Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 2/8/16

Dan Szymborski: Boom.

Zonk: Is Peyton Manning the greatest football player of all time?

Dan Szymborski: Sorry, I gotta go with Montana.

curious: What types of player generally gets big differences between Steamer and Zips, and why? In which cases should we lean toward one projection or the other?

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, I haven’t found a clear pattern one way or the other. There will be some differences at times, but it doesn’t appear to come down to a matter of player *type*

Dan Szymborski: I would keep in mind both systems and simply be aware when there is disagreement.

Dan Szymborski: Tools give you help, not answers!

Q-Ball: What non-QO free agents left do you find interesting? Who do you think should be a target for bargain-bin shopping FOs?

Dan Szymborski: Jackson and Uribe.

Zonk: White Sox should forego the 28th pick, and sign Dexter Fowler. He makes a ton of sense for that team. What say you?

Dan Szymborski: Yes. I wrote a piece to that effect! The AL Central (and really, the entire AL) is wide-open.

Dan Szymborski: I hate Go Big or Go Home, but it’s reasonable hear. TAKE THE SHOT!

Dan Szymborski: here

Dan Szymborski: not hear.

Dan Szymborski: BLAH

John: What does Brandon Belt do by the end of the year? That hard hit % is luring me in but the injury risks scares me…so conflicted.

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, I think he’ll be fine. Hitter injuries don’t frighten me long-term the way pitcher injuries do

Dan Szymborski: And while concussions are scary and he had some lingering issues last fall

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think it’s at the point where we have to be over-concerned, but you can’t completely ignore it.

Q-Ball: The Gurriel brothers, IIRC, were on record as saying they wouldn’t leave the island without permission. Am I remembering that right? If they are allowed to leave, is pretty much every good Cuban headed this way now?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t actually remembe roriginally

Dan Szymborski: I’d like to see more on this story though.

Dan Szymborski: The headlines are talking about them as having “defected” which tends to imply without permission.

Oakland Athletics of San Jose: Could the A’s still swing a preseason trade? Beane was talking big about making a trade in January and didn’t. Or are Coco and Butler both expected to actually receive playing time?

Dan Szymborski: They absolutely could. The A’s come out of nowhere with those things.

mike: Do you think N. Mazara, J. Bell and JP Crawford all contribute for their big league clubs this season?

Dan Szymborski: The first and third especially.

Dan Szymborski: I think they push their way up.

Gerb: ZIPS seems super low on Indians middle infield. Kipnis + Lindor combined for 9.8 WAR last season with Lindor only playing 99 games, but are only projected for 6.4 this year. Is there a 2B + SS combo anywhere else in the league other than Houston you like better?

Dan Szymborski: I’d hardly call that super-low. You want to be careful about establish Lindor’s new baseline as *that* high and Kipnis has been all over the place.

the artist formerly known as ?: Dan: where do the Orioles go from here? Would you try to sign Pedro Alvarez for DH and move Trumbo to RF? Or would you go after Venable or Jackson to fill the RF void? And what about the #5 starter? Worley, Lincecum or some internal options? I won’t mention the former SD pitcher since I can’t spell his name and he’s not likely to be of much help. Thanks.

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, none of these are the least bit interesting. The last really interesting fit, I feel, for the Orioles, was Doug Fister.

Dan Szymborski: Alvarez isn’t a good enough hitter for any position he can play.

Dan Szymborski: Jackson’s best in a situation in which you’re willing to use him in CF

Dan Szymborski: And the #5 spot is a true whatever position.

BASEBALL SEASON: Reddick – extended or traded?

Dan Szymborski: Traded

Quirks: For the Cubs, Bryant, Soler, Russell, and Schwarber all had K% above 28% last year. Any concerns about the Cubs offense supporting 4 batters with that high a K rate?

Dan Szymborski: Not really.

Eric Blair: Eric Wedge continues the Clevelandization of the Blue Jays. How worried should John Gibbons be about his job?

Dan Szymborski: He should be, simply because he’s not the New Guys Choice

Splits: If Jason Heyward projects for 4+ WAR, and the market is paying 7.5-8 million per, why didn’t he get a contract worth upwards of 30 million a year? Even with the opt-out, it seems like a major bargain to get his production for 21-22 million per year.

