Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 12/8/14

Dan Szymborski: Boom.

Comment From S
How much better would a Tulo return be than Donaldson?

Dan Szymborski: Should be better. Even with the contract, Tulo is very valuable. Plus, I expect that the Rockies wouldn’t move him unless they were blown away, so if he *gets* a return, it woudl be a lot

Dan Szymborski: (Uploading presidents)

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Comment From The Marksman
What do you think of the following as a Blue Jays pitching staff in five years : Marcus Stroman, Jeff Hoffman, Daniel Norris, Drew Hutchinson, and Roberto Osuna? Along with a relief corps composed Sean Reid-Foley, Brett Cecil and Aaron Sanchez?

Dan Szymborski: I think it has a lot of potential, though in five years, it’ll probably half be players that aren’t in the organization now.

Comment From Mooking for Love
Any rumors that Lindor will be involved with the potential Moss deal? A’s still looking for young MI talent

Dan Szymborski: I don’t believe it woudl be Lindor that moves.

Comment From Mike
You think Jon Gray is going to get time in MLB this year? How does he project for you?

Dan Szymborski: I think he will, but since Rockies are Friday, I’ll hold off on the projection.

Comment From Dave
Any chance all these terrible Beane moves cost him his job by the end of next season?

Dan Szymborski: No. Beane is the safest GM in baseball. His contract goes through 2019 and he’s got an ownership stake.

Comment From gump
you going to winter meetints?

Dan Szymborski: I am not.

Comment From T
You liked Shoemaker alot, but what about the other out-of-nowhere AL Rookie of the Year pitching candidate Collin McHugh?

Dan Szymborski: Solid #2 guy, I think. It’s hard to have that much of a bump on strikeouts in a full season and it to be a total fluke

Comment From gump
also, best person to follow for winter meeting updates?

Dan Szymborski: The usual suspects. i.e. guys like Olney, Rosenthal. Not the rumor starting kids. Cotillo was an exception – he’s a very hard worker.

Comment From Robert
Teased us with the Angels’ ZiPS on twitter and they aren’t even today….

Dan Szymborski: Wednesday!

Comment From Mike
More likely Melky ends up with the O’s on a 5/60 deal or O’s sign Morse for 2/24?

Dan Szymborski: I think the O’s may end up with someone like Rasmus

Comment From Ceej
what would you do with Joc? Trade him, play him out of the gate, or do you see the need for a little more seasoning in the minors?

Dan Szymborski: I would play him. He played a full season in AAA last year and had an OPS of like 1.000. What would beating up AAA pithcing some more really accomplish?

Dan Szymborski: And I think the Dodgers will – they’re not shopping Kemp and Ethier just to annoy them.

Comment From Ken
I see Hammel has a deal with the Cubs, what will his ZiPS look like there?

Dan Szymborski: Probably league-average or maybe a skosh higher.

Comment From GK
Taft and it isn’t close.

Comment From Pale Hose
Let’s assume you have an A lineup and a B lineup and you are going to start the B lineup one game every week. Which strategy would win more games: starting the B lineup against the best pitcher every week or the worst pitcher?

Dan Szymborski: It ought to not make a significant difference.

Comment From BobbyS
Can you do/post Venters when you get the chance? He’s like this year’s Mat Gamel for me! Ah, and now i’m distracted by presidents!

Dan Szymborski: He’s on my list. I meant to do him, so I can run him now.

Dan Szymborski: 3.63 ERA, 105 ERA+ in 34.2 IP, 34 K (16 BB)

Dan Szymborski: for Venters.

Comment From Chris
1. I like this new format better (new comments on bottom). 2. Taft wins as McKinley just doesn’t have the stamina to knock him down. 3. As a Phillies fan, what liquor do you recommend to help a man prepare for what is sure to be an, er…un-good year?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t like it scrolling the opposite way – I hate scrolling up.

Dan Szymborski: It’s been scrolling up for chat participants for like 6 months

Dan Szymborski: Depends if Taft can take McKinley to the ground quickly

Dan Szymborski: And for 3: all of it.

