:40	Phil: As someone who has hired people, I’m not sure I should be fired if someone I hired didn’t work out. It’s not always easy to see how people will perform in a given situation. (I know that’s not really what you’re saying.)

7:40	Ben Clemens: Oh totally

7:40	Ben Clemens: You just want to hit for a good average

7:40	Davy Andrews: I disagree. Somebody Fire Phil.

7:41	Wireless Joe Jackson: Hey, did anybody hear that the Twins won a playoff game today?

7:41	Davy Andrews: I did not see anything about the game except that Royce Lewis, my brother in torn ACLs, hit two homers.

7:41	Ben Clemens: That said, as a manager, a lot of your success should be measured by how the people under you do

7:41	Ben Clemens: I loooooooove the Twins alternates. Not a huge fan of the classic Rays ones but today’s are glorious

7:42	Colton: Also, I’m fully on board the Kapler to STL train. I still haven’t found a single solid reason why they’re sticking with Oli for another year.

7:42	Davy Andrews: Ben, I published this one just because I want to hear what you think about it.

7:42	Ben Clemens: I mean, sure

7:42	Ben Clemens: They seem similar!

7:43	Ben Clemens: I don’t have great insight into managerial decisions in general

7:43	Ben Clemens: like I’m not really sure what the knocks on Marmol are aside from like, the Cards sucked this year

7:43	Ben Clemens: man, they sucked!

7:44	Phil: Davy, today was one of those days I’d be OK with that. Glad to find you lot hanging out.

7:44	Davy Andrews: We’ve all been there.

7:45	Kwah: Oh wow, didn’t realize Josh Donaldson is a starter for Milwaukee … … I just suddenly became a huge fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks!

7:45	Ben Clemens: Oh, rare random gambling content. I like to make a few random prop bets on each WC series. I took: Rays o13.5 runs +220, Jays u5.5 runs +215, Marlins -5.5 runs +240, and this one that i LOVE Brewers u7.5 runs +240

7:45	Ben Clemens: Feeling rough about the Rays one

7:45	RTJ: What’s your favorite “I just got on first base” celebration?

7:47	Davy Andrews: The Rays really stole my heart with the initials. Just adorable. (Also, I will forever hold a tiny grudge against the guys who don’t do it. I watched hundreds of clips hoping to see Margot and Siri flash an M, J, or an S.)

7:45	Ben Clemens: the Dodgers barrels are overrated ‘ow I jammed my hands’ thing

7:45	Ben Clemens: but there are a lot of good ones

7:45	Ben Clemens: and we have an expert here

7:46	Wireless Joe Jackson: So, a no-outs sac bunt to advance the runner to second in the second inning?

7:46	Adley’s Embrace: What’s the o/u on bunts for day one? Cause I think we’re over.

7:46	Ben Clemens: I got a text from a good friend of mine, “I thought the Rays were an analytics team” lol

7:47	Wireless Joe Jackson: Three runs has to seem like a LOT when you’ve been scoring like the Dbacks have lately.

7:48	Ben Clemens: yeah, oof

7:48	Ben Clemens: Pfaadt is looking…. a lot like Brandon Pfaadt

7:48	HappyFunBall: Donaldson’s pretty slow. He might not have scored there had the bunt not moved him over….

7:48	Drinks at MoMo’s: 3 runs also a lot when facing Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee bullpen

7:48	Wireless Joe Jackson: Pfaadt pitching like Grayson Rodriguez (1st half version)

7:48	Adley’s Embrace: He’s a AA pitcher

7:49	Ben Clemens: Just like Grayson Rodriguez (first half version)

7:48	Drinks at MoMo’s: Any idea why the Twins went for the white triangle on the front of the caps sometimes? to me it looks weird without an Oriole in there

7:49	Davy Andrews: I do not know, but I have also been wondering for a long time why their infield dirt is darker than every other team’s. I even sent a DM to them on twitter, but didn’t get a reply.

7:49	Wireless Joe Jackson: This is a great, great booth. Can we have this for the whole playoffs?

7:49	Ben Clemens: 100% agree, love Boog

7:49	Davy Andrews: Absolutely.

7:49	bosoxforlife: I find it very hard to find any reason why the Cardinals should not fire Marmol. The Tyler O’Neil incident alone is enough. It was handled horribly and the season wasn’t exactly a glorious success.

7:49	Ben Clemens: Yeah okay, the O’Neill incident, totally agree. That was awful.

7:50	Kwah: TyGone TayloHR

7:50	Davy Andrews: Kwah, I have really missed you.

7:50	Drinks at MoMo’s: How many Boogs are there, and does anyone know how Sciambi became one?

7:50	Ben Clemens: do you think you pronounce it tai-gonn or tai-goan?

7:51	Davy Andrews: I thought it was Qui-Gon

7:51	Ben Clemens: In honor of first team all star wars name Jace Peterson

7:51	Ben Clemens: Pfaadt’s last name fits, but Brandon is a bit lukewarm

7:51	Davy Andrews: I love a good BACK scream when the pitcher throws over.

7:52	Steve O: (the Dbacks probably should’ve bullpen’d this game)

7:52	Ben Clemens: They might end up doing it anyway

7:52	Drinks at MoMo’s: Brice Turang clear #2 star wars name in this game

7:53	Ben Clemens: Sal Frelick isn’t bad either. He could run a scrap shop in Mos Eisley.

7:53	Davy Andrews: Man, you guys are good.

7:54	Davy Andrews: Have we played Lord of the Rings names? Because that could be fun too.

7:54	Ben Clemens: FanGraphs shoutout on the broadcast, I love it

7:54	Ben Clemens: Oh man I don’t know how to tell if something is a good LoTR name but I’m happy to try

7:54	Wireless Joe Jackson: Hey, Fangraphs-credited playoff odds in the postseason national broadcast!

7:55	Ben Clemens: There are a lot of FanGraphs odds on the apple broadcasts too, as I learned by watching all of them.

7:56	Ben Clemens: Ironic given how bad the internal odds are

7:55	Drinks at MoMo’s: I love picking teams based on names. All-time ends in “ez” team is a good first one to try if you don’t have experience in the genre

7:56	Davy Andrews: Freddie Freeman and Nico Hoerner could be ok hobbit names.

7:56	Drinks at MoMo’s: Corbin son of Carroll could be a rider of Rohan

7:58	CTA: Are you guys making any money when these odds are used on the broadcast?

7:58	Ben Clemens: My views are my own and do not reflect the opinions of FanGraphs, but uh, no. We’re paid in exposure like gaslit millennials everywhere

7:59	Biscuit: Lars Nootbaar LOTR name

7:59	Biscuit: Sixto Sanchez Star Wars

7:59	Ben Clemens: Brewers legend Sixto Lezcano even better

7:59	Adley’s Embrace: Careful. You can die from exposure.