Dan Szymborski: I’m not buying $8 million.

wobawoba: Dan – is zips calculating wOBA differently than the conventional/current/FG defintion? IE, as I see it it’s purely a metric of what happens at the plate – neither park nor baserunning adjusted – yet I see VMart at a .280/.340/.450 line and a .323 wOBA while Starling Marte is more like .280/.335/.445 … with ZIPS-wOBA about 30 points higher. What gives?

Dan Szymborski: I do not calculate the wOBAs that are on FanGraphs – it’s not part of my basic readout.

Greg: Baseball’s unwritten rules exist, i get that, and I dk what they all are. Looking at the Phillies, why do they still have Charlie Morton? Does it really matter if they win 65 or 60 games in this rebuilding year? Couldn’t they get something for Morton now and not wait until June?

Dan Szymborski: I think at this point, the Phillies just want games to end.

Cory S.: Which division is most likely to finish in alphabetical order using their team name not city? AL Central?

Dan Szymborski: That would be interesting to actually simulate.

Dan Szymborski: At a glance, I think it would be NL West

Dan Szymborski: The Diamondbacks are an upside-hitting year away from a Diamondbacks/Dodgers/Giants/Padres/Rockies finish which is plausible

Dan Szymborski: Arizona isn’t the favorite, but they’re close enough that there lots of scenarios in which they win

Steve: Do you see Patrick Corbin as a good comparsion for Blake Snell?

Dan Szymborski: Not really. They’re different types of pitchers

Cory S.: Do you think that pitching is responsible for 81 potential wins and hitting the other 81; or is it divided into 54/54/54 with fielding taking a third of the potential wins?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think you can divide things up that simply.

Sharkmardzija: Can I return to my old form in SF?

Dan Szymborski: I think you’ll be fine

EC: Curious as to what your thoughts are on the NFL HOF. Seems like it operates as a Hall of Very Good, as opposed to MLB where it’s impossible to get in unless you’re an actual legend. Would it open the Hall to younger folks if it was operated a bit similar to NFL?

Dan Szymborski: It might be. A lot of football is more a team concept than baseball once you get past the name players at the skill positions

Eric: Why did the O’s sign Chris Davis and O’Day and then give up on trying to be competitive in the next 3 years?

Dan Szymborski: They’re taking a weird middle ground

CamdenWarehouse: Did you run Marlins projections before and after the news about the fences? How much impact was there?

Dan Szymborski: No. Pure guesswork.

Dan Szymborski: I rather project to something that was known and leave it up in the air as a what if than project to something that I just make up

I Like Eggs: You’re my fourth favorite Szymborski of all time.

Dan Szymborski: You know a lot more Szymborskis than the average person. At least four.

Andrew: Without going into detail, how does ZiPS (generally) forecast the defensive contribution of prospects or players with little service time? As far as I know data on the defensive ability of minor league players is pretty limited, so what is used in the calculation?

Dan Szymborski: I have a total zone-esque method and a scouting report parser to shade the results (one of my nerdier things I’ve done, even if it’s not a huge thing)

Dan Szymborski: (It looks for key words and phrases, it is not a sentient program that casually reads scouting reports and reports back to me)

Steve: Is there any market for Justin Masterson?

Dan Szymborski: Couldn’t call it a market.

Guest: no but seriously Billy Butler + B grade prospect for A-Rod + 10M

Dan Szymborski: Why?

Dan Szymborski: OH DAMMIT IM ANSWERING QUESTIONS REVERSE CHRONOLOGICALLY SO IM BACK AT 1130 NOW

hi eno: hi dan

Dan Szymborski: Wouldn’t it just be Eno? Why would he call himself Hi Eno?

Pinstripe Wizard: Now that football is actually over, does baseball seem closer?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

NutButters: I have a $10k bet that Boston will not win the division by 7 games. How would you spend my free money? (I would be willing to bet $5k that they will not win the division)

Dan Szymborski: Wait, you got straight-up on that? That’s pretty sweet.