Comment From Cashmere Taco
If Taft can spar as well as he busts trusts, this is a KO

Comment From adam
Who closes games for the Jays in 2015

Dan Szymborski: As of right now, I would expect it to be Cecil or Loup, but I would not be surprised if they end using Sanchez there eventually

Comment From adam
aGon or Fielder?

Dan Szymborski: I preferred A-Gon *before* 2014. 2014 obviously didn’t reverse my opinion.

Comment From S
With the Jays system, they could acquire Tulo, no? Add Tulo to that lineup and they would have to be WS favorites?

Dan Szymborski: They do have the farm system to do so. However, the Rockies ownership is noted for its intransigence.

Dan Szymborski: This was a team that insisted on Gausman for 3 months of de la Rosa.

Comment From William McKinley
Shouldn’t these Presidential battles be weight and era adjusted? Like I should be given 12 votes in value over Taft due to him being a fatty.

Dan Szymborski: Open weight division.

Dan Szymborski: Like those early UFCs

Comment From baltic wolf
Dan: missed your chats recently. Morse a likely candidate to replace Cruz as DH? How about Blanco as a temporary solution in RF? Cheap. Finally, with the money saved not signing Cruz or Markakis, are the Orioles perhaps saving some dough for the Justin Heyward sweepstakes next year?

Dan Szymborski: Morse is a possible candidate for sure – the O’s also seem to have crazy-luck with these one-dimensional power guys.

Dan Szymborski: I would have zero interest in signing Blanco, let alone trading for him.

Dan Szymborski: As for what they do with the dough, it’s anyone’s guess – we dont’ even know if Duquette will still be around.

Comment From Matthew E
How badly do the Blue Jays need to improve their starting rotation? Last year, it was unusually stable without actually being very good. If they’re going for it this year, don’t they need to add at least one ace?

Dan Szymborski: It’s deep, but it’s not high.

Dan Szymborski: They *can* win without an ace (see the O’s), but you would certainly *prefer* to have one.

Dan Szymborski: If they’re going to push forward, they gotta keep pushing forward.

Comment From BobbyS
What was the major factor in Gallardo taking a little hit this year from ZiPS? His drop in K rate?

Dan Szymborski: Is it worse than last years? I actually thought it was better

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS does know about the strikeout rate drop obviously. And from a peripheral level, his 2014 wasn’t really all that different from 2013

Comment From mtsw
Is Peter Angelos saying he won’t release Dan Duquette from his contract if offered the Toronto GM job reasonable or is stuff like this the reason the Orioles had so much trouble attracting front office talent in the first place?

Dan Szymborski: It could also be a negotiating tactic.

Dan Szymborski: But Angelos and his sons are one of the worst ownerships in baseball.

Comment From Sir Nerdlington™
Why do we not see more MLB teams own their affiliates? Seems like the control they’d have over all aspects of the experience for minor leaguers would be well worth the paltry sum.

Dan Szymborski: Headaches for one. Teams already have a ton of control over their affiliates.

Comment From Nick
I feel like baseball would be better if we had a villain. Somebody that 29 fanbases would collectively hate because of how they act and because they are an unbelievable player. If like Mike Trout came out and starting acting like Nyjer Morgan and AJ Pierzynski and Arod, I think it would be awesome

Dan Szymborski: I’ve been rooting for A-Rod to do the full-scale heel turn for a long time. He’d never do it though.

Dan Szymborski: Seriously, if I’m A-Rod, any time I hit a homer on the road, I would pantomime injecting into my biceps.

Dan Szymborski: Come out for a curtain call to the boos, too. Act in every moment as if I was being cheered.

Dan Szymborski: Every road series, buy billboard ads stating what I would do to the opposing team when I’m there.

Comment From Mike
O’s have to be the favorites to sign Morse and Melky, no?

Dan Szymborski: They would definitely be in the mix, but I hate using the term favorites in this context.

