Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 4/21/15

Dan Szymborski: Welcome to A Very Special Szymborski chat. Well, Very Special in the sense that I was busy with the hvac guy yesterday.

Comment From jocephus
yer not gonna go all bryan price on us are ya?

Dan Szymborski: I am a man of decorum.

Comment From Mike T
Happy Tuesday from the East Coast..

Dan Szymborski: Well, the first half was good. But then again, I slept for 5/6 of the first half of it.

Comment From Jack
Was counting on D. Santana for SB’s & R’s. Drop him for Will Odor, Herrera, Micah, ECab, J. Ramirez?

Dan Szymborski: I still like Odor. I’d stay away from Micah Johnson, I just don’t think he’s MLB-ready.

Dan Szymborski: He’s not a good fielder and he was lousy enough at AAA last year that he should have started there.

Comment From Chet
tell him to flush your pipes.

Dan Szymborski: Essentially, my malfunctioning thermostat somehow fried my entire low voltage part of my hvac system.

Dan Szymborski: So new thermostat and a new AC. The AC was old enough that it didn’t make sense to drop money into a repair.

Comment From Charles
Rafael Soriano worth holding on to?

Dan Szymborski: Not really.

Comment From Sabercoach
where can I find the number of shifts this year

Dan Szymborski: It doesn’t seem to be reported consistently, unfortunately.

Comment From Vic
How do you know when it’s time to trust Tyler Matzek?

Dan Szymborski: I already trusted him before APril.

Comment From I Love Fruit
Addisson Russell!

Comment From Pale Hose
I tried to submit a question, but got “Error: April” from CiL. What did you do Szymborski?

Dan Szymborski: My powers of evil are unquenchable.

Comment From Maxamuz

Comment From pepete
Just out of curiosity: if you were asked to predict a high scoring game, what stats would you look at? I guess park factor is the first… then? pitching matchup, offensive streak…?

Dan Szymborski: Park factor, pitching matchup, team offensive. Nothing streak related.

Comment From Guest
Addison Russell today – or should I say “RAD-dison” Russell?

Dan Szymborski: You could, but that would be weird.

Comment From Chet
Thoughts on Russell’s call up? Going to play 2nd. smart?

Dan Szymborski: I believe so. The Cubs don’t need to make every tough decision yet.

Comment From Cerambam
Soler, Bryant, Russell, Joc Pederson, who has the best season overall?

Dan Szymborski: Bryant

Comment From Matt
I was wondering how ZiPS “sees” a players particular spot in the batting order? Is it just based on last year? Obviously PA and a lot of the counting numbers will vary greatly depending on if the player is assumed to be in a different lineup spot. One example I keep seeing is Adam Lind. For RoS you have him at 420 PA in 113 games = 3.71 PA/game. This is obviously very low and around a 9th hitter. Is this assuming like he’ll start and hit 4 or 5 always vs RHP but then get 1 PH AB in a game a LHP starts which kind of throws everything off there?

Dan Szymborski: Just based on previous usage. How a manager intends to use a player going forward is a poor use of a computer projection system.

Dan Szymborski: I like using a computer projection system for things that computers do well. And I dont’ get my opinion involved in anything more than the rudimentary sense (like picking whether to publish the SP or RP projection for a guy)

Comment From Brock Sampson
Who leaves when Hardy returns? Lough, Paredes or Door Number 3? Who should leave?

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, I’m not quire sure what the O’s will do here.

Comment From Dan
My pitching staff in a 12 team 5×5 is Carrasco, Cole, G.Richards, Pineda, Fiers, Nelson and Dickey. Do you think I need an upgrade? Who would you drop for streaming options?

Dan Szymborski: Depends who is on the waiver wire.

Comment From joe
Does mike redmond deserve to lose his job for saturday’s game alone he pulled latos after a strong 5th on 75 pitches to pinch hit in the 6th and his bullpen blew up in the bottom of the inning stupidest thing I’ve ever seen does mike get the axe?

Dan Szymborski: I didn’t watch that particular game, so I’m not sure offhand what the situation was.