Bork: Obligatory question about adding up WAR in ZIPS for a team.

Dan Szymborski: Karate chop.

NutButters: Everyone is scrutinizing Cam Newton’s postgame interview. Are they all racist for doing so?

Dan Szymborski: Dan has no desire to comment on race, gender, politics, or religion, as part of his normal sports discussions.

Pinstripe Wizard: If I use ZIPS projections and lose my fantasy season, do I get some kind of reparations?

Dan Szymborski: You get nothing.

Deadmanonleave : With the discussions around ‘tanking’, which I don’t think is an issue in baseball due to the distance of drafted players from the Majors and all the things that could go wrong, would it still make sense to allocate draft picks on an average or weighted average of the last three (?) seasons? Would put it to bed totally in my mind (and would even work in the NFL and NBA I think). It seems so obvious, I think I’m missing something!!

Dan Szymborski: I think it’s much ado about nothing.

Dan Szymborski: It’s a few parties wiht very specific interests making a lot of noice.

The Dude of NY: Do you think Lou Brock should not be in the HOF? He has some great counting stats, but had a career 45.2 bWAR and 43.2 fWAR.

Dan Szymborski: He’s very borderline. If he were a candidate, I doubt he’d make my top 15 of eligible players to vote for.

CamdenWarehouse: ETA on the expected Posey to 1B transition?

Dan Szymborski: 4 years and I think it’ll be gradual

chris: What do you think of Yasiel Puig and Kyle Schwarber this year?

Dan Szymborski: Puig should be fine and I like Super Nintendo

The Dude of NY: Don’t pitchers w/out injuries worry you even more than hitters w/ injuries?

Dan Szymborski: Yes.

Dan Szymborski: Pitchers should be stored in stasis between games.

Curious: Is Marcell Ozuna gonna bounce back?

Dan Szymborski: He’ll be fine.

GSon: On an Indians forum, we’re having a discussion on what may be the next moneyball item to be exploited. The idea being bandied about is the limited use and maximum value of bullpen only players.. One side is suggesting using former/elderly SP’s ala Leroy Satchel Paige to fill bullpen slots.. The other side is to use the arms of position players (RF/3B/SS) as bullpen arms.. Which side of this argument would you fall on?..

Dan Szymborski: I don’t know if it’s exactly this.

Dan Szymborski: But I’m a believe that any player with a good arm and who isn’t a crucial position player (you don’t want to tear Harper’s UCL goofing around) *should* at least be tried as a pitcher in the spring.

Bill: Montana better than Brady?

Dan Szymborski: I’ll still say so.

Pinstripe Wizard: Does any baseball owners wife/husband look as plastic as the Broncos lady did last night?

Dan Szymborski: No idea. I couldn’t tell you how half the owners look and none of their waves. I don’t care about this kind of thing

TommyLasordid: Doesn’t Ethier have the highest floor among Dodger OFs? I don’t see the reason for trying to move him.

Dan Szymborski: I wouldn’t call him the highest floor. There’s nothing about him that shouts “Hey, he’ll totally never suck.”

Dan Szymborski: He’s not someone with a good glove or a bat that’ll hit 290 even if it’s without power

Jason: Looking for 2 things from Fangraphs:

Dan Szymborski: ITS A SECRET

Pinstripe Wizard: The Marlins should try to trade for Jon Singleton. He hasn’t performed well in Houston, they have AJ Reed, and Miami needs real help at 1B. Thoughts?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think Houston’s in any mad rush

Joe: Could a team like Phillies or Braves sign a Fowler or Desmond to 1 year deal, thinking that trading them at the deadline will bring back more value in prospects than the draft pick that they would lose?

Dan Szymborski: That kind of thing is risky.

Dan Szymborski: Flipping isn’t magic.

Zonk: If the White Sox are really that hung-up on the pick for Fowler, how about Austin Jackson? He would move Eaton to RF, and put Garcia on the bench. Probably 2-win improvement just from defense. Thoughts?