Comment From Josh Nelson
Hey Dan. What are thoughts about a possible trade between White Sox & A’s: Alexei Ramirez for Jeff Samardzija?

Dan Szymborski: Meh.

Dan Szymborski: Though I guess we’ll talk about that more on Friday!

Dan Szymborski: There’s going to be prospectage in a Shark trade or the A’s probably use him and take the draft pick.

Comment From gump
khris davis potentially undervalued due to low ba/babip? batted ball mix + power indicates he should have basically a league average babip.

Dan Szymborski: That’s about what ZiPS thinks.

Comment From mtsw
Rumor has it Matt Wieters may not be ready to catch by Opening Day. What does ZiPS say about Caleb Joseph’s bat next season? Is he capable of hitting at replacement level or is the guy who went 2/50 in September reflect who he really is?

Dan Szymborski: No, Joseph is a pretty lousy hitter. Now, a catcher can be pretty horrible before getting below replacement level.

Comment From adam
If the Phillies agree to pay Hamel’s salary in full and you were the Sox, do you move Botts and Bogearts?

Dan Szymborski: In *full* I think I might do it. $100 million is a lot of dough. Though I don’t want to commit until I think about this for more than 45 seconds.

Comment From JimmyJohn
Nobody is gonna upset Teddy. Guy’s unbeatable.

Dan Szymborski: I think Andrew Jackson is the favorite.

Comment From Mike
Reports are the O’s said no to a Chen for Kendrick deal, stupid since Schoop could have been used to trade for Brandon Moss since A’s looking for infield help….Would you have made the kendrick trade then traded Schoop, Zach davies and Mike Wright for Moss?

Dan Szymborski: I think I would have done Chen-Kendrick. But I don’t think I’d value Moss all that highly – his best years are probalby already behind him and he has limited defensive value.

Comment From Misnomer
Winter doesn’t start until the 21st. These meetings are a lie.

Comment From Guest
“The Rockies are Friday”? Wrong-o. The Rockies are Monday, and a Monday where you didn’t get much sleep all weekend because your kid is sick and you had to visit your in-laws and now your boss is pissed because you missed a deadline you forgot you had because you were pulled in on a project in a department you don’t usually work with and no one gave you any credit for your help there. Every day for twenty years.

Comment From Xolo
What does ZiPS say about Rene Rivera in 2015? I’m a Padres fan and the idea that we’re keeping him over Grandal makes my stomach hurt.

Dan Szymborski: The Padres trading Grandal for Kemp, as rumored, would just be idiotic.

Dan Szymborski: Rivera *is* good defensively though.

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think Rivera would be a disaster, but if you’re going to trade Grandal, don’t trade for a player who can’t play the outfield if you’re in the NL.

Dan Szymborski: And no, Kemp can’t play the outfield. He can stand there, but not at any respectable level. He’s even stunk in the corners.

Comment From JimmyJohn
You take any prospect questions? How good is (Prospect X) type of questions?

Dan Szymborski: If the questions are interesting. I like a wide variety of questions. Unfortunately, I can only answer a small percentage of questions.

Dan Szymborski: I *try* to mix up teams too, but some Mondays it’s hard (like Ramirez and Bogaerts breaking right before chat a couple weeks ago)

Comment From JEric
Do you agree with Dalton Pompey’s steamer projection (.238/.297/.353 + average D)?

Dan Szymborski: That’s about what ZiPS has too. It’s actually very close to ZiPS.

Dan Szymborski: I’d personally be a bit more optimistic htan either, but he *is* a very young guy who shot through the minors and could struggle second-time around the league.

Dan Szymborski: I would not be surprised if he had a consolidation year.

Comment From Guest
What if his name was Milky Cabrera?

Dan Szymborski: It would be awesome

Comment From baltic wolf
Looking for a libertarian book to read for the winter: government likes: safe food and drugs, clean water and air; dislikes: somebody telling me what I can put into my body (e.g., pot, sugar) and a bloated military. Anybody you can recommend that fits the bill?