7:59	Ben Clemens: Corbin Carroll!

7:59	Kwah: CoHRbin Carroll

7:59	Zach: Oh my god that ball was smashed

7:59	Ben Clemens: Burnes has been struggling with command today

7:59	Drinks at MoMo’s: Corbin son of Carroll lends his battle-axe to the cause

8:00	Wireless Joe Jackson: Corbin Carroll just doesn’t look like someone who should be able to hit a baseball that hard.

8:00	Ben Clemens: He missed the 2021 season because his shoulder exploded from swinging too hard!

8:00	Davy Andrews: Well that happened fast.

8:00	Kwah: Ketel MaHRte

8:01	Ben Clemens: Corbin Carroll is so fun

8:01	Ben Clemens: Like, goodness

8:02	Ben Clemens: “Burnes Burned as Arizona Outlasts Milwaukee in Hard-Pfaadt Battle” writes itself

8:02	Ben Clemens: let’s see if it happens

8:02	Wireless Joe Jackson: “Corbin-on-Corbin crime.”

8:03	Davy Andrews: I’m not sure I like this new strategy where Burnes just lets the D-Backs hit it really hard.

8:04	Tweak: Dang, he smacked that ball

8:04	CTA: The pov angle always makes me think I could have hit that one while in reality I would probably start my swing when the ball already hit the catcher’s glove.

8:05	Davy Andrews: That is definitely not what I think when I see that angle.

8:05	Justin Verseaer: Arizona Diamondsmacks? Diamondshellacks? Diamondwhacks?

8:05	HappyFunBall: If they keep hitting the ball this hard, Milwaukee will be too tired by the late innings to do much…right?

8:05	Davy Andrews: The Rope-A-Dope!

8:06

Ben Clemens: I play co-ed rec league softball, and last night the one woman on our team had to bat 3x every time through our lineup because we didn’t have enough to satisfy the minimum. I can confirm that she ended up quite tired from having to swing too often. She’s pretty good, but not major league caliber, to be fair.

8:05	Davy Andrews: I need to plan my headlines beforehand. Mine are always boring because I leave them for the very end, and I have run out of brain.

8:08	Drinks at MoMo’s: orion kerkering star wars name?

8:09	Davy Andrews: Very solid.

8:09	bosoxforlife: Can’t you guys tell me when something big is about to happen. I go to the kitchen for 5 minutes and return to find back-to-back jacks and a 3-3 tie.

8:09	Davy Andrews: I’m delayed because I’m watching on a Roku. But I apologize all the same.

8:10	Drinks at MoMo’s: and I think Bryson Stott is distantly related to Peregrin Took

8:10	Davy Andrews: Also really good.

8:10	CTA: Pfaadt still in? Surprising.

8:10	Cookie Bitts: I knew Mookie had a decent chance at playing SS well when LA moved him around. Freddie Freeman was a great 3B and probably would be gold glove if chipper didn’t move him off the position

8:11	Davy Andrews: I don’t know about the Freeman portion, but anybody who doubts Mookie’s ability to do just about anything at all is in for a rude awakening.

8:12	Drinks at MoMo’s: Ben, did you do the Luis Arraez exit velo story? is 103 in his sweet spot?

8:12	Ben Clemens: I did not but I love thinking about Arraez

8:13	Ben Clemens: unless I did, because I’ve written about him a lot

8:13	Ben Clemens: it’s actually a bit hard for him, tbh

8:13	Davy Andrews: I pitched an article about whether teams should try playing a softball-style shortfielder against him, but nothing came of it.

8:13	Ben Clemens: that’s more in the ‘carry to an outfielder’ range given his launch angle

8:14	Ben Clemens: okay, scratch that, I did write that article

8:14	Ben Clemens: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/luis-arraez-doesnt-even-slump-normally/

8:14	Ben Clemens: Lot of stories, can’t be expected to remember all of them

8:14	Rog: Elite defense, Phillies Baseball? Have I been missing something?

8:15	Davy Andrews: Did anybody else hear Tim Kurkjian say, “I’ve never seen a bad defensive team do anything in the postseason”? Because I did, and I guess he must’ve missed last year’s World Series.

8:15	Adley’s Embrace: Which NL game should I be watching?

8:15	Ben Clemens: Start in Milwaukee

8:15	Ben Clemens: It’s been really fun

8:16	Ben Clemens: @davy it’s hard to talk about baseball as much as he does

8:16	Davy Andrews: That is very fair.

8:16	Ben Clemens: bound to be some bad takes in there

8:16	Ben Clemens: but yes…. bad take

8:17	Ben Clemens: Honestly, he probably thinks Castellanos turned into Roberto Clemente last postseason and so isn’t counting it

8:17	Davy Andrews: He did slide a lot.

8:18	Tweak: The Arizona-Milwaukee game has been so much fun so far. With that said, I still think Pfaadt and Burnes aren’t really pitching THAT bad so far, despite the score. Pfaadt is mixing his pitches well, to my eyes.

8:18	Ben Clemens: I think Pfaadt has outpitched Burnes

8:18	Ben Clemens: that HR was some hard luck, really. Sometimes you just get got

8:18	Tweak: Wait did they just take Pfaadt out?

8:18	Ben Clemens: Yeah

8:19	Ben Clemens: Also I have to recommend YouTube TV’s multiview if you haven’t tried it

8:19	Ben Clemens: both games side by side, you can alternate sound, and if you click on either it maximizes

8:19	Ben Clemens: I’m not a huge fan of the overlap but this makes it more bearable

8:21	Bodly: Ooh, nice. I re-subscribed to youtube.tv just for the playoffs.

8:21	Ben Clemens: My wife works for Google, and I’m a company man. That said, I think it’s pretty good

8:21	Rog: What’s with these 3rd base coaches being so conservative? Thought Beasley holding Heim earlier today was questionable too. It’s the postseason!! Don’t clam up

8:21	Ben Clemens: The Schwarber one was awful, what in the world

8:23	Ben Clemens: Every time I hear Joe Mantiply’s name, I hear “mantiply, divide, add, subtract” in my head

8:23	Ben Clemens: I dislike him irrationally as a result

8:23	Davy Andrews: Interesting. I think of a praying mantis.

8:23	Davy Andrews: (Which I also don’t love.)

8:23	Tweak: My brain thinks high quality toilet paper

8:24	Bodly: My brain went to manticore

8:26	Kwah: ESPN/TBS/Fangraphs/etc. ought to bring in Joc Pederson as a special color correspondent during every Tommy Pham plate appearance this October. #slap #slapgate

8:26	Ben Clemens: I’d watch. Joc is a great interview

8:26	Davy Andrews: He really is.