Comment From George is Curious
Hi Dan! If you could be so kind as to rank the following SP, I would be eternally grateful: Happ, Karns, Kelly, Simon. Thanks!

Dan Szymborski: Kelly, Karns, Simon, Happ.

Dan Szymborski: Or should I say Kelly, Karns, Simon, Happ.

Dan Szymborski: Dammit, CiL didn’t include my space

Dan Szymborski: Kelly is the only one that interests me unless my fantasy league is Marianas Trench deep.

Comment From I Love Fruit
How long until Rodon starts?

Dan Szymborski: As soon as they’re confident in his changeup I think he’ll be up for good

Comment From Vslyke
Are there any breakouts that you think are more than just noise at this point? Put another way: what surprises do you see continuing this year?

Dan Szymborski: Talked a bit about those in one of my ESPN pieces last week.

Comment From Chet
Now what do the cubs do with Baez

Comment From April
Can I get a shout out please?

Dan Szymborski: Oops didn’t answer the previous one.

Dan Szymborski: Baez still has some issues – the Cubs don’t need to be in a hurry to deal with the dilemma.

Comment From Saves Vulture
Do you like the potential of Carson Smith and Keone Kela having fantasy value this season?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t see either having big fantasy value this season.

Dan Szymborski: And I like Carson Smith a lot, but the M’s are still an inherently conservative organization

Comment From Joe
Should Kang be in the minors? He doesn’t look MLB-ready and Hurdle doesn’t seem to trust him too much.

Dan Szymborski: I actually think they should if he’s not getting enough playing time. It’s a big change coming over from Korea and even if he’s one of the best 25 players on the team — and I think he is — I think he needs to get some regular time right now

Comment From Pale Hose
Are there key indicators that you look for to distinguish between slump and not major league ready?

Dan Szymborski: Depends. I don’t like using key indicators in such a manner as you can miss the forest for the trees. There are no magic bullets in analysis – you have to look at the player and the situation as a whole each time.

Comment From DC
Would you make this trade? his cueto rd 4 for my Zimmermann rd 13 and Rosenthal rd 13 . I also have 4 other closers plus it’d give me cueto for an extra year of control then I would have for Zimmermann.

Dan Szymborski: Depends what the extra year is, if it’s 5 instead of 4, that’s not as valuable as 2 instead of 1.

Dan Szymborski: In a general sense, I dont’ think I make the trade – Rosenthal is a pretty big chip to just move from Zimmermann to Cueto (and Zimmermann’s on a better team in a better pitchers’ park).

Dan Szymborski: Even if you have other closers, I’m sure you have other needs that Rosenthal trade could address.

Comment From Jack
But Odor at the bottom of the lineup? And will he run as much as Danny?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think Santana’s all that good.

Comment From Anthony
Can we make this whole chat a debate about whether “batting around” requires 9 batters or 10?

Dan Szymborski: Did I miss a twitter question?

Comment From Capt Geech & The Shrimp Shack Shooters
I know you answered a Danny Santana question already, but I have limited options. Can I bail on D. Santana for Brad Miller or Wilmer Flores? Flores seems to be coming around.

Dan Szymborski: I preferred both at the start of the year and prefer both now.

Comment From Chet
nest thermo meter?

Dan Szymborski: It’s some honeywell programmable. I don’t anything fancy with learning and wifi.

Comment From Mike T
I know it’s only April… but I have been pleasantly surprised by Steven Souza with the bat (besides the K rate). Was looking at his ZIPs and Steamer projections, do you think he blows them out of the water (25 HR/ 25 SBs to 30/30)? Or am I pursuing a wild dream here?

Dan Szymborski: Still don’t think so.

Comment From Harry Porter and the Voldemalts
TURN ON THE RODON BAT SIGNAL

Comment From San Dzymborski
Is this who Iwakuma is now? Because….he’s terrible.

Dan Szymborski: Ludgate.

Comment From Derf
What is wrong with Jason Kipnis? Is he overrated, injured, or just a flat out chump?