Dan Szymborski: He’d be fun too, though I like Fowler a little better

Sean: What if the MLB implemented a division switching mechanism each season – at the end of each season, the winner of each division would switch with the winner of the same “direction” from the other league? E.g., the Dodgers would move to the AL West and the Rangers would move to the NL West after last season.

Dan Szymborski: One of those things that’s fun to spitball, but too chaotic.

sportznut: What’s your general rule of thumb when projecting guys below AA ball? If they’re on the 40 man, are they assured one?

Dan Szymborski: Depends.

Dan Szymborski: I like hitters to have some time at high-A and pitchers AA

Dan Szymborski: But I usually don’t project a hitter if he’s just, say, awful in the California League

Lee: Do you think we’ll see any long term extensions this off-season? Seems to me the players seem to be getting smarter and more likely to wait free agency out.

Dan Szymborski: I think we’ll still see the usual. It’s not about being smart or not, it’s about being risk-averse or not.

Marc: Its pretty obvious that with the current pirates rotation, they are looking to keep it close until after the Super 2 and for hopefully Glasnow to come up and dominate. My question is how close do they have to keep it (ie games back) before its too late?

Dan Szymborski: I think they hope to take the lead. Very few players are their own catchup mechanisms.

Jason: Looking for 2 things from Fangraphs: 1) An article on opposite-handed battery-mates vs same-sided battery-mates in regards to pitch framing. It would seem that opposite-handed catchers would need much less movement in receiving sliders and curves, which often are the “out pitches” with 2 strikes. The ball is coming into their gloves, they do not need to extend their arms, turn their torso, or pull the ball back in to the plate. They essentially just can smoothly receive it as it comes toward their gloves, rather than away. 2) Looking for pitchers “pitch value” splits for their pitches vs LH and RH batters. Thank you.

Dan Szymborski: Write a David

Bork: So the Angels realize that they are wasting Mike Trout and his value and decide to put him on the trade block. What kind of return would they get for him? Can you trade an entire farm system for 1 player?

Dan Szymborski: Fun mental experiment but he’s probably impractical to trade.

Pietraynee: Is Arky Vaughan the most underrated SS of all time? Also, where do you stand on the hotdog as a sandwich argument?

Dan Szymborski: Actually, I think Ripken kinda is. A lot of people think he’s just a very good SS that had a big streak.

Dan Szymborski: When really, the streak itself while cool, isn’t what made him great.

Dan Szymborski: A lot of his early career stats were suppressed by playing before a big hitters’ explosion in Memorial

Dan Szymborski: And he still remains an underrated fielder.

DMBOdude: Two, questions, Dan: when will you be posting the Zips spreadsheet, and any idea if DMB will be offering a projection disk based on Zips this year?

Dan Szymborski: Yes and Yes

Matt: Odds that Orlando Arcia and JP Crawford open the season in MLB? Or are they more likely to be kept in the minors until June-ish?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think they open, but I’ll be surprised if we don’t see a lot of them

Antonio: Do you expect Tanaka to improve this season after the offseason elbow surgery? He still maintained a great WHIP and K rate.

Dan Szymborski: All the Yankees starters frighten me to some degree except for Severino.

Dan Szymborski: and Severino still a young pitcher!

Dan Szymborski: Tanaka’s bone spur isn’t the only issue he’s had

Rick: Do you know of any articles that have compared the accuracies of the various projection systems?

Dan Szymborski: There usually are a few every offseason

Bork: The D’backs are reportedly close to signing Clippard. Could this be a terrible, terrible decision for everyone not named Tyler Clippard?

Dan Szymborski: He’s a fine depth signing as long as Arizona doesn’t like him *too* much

Josh: AL Central seems like a strong contender: Indians, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox

Dan Szymborski: Eh, I think the Twins are the worst team in the division and White Sox one of the better ones.

Dan Szymborski: Need fewer things to happen for alphabetical order.

Bork: You’re the #1 Szymborski who’s first name is Dan.

Dan Szymborski: TAKE THAT MICHIGAN DAN SZYMBORSKI

Chuncey Wiggins: Will we look back on Trout and marvel how bad the Angels botched his best years?