8:26	Ben Clemens: There was a chance for the run through the base play there and Josh Donaldson did not take it

8:27	Birdie: That’s former All-Star Joe Mantiply to you

8:27	Ben Clemens: okay I also always think that

8:27	Davy Andrews: I love that play from Stott. Few things more fun that watching somebody get around the ball like that.

8:28	FanGraphs: Our latest World Series odds after almost a full day of Wild Card action have the Oakland Athletics with a 24.4% chance of winning it all! Will Brent Rooker take the A’s to the promised land?

8:29	Davy Andrews: It appears that the website has become alive. This happens to computers and robots sometimes.

8:31	Kwah: Gonebriel Moreno

8:31	bosoxforlife: The Jays had 3 catchers and decided to trade the best one.

8:32	Wireless Joe Jackson: Are you struggling with…. homeritis? Try this one weird trick! Pitching coaches can’t believe it!

8:32	Ben Clemens: Have you guys been following Brent Rooker on Twitter? The guy is a gem

8:33	Davy Andrews: I may have tweeted at him asking if he wanted to co-author an article last night.

8:33	Davy Andrews: He has not replied.

8:33	Bodly: Fangraphs name-check on the DBacks-Brewers game

8:34	Davy Andrews: fWAR Boog? You’re making us blush.

8:35	Davy Andrews: According to statcast, Burnes has allowed eight hard-hit balls over four innings, which seems not ideal.

8:36	Justin Choi: He had breakfast recs AND a discussion about a deadzone heater vs. an elite sinkner

8:36	Davy Andrews: Is this the real Justin?!

8:36	Ben Clemens: Justin hi!

8:36	Elon Musk: @Ben Clemens, I think you mean “X.”

8:36	Ben Clemens: the everything app

8:36	Ohtani is the greatest: His VORP alone should end the discussion

8:37	Ben Clemens: Christian Pache, playoff starter, what a world we live in

8:37	Justin Choi: Hello! And no, this is Patrick

8:37	Davy Andrews: Welcome, fake Justin.

8:38	Roi: Live footage of Wheeler right now.., (insert image of dashboard ‘cruise control’ light)

8:38	Ben Clemens: just make sure he does not take his hands off the wheel

8:38	Ben Clemens: as current chat contributor Elon Musk has made very clear in recent yeras

8:38	FanGraphs: The Baltimore Orioles have let go of manager Brandon Hyde, per sources. The news comes after owner John Angelos wanted to give his players “a challenge” for the postseason because everything has came “too easy for them.”

8:39	Ben Clemens: Look, that’s more believable than our A’s playoff odds

8:39	Roi: I think Schwarber has more singles tonight (1) than he did in all of September.

8:40	Tweak: The Phillies and Rangers are both giving me playoff super teams vibes

8:41	Ben Clemens: I feel like Miguel Castro would be better if he adopted Kevin Durant’s “Slim Reaper” nickname

8:41	Bodly: I love how fielders look at their glove after they muff a ball

8:41	Ben Clemens: I thought we were friends! And you do this

8:42	Davy Andrews: Sometimes it really is the glove’s fault, man.

8:41	Davy Andrews: Castro in for ARI. I love watching him pitch, even when it doesn’t go well.

8:43	Drinks at MoMo’s: Will the Marlins-Phillies game catch up to Brewers-Dbacks? only one inning behind!

8:43	Ben Clemens: Zack Wheeler is a machine

8:43	Davy Andrews: That’s a compliment. Would it be an insult to call him a pitching machine?

8:43	Ben Clemens: and don’t sleep on Luzardo

8:44	Ben Clemens: it would be uncomfortable, for one thing

8:44	Ben Clemens: and I doubt he’d be into it

8:44	Davy Andrews: Everybody has their thing.

8:44	Davy Andrews: The Ohtani commercial is playing during both games right now!

8:44	Davy Andrews: The convergence!

8:45	Davy Andrews: The Ohtanissance.

8:45	FanGraphs: The FanGraphs JotSpot AI has reportedly resigned from commenting, per sources. The news comes after “none of his comments were approved by moderators.” We’ll be sure to provide updates on this breaking story as it plays out.

8:45	Davy Andrews: Not publishing all of them is not the same as not enjoying them.

8:46	Kwah: Haven’t seen a Castro shut down the Brewers this effectively since Fidel seized & nationalized the rum industry.

8:46	Davy Andrews: Wouldn’t they be the distillers?

8:46	Davy Andrews:

8:46	O’s fan: Stott’s defense has been incredible tonight. Great to see a young player like him step up to the big moment time after time

8:47	Ben Clemens: He’s a deserving gold glover

8:47	Eric Longenhagen: Speaking of moderators, you guys forgot to add me as a mod

8:47	Ben Clemens: Hi Eric, amazing to see all these FanGraphs writers showing up anonymously.

8:47	Davy Andrews: Hi Eric!

8:47	Davy Andrews: How do we prove that it’s you?

8:48	Ben Clemens: Obviously he has to tell us something only he would know

8:48	Ben Clemens: or do the secret FG handshake

8:48	Davy Andrews: How tall is Dylan Crews? You have four seconds to reply.

8:48	Davy Andrews: There’s a handshake?!

8:48	Eric Longenhagen: 6’3″

8:48	Ben Clemens: crap, Eric, Davy’s onto us!

8:48	Bodly: Next season Ohtani will be half-traded to the Dodgers where he will pitch but continue to play in the field for the Angels

8:49	Drinks at MoMo’s: Owners from whom you most expect absurdities? Fisher, Angelos, Moreno, Reinsdorf? Anyone else?

8:49	Ben Clemens: Monfort

8:49	O’s fan: Angelos

8:50	Ben Clemens: Kendrick

8:50	Davy Andrews: Musk

8:50	CharlieOBrien: steinbrenner .. his absurdides are normalized

8:50	FanGraphs: Big news for Royals fans: The team drafted top high school pitcher Zack Greinke with the 6th pick in this year’s 02′ Draft. Will he ever reach the stardom of flame-throwing closer Jason Grimsley?

8:50	Craig Goldstein: Brandon Pfaadt’s sterling 2.2 IP 7 H 3 R performance will live on in the sickos HOF

8:51	Davy Andrews: Star-studded chat tonight.

8:51	Elon Musk: I will take that as a compliment

8:52	Ben Clemens: I had no idea Pfaadt gave up seven hits

8:52	Ben Clemens: it was somehow a quiet seven hits

8:52	Kyle Kishimoto: i have arrived!