Dan Szymborski: Sounds like you’re a Georgist. Truth is, I don’t have any great new books to recommend – I generally read books that are drastically *different* from my political-ethical beliefs.

Comment From Scrapper
What would a reasonable free agent contract for Hammel look like?

Dan Szymborski: I’d probably even go 3/35 or something, but the Cubs already signed him this mornign!

Dan Szymborski: I think – it looked confirmed

Comment From Christian
Is Melky Cabrera worth Nelson Cruz money or at least be closer to worth it than Nelson Cruz?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’s worth about the same as Cruz. I dont’ think he’ll get Cruz’s contract.

Comment From ThePuck
Any thoughts on Torii Hunter’s tirade in his welcome back to the Twins press conference? Thoughts on him completely dismissing metrics and setting a professional example for his young teammates by calling a reporter the name he did four times?

Dan Szymborski: It’s not his job to be an analyst. People naturally dont’ like metrics that make them look bad. I have an argument with my scale every time I step on it.

Dan Szymborski: As to name-calling, his young teammates aren’t 12-year-olds, I doubt it has any kind of actual effect.

Comment From Phil
Is there any non-marketing, in-game value to reputation? Broadcasters always insist that pitchers “still respect” a guy who used to be good, but does that respect have any impact on the game?

Dan Szymborski: Significant? Not really.

Dan Szymborski: And sometimes, respect is a bad thing!

Dan Szymborski: For instance, if you have a catcher with a great arm, you don’t *want* teams to respect his arm.

Dan Szymborski: Yadier Molina would be even *more* valuable if teams thought his arm sucked.

Comment From Buttmunch
Oh my god what is this abomination? Almost no text fits on the screen now. How does every update to every web product just make it worse and worse

Dan Szymborski: Feature creep.

Comment From mtsw
The Orioles reportedly had salary room set aside to sign both Markakis and Cruz. Now that the space has opened up, would making a run at Lester or Scherzer (and just rolling with Pearce/De Aza/Lough as your corner OF/DH) yield better returns than going after free agent replacements for Cruz/Markakis?

Dan Szymborski: I would *love* if they went after Lester/Scherzer and pieced together the OF. I don’t think they would though.

Comment From Ryan
What is it that makes ZiPS more aggressive with pitching rate stats (ERA/WHIP) than steamer? ie, better pitchers are better, worse pitchers are worse.

Dan Szymborski: Without having designed Steamer, I could not tell you.

Dan Szymborski: This is a very common question – I do not know the inner workings of Steamer and given that I’m the one that Jared is *least* likely to share it with, just knowing how ZiPS is constructed doesn’t make me able to answer questiosn about the differences.

Dan Szymborski: Very common *type* of question. I’ve never tested ZiPS vs. Steamer to see if ZiPS was more aggressive than Steamer in that manner.

Comment From LarryA
Wow, CJ Edwards is black? who knew!

Dan Szymborski: Ah, the old Cleveland Gary All-Stars game!

Dan Szymborski: Nobody will ever beat Alge Crumpler: Algernon Crumpler sounds like an 80-year-old English butler for the Duke of Kent.

Comment From Vince
Bobby S is a beggar and whiner! If he gets Venters, I want Jesse Crain. Then, I will also be a beggar and whiner.

Dan Szymborski: Ah, but the Braves already went and Venters would have naturally been projected there.

Comment From gump
if everyone trusts taft, and taft busts trusts, then i’m all in on mckinley

Comment From Alex
Is there a ZIPS for guys like Joc who may or may not be playing this year?

Dan Szymborski: I run more than 2000 a year, so you can do the math!

Comment From Guest
Who cares who closes games for the Jays in 2015 in 2014?

Dan Szymborski: Jays fans.

Comment From jocephus
didn’t taft get stuck in a tub?

Dan Szymborski: That was actually an urban legend – he never actually got stuck in the bathtub

Dan Szymborski: Taft was fat, but even guys over 300 pounds are very unlikely to get stuck in a bathtub

Dan Szymborski: Especially becuase he made sure to have large bathtubs installed

Comment From Dan
I see you didn’t project MIL’s Shawn Zarraga who had a lot of time in AA/AAA , can we get a zips perchance? Thanks.