Dan Szymborski: Probably

hi eno: billy butler comes lathered in BBQ sauce

Dan Szymborski: Wait, what?

Dan Szymborski: WORST PORNO EVER

CamdenWarehouse: 10 days until the first pitchers and catchers report!

Brandon: CAT UPDATE NOW PLEASE

Dan Szymborski: Galileo is on my left disk, sitting on his desk cushion and staring at me.

Dan Szymborski: This is early as he usually comes down to start asking for dinner around two.

Dan Szymborski: Pandora is on Galileo’s pile of folded blankets on the floor behind my office couch. What this means is that if Galileo gets bored at staring at me, he’ll go to his blanket throne and stare Pandora off.

Chuncey Wiggins: Which dugout do you think has the most sunflower seeds on its floor?

Dan Szymborski: Diamondbacks?

kevinthecomic: What did Billy Beane ever see in Billy Butler? Is there any chance that the rest of the world will see it in 2016?

Dan Szymborski: Don’t look at me, I hated the signing.

Ross: Who has the better career: Big bro Kyle or little Seager?

Dan Szymborski: Kyle has a lower floor but the lower ceiling I think

Pinstripe Wizard: Do you ever speak to scouts to see how your projections of young players match up with their expectations?

Dan Szymborski: I talk to scouts, but never really to directly compare projections.

Dan Szymborski: I like talking baseball and I like good info about baseball from any source.

Dan Szymborski: But direct like that is a little dry and probably not supe rinteresting from anyone involved.

Ross: Does the King rebound to be a Cy Young candidate this year or have we seen the last of that level?

Dan Szymborski: Nah, he’ s a threat in any given year.

Bork: The only people upset about the idea of tanking is agents. The only league where tanking is even apparent is the NBA, with the NHL having a bit themself. But the Oilers proved that tanking doesn’t help rebuild a team fast.

Ross: What do you see Dae-ho Lee doing this year slash wise?

Dan Szymborski: Don’t wnat to say until I run the projection

Zonk: Why do you call Kyle Schwarber Super-Nintendo? Because he’s built like one of the RBI Baseball players?

Dan Szymborski: Jonah Keri coined it.

Dan Szymborski: He hits like a player in a Super nintendo game.

Clint Huntinton: Glasnow, Taillon, Bell and Hanson — they won’t be enough to put us past the Cubs and in the World Series?

Dan Szymborski: It doesn’t make them the favorite, but there’ sa lot of uncertainty about the future.

Dan Szymborski: And at least two of those players have questions.

Dan Szymborski: I remain unconvinced that Bell will be a plus contributor in the majors in 2016 and Taillon is coming off two lost years

2-D: I haven’t played a baseball video game in nearly ten years. Have they started working in any advanced stats yet or is it still just the basics?

Dan Szymborski: MLB the SHow has a lot of advanced stats!

Dan Szymborski: Runs created and BABIP are in there

Ross: Does Mike Zunino ever live up to his prospect hype?

Dan Szymborski: No

vivalajeter: Do you think that the people reviewing NFL/MLB challenges should have to disclose why they made a certain call? It seems outlandish that they can say the Panthers didn’t complete the pass, without having to back it up. Maybe they saw a camera angle that we didn’t see, but otherwise it just seems wrong.

Dan Szymborski: They could argue it better, though it’s a little tricky in game becuase anything they say will also be disputed then

jtt: Would the rockies benefit from acquiring contact hitters with strong o-swing percentages? Like an altuve kind of skillset? Guys that swing and can hit everything should counteract the issues rockies hitters have with breaking balls on the road?

Dan Szymborski: I think the Rockies should avoid going for a veyr specific archetype without any real evidence that a specific archetype truly is what masters Coors

BrianD: The Royals absolutely need at least one more decent starting pitcher, right?

Dan Szymborski: I think they do, but watch Ian Kennedy be awesome now. I don’t like Kennedy but I certainly like him more than I did FVolquez.

Dr. Jim Longborg, D.D.S.: Is Hanley a lock for 2017 RS DH, or should Sandoval also be a candidate? Or will one or both be gone by then?