8:52	Davy Andrews: And a walk.

8:52	Davy Andrews: Hi Kyle!

8:52	Davy Andrews: You guys, Kyle is here.

8:52	J: Hi Kyle

8:53	FanGraphs: Per StatCast: Tonight’s game marks the 17th time that Mitch Keller has thrown for 32+ K’s through three innings. Will he be able to throw his 8th career perfect game in the postseason?

8:53	Davy Andrews: What is going on with you, Kyle?

8:53	RTJ: The best part of speeding up the game is slowing it down to examine what counts as a mound visit

8:53	Aaron Judge: It’s me guys! Aaron Judge. I’m Aaron Judge. I wear 99

8:53	Davy Andrews: This one really made laugh, Aaron Judge.

8:54	Floyd: Nothing gets the sickos happier than lengthy on-field debates over what constitutes a mound visit

8:54	Adley’s Embrace: It’s not a mound visit if you don’t leave a carte de visite

8:54	Ed: Do you guys expect Kevin Cash to stick with the same lineup tomorrow?

8:54	Davy Andrews: They’ll probably wear different unis as well.

8:54	Kyle Kishimoto: no, they’re facing a righty and the rays run different lineups pretty much every day

8:54	Drinks at MoMo’s: Arson Judge will be here soon too

8:54	Justin Choi: Can we also get Bruce Hooper in the chat

8:54	Finnegan’s SSW: What was the kerfuffle in the Brewers/Dbacks game about?

8:55	Ben Clemens: Ohhhh boy. So Carlos Santana hurt his hand. Burnes pointed it out to the dugout, Counsell came out. The DBacks wanted a mound visit charged b/c they’re petty, I guess?

8:55	Ben Clemens: But like, then we wasted five minutes for some reason?

8:55	andrusszn11: Why isnt “fangraphs” a mod because he’s clearly an intern at the company trying to work his way up the ranks through pure comedic ability

8:55	Davy Andrews: That lane is taken, I’m afraid.

8:56	Ben Clemens: It’s actually taken a few times. Davy has the extended bits, I’m more of a one-liner type, Dan is an acquired taste

8:55	Bodly: Do the Rays have a less than 4 error lineup?

8:56	FanGraphs: Per @JonHeyman: Arson Judge appears headed to Giants. Judge hit for an AL-record 2 home runs in the regular season.

8:56	Chet Manley: Tardy to the party so not sure if it’s been said but it didn’t seem like Pfaadt was that bad? Obviously homer isn’t good but a lot of weak hit balls finding holes and whatnot

8:57	Ben Clemens: Agree. I was shocked to see he’d allowed so many hits, and the homer was the kind where you go eh, bad luck, let’s move on

8:57

Cookie Bitts: Does less rounds of the draft help bigger markets? It seems like the Dodgers have found success recently with undrafted free agents like 2B/Utility Austin Gauthier, RP Jake Pilarski, and RP Justin Bruihl. Those guys might’ve been harder to find if the draft more than double the current size.

8:57	Davy Andrews: I’ll let fake Eric answer this one.

8:57	Adley’s Embrace: Is he named for Abner Doubleday tho?

8:58	Kyle Kishimoto: abner doubleday would faint on the spot if he saw how hard abner uribe can throw

8:58	Fake Eric: Yes

8:58	Davy Andrews: Well, that settles that.

8:58	RTJ: I love relievers because every day there’s a new one I’ve never heard of that throws 100 and has a matching 1.00 era

8:59	Kyle Kishimoto: baumann wrote about him last month! https://blogs.fangraphs.com/abner-uribe-or-else/

8:59	Adley’s Embrace: People from that era fainted all the time

8:59	Davy Andrews: Fun Fact: If you curved the brim of Uribe’s hat even slightly, his fastball would immediately drop to the mid-80s.

8:59	FanGraphs: Per @MLB Trade Rumors: Star outfield duo Ben Clemens and Davy Andrews want out of Los Angeles. Despite their combined .456 AVG/203 HR performance, the Angels fell 12 games behind the Royals for the last wild card spot.

8:59	J: Boog Sciambi a few notches above anyone else doing play by play today

8:59	O’s fan: I’m waiting for Michael Baumann to write about his namesake player

9:00	Kyle Kishimoto: he has! https://blogs.fangraphs.com/michael-baumann-on-mike-baumann/

9:00	Chet Manley: And for every one that throws 100 and has a 1.00 ERA there’s one that throws 100 and has a 5.50 ERA!

9:00	Chet Manley: (That was not anti-velocity that was just lol everyone throws hard now)

9:00	Arizona Time: Ask fake Eric his thoughts on making the bases bigger by another 3 inches. Please and thank you

9:00	O’s fan: Thanks Mr. Kishimoto!

9:01	Drinks at MoMo’s: Boog Sciambi is a few notches above most people doing play by play any day

9:01	Bodly: I would for real just watch a feed of the Fangraphs hot takes

9:01	O’s fan: I should’ve looked harder

9:01	Davy Andrews: There’s always room to grow.

9:01	Kyle Kishimoto: abner doubleday would also pass out if he saw a 90 mph slider that moved like that

9:01	Michael Haneke Paneke: RTJ-one year one of those random relievers turned out to have gone to the same tiny North Dakota teachers college I had gone to. One-stoplight town! RIP Nick Anderson. (I’m sure he’s not dead, he’s just gone wherever those relievers go after their arms blow up.)

9:01	Fake Eric: Why stop at 3 inches?

9:02	FanGraphs: Per Brandon Hyde: The entirety of the Orioles roster is questionable to start game 1 at home of the ALDS. An entire roster of suburban 14U soccer players has been signed in their place, as most fans can’t tell the difference between the two

9:02	Davy Andrews: As someone who grew up playing travel soccer in the DMV, don’t sleep on these kids.

9:02	Arizona Time: Fake Eric is the innovator baseball always needed. Genius move

9:02	Ben Clemens: I stopped to start my recap and you guys got some HEAT in in the meantime

9:03	O’s fan: MLB Gameday: “Christian Walker Walks” Classic

9:03	Kyle Kishimoto: another win for nominative determinism

9:03	Ben Clemens: pitching coach Hook not pulling Uribe is ruining your fancy college philosophy words

9:04	Kyle Kishimoto: he’s not pulling my what?

9:04	Davy Andrews: Manager Counsell has some advice for you.

9:04	Bodly: Wheeler dealin’. Time to pull him for a reliever.

9:04	Floyd: Cubs fans who don’t like Boog need to spend more time watching other broadcasts. We all miss Len but Boog is a gem.