Dan Szymborski: I’ll add to lsit.

Dan Szymborski: List

Comment From baltic wolf
I liked what I saw of Shane Greene with the Yankees. His trade to the Tigers signals what: Porcello or Price are trade bait (and they go all out on Scherzer) or the Tigers are going to bow out of the Scherzer sweepstakes?

Dan Szymborski: If the Tigers are smart, it won’t signal any of that.

Dan Szymborski: I’m still very skeptical of Greene. When it comes down to it, he’s always been an extremely hittable pitcher.

Dan Szymborski: Yes, he struck out a lot of guys in 15 games, but he also has a rather unimpressive minor league record.

Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll deserve rotation spot on most teams, but I don’t think he’ll be a major plus.

Comment From ZIPs has Kyle Lohse with fewer IP and a higher ERA than hes had since 2010. He seems to be consistently effective, but also underrated. Is there something about him that the system just doesnt like, or has he been lucky in MLB?
ZIPs has Kyle Lohse with fewer IP and a higher ERA than he’s had since 2010. He seems to be consistently effective, but also underrated. Is there something about him that the system just doesn’t like, or has he been lucky in MLB?

Dan Szymborski: Heh

Dan Szymborski: (the name and the comment being the same)

Dan Szymborski: The thing about Lohse is that he’s at an age where decline *does* become a concern, which is reflected.

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS actually likes Lohse a good deal more than Steamer.

Dan Szymborski: And the Brewer defense isn’t going to be amazing or anything.

Comment From jocephus
arod should learn from vitamins/prayer hulk to hollywood hulk

Comment From Chris
Re: A-Rod accepting and embracing the villain role. I would absolutely love this.

Comment From adam
re: Phillies trade. If you are the Phillies, do you do that deal? Also sorry about spelling.

Dan Szymborski: Oh, if I’m the Phillies, I probably do the deal.

Comment From Joe
Why is it that media guys, Jon Heyman tweeting “Free Dan Duquette”, have no problem with executives voiding contracts and changing teams? Think they would be as supportive if a player wanted to void his contract to get a better situation?

Dan Szymborski: Probably not.

Dan Szymborski: Simply put, national writers deal with front office people more than the individual players.

Comment From Drew
Does ZiPS account for specific injury types? Would a player that missed the season for Tommy John have the same regression factor in for a player that broke his arm, for example?

Dan Szymborski: Yes, ZiPS does have general categories, one of which is Tommy JOhn.

Comment From Eric
Would the Dodgers trade Kemp for next to nothing if they didn’t have to eat any of the contract?

Dan Szymborski: If they had to, they very well might, but I think Kemp will fetch more in a trade than he deserves.

Comment From Joe
Brandon Moss is an Indian.

Dan Szymborski: Just saw that, for Joey Wendle.

Dan Szymborski: As I said, Moss doens’t have a huge amount of value.

Dan Szymborski: (They were never getting Lindor for Moss)

Comment From JimmyJohn
Can you tell us anything about Julian Leon, the catcher prospect for the Dodgers?

Dan Szymborski: Short stocky catcher who hits for a ton of power in rookie ball. Above-average arm, a bit raw still (as expected, he’s very young)

Dan Szymborski: He’s a name that has the potential to *really* shoot up quickly in the next year.

Comment From Larry Bernandez
Who plays 1B in Cleveland next year? Do they try again with Aguilar?

Dan Szymborski: Presumably Moss now.

Comment From Robo
If his name was Milky he could be in your all breakfast outfield

Comment From Drew
Do you tend to trust ZiPS or your own personal opinion of a player when there’s a wide gulf?

Dan Szymborski: Depends.