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, if Sandoval can’t play the field, I’m not seeing him hit enough to bea DH.

elric: Is there a particular reason why you don’t watch anime, or did you just never get into it?

Dan Szymborski: Just never got into it.

elric: Do you read fantasy? If so, what are some of your favorite books/series?

Dan Szymborski: Sadly, my to-read list is far longer than my have-read list

vivalajeter: Regarding flipping free agents – isn’t that something that the A’s would do? If their first rounder is protected, can’t you see them signing *every* leftover free agent and flipping them during the season? If they sign the last 3-4 good free agents, some of them would only result in the loss of a 4th/5th round pick. Heck, I could see Beane trading them the minute they’re allowed to.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but most of them aren’t exciting flips

Dan Szymborski: Just what are you going to get for John Axford?

Rob: If the White Sox prefer to trade for an OF’er, who would be their most logical tragets? Ozuna maybe?

Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure a trade is a good option

The Maddness: How much does park factors play into minor league projections? A lot? A little? I have to think theres some Moneyball type knowledge about know each and every minor league park factor.

The Mets have notoriously hard parks for young left handed power guys (Savannah and Brooklyn), but normalizes once it gets to Binghamton, and then Vegas is well….Vegas.

Dan Szymborski: I have minor league park factors, both L and R.

Guest: You didn’t answer the part of the question about if a hotdog is a sandwich. That was the most important part.

Dan Szymborski: HELL NO IT IS NOT

Rob: In your opinion, do both, E Martinez and L Walker belong in the HOF?

Dan Szymborski: Of course.

elric: I love fantasy, and I watch anime (eventhough the dialogue is often terrible, and the themes and character idiosyncrasies are often foreign to the point of off putting) because its the only way (to the best of my knowledge) to get the world building and epic fight scenes.

Bork: Delmon Young got arrested.

Joe: Re: signing & flipping Fowler or Desmond…this is just a reminder that Fowler has been traded twice in the last two offseasons: once for Jordan Lyles/Brandon Barnes, and once for Luis Valbuena/Dan Straily. The prospect-equivalent of those packages is not as valuable as the draft pick.

Harry Heilmann: Am I the most underrated RF’er in baseball history?

Dan Szymborski: Possibly.

Dan Szymborski: But at least you got in the Hall. See Walker

Ben: Games: FPS vs RPG?

Dan Szymborski: RPG

Dan Szymborski: OK, let’s get the LIghtning Round started.

Dan Szymborski: Lightning Round are simple: I must answer every question, so long as it’s off-topic, and not personal (though I choose to answer many personal questions) or work-relate.d

Dan Szymborski: This continues until I catch up or I get tired of it (I have other work to do too!)

CamdenWarehouse: Had GOP candidates used it from the outset, would a tactic of laughing off Trump been successful? Part of me still wants to do it, “Hey! A half-crazy billionaire wants to be president. How cute!”

Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure what would have been successful. I’m honestly surprised he’s gotten this far – my position was not much different than Nate’s.

Dan Szymborski: I donm’t have much insight into populism.

@RationalMLBfan: Have you ever been mugged? Has your home ever been burglarized? (Not entirely a randomly morbid question–but over time the questions prefaced with “gun to your head” made me wonder if you’ve ever really been in the unfortunate situation to have had a gun to your head.)

Dan Szymborski: I have not. Though my mom was about 25 years ago.

Dr. Jim Longborg, D.D.S.: Do you have any specific interest in working in print? Would you take equivalent or less money to do it? Do you think it would change how you write?

Dan Szymborski: Not specifically. I like what I do and I think it plays better online.

CamdenWarehouse: Did you play Might and Magic VI?

Dan Szymborski: Surprisingly I never got around to VI

Dan Szymborski: I own it, it’ sjust I have a significant backlog I never quite catch up on

Brandon’s Belt: favorite food?

Dan Szymborski: The question ALWYAS varies by mood.

Dan Szymborski: Today, sushi is my favorite because that’s what i”m craving.

