Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 4/18/16

Dan Szymborski: *cough*

Dan Szymborski: Don’t worry, I won’t be inserting my coughs.

Chris Hatcher: On a scale from “blow it up and start over” to ” they’ll figure it out and be a strength”, how concerned should Dodgers fans be about me and my ‘pen mates?

Dan Szymborski: It’s a little late to blow it up. And they *still* have the #3 bullpen in the RoS projections – even if you apply some kind of suck factor and say they’re “only” 10th or something, how would they build a better bullpen than the #10 on April 18th?

Tom: Any idea why Tulo has bad offensive numbers since he got the jays?

Dan Szymborski: 2015 wans’t alarmingly worse given the sample size

Dan Szymborski: And again, April

Stop Jinxing Gausman: Just two starts, but any reason to be worried about Severino’s K numbers? Everything else seems to be clicking.

Dan Szymborski: We’re talking 2 missing strikeouts

JDogg: Matt Moore- balls-dropping breakout?

Dan Szymborski: April and all that, but I’m optimistic now. He’s *looked* sharp

JDogg: How long has Gregerson’s leash gotten in Houston?

Dan Szymborski: When Giles gets back to form, he’s still on borrowed time

JDogg: I’ve read a Trea Turner comp as Altuve lite? Is that accurate?

Dan Szymborski: Meh

Crunchy Black: What’s wrong with Matt Harvey? April?

Dan Szymborski: I’ll say April for now

Juwan: How do you view the Harper/Trout comparison now? Has Harper done enough to edge past Trout in your mind?

Dan Szymborski: I wouldn’t say that, but they’re fairly even at their ungodly levels

Pedro: Where can I get data about specific innings? I wanted to see how the shift towards more money in bullpens has affected batting categories over the last couple of years

Dan Szymborski: B-R has a lot of split stuff – depends exactly what you need

Dan Szymborski: And if they don’t and you’r enot good at mining data, I’d bug Sean or Hans and see if they’re willing to help you with something

Northsider: Why is it still an unearned run if the pitcher is the one that makes the error? Is this something MLB has ever thought about changing?

Dan Szymborski: It does kind of bug me, but they’re not changing it at this point

Josh Nelson: What is your favorite class to play with in Hearthstone? I find the Mage is the easiest when getting started.

Dan Szymborski: I enjoy Paladin when Midrange/Control Paladin is a stronger version

Dan Szymborski: Oops, meant to save that for Lightning Round

Gest : What do you think the chances are that Matt Harvey’s medical condition is affecting his pitching performance?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think so much

aj: buy sano low?

Dan Szymborski: Sure

Harpers Emoji Bat: Are you worried about d’Arnaud yet? I know it’s still April but he hasn’t been hitting well, and getting hit in the elbow can isn’t exactly helping his situation

Dan Szymborski: Always be worried about injury, but I’m not worried otherwise

Zock jr: Hi, Dan! $90 too much for the 3 Mets aces in an Ottoneu pts league? Worried about deGrom/Harvey?

Dan Szymborski: Maybe, no

Sean P: Is there a fetish that is more taboo than continuing to plug Avisail Garcia into the DH role for a team trying to contend?

Dan Szymborski: At this point, it’s not like they have good options

Dan Szymborski: They tend to be Avi believers.

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, I think an AVI file has more upside.

Dan Szymborski: It might be a Game of Thrones episode! At worst, it’s a Caroline in the City episode and Avi’s no better than that.

Matt: Giles still have the Ks and a great xFIP. It’s his FIP that’s telling, because he’s made only 1 (2?) appearance(s) WITHOUT giving up a HR. This is going to end, right?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Bruce Springsteen : When do you think the Angels realize they aren’t very good, and who might they be willing to move when that happens?

Dan Szymborski: They’re not great on self-reflection.

Ben: Who hits more home runs this year: Bryce Harper or the Braves?

Dan Szymborski: Braves will int he end

Mark: So Dan, over under 1620 strike outs for the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays?

Dan Szymborski: Under. They’re not going to strikeout 500 more times with essentially the same team

CardsGuy: Will Hazelbaker get a legitimate shot? The kid looks very skilled and should be allowed to have an o-fer before losing ab’s.

Dan Szymborski: They’ll keep giving him ABs until he proves they shouldn’t be. I still think he’s a 4th OF

Trainman: It seems Byung-Ho Park is making small improvements. That home run on Saturday was.. Jaw dropping. I haven’t watched many twins games, however I did catch a few of his ABs and it seems he’s adjusting to MLB pitching slowly but surely. Do you see him having a tougher or easier transition than Kang from last year?