9:05	Davy Andrews: Is this a thing? People who don’t like Boog?

9:04	Ben Clemens: Question for all of you who are roughly the same age as me. When you hear Wade Miley’s name, do you think about the Miley Cyrus song “See You Again” and specifically the line where she says “My best friend Leslie says oh she’s just being Miley”?

9:06	Davy Andrews: No, but I don’t know her music well.

9:05	Ben Clemens: my wife dropped ‘oh he’s just being Miley” on me once when he was pitching and I can’t get it out of my head ever since

9:06	Patrick Corbin “Carroll” Burnes: Over/under, 0.5 steals of home this postseason?

9:06	Davy Andrews: I was soooo hoping Randy would do it. He was dancing off third and I believed in him.

9:06	Kyle Kishimoto: as much as it would be awesome to see, i’ll take the under

9:06	Ben Clemens: yeah, smash the under

9:06	Orioles Roster: Colton, Adley, Gunnar, Austin, Jordan, Grayson. O’s are building a team full of names that sounds like a youth soccer team

9:06	Kyle Kishimoto: as someone who teaches little kids, wow this is accurate

9:06	Ben Clemens: Someone needs to walk through their clubhouse going “Madison?! Madison!?” like they’ve lost a child in there

9:06	Justin Choi: Gen Z me thinks of Party in the USA which is one of the greatest pop songs of all time

9:07	Davy Andrews: It is an excellent song, though I prefer Dunder Mifflin is a part of Sabre.

9:07	Ben Clemens: Respect

9:07	O’s fan: True

9:07	Davy Andrews: Quick News Blast:

9:07	FanGraphs: Per Sports Illustrated: Right-wing conspiracy theorists have been “unable” to prove that the Twins’ win tonight didn’t actually happen. A huge blow to their political movement.

9:07	FanGraphs: 72-year old pitcher Bert Blyleven has been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul, per manager Rocco Baldelli. “We think he’s got five more years left in him.”

9:08	Kyle Kishimoto: it is time for my annual groveling about mid game player/manager interviews

9:09	Davy Andrews: Have at it.

9:08	Ben Clemens: I told a non-baseball friend of mine Adley’s name when he asked me who the O’s best player was and he just straight up would not believe me

9:08	Ben Clemens: “Adley??”

9:08	Davy Andrews: Wow. Bloop down the right field line from Castellanos. Playoff Nick Castellanos makes that play.

9:09	Davy Andrews: Oh, and he fully flipped off his own dugout.

9:09	Bodly: Bert still

9:09	Fake Eric: Some in the industry are saying youth soccer team names are the new market inefficiency

9:09	Ben Clemens: You heard it here first

9:09	RTJ: Talk about a first base celebration

9:09	Ben Clemens: Davy, when can we expect your article about this?

9:10	Davy Andrews: Here’s the thing: I’m sure the Phils will do something even wilder very soon.

9:09	Kyle Kishimoto: holy heck frelick is fast

9:10	Davy Andrews: Two on, no out in both games.

9:10	Davy Andrews: Wait, nevermind.

9:11	RTJ: Josh Donaldson. Yankees could use a guy like that

9:11	Michael Haneke Paneke: Brice Turang’s pedigree is just silly. Dad an MLBer, Mom a college softball star, two sisters are college softball players, a third a college soccer player, a fourth a college volleyball player. COME ON!!!

9:11	Kyle Kishimoto: 30 grade power, 80 grade genetics

9:11	Bodly: heck of a throw

9:12	Tweak: Stott with a great hit. Chisholm with a great pirouette after his throw.

9:12	Bunk: Jazz is fun to watch

9:12	O’s fan: As a Diamondback’s sympathetic, I’m stressed

9:12	Bodly: Brice Turang? That sounds like a video game name generator name

9:12	FanGraphs: Disheveled Yankee fans are reportedly coming to terms with the fact that they might not win the World Series this year- “At least we’re still in the playoffs, right? Right?”

9:12	Ben Clemens: This delayed HBP call in the Brewers/DBacks game is awful

9:12	Ben Clemens: what was the ump doing?

9:12	Kyle Kishimoto: i don’t think that hit him?

9:12	Ben Clemens: it definitely did not

9:12	Davy Andrews: Me neither.

9:12	Ben Clemens: and he also waited about five seconds to call it

9:12	Justin Choi: Oh wow thought Jazz had no shot at getting Castellanos

9:12	Ben Clemens: he had no idea

9:12	Fake Eric: My sources are saying that ball did not hit him

9:13	Patrick Corbin “Carroll” Burnes: “let me consult the Jumbotron before I make my call”

9:13	Ben Clemens: 100%

9:13	Ben Clemens: That ball missed him by… like at least an inch?

9:13	Kyle Kishimoto: the review looks pretty unambiguous

9:13	Davy Andrews: I wish that every time I wrote a good joke, I could have the Phillies dugout cheering me on.

9:14	Kyle Kishimoto: would you rather have an MLB player cheer for you or flip you off?

9:14	Davy Andrews: I mean, I’d take either.

9:14	CharlieOBrien: Brice Turang is the Sebastian Korda of baseball

9:14	Ben Clemens: Saw an interview with him that was basically “yeah I’m the failure of the family”

9:14	Ben Clemens: Korda, I mean

9:14	Joey Caltrain: I’m not even sure who the Marlins’ control person is right now, but if they chose to buy into/work for the Miami Marlins, who knows what other absurdities we should expect from them

9:14	Ben Clemens: Hey, did you guys know that the review needs to be clear and obvious to overturn?

9:14	RTJ: Remember guys, the review needs to be clear and obvious.

9:14	Kyle Kishimoto: well, it was

9:15	J: We should have an honor system where if you act like you got hit but didn’t you suffer a minor electric shock

9:15	Ben Clemens: 100%

9:15	Ben Clemens: Don’t forget, it needs to be clear and obvious

9:15	Ben Clemens: The real key here is that it needs to be both obvious and clear

9:16	O’s fan: I can feel a schwarbomb coming

9:16	Davy Andrews: Get the hamburger phone.

9:16	Bodly: I hate it when it’s obvious but not clear

9:16	Joey Caltrain: The mound visit argument + overturned hit by pitch have been a lot of dramatic umpiring this last inning or so

9:16	Ben Clemens: Yeah, an ump show in the playoffs is always sad

9:16	Tottenham v. Newcastle: Sometimes the play is both clear and obvious and the goal is still disallowed because the VAR doesn’t know what the call on the field was

9:16	Ben Clemens: I know this reference! Thanks Matt and Jeff in my soccer chat

9:17	Ben Clemens: You guys should totally look this up if you haven’t seen it. Outrageous stuff is going on in the UK. I blame Liz Truss still

9:17	Kyle Kishimoto: ryan thompson is on the dbacks ??