Dan Szymborski: Ask me tomorrow and it might be tacos

elric: What are the best action adventure franchises? I’ve only ever played the legend of Zelda games, but I’m thinking of getting into more games

Dan Szymborski: It’s tricky exactly which ones you’re talking about as the genre lines tned to be awkward

Dan Szymborski: If we’re talking more action RPG, I assume you haven’t skipped the Elder Scrolls series?

Dan Szymborski: (not obvious since you said you only played Zelda games)

Dr. Jim Longborg, D.D.S.: Your “waves” for “wives” typo leads me to ask a lightning question: any fondness for Octavio Paz?

Brandon’s Belt: Did you want the Broncos to win

Dan Szymborski: Didn’t really have a rooting interest.

Pinstripe Wizard: Which sport is more analytical from the front office: baseball or basketball?

Dan Szymborski: Both are vary. I think baseball still has a slight edge because of longer experience knowing the consequences.

Alex: Thoughts on Keurigs? I vote yay for weekdays, nay for weekends?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t really drink coffee.

Alex: I Klaw as snarky in real life as he is on social media?

Dan Szymborski: Believe it or not, after 20 years I *still* have never run into Keith in person.

Dan Szymborski: Neither of us work in Bristol, though I expect to run into him later this week.

Alex: Check out the moba Heroes of Newerth

Dan Szymborski: Aware, but there are so many good mOBAs!

Pinstripe Wizard: How much of your day is actually spent working?

Dan Szymborski: It’s hard to separate what is actually work and what is pleasure.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, Super Bowl was pleasure, but what about the Hearthstone Red Bull Team Brawl? I was writing an article about it, after all. But I would’ve watched it even if I hadn’t

Dan Szymborski: Is baseball-watching work or pleasure?

CamdenWarehouse: VI is 18 years old now. time to play it.

Dan Szymborski: Oops, I read that as HEROES of Might &Mmagic.

Dan Szymborski: If that’s the Roland one, then yes I’ve played it

Bork: Do you get cravings a lot? Are you pregnant?

Dan Szymborski: I do not get much in the way of cravings

Alex: Pork chops or Steaks?

Dan Szymborski: Steak

Alex: What shampoo do you use?

Dan Szymborski: Tresemme as the bottle is really big so I don’t have to remember to buy shampoo often

Cool guy: ps3 or xbox?

Dan Szymborski: PS3

1337: systemd vs upstart

Dan Szymborski: No idea what this means.

Pinstripe Wizard: Do you think Peyton really prefers Budweiser or did he get a large check for saying that last night?

Dan Szymborski: Hard to say. He has a stake in Budweiser distributors too, I think

Skyline: What baseball event would you make a movie about?

Dan Szymborski: Disco Demolition Night

hi eno: have you ever fallen asleep as you were typing an article?

Dan Szymborski: I do not believe so

Dario Cueto: How much better is Lucha Underground than Raw?

Dan Szymborski: It’s a different experiment.

Mike: How many cans of Budweiser do you think Peyton Manning drank last night?

Dan Szymborski: I bet he had bottles

Ghost Hands: Best piece of advice you can give for someone just starting Hearthstone?

Dan Szymborski: Make a zoo deck. It’s the easiest, cheapest archetype that has the most success

Dan Szymborski: And is the most flexible on cards.

Alex: Is Keith Richards immortal?

Dan Szymborski: Absolutely

Trump: If you could suggest a mechanic to the Hearthstone team for the next expansion what would it be?

Dan Szymborski: Abolish. Something that hinders your opponent.

Dan Szymborski: Like your opponent can’t draw a card the next turn or can’t attack minions next turn.

Dan Szymborski: Hearthstone needs more defensive options.

Dan Szymborski: Since you can’t block like in Magic

Guest: Are you a redskins or ravens fan?

Dan Szymborski: Neither.

Cool guy: favorite city to visit?

Dan Szymborski: New York

Derek: Your thoughts on animal cruelty for food?

Dan Szymborski: From a philosophical standpoint, I’m uneasy with eating animals and not sure it’s ethical, but I do eat meat anyway because, well, it’s delicious.

Bork: You didn’t answer the pregnancy part of that question. ARE YOU PREGNANT? Surprise twist: It’s Cistulli’s.