Dan Szymborski: One plus Kang had is he played positions where he could still be a contributor if his hitting wasn’t good.

Dan Szymborski: But I think he’s fine

Trainman: Russell Martin is in a horrific slump to begin the season and he just looks like he’s fishing at everything. Concern, or April?

Dan Szymborski: Again April

Jose Reyes: Will I have a starting job after my upcoming suspension? Will that job be in Colorado?

Dan Szymborski: Probably not in Colorado

E: I forget if you don’t take pseudo-fantasy questions, apologies if you don’t. I have Felix Hernandez in a dynasty league, in your opinion, should I be looking to move him as soon as possible, or given the dynasty format, is he more of a hold and wait and see if he gets it together?

Dan Szymborski: Wait and see.

Noel : Is it good or bad that every pitch from jake Peavy is slow and completey straight without exception? Think giants would be better rolling out Jennie finch over Peavy?

Dan Szymborski: Well, it’s not ideal

Michael: Why would ZiPS project Steven Wright to have a higher ERA than FIP? Does it not know he throws knuckleballs?

Dan Szymborski: It does, but ZiPS just doesn’t think he’s all that great

Dan Szymborski: It actually thinks from his minor league results he’d be undeperforming FIP even more if he wasn’t a knuckleballer

Dan Szymborski: It’s not an automatic for a knuckleballer, see guys like Steve Sparks. There’s sitll an element of proving it

Q-Ball: So the red-hot Cubs bats were cooled off this weekend by some really good pitching from the….Rockies?

Dan Szymborski: Baseball games are volatile

Stan: Are you concerned about the Mad Bum? Slow start, or signs of something worse?

Dan Szymborski: No

Josh: JJ Hoover was dropped in my 12 team mixed league. As awful as he is, he still needs to be owned, right? Do you see a closer change happening there sooner rather than later?

Dan Szymborski: He’s worth rostering at least.

Jeff: Will Dan Straily be revived? I read about his increase in velocity and wonder if that can stick as a starter. The Reds have a few guys coming back so I wonder if he will get the chance to stick in the rotation, if he does they shouldnt shuttle him back and forth and ruin him. Make a decision and stick with it. What do you think they will do with him? Also, on the Reds, do you think Jumbo will get the chance to close if Hoover keeps giving up runs?

Dan Szymborski: Color me skeptical. His velocity still isn’t great and his peripherals aren’t better.

Dan Szymborski: He may be a fine 4/5 guy, but he used to be that anyway.

Jeff: Small sample size, but it seems like John Jaso is really making the adjustment in a full-time role as a leadoff batter. Are you surprised by this? Also, if he continues to succeed, do you think it will inspire other teams to build lineups where the lead off guy isn’t always a guy with plus speed?

Dan Szymborski: There’s no adjustment that makes you a .400 BABIP guy. Jaso’s successful in the role because of his usual John Jaso Things.

Dan Szymborski: Outside of adventurous teams, there’s just not a huge gain from lineup position, so it probably won’t become mainstream

Nick Ahmed: Have I learned how to hit baseballs? If I have, wouldn’t that make me really, super good?

Dan Szymborski: Encouraging, but don’t order a cake yet.

Sam: Any recommendations for introductory stats books? Fantasy baseball has me intrigued. Thanks!

Dan Szymborski: The Book, Hidden Game of Baseball

Argo: Trea Turner is tearing it up in AAA, and Espinosa can’t buy a hit. Do you think Trea gets the call soon, or is their hot start justification for keeping him on the farm until June?

Dan Szymborski: I think they still wait a bit.

Matt: Yanks doing terribly with RISP. Am I correct in thinking that the contextuality of this is a bit bogus? In order to be bad with RISP means you’ve gotten guys on. So that’s just a luck thing, right?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Brandon: How much are the Cubs gonna miss schwarber having soler and abez?

Dan Szymborski: Quite a bit, but it’s a team with excellent prospects so it’s just a flesh wound

Rick: At what point would you consider dropping Park? Park, Sano, and Dozier have been killing my offense. I’m willing to give Sano and Dozier more time because they have some MLB history, but I’m trying to decide if it’s too early to drop Park for another backup 1B like Bour, Moreland, or Paulson.