9:17	Ryan Thompson: yes I am. I am a dback now

9:18	Tottenham v. Liverpool: Got the teams wrong, but point stands

9:18	Davy Andrews: Wrong TTO, O’s fan.

9:18	O’s fan: Nvm classic schwarber AB there

9:19	Drinks at MoMo’s: is Ryne Nelson the first starting pitcher to extend his team’s pen in this postseason?

9:19	Ben Clemens: It appears that way, yes, though I never reallllly know who’s a starter on the Rays

9:19	Adley’s Embrace: Didn’t see the Phils highlight til now. That Castellanos slide was terrible.

9:20	@kevincash: What’s a starter?

9:20	Kyle Kishimoto: glasnow faced 28 batters today!

9:20	Xavier: Due to the fact that Schwarber strayed from the three true outcomes already in this game, it is truly a wild card to know what to expect from him moving forward

9:20	bosoxforlife: We pass the 2 hour mark in the bottom of the 5th. The return of the 4 hour 9 inning game is a bit of the past that I can do without.

9:21	Ben Clemens: It’s even worse now, b/c it comes with an ump show and implies the pitchers are missing location

9:21	Jake Mailhot: Yo

9:21	Kyle Kishimoto: jake!

9:21	Davy Andrews: I should probably confess at this point that I am an imposter too.

9:21	Kyle Kishimoto: oh m ygod

9:21	Adley’s Embrace: Longo!

9:21	Davy Andrews: Wow wow.

9:22	RTJ: wow that completely fooled the camera person

9:22	Fake Eric: This Longoria guy could prove to become a franchise cornerstone some day

9:22	Drinks at MoMo’s: Jake congratulations on weathering all the hate against the power rankings all year

9:22	the real Davy Andrews: Yeah, stop impersonating me

9:22	FanGraphs: The MLB has drawn in 20,000,000 viewers for Marlins-Phillies after putting the words “Taylor’s Version” at the end of the game title. Truly a sad day for sports as we know it.

9:23	Ben Clemens: well now I can tell this is fake, because I don’t think we’d call that a sad day for sports. Taylor should date Ohtani

9:22	Bodly: Eva Longoria would not have made that play

9:23	Ben Clemens: I mean, you don’t know that

9:22	Kwah: Evan Longoldgloveria

9:23	J: Feels worth mentioning that the third basemen this game being Longoria and Donaldson is wild

9:23	Kanye: Imma let you finish but the Twins had one of the best playoff games of all time!

9:23	Ben Clemens: Of all time!

9:24	Ben Clemens: You know, obviously in retrospect things have gone sideways since then, but Kanye wasn’t wrong. The Single Ladies music video is iconic

9:24	Minnesota Twins: I can’t argue with that

9:24	O’s fan: Alright who do you think is MVP across the games today so far: Wheeler, Montgomery, or Royce Lewis

9:24	Kyle Kishimoto: monty

9:24	Ben Clemens: Royce for me

9:25	Davy Andrews: Lewis, but it’s close.

9:25	Davy Andrews: I don’t like to disagree with Kyle.

9:26	Kyle Kishimoto: lewis is a good one too, perhaps i’m biased b/c i wrote the series preview and said something to the effect of “if texas wants to win they need big time volume from their starters”

9:25	Joey Caltrain: Is the headline for the game recap just gonna be some play on “Twins (finally) win!”?

9:25	Ben Clemens: I think I’d go with “(A Long-Awaited) Win! Twins!”

9:26	Minnesota Twins: Yes. Yes it is

9:26	Davy Andrews: I love when you know that someone dropped a big F-bomb because the field mic cut out for a second.

9:27	Kyle Kishimoto: gonna take this opportunity to force people to read davy’s work https://blogs.fangraphs.com/myles-straw-ventures-into-foul-territory/

9:28

Floyd: Sorry, went to make dinner. But yeah, there’s a weird subset of Cubs fans who don’t like Boog. Possibly as many as 1 in 3. I’m not sure why exactly, even though my brother is one of them. If I had to theorize, their complaints are:he’s a “national guy” and has no ties to the Cubs/Chicago and they see him calling national games

9:28	the real Davy Andrews: If you don’t read it I’m kicking you out of the jotspot

9:28	cc: As a former player who was drafted in the 27th round and never made it out of AAA, I can confirm that playoff baseball is an amazing atmosphere

9:28	cc: And apparently I have a wikipedia page. pretty cool

9:29	Bodly: It always happens. Guy makes an incredible defensive play then comes up… uh… with 2 outs…

9:29	Davy Andrews: One day Baseball Savant is going to make starred plays searchable, and we’re going to be able to crunch the numbers on this.

9:29	Ben Clemens: this might date me but sports illustrated did an April Fools article where they pretended to prove that whole trope when I was a kid, and it’s really stuck with me

9:30	Davy Andrews: I think I might be older than you, but I didn’t know about that so thanks, grandpa.

9:29	Patrick Corbin “Carroll” Burnes: HOBY

9:30	Ben Clemens: omg Hoby Milner is another great Star Wars name

9:30	RTJ: sports illustrated was at it’s best when it was doing amazing april fools articles

9:30	Ben Clemens: yeah RIP

9:30	RTJ: maybe they still do it but print media is dead RIP

9:30	Joey Caltrain: Over/under 14.5 pitchers used between the DBacks and Brewers by the end of this game? One pitcher each half-inning through the bottom of the 9th would bring them to 15.

9:31	Kyle Kishimoto: i’ll take the over for the reason you listed

9:31	andrusszn11: cc What team?

9:31	cc: Yo I got a FanGraphs page too which is amazing

9:31	Justin Choi: Hoby Milner is a bounty hunter who had one minute of screentime but has five pages dedicated to him on Wookipedia

9:32	Ben Clemens: and a good extended universe/”Star Wars Legends” anthology story

9:32	Davy Andrews: My softball team this summer had a kid who absolutely mashed. Turned out he played DI, so we got to look up his bRef page. Very fun.

9:32	Ben Clemens: In college we played against a team from the law school in intramural softball

9:32	Ben Clemens: Their left fielder held the UVa career record for, I believe, extra-base hits and got drafted by the Giants

9:33	Kyle Kishimoto: couldn’t hit a homer, what a scrub

9:34	Davy Andrews: My dad went to UVA law school, and I believe he’s the all-time record holder for consecutive minutes with the turn signal of a Volvo 940 station wagon engaged.