Dan Szymborski: I can’t envision this scenario

2-D: The first handshake Peyton gave out after he won the Super Bowl was to Papa John, who would you want to be your go to sponsor buddy?

Dan Szymborski: Stephen Malkmus? It would be hilariously random

Alex: Although not the best quality, Round Table is the best quality-for-price pizza on the market. Pizza Hut is a close 2nd

Dan Szymborski: SUPPORT INDIE PIZZA

Cool guy: projected WAR for you in 2016?

Dan Szymborski: 0 as I will not play for a MLB team

818: FAVORITE SUBJECT IN HS?

Dan Szymborski: Wind ensemble.

2-D: The big shampoo bottle got me thinking, why don’t they do that with toothpaste? I would totally buy a gallon of toothpaste at a time.

Dan Szymborski: I would too. A big drum with a pump and I never have to think about toothpaste again would be great

Mike: Rasiel Iglesias or Luis Severino?

Dan Szymborski: ACK BASEBALL Q

Dan Szymborski: Severino by a little

Skarp Hedin: Why has the US left fallen in love with Alexander Hamilton?

Dan Szymborski: Have they?

Alex: Favorite Roman Numeral?

Dan Szymborski: L

Shower Thoughts: When does Montreal get their baseball team back? (your a wizard right?)

Dan Szymborski: 2030

Dan Szymborski: And no, I have no magic

elric: The only video games I’ve played are the Zelda games, final fantasy 3-6, chronic trigger, and pokemon as a kid

Dan Szymborski: CHRONO!!!!!!!11111oneone

Dan Szymborski: Man, you got some playing to do.

Dan Szymborski: If you’re currently employed, you might want to stop that.

Dan Szymborski: You’ve got a lot of gaming to catch up on.

TommyLasordid: Favorite Dan Hicks song?

Dan Szymborski: While I’m familiar with his very eclectic catalog, not so much I’m comfortable picking favorites.

Alex: Is neapolitan ice cream now retro?

Dan Szymborski: Possibly. Feels very old-timey tehse days

818: when did u realize you were good at writing baseball?

Dan Szymborski: Still not sure I am.

Dan Szymborski: Well, I think I am, but I’m not positive, and I tend to hate things the second after I file them.

Guest: Liking the new x files?

Dan Szymborski: Haven’t seen yet

Lonely: Should i sign up for eharmony?

Dan Szymborski: Sure.

Pinstripe Wizard: I need to cut my grass but it’s February. What should I do?

Dan Szymborski: Just cut it!

Ben: best dr. who

Dan Szymborski: Never got into it

Alex: I’d support local pizza places but the one’s around me don’t deliver. I mean, do they expect me to go outside or something?

Dan Szymborski: Good pizza is worth pants-wearing and I say that as a hater of pants

Shower Thoughts: You say 2030, would that be through a relocation or league expansion? And would there be other cities who would get a club first? (You’re strong with that SABR mojo magic)

Dan Szymborski: I think we get an expansion to 32

Dan Szymborski: Maybe not even 2030, maybe 2040

Dan Szymborski: I think we eventually get a third team in NY somehow

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think Las Vegas or Portland are plausible

Dan Szymborski: maybe North Carolina

jtt: If 25% of the people who claim to have been expos fans actually were expos fans they would still have a team

Dan Szymborski: The fans got punched in the face so much.

Dan Szymborski: So that’s unfair.

Dan Szymborski: If your favorite hot dog company started giving you salmonella a few times a year, you’d probably stop buying their product, even if you grew up enjoying it.

Dan Szymborski: CAUGHT UP

Dan Szymborski: END TRANSMISSION

Dan Szymborski: Thanks for joining me everyone!

Dan Szymborski: You can find my work at ESPN.com, chats and projections here and FanGraphs, and DSzymborski on Twitter.

Dan Szymborski: Coming up I have a piece on the Red Bull Team Brawl from this weekend, fantasy candidates in which to strongly consider park effects, and in coming weeks, the ZiPS Top 100 Prospects and the Top 25 and Bottom 25 players in trade value (will have a better name than this which is still being decided)