Dan Szymborski: Worse than going back on well-thought-out positions based on two weeks: Going back on well-thought-out positions based on two weeks in order to make moves that have far less upside.

Ryan: What are reasonable expectations for Vince Velasquez?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’s legitimately one of the better starters in the league. The consistency that was missing is there now.

mtsw: How bad will Yovani Gallardo end up being this year?

Dan Szymborski: Fairly. Above replacement but meh. Which I guess makes him a fairly typical O’s starting pitcher

Steve: At what point do we say Bryce Harper stands alone? He’s clearly the best hitter in baseball. Seems like the other tools that make Trout great may fade.

Dan Szymborski: But right now, Trout is playing CF which is big. And let’s not forget Trout has a 168 career OPS+

The Decadent Moose: San Diego dropped to 0-9 this season when scoring three or fewer runs. The Pads are 4-0 when they score four or more runs. Sometimes the answer is right there for a manager, right?

Dan Szymborski: Make Offense Les Crappy

Trainman: McCullers was scratched from a rehab start this previous Saturday. Lingering soreness again. How concerned should Houston be about this? He did play catch Sunday but we are talking about catch, not a game, we are talking about catch . Yes I just went Allen Iverson there.

Dan Szymborski: Very

Jason: Given his age, position, and years of control, is Carlos Correa the most valuable player in baseball right now?

Dan Szymborski: I said he was in a piece ranking baseball’s best assets a couple of months ago and there’s nothing tha tmakes me change it

Gary: How much do the Astros regret the Giles trade (which was terrible at the time) right now?

Dan Szymborski: It doens’t look great right now, but the Astros staff didn’t get to where they are by freaking out over short-term things

Guest: Interesting article Domingo Santana – you buying the hype?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Jimmy John: Wainwright has looked brutal through 3. Remain calm?

Dan Szymborski: What’s the other option?

Tom: Is King Felix done? Please just say “April”

Dan Szymborski: April

ConcernedReaderJohn: As a WWE/NXT fan who loves the WWE network, I often wonder if it’s feasible for MLB.tv to show minor league games. Thoughts?

Dan Szymborski: MILB.tv

brett: Iwakuma: toast or April?

Dan Szymborski: April

Guest: Is Julio urias going to make a fair amount of starts this year for the Dodgers? Kid looks sharp

Dan Szymborski: They’re trying to ease him in as cautiously as possible as he hasn’t had huge workloads, but circumstances may result in some Urias

The Maddness: Are there any stats on umpires? Like, do they tend to call a looser zone during bad weather games, or pretty much any stats like that?

Dan Szymborski: There are stats on umpires but I haven’t seen splits. Someone could do it.

Kenta Maeda: Am I for real or is this just smoke and mirrors?

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS projected him at 3.6 WAR coming into the season and I haven’t seen anythign that would cause me to think worse of it

B: Reading good things regarding Darvish’s progress; what do you expect if he can return mid-May? Darvish or Verlander ROS?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll be fine if his arm is healthy. The team’s being careful

Anthony: Lots of people doubted Cueto in rankings before the season….no at 3-0 with a good K:BB ratio and his FB has hit 95 MPH. Is he a top 10 starter at the end of the season?

Dan Szymborski: Top 10 slightly too rich for me

The Decadent Moose: Cubs/Cards with a 3-game set today in the shadow of the arch. Who ya got?

Dan Szymborski: Cubs 2-1

Matt: Regarding the unearned run for pitchers. I think it’s because you’re trying to separate pitching performance from fielding, regardless of who’s doing the fielding.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but on a *justice* standpoint it seems weird.

Trunk Slamchest: Who do you see as the top players who are likely to be moved near the trade deadline this year?

Dan Szymborski: Lucroy

Thorsday: How excited are you for me to no hit the Phillies?

Dan Szymborski: No hit? I think you’re going to -1-hit a team this year

Dan Szymborski: They’ll actually take back a hit from a previous game

Matt: Can you tell Greinke that he’s gotta cut off relations with this April chick? It’s quite depressing

Stump Junkman: Have you tried out the new Stratomatic Baseball Daily yet? If so, any early thoughts?

Dan Szymborski: I have not

Gavin: What’s stopping the Rockies from being legitimate contenders?

Dan Szymborski: Their usual lack of consistent planning.

Dan Szymborski: I just don’t think they have good enough players right now.

Dan Szymborski: And I am skeptical that they’re going to make the right decisions around their prospects in the future

Nick Tropeano: Thoughts on my performance so far?