9:33	Ben Clemens: I saw him hit a single off the wall because he was just not interested in running out of the box

9:33	Adley’s Embrace: Miami is trying to blow today’s away team sweep

9:33	Ben Clemens: The Twins already won

9:33	RTJ: how good is that intramural team that they stick their best athlete in LEFT field?

9:34	Davy Andrews: Left field’s important in slow pitch, since people just crank long fly balls all day.

9:34	cc: I played in the Braves’ system for a few years but called it quits this year, I still loved the experience tho

9:34	Ben Clemens: I feel like left is a little more important in softball what with all the pull power. Also maybe it was left center, I can’t remember. But it was silly

9:34	Ben Clemens: Dave Stone, I think his name is

9:35	Ben Clemens: https://virginiasports.com/news/2002/06/05/virginia-s-david-stone-sele…

9:35	Ben Clemens: I was wrong, UVa record holder for walks and steals

9:35	Patrick Corbin “Carroll” Burnes: Damn, why does every Brewers reliever have a sub-2.00 ERA

9:35	Ben Clemens: so uh yeah, he was probably a good athlete

9:35	Floyd: Does Arizona have 12 outs left in them?

9:35	Davy Andrews: I mean, presumably they’ll get there eventually.

9:35	Murdoc: If you go 31/31 in steals you should try and steal more right?

9:35	Davy Andrews: Probably. But he also stayed healthy, which is not nothing.

9:36	RTJ: who would win in a home run derby between Yoda and Darth vader?

9:36	Davy Andrews: Vader’s got the long levers. And the robot limbs.

9:36	RTJ: I guess that’s fair on the pull side

9:36	Kyle Kishimoto: it would be hilarious if he and the right fielder switched if a lefty came up

9:36	Ben Clemens: It’s possible they only have 9 outs left

9:36	Floyd: Not necessarily! They might only need to get 9 more outs…

9:36	Ben Clemens: Great minds

9:36	Ben Clemens: Boog is just nimbly dropping Dodgeball references, what a treasure

9:37	Davy Andrews: I’ve had that movie on my mind lately, since the D-Backs did the Globo Gym snake celebration a while back.

9:36	Joey Caltrain: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=stone-001da…

9:37	Phil: Stone had a .792 ops in his one pro year. That wasn’t good enough for a second? Or did he just decide to go to law school instead?

9:37	Kyle Kishimoto: damn he got released after a .435 obp, rip

9:37	Ben Clemens: He was just missing those sweet sweet intramural title t-shirts

9:37	Joey Caltrain: Most fun would be if the DBacks have between 9 and 12 outs left

9:37	Winnesota tWins: Type “c” in the search bar and just start working your way through until you find someone drafted in the 27th round that never played above AAA

9:37	Adley’s Embrace: I still don’t believe the Twins really won

9:38	O’s fan: Me either Adley, Me either

9:39	Kyle Kishimoto: nice swim move?

9:39	Davy Andrews: I was so excited for Longo to make another great play.

9:39	Ben Clemens: ohhhhh man this is gonna be close

9:39	Joey Caltrain: Maybe it wasn’t the real Minnesota team that won. Maybe all the players were replaced by their evil… twins…

9:39	Patrick Corbin “Carroll” Burnes: If he got that guy out, give Longo the postseason gold glove already

9:39	O’s fan: Was that a mistake my longoria or just a “1000 IQ” play

9:39	Kyle Kishimoto: por que no los dos?

9:39	Davy Andrews: People need to stop reaching to make tags. They have to come to the bag!

9:40	Kyle Kishimoto: pretty funny that he was reaching for the right arm even tho yelich was using his left to get back

9:39	Adley’s Embrace: Longo! Even when I was wrong, I got my point across.

9:40	Ben Clemens: I think he was safe

9:40	Ben Clemens: Wait, guys

9:40	Ben Clemens: What kind of evidence do we need?

9:40	Fake Eric: My sources are saying he was tagged

9:40	Ben Clemens: I can’t remember

9:40	Davy Andrews: Cruel and unusual.

9:40	Kyle Kishimoto: wow!

9:40	Ben Clemens: Oh, okay, he was out

9:40	O’s fan: Don’t you love fans reactions to replays even when its obvious (not saying this one was but still)

9:40	Ben Clemens: took me a second but the fourth time I saw that replay it clicked

9:40	Bunk: He looked out to me

9:40	Immaculate Grid: TODAYS IMMACULATE GRID

9:41	Rog: A bit out of scope, but are Philadelphians or New Yorkers generally considered more friendly?

9:42	Davy Andrews: I feel like it’s less unfriendly rather than more friendly, but if I had to guess I’d say New Yorkers by a nose?

9:43	Davy Andrews: I could be wrong. I live in New York and try to be friendly.

9:42	Drinks at MoMo: Hoby Milner is the rare could be Star Wars, could be LOTR name

9:43	Davy Andrews: Really good point.

9:43	Joey Caltrain: Why did Longoria field that instead of Perdomo in the first place?

9:44	Davy Andrews: That’s his play. He could get to it easily and his momentum was taking him toward first.

9:43	RTJ: Would you rather live in Phoenix during the summer or Milwaukee during the winter?

9:44	Kyle Kishimoto: nighttime temperatures of 90+ are freaking absurd, i’ve been to milwaukee in the winter and that seems much more palatable

9:44	Kyle Kishimoto: ask meg and eric what az in the summer isl ike

9:44	Davy Andrews: Yeah, I have to go cold too. No offense to any bosses who may be reading this.

9:44	Ben Clemens: Wow strong disagree Kyle

9:44	Ben Clemens: I got snowed in in Milwaukee in April once

9:44	John Fisher: Yo guys am I a good owner?

9:44	Davy Andrews: What is happening in Philadelphia?

9:45	lasvegas.gov: @John Fisher yeah

9:45	Jon: Biased being from WI – I’m in Austin right now on vacation and it’s been 95 everyday. Give me snow

9:45	O’s fan: Very good question Mr. Andrews…somethings are sometimes better left unexplained I think

9:45	City of Philadelphia: What isn’t happening in Philadelphia?

9:45	Patrick Corbin “Carroll” Burnes: If both Brewers and DBacks end up having to use a bunch of pitchers this game, who would it benefit for the rest of the series?

9:46	Davy Andrews: 1) Whoever wins the game, but 2) Gotta be the team with the deep pen.

9:46	Ben Clemens: I’m gonna let my smart colleagues finish typing first and then say “Jinx” ten seconds later when I agree with them

9:46	Ben Clemens: Ugh Davy your reply was too wishy-washy for me to second

9:47	Kyle Kishimoto: i think you can reasonably expect more volume from gallen/kelly than peralta/miley in a full start, but if both starters struggle in a do or die game i’d rather have the brewers pen. it’s not like these guys have never gone 2 in a row before

9:47	Davy Andrews: I was thinking, “I’m going to answer an easy one before my smart colleagues jump in.”