Dan Szymborski: He’ll be OK, but he *has* been overrated.

Comment From Chet
did you see that they shifted for dan uggla..and it wasn’t 7 guys behind the catcher.

Comment From mtsw
Probably a dumb question but: Is there a smart way to combine data from multiple baseball stat spreadsheets besides tedious and messy VLOOKUPs?

Dan Szymborski: INDEX?

Dan Szymborski: I love conditional VLookups.

Comment From Bret
The Jays two rookie starters, Sanchez and Norris, have been a mess so far. How long should they give them before changing plans?

Dan Szymborski: Since their other options aren’t that exciting, they can be patient.

Comment From Chris
Do the Phillies have a fetish for intentional walks? They walked Bryce Harper four times intentionally and seven times in the series. He’s good but he’s not Barry Bonds

Dan Szymborski: Problem is, most of the Phillies pitch like they’re Barry Bonds.

Comment From Maxamuz
Its statcast day for the MLB. I’m somewhat excited to see what comes out of it.

Comment From Mooking for Love
Scooter is a lying SOB. How in the balls do you cut yourself like that in the shower!? I smell shenanigans! SHENANIGANS I TELL YOU!

Dan Szymborski: I once tore my wrist tripping on a cat and getting my wrist caught in the railing.

Comment From mtsw
K% stabilizes fast, right? Is Adam Jones’ new policy of basically never striking out (he’s at half of 2014’s K% so far this year) sustainable or just a fluke in your opinion?

Dan Szymborski: Fast, not instantly.

Comment From Mike T
Gun to your head: Who is the next big prospect called up after Russell?

Dan Szymborski: GUN TO MY HEAD? Are you a sociopath?

Dan Szymborski: WHO POINTS GUNS AT PEOPLES HEADS FOR PROSPECT GUESSES

Comment From Catoblepas
Are old ZiPS projections available anywhere? I’m trying to do some $/WAR calculations on free agent signings, and you obviously can’t use actual performance for that. I looked on Baseball Think Factory but I couldn’t find them — any help?

Dan Szymborski: Only problem is I’ve only done WAR for the projections for some of that time

Comment From Curtis
which baseball skill do you think is most underrated?

Dan Szymborski: Keeping your dumb mouth shut.

Comment From Ted
What does ZiPS think of the Mets post-injuries? The Wright injury is bad, but their other major injuries have come at positions with pretty good depth.

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS thought the Mets were the #2 with wild card upside and likely still does, though having a lead is always nice

Comment From David
How much do AAA players make?

Dan Szymborski: Depends on their situation. Some AAA vets make solid money (on the normal person scale, not MLB player scale)

Comment From Mike T
Correa is absolutely raking in AA, what are the odds Houston calls him up this season?

Dan Szymborski: Fairly decent, though they are going to be service time conscious.

Comment From Reginald Denton III
My latest statistical pet peeve: NBA analysts who say “Teams that win the first two games of a series have a 94% chance of winning the series.” Is it just me?

Dan Szymborski: It depends on how it’s presented.

Comment From Hoff
Just read Shane Greene write-up. A lot of folks are worried because his Ks are down. Are you?

Dan Szymborski: I’m not as concerned becuase I was never on the hype train. I still think he’s a mid-rotation type

Comment From Matt
Thanks. Now that you mention it I was wondering about the SP vs RP projection for a player. See Carlos Carrasco for example – you have him at 32 games remaining but 15 starts though he is a SP. Other examples I’ve seen of this this year are Alex Wood and Hector Santiago. Will these be updated?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t update role projections in-season.

Comment From Trevor Gobble
Hey Dan, I wanted to get your thoughts on some of the older prospects who have seen service time in the bigs (never stuck) who are having success early on. With the already jam packed Red Sox outfield, Bryce Bentz and JBJ are having great starts in small sample sizes. Also Russ Canzler (OF) for the Phillies and don’t look now but the Cardinals seem to have another 1B ready for the bigs in Xavier Scruggs, if he can sustain his production. His peripherals at this point suggest he can. What are your thoughts?