Dan Szymborski: Fine, but ceiling is limited.

Kvn: Should the Orioles just run SP tandems to bridge to the 7th? Their SP’s havent been going beyond 5, but I’m not sure they would really want them to go 3 times through the order anyway. They have quite a few pitchers in the pen that were former starters. Tyler Wilson, Bundy, McFarland, even Brach can go two.

Dan Szymborski: Tandems require a lot of moving parts, which is one reason you don’t see them that regularly

Gary Guy Yeti: what can baseball do to make players more loyal to a city? I feel like rivalries are dead, even the sox-Yankees kinda seems forced lately

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think you can do much to make players more loyal

Matt: At the rate he’s going is Markakis worth a top-50 prospect? Could the Braves get Aaron Judge for Markakis and Teheran?

Dan Szymborski: If they get Judge for that, it would be more due to Teheran than Markakis

Dan Szymborski: Markakis just isn’t worth much

calvin: Was yesterday a sign of things to come for Steve matz? Thanks!

Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll be fine. People were freaking out too much first start

Jeff: Which starting pitchers are you legitimately concerned about – not just writing off to April?

Dan Szymborski: Well, April still part of the answer, but I’m a bit worried about Shelby Miller

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, cut finger last start likely made that worse, but his stuff didn’t look like it had any life before that

Dundalkian: Manny Machado- 10 year, $320M extension buying out his arb years. Who says no?

Dan Szymborski: Orioles – I dont’ think they’re willing to spend that amount on a single player

Smoo: I don’t understand the Cody Anderson hype. He’s still not striking guys out. Why does it exist and is it justified?

Dan Szymborski: Don’t look at me

Dan Szymborski: I was never on team Anderson

Jones: How do you see the Hector Olivera situation ending up? Would Braves follow the Rockies path with Reyes and likely cut bait?

Dan Szymborski: Depends how the story plays out. The thing is, I don’t think he’s very good, so he’ll going to have less leeway

Carter: With Markakis off to a hot start, looks like he could be a nice addition for a contender who needs corner outfield help, or do you and all the fangraph folks still think he

Dan Szymborski: This isn’t 1985. Teams aren’t going to get excited about a middling 10-year-veteran that had two good weeks.

Dan Szymborski: He’s a league-average player (maybe) paid like one. Now, a team may get desperate for that at some point, but not right now

Chicago Mark: I once read Cameron say he thought defensive WAR was accurate +/-2. I’ll ask him when I get a chance. But do you think it fair and realistic to put so much emphasis on WAR just yet? Also, when we compare players of yesterday (way back) to today how do you compute say Babe Ruth’s defensive WAR?

Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure the context of the question or an answer.

Jason: AJ Reed gets called up before the __________________.

Dan Szymborski: heat death of the universe.

Jonny: Do you think Markakis will be a nice trade chip for the Braves, or is he worthless?

Dan Szymborski: What is with you guys and Nick Markakis today?

PieceOfCozart: Considering that swing rates are the first thing to stabilize, would you buy Cozart’s hot start? Should the Reds hold on to him if they are serious about competing next year?

Dan Szymborski: It’s encouraging but let’s not go nuts yet

Dan Szymborski: And no, the Reds aren’t competing next year. If Cozart takes a big step forward, the interest to the Reds should be the package they get in return

Austin: Do you think Riley Pint should go top 5 in the draft? That shoulder action and short stride has me worried

Dan Szymborski: I think he doesn’t fall beyond the Rockies. Given his apparent demands, I’d probably shy away from him personally

Chicago Mark: Sorry, but how can you say Velasquez consistency is there now after just three starts. April bias? I call foul.

Dan Szymborski: I’m talking from a stuff standpoint.

Enlightening Round: Nothing like watching Bryce Harper swing a bat right now is there?

Dan Szymborski: It’s ridonkulous

Steve: Travis Shaw looks really good. Do you like him to outperform his projections, even after the BABIP comes down?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll beat projections, but I’m not sold on him actually being *good*

mtsw: What would ZiPS project for Shohei Otani’s WAR if he were in MLB this year?

Dan Szymborski: 4.something WAR IIRC

senpaisanto: hi dan – any thoughts re: shane greene?