Dan Szymborski: I dont’ like one-size-fits-all policies!@

Dan Szymborski: Sometimes i’m right and sometimes ZiPS is when we have disputes and I’m frequently surprised who is in which category

Comment From CecilFieldersButtPlug
Why dont baseball players in free agency do like the NBA with big threes or whatever? Ex: lebron, bosh wade. Why dont Scherzer lester and headley all collaborate and sign? obviously money is an issue but if thsoe three went to the yankees and said that i think it would happen

Dan Szymborski: Collusion.

Dan Szymborski: If Scherzer, Lester, and Headley all collaborated, they would likely be paying damages.

Comment From ThePuck
when you say ‘It’s not his job to be an analyst.’ to whom are you referring?

Dan Szymborski: Torii Hunter. It’s not really his job to know what defensive metrics say about him, beyond any specific knowledge they would have that he coudl use to improve

Comment From Guest
I get that we’re smart, that FOs don’t always make fully rational decisions, and that there’s a history of our corner of the baseball world being ahead of the curve. But in an era where many of our best minds are poached by the industry, where genuine business practices have infiltrated baseball thinking instead of glassy-eyed baseball “analysis,” and where we know there to be data that insiders have access to that we don’t, why do so many of us bleat the 2005 trope that FOs have no clue what they’re doing and our models are right?

Dan Szymborski: It’s actually bleated less often than 15 years ago, for good cause. There are fewer terrible front offices than there used to be.

Comment From Dave
This is miserable on an iPad fwiw…new comments pulls me to that point even if I am not caught up, and it is very hard to scroll back against the auto-end feature…

Comment From Hi Erix
Dan! *You* are a treasure but this Cover It Live format sucks real bad. Do you ever take the time to look at it from a reader’s perspective? Don’t know what it looks like for you on your side.

Dan Szymborski: I’ve had to deal with the scrolling up for like 6 months!

Comment From gump
does ZiPS use pitcher velocity?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Comment From Hi Erix
What’s the Cleveland Gary All-Stars game?

Dan Szymborski: It’s not very politically correct. Just close your eyes, imagine Cleveland Gary and then look him up.

Comment From Andrew
That’s what Alge is short for? I just thought he parents really liked sea vegetation

Comment From BobbyS
I know the rules, Vince! Speaking of… did Jim Johnson ever get his Braves love from ZiPS? Do the Orioles miss him at all?

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS has Jim Johnson with a 4.00 ERA, 95 ERA+, 0.0 WAR in Atlanta. So I wouldn’t call it love.

Comment From ThePuck
His teammates may not be 12 year olds, but I was more concerned with how unprofessional Hunter acted and how the players he’s being brought in to mentor might follow his example. Additionally, there very well may have been kids who watched the interview.

Dan Szymborski: I doubt many kids watch press conferences. And let’s be honest, kids know and use all the words.

Comment From Nate
Was Taft a legit 3 spins (300lbs)?

Dan Szymborski: At his peak, it was suggested he was as much as 340.

Comment From Guest
There are poignant accounts of the health problems Taft experienced as a result of his obesity: he would often fall asleep at public functions, “pant for breath at every step,” as a close aide privately observed, and not appear to be mentally alert, particularly after meals.

Dan Szymborski: He actually lost quite a bit of the weight after leaving the white house.

Comment From Guest
What video game will you play most this week?

Dan Szymborski: Probably a Hearthstone week. Though on my EU account as I have a ton of gold there and want to experiment more with the new cards before paying real money.

Comment From Guest
Was once a story by a Second Circuit judge that Taft never wanted to be president, always had his eye on the Supreme Court. Only ran for president at encouragement of his wife. His political career prior to appointment to SCOTUS played a big role in construction of current SCOTUS building, as he flexed his political muscle to line up funds etc. to get it done. (Fun fact about that construction: it came in well under budget and actually saw them return money to the legislature!)

Dan Szymborski: Today, you’ll rarely ever have a president that doesn’t want to be president.

Dan Szymborski: Nowadays, I’m convinced that anybody who actually wants to be the president probably *shouldn’t* be the president.

Dan Szymborski: But we’re veering dangerously close to political content, which I shy away from.

Dan Szymborski: I’m a baseball writer: about 0 of you read me for my opinions on controversial political stories.