Dan Szymborski: Most of these guys are role player types, though I still hold out more for Bradley.

Dan Szymborski: April applies for minor leaguers too.

Comment From hscer
I don’t know which way is up anymore. The chat schedule is more erratic than Mitch Williams and Henry Rodriguez put together!

Comment From hscer
Any early season triple slashes as spectacular as Teixeira’s .190/.302/.548? Seven of his eight hits have gone for extra bases!

Comment From Sabercoach
I think a guy like Bauer who has reportedly worked on many changes in the offseason is a prime candidate to out perform a projection correct?

Dan Szymborski: Possibly, but this kind of thing is overrated – everybody works on stuff.

Comment From Bryan Price
Symborski, you f***ing sh**face, how the f*** is this f***ing chat helping the f***ing Reds?

Comment From Curious as to how…
…you pronounce your last name?

Dan Szymborski: zim-BORE-skee

Dan Szymborski: The original Polish is really awful to pronounce

Dan Szymborski: You essentially would have to say shjsh-BORE-skee

Dan Szymborski: err shjshm-BORE-skee

Comment From Trevor Gobble
Rodon wins AL ROY? If not who’s the favorite?

Dan Szymborski: I actually thought before the spring that it would be Heaney.

Dan Szymborski: Rodon’s got a chance to quickly grab it if he comes up soon

Comment From pot
Re: Park factor. Do you look at Basic or HR factor? how important do you think is the career numbers of a pitcher against the rival lineup?

Dan Szymborski: Depends on the situation. And not at all.

Comment From JP
More career WAR: Yelich or Betts?

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS has them almost tied for future with Yelich’s already accumulated ones giving him the slight edge. I’d have trouble picking

Comment From John
given what the cubs are doing – making their best 25 on the team now, money be damned – do you see other teams (mets) following suit? gee shouldn’t be in the rotation, for example

Dan Szymborski: I’m nore sure that’s actually what the Cubs are doing.

Dan Szymborski: But teams should always be willing to jettison players that are essentially sunk costs.

Comment From Mooking for Love
I traded Baez + Doolittle for DeGrom at 8:30 last night, like 3 hours before the Russell news. You wanna high five me, don’t you? I’ll high five myself for you. HIGH FIVE!

Dan Szymborski: Diamond Dallas Page?

Comment From Ryan
Thoughts on Braden Shipley and Aaron Blair?

Dan Szymborski: They are pitchers in the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Comment From Northsider
Are you a fan of Joe Maddon hitting his pitcher 8th in the lineup? It seems like more often than not the pitcher ends up at the plate with 2 outs and guys on base. I know it’s kind of random, but is it being different just for the sake of being different?

Dan Szymborski: There’s actually some simulation justification for hitting pitcher 8th

Dan Szymborski: Depends hwho the other guys are

Comment From mapsamountainrange
Which sports league has the highest disparity in ownership/management intelligence between top and bottom teams?

Dan Szymborski: NFL still has a couple organization that are way dumber than annything in sports

Comment From guest
If there were suspicions about Nelson Cruz and PED’s could MLB force him to take extra or more frequent ua’s?

Dan Szymborski: _I don’t have the exact language but previous offenders are tested more often.

Comment From Derf
Does Dylan Bundy have an impact in 2015?

Dan Szymborski: No

Comment From Bernie
Am I crazy fer droppin Span fer AdRus in 10 team mixed?

Dan Szymborski: It’s tough in 10 team mixed, but if your team is weak, the upside’s interesting

Comment From Curtis
Who was your biggest “miss” as a prospect evaluator? Who was your biggest “hit? someone way off the map that you predicted would be a star…

Dan Szymborski: Choi maybe?

Comment From Franklin
Do you think Christian Yelich will ever hit 15 HR in a season? He has such a pretty swing, but NEVER elevates the ball…

Dan Szymborski: He’s not exactly LeMahieu in that department. I think he could hit 15.

Comment From Matt
In any other job Bryan Price would have been fired this morning fot being that stupid to a media member.