Dan Szymborski: His stuff actually isn’t lifeless!@

Dan Szymborski: Cautiously optimistic

Adam: Do you think its optimal for Girardi to assign Betances, Miller and Chapman a 7-8-9 role? Might it be better to use Miller as a match up lefty in high leverage spots earlier on and let Chasen Streve pitch some lower leverage 7th/8th innings?

Dan Szymborski: It might be, but let’s be honest: They’re there for the 7-8-9 role

Querques: Do you think Conforto will become a top player?

Dan Szymborski: Not elite, but he’ll make some all-star games

Mike: I’m pretty sure that Aaron Sanchez is going to throw an 8 walk no hitter sometime. Not really a question but just a hunch I guess..

CamdenWarehouse: The Rockies have a loft problem stopping them from being contenders

Mike: Dan, is Joe Biagini-in-a-bottle the best thing since you invented Zips? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlOsnlnr33I

Dan Szymborski: Oh lord

Derek: Will Zach Lee ever get a shot at the Dodgers rotation? He’s looked very good at AAA again but he seems lost in the shuffle with the Dodgers depth

Dan Szymborski: Given the dodger propensities for pitching injury disasters, I think Jerry Reuss might make an appearance

senpaisanto:

Captain PoopyPants: So over the past two seasons, did you know Pearce has not been much worse vs righties than lefties? Maybe he’d be okay taking over for Lomo who sucks on both sides of the dish

Dan Szymborski: Don’t go nuts about platoon splits.

Dan Szymborski: Actual platoon splits don’t predict future platoon splits as well as generic platoon splits until about 3000 total PA for hitters

DJ: Hard imagine a scenrior where Syndergaard doesn’t eventually require TJ . Its such a sobering thought. Sure i get the “enjoy him while you can” but the idea he is possibly more susceptible to a major ligament injury due do to an elite skill (Top of scale velo) sucks.

Dan Szymborski: BANNED AND REPORTED TO POLICE

JDogg: what are the chances Reyes ends up back with Mets?

Dan Szymborski: None

Jason: Name one player whose early season breakout is a sign of things to come

Dan Szymborski: *Maybe* Trumbo who has worked hard to improve plate discipline and is in an ideal park

Matt: I saw you tweet about comparing milestones across sports. Where/when is that going to be puclished?

Dan Szymborski: Wednesday

andrewp: re: Machado contract in Baltimore, do you buy the argument of big free agent signing buying “legitimacy” and shows they’re willing to spend? what people were saying about Werth in DC, for instance

Dan Szymborski: There’s a factor but it’s overblown

Tyler White: I have a .423 BABIP, and want everyone to know that most guys who look like 2012 Pablo Sandoval don’t sustain that.

Mike: Out curiosity, how many comments/questions do you typically not get to during a chat?

Dan Szymborski: I typically can only answer about 20%. You guys ask a LOT of questions.

Dan Szymborski: THe percentage is higher though if we’re not counting the very obvious April questions

Mike: Is it wrong that I expected more from Josh Outman just because of his name?

Reginald Denton III: A guy in my league dropped Span for Markakis. Good move?

Dan Szymborski: Well, for the rest of you

Vamos Gigantes: Colby Rasmus: you buy the plate discipline changes? He’s running an insane 20% walk rate and and has a swing% 8 points below last year.

Dan Szymborski: Cautiously optimistic

Dave: Need a SS and it’s slim pickings on the wire. K Marte, Cozart or J Lowrie?

Dan Szymborski: Cozart

Matt: Heat death of the universe? Dan, the universe will end in the big freeze by expansion, not the big heat by contraction.

Dan Szymborski: heat death does not mean deaht caused by too much ehat

Chad: I’ve talked about this with people before, many of which have agreed with me, but do you think a major league baseball team in the city of Denver should exist? It just seems so unfair that this one team has to deal with this massive, out of their control handicap for their homes games. The only times they’ve been successful in their franchise history has been when they built a crazy power lineup and slugged their way to wins, but that’s a pretty unsustainable model. Pretty much the only way they can have successful pitching is to load up on strike out pitchers, but they don’t necessarily grow on trees. The whole thing just seems like a losing proposition.

Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure it’s necessarily unfair. It requires figuring out, but it’s also a franchise that has not generally been all that well run either.

senpaisanto: April, comes she will,
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain.
May, she will stay,
Resting in my arms again.

June, she’ll change her tune.
In restless walks she’ll prowl the night.
July, she will fly,
And give no warning to her flight.

August, die she must.
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold.
September, I’ll remember.
A love once new has now grown old.