9:47	Ben Clemens: “The cinnamon rolls are ready, Corbin” is a great random announcer comment

9:48	@brooker25: Stop tagging me on Twitter y’all I don’t wanna co-write your articles

9:48	Kyle Kishimoto: the only tweet of yours i found incorrect was your recommendation of berkeley social club for breakfast over la note

9:48	Davy Andrews: I offered you a Bluesky invite to sweeten the deal. What more do you want?

9:48	Ben Clemens: Do you guys think 8-7-7-GLAS-NOW would be a good fantasy team name?

9:50	Davy Andrews: I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Wendy’s breakfast for the last seven hours or so.

9:48	Ben Clemens: Wait are we talking bay area breakfast?

9:48	Ben Clemens: Give me recs

9:48	Kyle Kishimoto: la note in berkeley

9:49	Ben Clemens: I’ve been meaning to go there

9:50	Kyle Kishimoto: it’s quite delectable. i miss living a block from there

9:48	Jon: Not sure what they said Carrol is on base for the third time. One was a home run so he was never really on base, just touched them briefly

9:49	Davy Andrews: I’m ok with this one. He reached base.

9:49	Eel Ffilc: That crowd shot in the Phillies/Marlins game is neat!

9:50	O’s Fan: I know its October so crazy things happen, but do you also feel like these results are gonna hold

9:51	Davy Andrews: I have faith in a 3-0 lead.

9:51	John Fisher: @brooker25 You better shut your mouth before I trade you for a bag of Doritos and a sprite (thats our best trade haul in 20 seasons)

9:52	Ben Clemens: Wow you drove a hard bargain, I heard the initial offer was half a bag

9:52	Kyle Kishimoto: the classic a’s move isn’t a bag of doritos, it’s seven doritos each in their own plastic bag

9:51

Hi: Hi

9:52

Bye: Bye

9:52	Bodly: Based on today’s results Twins clearly won the Arraez-Lopez trade

9:53	Ben Clemens: Meant to put this one up earlier, but they’ve won it the whole time. I feel like people disputing that just don’t want to accept it

9:52	O’s Fan: @Mr. Andrews but not neccessarily the 4-3?

9:53	Davy Andrews: I think the numbers will back me up there.

9:53	RTJ: this guy Payamps has electric stuff

9:53	Kyle Kishimoto: imagine trading him and sean murphy for esteury ruiz, couldn’t be me

9:53	Justin Choi: Even worse, a half bag of cool ranch

9:53	Ben Clemens: Oh no

9:53	Davy Andrews: Oooh, Contreras.

9:53	Davy Andrews: I would really love to see what goes on inside Milwaukee’s catcher factory.

9:54	Ben Clemens: These umpires, jeez

9:54	O’s Fan: Oh goodness how many challenges will there be in this game

9:54	Homer Thompson: Looks safe

9:54	O’s Fan: I think he got the leg…look at the jersey

9:54	John Fisher: Ruiz has been arrested for stealing our bases. (We won’t pay for new ones)

9:54	Kyle Kishimoto: i’ve been going to a’s games for 3 years and they’ve occasionally done the “let a kid run down the line and steal a base” thing, a couple weeks ago was the first time they actually let the kid keep the base – every other time they got some other goodie bag but not the base

9:54	Ben Clemens: I think they’ll call him out here

9:54	Davy Andrews: I think he is out here

9:55	Fake Eric: My sources are saying he is out

9:55	Phil: Fangraphs chats need a challenge feature.

9:55	Bunk: I think he’s out

9:55	Joey Caltrain: Still better than that guy who was traded for a sack of oysters

9:55	Joey Caltrain: The idea of shipping oysters across state lines in the early 1900s scares me

9:55	Homer Thompson: He might have grazed the thigh though

9:56	Davy Andrews: RIP Sensual Baseball.

9:56	Michael Haneke Paneke: Payamps looks like a useful guy to use in Immaculate Grid. Racking up the expansion teams.

9:56	Kyle Kishimoto: sickos take note

9:56	Homer Thompson: This Contreras guy is pretty good.

9:56	Patrick Corbin “Carroll” Burnes: I feel like it’s unusual for base stealers nowawadays to go in feet-first, is that true or am I just incorrect

9:56	Ben Clemens: That’s my observation too. Davy, time to watch 65 hours of steals

9:57	Davy Andrews: I’m going to subcontract this one to Dan Epstein.

9:57

CirqueDuSoulay: Fun Payamps transactions on BRef: November 25, 2020: Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
February 10, 2021: Selected off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Boston Red Sox.
February 22, 2021: Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox from the Toronto Blue Jays.
March 6, 2021: Selected off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Boston Red Sox.

9:57	Ben Clemens: We love you, but we’re not in love with you

9:57	Kyle Kishimoto: jacob nottingham moment

9:57	What is a baseball: What is a baseball?

9:58	Davy Andrews: It’s a sport invented by Osleivis Basabe.

9:58	Taco Bell: Us after “Steal a base, steal a taco” is over after 2 pitches

9:58	Jose Altuve: Buzzers for sale near me

9:58	Jose Altuve: yo wait this isn’t google please don’t approve that PLEASE

9:58	Ben Clemens: I feel like you picked the wrong Astro for this bit

9:58	Alcahawk: who was the first model off the line of the brewers catcher factory?

9:58	Kyle Kishimoto: narvaez i think?

9:58	Davy Andrews: Was he before Lucroy?

9:58	Ben Clemens: secretly Jonathan Lucroy

9:59	Kyle Kishimoto: oh my holy crap, lucroy had +41 framing season

9:59	Erik Kratz: no it was me

9:59	O’s Fan: What a throw by Castellanos even though he didn’t get the runner…my mind was going back to the epic throwout in that braves series

9:59	Alcahawk: Lucroy was the first name that came to mind. He might have been a preproduction prototype

9:59	Kwah: Close play at 2nd base, called out and argued, video replay confirms… what is this a MLB playoff game or a Lauren Boebert Beetlejuice security tape?

9:59	Justin Choi: Narvaez had -15 framing runs in 2019 then +6 in 2020 lol

10:00

Kyle Kishimoto: william went from -3 to +14 oh my

9:59	Ben Clemens: You’d think Lucroy is too good to count, but I think the Brewers had something to do with that

9:59	Ben Clemens: he didn’t exactly crush it after leaving

9:59	CirqueDuSoulay: guessing carroll borking his shoulder on occasion might play a role for his feet firstness