Dan Szymborski: Price acted like a douchebag and still doesn’t even get what he did

Comment From Mike T
Has Salazar figured it out? Or is he still just a thrower?

Dan Szymborski: I like Salazar a lot

Comment From Ryan
Should Tomas be in the minors?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Comment From Larry David
Whaddya figure the Cubs do with Vogelbach?

Dan Szymborski: Wait and see.

Comment From Bryan Price
I see everyone is so f****** g**d**** excited for this d***a*** StatCast thing. How the f*** does this help the Reds? How does StatCast f***** help the Reds? I’m sick of this s***. Take it offline.

Comment From Lindor Truffles
piggybacking off of the wilmer flores answer, do you prefer him to asdrubal cabrera or jose ramirez?

Dan Szymborski: Fantasy-wise, yes.

Comment From Larry David
Wainwright and Tanaka too much for Price or juuuuuuuust about right?

Dan Szymborski: Too rich for me

Comment From Guest
Have you ever graveyard shift? I just started 9pm to 730 am its awful but pays real well

Dan Szymborski: No, I’m just a night owl

Dan Szymborski: And I like writing stuff for the next day after the night’s games

Comment From Franklin
Matt Kemp looks very good to start the year. MVP candidate?

Dan Szymborski: Would it be churlish to note that with his normal BABIP, he’s a 320/480 hitter so far?

Dan Szymborski: But yeah, most decent hitters with power will be seen as MVP candidates if they maintain a .420 BABIP.

Comment From Guest
Is Tai Walker overrated?

Dan Szymborski: I believe so.

Comment From iPuig
As a Reds fan, how long till I should go on a 5 minute, 77 f***-bomb tirade that Kevin Gregg and Jason Marquis are still on the roster?

Dan Szymborski: You haven’t yet?

Comment From ampersand
Does your new AC have a good SEER rating?

Dan Szymborski: 15. Nothing fancy.

Dan Szymborski: My ancient AC left me with $350 a month July electric bills. But it never actually broke until now, so I never had the motivation to get off my ass and get a new one installed

Comment From mtsw
Is Philly even or better odds to have the worst record?

Dan Szymborski: I think they’re solid to be the worst tema.

Comment From John
but were you drunk?

Dan Szymborski: When?

Comment From L. Scott
T-shirt launcher to your head?

Dan Szymborski: I’ll let em pull a trigger, get a free tshirt

Comment From dom
matt holliday off to a good start but only 1 xbh. Is he a slap hitter now?

Dan Szymborski: Cruelest Month

Comment From Hoff
How big is Eno’s s***-eating grin after DeSclafani start last night?

Comment From salasaga
The Royals went to a youth movement a few years ago and look where their at. Cubs are doing the same. Why arent other teams doing the same? Especially, with the wildcard setup?

Dan Szymborski: It takes a lot of backbone to endure a painful long-term plan.

Dan Szymborski: Royals did it mostly out of necessity than any real desire

Dan Szymborski: If the 2005-2010 Royals had the willingness to spend income to simply accumulate crappy free agents, they would have gone ethat route

Dan Szymborski: The thing in baseball is that being excessively cheap does have a payoff

Comment From salasaga
Kris Bryant or Kobe Bryant?

Dan Szymborski: A tthis point Kris

Comment From dom
chances Marcus Semien turns out to be a better player than Addison?

Dan Szymborski: Fairly low – I like Semien, but I don’t see much upside.

Comment From Xolo
After Kennedy returns, should the Padres keep Morrow or Despaigne in the rotation?

Dan Szymborski: Ace of spades, Brandon Morrow, life is death is life.

Comment From Choo
Is 2015 me going to look like 2013 me or 2014 me?

Dan Szymborski: In between.

Comment From Frank
Gun to my head: Souza or Kiermaier?

Dan Szymborski: Hey, if they’re a gun involved, leave me out of your problems!

Dan Szymborski: I’m not a ninja, you need a swat team, not szymborski

Comment From salasaga
Does Tulo get traded this year?