Matt: Due to the incredibly wide definition of “copyright infringement” we’ve seen from the courts in recent years, when do we see teams start suing other teams about roster construction?

Dan Szymborski: No

CamdenWarehouse: Remember 2007-2010 Nick Markakis? Dude was a beast.

Dan Szymborski: If you can trade for 2008 Markakis, by all means!

Dan Szymborski: OK, let’s get the Lightning Round going.

Dan Szymborski: You know the rules: As long as it’s off-topic and not one of a few exceptions, I must answer it, until I either catch up or get bored of the whole thing.

Dan Szymborski: And GO

Bush: Did I do 9/11

Dan Szymborski: No

Ulysses Cantista: Where will Overwatch fit in with all the FPS on the market right now? Why does it, doesn’t it succeed?

Dan Szymborski: I think it will fit in fine because it has different construction than CS:GO. It’s more like TF2 which was never really designed for eSports and only got awkward support from Valve

Matt: Just listened to Bob Dylan’s new EP teasing the new album. Have you heard? Quite different stuff.

Dan Szymborski: I have not heard it

@RationalMLBfan: Why was Mog on all the branding for Final Fantasy 6? All he does is fall over when I want him to dance. The true central characters were Celes and Terra.

Dan Szymborski: Because moogles are cute!

Michael: Did you see Hafu’s interview of Ben Brode, where he claims they care a lot about arena balance? How cynical does that sound now that TWO more amazing class commons have been revealed for Mage?

Dan Szymborski: I actually did not see the interview

Dan Szymborski: We actually anve’t seen a whole lot of commons yet.

Dan Szymborski: And remember, Arena is wild – each addition is less impactful to arena than the ones before

andrewp: can’t remember – do you play MOBAs? recently got into Smite.

Dan Szymborski: On and off. I’m not a specialist

Tom: Can Jet fuel melt steal beams?

Dan Szymborski: Maybe not, but it can sufficiently weaken them. Strength isn’t a binary thing

Bob: Sanders or Clinton

Dan Szymborski: Well, given that choice, Clinton

CamdenWarehouse: Any books coming out this year that you’re excited about?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t usually pay attention to books until they show up in new releases

mtsw: What’s the most plausible conspiracy theory you know of?

Dan Szymborski: Tuskegee. Actually happened!

Michael: More exciting upcoming grand strategy game: Stellaris or Hearts of Iron IV?

Dan Szymborski: Stellaris – new IP

GSon: Samyod Dogs don’t so much smile as much as can’t keep their mouths closed?

Dan Szymborski: I’m not a dog expert, but they do look happy

Mike: You going to play dark souls 3?

Dan Szymborski: Probably not. The Dark Souls games are fairly masochistic

mtsw: The true central characters in FF6 were Sabin and Edgar since they had by far the best unique abilities (until very late game, at least) and so were included in almost every party.

GSon: Hard Top Convertibles >>> Soft Top Convertibles?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Chas: Why would someone choose to play Hearthfire over Magic?

Dan Szymborski: Magic’s Online client is about as fun as playing a 1980s Lotus 1-2-3 in an small emulated window.

Dan Szymborski: And HS is elegant.

Ampersand: Are any of your cats lap cats? If a cat is in your lap and you need to get up, do you: move it, move it and feel bad, or sit there for hours convincing yourself that you aren’t actually hungry?

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but mostly when they want something. Especially Galileo

Matt: Best modern musical: Hamilton or The Lion King?

Dan Szymborski: Haven’t seen Hamilton

mtsw: What did you think of that Adam LaRoche article? It seems like people are trying really hard to make his story compelling when basically he seems like a mildly eccentric guy who didnt like playing baseball much anymore.

Dan Szymborski: Mostly it seemed a lack of basic communication on all sides

Druidiful: Did you play any Overwatch this weekend? And if so what was your favorite character?

Dan Szymborski: Didn’t actually play during the beta, but have played it quite a bit over the closed beta. I really enjoy the support characters more than I do in most games

Dan Szymborski: The support characters are way more fun than teh TF2 medic

Dan Szymborski: Really, most of the characters are a lot of fun

Tom: Gun to your head: how do you escape this very vulnerable position? Someone has a loaded gun to your head! What do you do?

Dan Szymborski: Whatever is expected to me so that a gun is not pointed at my head.

Dan Szymborski: Unless, hopefully, if I’m forced to kill someone.

