| 8:01 |
 Dan Szymborski: G’evening!
|
| 8:02 |
 Alex Sonty: Happy World Series Day, y’alls!
|
| 8:02 |
 David Laurila: Greetings, all. About to move a load of laundry, then back to chat.
|
| 8:03 |
Dan Szymborski: And to you Alex! Though sadly, it signals the end of baseball!
|
| 8:03 |
: The two NL West heavyweights we all expected all along
|
| 8:03 |
Dan Szymborski: I guaranteed I did NOT project two NL West teams in the World Series!
|
Free agency begins five days after the end of the World Series. As in other recent seasons, FanGraphs is once again facilitating a contract crowdsourcing project, with the idea being to harness the wisdom of the crowd to better understand and project the 2021-22 free-agent market.
In recent years, we’ve added a few features to the ballots based on reader feedback. You now have the option to indicate that a player will only receive a minor-league contract, or won’t receive one at all. Numbers are prorated to full season where noted. The projected WAR figures are from the first cut of the 2022 Steamer600 projections.
Below are ballots for six of this year’s free agents — in this case, a mix of first basemen and designated hitters. Read the rest of this entry »
Free agency begins five days after the end of the World Series. As in other recent seasons, FanGraphs is once again facilitating a contract crowdsourcing project, with the idea being to harness the wisdom of the crowd to better understand and project the 2021-22 free-agent market.
In recent years, we’ve added a few features to the ballots based on reader feedback. You now have the option to indicate that a player will only receive a minor-league contract, or won’t receive one at all. Numbers are prorated to full season where noted. The projected WAR figures are from the first cut of the 2022 Steamer600 projections.
Below are ballots for eight of this year’s free agents — in this case, the winter’s marquee shortstops, as well as three catchers. Read the rest of this entry »
Meg Rowley and guest co-host Sarah Langs of MLB.com banter about Sarah’s participation in MLB’s first game to feature an all-women broadcast crew, her research process, and what makes for a good fun fact. Then Sarah shares some Braves and Astros statistical oddities ahead of the World Series, including fun facts about Joc Pederson, Brian Snitker and Dusty Baker, Eddie Rosario, the Astros’ offense, Tyler Matzek, and more. Finally, Sarah offers what could make (and break) each team in the Fall Classic. Read the rest of this entry »
Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
We have a hard time making ourselves feel it when probability offers good news. Going into Saturday’s NLCS Game 6, our ZiPS postseason game-by-game odds gave the Braves a 71.4% chance of advancing to the World Series. They had largely outplayed the Dodgers. Max Muncy and Justin Turner were still sidelined, and Joe Kelly had just joined them. Max Scherzer had been scratched with arm fatigue, leaving Walker Buehler to start on short rest. Game 7 might mean a bullpen game for Los Angeles, if there were a Game 7 at all. The Dodgers were up against it; the Braves, at worst, had another shot.
That is what we knew; feeling it was another matter. After all, the Dodgers had won 18 more regular-season games than the Braves, and in a harder division. They were riding a seven-game win streak in postseason elimination games, including an 11–2 drubbing in Game 5 to stay alive. Atlanta had dealt with injuries of its own, and this series had so far followed 2020’s pattern, causing an itchy bit of worry in the back of Braves fans’ minds as they remembered going up three-games-to-one in last year’s NLCS only to have Los Angeles claw its way back in Game 5 and take the next two. Ian Anderson, the Braves’ Game 6 starter, had only managed three innings in Game 2; Atlanta won, but he’d walked three and allowed two runs, and then there were all those bad first innings to think of. What if Eddie Rosario’s bat cooled? What if Chris Taylor’s didn’t? Read the rest of this entry »
Meg Rowley and guest co-host Ben Clemens discuss the Astros’ pitching woes, the role of starters in the postseason, Dave Roberts’ decision to have Brusdar Graterol hit in Game 5 of the NLCS, Yordan Alvarez, how a 3-2 series deficit feels for fans of the team with the upper hand, and Ben’s look at Ian Anderson‘s first-inning struggles. Then they consider Other Ben and Rob Arthur’s assessment of MLB’s rule experiments in the Atlantic and minor leagues, before answering listener emails on an unorthodox baserunning strategy, ump shows, how aliens might contextualize Mike Trout’s recent season stats, and whether we should re-think the ground rule double. Read the rest of this entry »
Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Meg Rowley and guest co-host Grant Brisbee catch up on some non-postseaosn news, including Grant’s elbow injury, MLB’s decision to provide housing for minor leaguers, and Rob Arthur’s research suggesting spin rate and pitch movement have recovered after cratering in light of sticky stuff enforcement, then banter about Laz Diaz’s strike zone in Game 4 of the ALCS and the use of starting pitchers in the playoffs. Then they turn their attention to the San Francisco Giants, including the team’s wildly successful 2021 and less successful postseason run, before discussing where the Giants go from here. Finally, Grant offers some advice to the remaining playoff teams on how to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers and shares who he’s rooting for now that the Giants are out of the postseason. Read the rest of this entry »
Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
| 5:02 |
: Welcome to the chat! Should be a fun day of baseball. Thanks for joining us!
|
| 5:04 |
: Hey y’all, day baseball for one of the last few times of the year!!
|
| 5:04 |
: Do you ride Buehler as long as he’s effective today? Or try load management?
|
| 5:05 |
: Absent a substantial lead, you gotta go with him IMO.
|
| 5:06 |
: They could certainly use some innings out of him and they know that.
|
| 5:07 |
: It is wild that the Dodgers don’t have home field advantage after 106 wins
|
| 8:01 |
Dan Szymborski: Good evening!
|
| 8:01 |
Dan Szymborski: For a day of events of a baseball nature.
|
| 8:01 |
Dan Szymborski: Well an evening
|
| 8:03 |
: How can hundreds of Fenway seats be unsold?
|
| 8:03 |
Dan Szymborski: Dunno, price?
|
| 8:03 |
Dan Szymborski: How many are unsold?
|
| 9:00 |
: Hi everyone! I’m here. Dan is here. The most hyped game of the season is here. Let’s hope it lives up to expectations. We’ll be here all night talking about the game, making dumb and not so dumb polls, and answering any other fun questions that end up in the queue. Thanks so much for joining us!
|
| 9:01 |
:
You are on the Dodgers conference call, you are asked to vote…
Go traditional, start Urias (39.6% | 50 votes)
Use Knebler as an opener to flip the lineup (60.3% | 76 votes)
Total Votes: 126
|
| 9:02 |
: So far, the results of the poll show there might not be a right/wrong answer.
|
| 9:02 |
: What’s the optimum lineup strategy for the Giants, with Knebel starting?
|
| 9:02 |
: Personally, I’d go with my vs. Urias lineup.
|
| 9:03 |
: The Giants have obviously been the biggest surprise as in outperforming team this year. What part is luck and what part is good management/strategy by their FO?
|