Dan Szymborski: No

Comment From salasaga
Joe Maddon just thinks hes smater than everyone

Dan Szymborski: Bryan Price is in his division.

Comment From Mooking for Love
No day games to listen to at work makes me a sad panda. I hereby move the MLB to mandate at least one day game every day. All in favor!?

Dan Szymborski: I hate Tuesdays as those seem to be the worst for day games, followed by Friday

Comment From Brad
Speaking of the Mariners being a conservative organization, growing up I always thought the Cubs were as well, and Ricketts is politically, but with Theo & Jed replacing Hendry, they’re now a pretty progressive organization. Where do they rank among all teams?

Dan Szymborski: In baseball progressivity they’re way up there.

Dan Szymborski: Though I wish they would find a new word as I don’t feel personally comfortable using the word progressivism in a compliment.

Comment From Ron
Any reason to think that this hot start from Votto isnt a huge fluke?

Dan Szymborski: He’s a terrific offensive player when healthy.

Dan Szymborski: Now, if I have to convince you he’s not really a 1250 OPS player, you’re in the wrong chat

Comment From Trevor Gobble
Thoughts on Shelby Miller? Is his early season success due to the improved sinker or are you a little hesitant to buy in at this point?

Dan Szymborski: I’m a fan, though I don’t see his ace ERA maintaining

Comment From Josh G
Do Brewers challenge Phillies for worst team?

Dan Szymborski: I think the Phillies are worse

Comment From Lars
Can you give an example of a current MLB player that Addison Russell could be comparable to at his peak if everything went absolutely great in his development?

Dan Szymborski: I guess I can’t use Larkin? He was a frequent comp for Russell as a prospect and I don’t think it’s bad

Dan Szymborski: We’re not at a great SS time like several years ago. Peralta?

Comment From guest
If we’re being honest about the Price debacle, if he had made the same inane point about media coverage without the f-bombs, it’d be covered very lightly and we’d make a few jokes about him. It seems the backlash is really just a result of the profanity

Dan Szymborski: Not among media. We do get the backs of our own.

Comment From T.J. House
Am I bad and destined for AAA ball or do I just blame a small sample size?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think you’re one of the best 5 Indian starters right now

Comment From Eric
Is Betts just bitten by bad luck so far (.205 BABIP), or is there something else that explains his slow start?

Dan Szymborski: Aphrilis

Comment From Trevor Gobble
The fact the Brandon Belt is available in a ridiculous amount of leagues is astonishing. Thoughts on why? I dropped Nap (who I loved for HRs at the beginning of the year) for him this morning.

Dan Szymborski: There’s a lot of good 1B.

Dan Szymborski: And he’ll always be a little worse in fantasy than real life because of the park

Comment From Bojack Horseman
Piggybacking off the Matt Kemp question–his K rate is down significantly this year, and he’s now got enough PAs that we have to assume there’s something there. Perhaps he’s actually improved?

Dan Szymborski: He hasn’t improved to a .420 BABIP.

Comment From Derf
Does Stalin Castro get traded?

Dan Szymborski: Eventually, I think.

Comment From Aaron Cline
How often does Zips adjust its’ projections during the season?

Dan Szymborski: Every morning

Comment From Franklin
Which side would you prefer in a keeper league: Christian Yelich or Rusney Castillo?

Dan Szymborski: Yelich, both in fantasy and real life

Comment From Aaron Cline
Reason to think Adrian Beltre is in decline or just bad luck early?

Dan Szymborski: Oster-monath

Dan Szymborski: On that note, let’s start the LIGHTNING ROUND. The rules for the LIGHTNING ROUND is I have to answer any off-topic question, no matter how stupid, with the obvious exceptions due to work/indecency, as long as they have a timestamp through 1:11.

Dan Szymborski: and GO

Comment From HeeSopPuig
How many F Bombs did you use in this chat?

Dan Szymborski: I used none.

Comment From Sean
Gun to your head: what do you do?

Dan Szymborski: Probably wet myself. I’m not used to people pointing guns at me.