Dan Szymborski: I like to think I wouldn’t kill someone to not be killed myself, but who really knows what they’re made of until they’re in that situation?

Ronald McDonald: Is Donald Trump Satan?

Dan Szymborski: No

Bob: I meant Deon Sanders or George Clinton!

Dan Szymborski: Gotta take Prime Time unless I get the whole Parliament-Funkadelic too

CamdenWarehouse: Rey is whose daughter?

Dan Szymborski: Luke

Bob: Game of thrones fan? If so what are looking forward to?

Dan Szymborski: Yes. Seeing Ramsay get it.

Gus Portaculis: All words come from Greek, Nick Markakis come from Greek word, “Markakis” which mean, “league average, no upside” There you go.

mtsw: Trump goes into the GOP convention with 1150 delegates. What happens?

Dan Szymborski: HIlarious chaos

Jason: Who was the worst and best Ninja Turtle?

Dan Szymborski: Michelangelo, Raphael

The Decadent Moose: Do I have a pinched nerve in my neck or strained muscle cramping?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Repairman Man: re HS: when they gonna announce the nerfs, man?

Dan Szymborski: Expansio, so probably the 26th

Michael: What’s a better investment, buying a nearly complete Hearthstone collection for $600 or buying a single Magic deck you can play for the next 1½ years for $600?

Dan Szymborski: Well, MTG is better investment because of retail, but HS has more game for the cost

Jerry: Best presidential impersonator? Dana Carvey-Bush Sr, Larry David-Sanders, Darrell Hammond-Bill Clinot

Dan Szymborski: Gotta go with Larry David

LudeBurger: my friend is running the Boston Marathon and is currently struggling. Please, everyone, give him luck.

Dan Szymborski: You can’t transfer luck

CamdenWarehouse: Don’t see Hamilton – he was a Federalist. THE Federalist

Marc: Rick and Morty and Communtiy. Is Dan Harmon a genius or not for everyone? I love both, but cant find too many people that have seen either

Dan Szymborski: I have to say I’m not as high on COmmunity as some, though I like it

Steve: Do you think Whispers of the Old Gods will be better than or not as good as Goblins vs Gnomes? The Grand Tournament?

Dan Szymborski: Won’t be as impactful as GvG but will be better than TGT

mtsw: Any historical Presidents you would vote for Donald Trump over? If it was like, Donald Trump versus James Buchanan would you go with Trump?

Dan Szymborski: Hard to say given that I won’t exactly know their stances.

Dan Szymborski: I’d probably vote for Trump over Andrew Jackson

Dan Szymborski: Because really, dumbass immigration policies versus *actual genocide* after al

Marc: In your opinion, which candidate would lead to ideal economic growth/sustainability? Or do they ultimately end up a wash due to the inability for anything to get done in Washington due to resistance from both parties?

Dan Szymborski: I think economies have far too many moving parts and legislation — by design — too slow to really have huge effect

Ryan : Best presidential impersonator was Ferrell doing G. W. Bush.

Bad Hermit: You can’t transfer luck. But it exists?

Dan Szymborski: You can’t transfer something that doesn’t exist

Chas: I guess I only play MTG live and in person so you only play Hearthstone online?

Dan Szymborski: Well, you can’t play Hearthstone without a PC

Dan Szymborski: Well, without a *lot* of work on dice tables

eno time: did you find it weird that the anti-drug cartoon allstars to the rescue episode from 1990 included Michelangelo, since he seems most likely to do drugs?

Dan Szymborski: It was a subtle undermining of anti-drug mesage!

Ryan : Trump over Hoover for sure

The Dude of NY: I will vote for a candidate no questions asked if they promise to sign an executive order mandating Vin Scully broadcast at least one WS game every year. You?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Dan Szymborski: Given some of the college wackiness lately, I’m starting to think I’d vote for any candidate running on a platform to repeal the 28th amendment.

eno time: hartman’s clinton was on point

Dan Szymborski: Didn’t say it wasn’t

Marc: thoughts on the Rey is Palpatines granddaughter theory?

Dan Szymborski: Eh, not so sure

Jason: We’re all living in a hologram: T or F

Dan Szymborski: I think it’s possible, but I’ll say false without sufficient information

Dan Szymborski: And End

Dan Szymborski: short one today guys

Dan Szymborski: As a reminder, you can read my work at ESPN.com, chats and projections here at FanGraphs, and DSzymborski on Twitter

Dan Szymborski: Thanks for coming everyone!