Comment From Sirras
Re: Greene and poor MiLB record – deGrom didn’t light the world on fire in the minors either. I’m not saying that Greene has deGrom’s upside (he doesn’t) or that he’ll necessarily do well in the future (I’m not a believer in Greene to be honest), but you have to admit that players can sometimes defy their minor league track records and find success in the bigs.

Dan Szymborski: DeGrom is simply harder to hit.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, players defy their track records all the time. But it’s not always the way to best. Greene wasn’t that hard to hit even pitching well in NY.

Dan Szymborski: We automatically assume high babip is a fluke, but in Greene’s case, he’s *always* been a high babip guy, even in the low minors.

Comment From My name is a fill in the ________.
No character limit on commenters’ names? Nice CiL. Great programming!

Comment From Sandy
MLBTR noted yesterday that the Diamondbacks and Mets talked about a Didi Gregorius deal before he was shipped to the Yankees, and that the Diamondbacks wanted Syndergaard in return. Syndergaard for Gregorius would have been Amaro-level crazy, right?

Dan Szymborski: Yes.

Comment From Hi Erix
It’s really a shame A-rod isn’t more self-aware. All he wants is to be loved, but the irony is that the only way to accomplish that is the heel turn. The only way out is through, Alex …

Comment From pirates hurdles
Why does Moss have so little value? He was the 12th best 1B in MLB by WAR and is controlled for 2 years at reasonable prices for a 2 win guy,

Dan Szymborski: I said it was *limited*. Yes, he was in the middle tier of starting 1B last year. But he’s also a player with old player skills on the wrong side of 30 with limited defensive value.

Dan Szymborski: That’s a player worth having. It’s not a player worth giving up 3 decent prospects or 1 Francisco Lindor for.

Dan Szymborski: wait, why did I say Cleveland Gary?

Comment From mtsw
Isn’t it the “Reggie Cleveland” All Stars?

Dan Szymborski: Yes. And I’m completely sober too.

Dan Szymborski: That’s a big duh for me.

Dan Szymborski: Cleveland Gary was the rams running back. Bah

Comment From jocephus
but does taft have a street gang named after him like van buren?

Comment From Guest

Anthony Rizzo ?@ARizzo44

Had the opportunity of meeting one of the cubs greatest hitters this weekend.

Comment From Dave
I have been following a few of these chats, so forgive me if I have the wrong guy…I have a good job opportunity in the Raleigh area, being in my late 20’s how is the city for nightlife (I am not a club kind of guy FWIW)? Good neighborhoods to live in for restaurants/bars/breweries, etc? Coming from one of the best smaller cities in America, Denver, I don’t want to be disappointed!

Dan Szymborski: I’m not from Raleigh! I’ve only visited the area. YOu’re thinking of Cameron.

Dan Szymborski: (Hopefully he won’t mind, I think he’s talked about this before)

Comment From Garm Bel Iblis
DOUGLAS ADAMS QUOTE: It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it… anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

Comment From Miguel
Oh, and it;s the Reggie Cleveland AllStars, not Cleveland Gary! Cleveland Gary looks exactly like you’d expect. Reggie Cleveland most assuredly does not.

Dan Szymborski: Seriously, I don’t know how I did that, considering I’ve talked about Reggie Cleveland before!

Dan Szymborski: TAFT DID IT! TAFT DID IT! MOONSAULT! MOONSAULT!

Comment From Miguel
other members of the Reggie Cleveland allstars:

Dan Szymborski: Khalil Greene.

Comment From Miguel
Darrell Porter, Donovan McNabb,

Dan Szymborski: Lew Ford, Marcus GIles

Dan Szymborski: On that note, time to end for another week. Thanks for joining me everybody!

Comment From BobbyS
Do you think anybody Taft’s size could be elected these days? I feel they wouldn’t even get close with all the focus on appearances and how well they can present the candidates to the masses.

Dan Szymborski: It’s possible. Christie would at least have *some* chance. Americans are fat (myself included).