Comment From Orel
Do you poop more than once a day?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Comment From SamB
do you like turtles

Dan Szymborski: The pecan chocolate yes. The animal pretty much, though I don’t thin kthey’re exciting pets. The teenage ninjas, absolutely.

Comment From Cain Marko
Why does anything raspberry flavored have to be blue raspberry?

Dan Szymborski: That beats me. WHY ARE RASPBERRIES NEON BLUE HAS ANYONE SEEN A RASPBERRY

Comment From HeeSopPuig
Why does Danny Santana suck so much!

Dan Szymborski: He wasn’t that good to begin with

Comment From JohnnyFive
If Mike Trout was a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would he be?

Dan Szymborski: ALL THE BACON AND EGGS YOU HAVE

Comment From Mooking for Love
Head to your gun: Confuse your attacker!

Dan Szymborski: Then I’d just talk.

Comment From Sean
How good is your oral hygiene?

Dan Szymborski: About average. I brush twice a day, but I’m not big on flossing.

Dan Szymborski: I use antiseptic regularly too of course and brush my tongue.

Dan Szymborski: But I have acid reflux which damages teeth a bit and no matter how hard I try, I do get some calculus on my teeth that need scraping

Comment From mtsw
Will Google sheets ever be as good/useful as Excel?

Dan Szymborski: No.

Comment From L. Scott
Do you kill bugs in your home, or capture and release them?

Dan Szymborski: Kill unless they look like they’ll be super gross if I smush them

Comment From Orel
Do I have chlamydia?

Dan Szymborski: See a doctor, I do not have sufficient information.

Comment From jimmy
what is your favorite kind of cheese

Dan Szymborski: changes on a daily basis I think. Right now, Robiola.

Comment From Sean
Today is my birthday

Dan Szymborski: Please state your question in the form of a question.

Comment From JP
You a fan of Node.js? Surprisingly dece for computational stuff

Dan Szymborski: I do not knwo what that is. OK, I sort do, but I’m not a programmer guy

Comment From Alex
addison russell or kris bryant ROcareer?

Dan Szymborski: bryant

Comment From jimmy
is shane greene just a rick porcello palette swap, the scorpion to his sub-zero

Dan Szymborski: I like Porcello better.

Comment From Josh G
Do aliens exist?

Dan Szymborski: Yes, though it is exceedingly unlikely that we have had contact with any.

Comment From mtsw
Why are Americans so fat?

Dan Szymborski: Eat more calories than we burn.

Comment From L. Scott
Of the other 3 major American sports, which one have you seen live the most?

Dan Szymborski: Baseball

Comment From Jay
Favorite Ninja Turtle?

Dan Szymborski: Raphael

Comment From JohnnyFive
If Tuffy Gosewisch was a sandwich, what kind would he be?

Dan Szymborski: Olive Loaf and Velveeta.

Comment From mtsw
Delmon Young apparently spent the offseason working out with Brady Anderson (and reportedly now one of the fastest guys on the Orioles). 1) Greenlight this as a sitcom? 2) [steroid joke]?

Dan Szymborski: I’d watch it.

Comment From Josh G
North Dakota or South Dakota?

Dan Szymborski: North Dakota has more oil. Oil power stuff.

Comment From Alex
barry larkin or larry barkin?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t know Larry, but Barry.

Comment From Sean
What is “Today is my birthday”?

Dan Szymborski: A statement of possible fact.

Comment From JP
Wait how did you write zips?

Dan Szymborski: Like Silver’s PECOTA, a horrible blend of gigantic excel spreadsheets and statistical plugins

Comment From Sean
What would happen to Earth if the moon spontaneously disappeared (assume no destructive forces)?

Dan Szymborski: No tides and I guess long term our axis of rotation may change?

Comment From Orel
Do you count the kernels of corn in your poop if you eat corn?

Dan Szymborski: I do not analyze my poop.

Comment From Cain Marko
What do you think of the wwe banning the curb stomp?

Dan Szymborski: Has ROllins actually hurt anyone? WWE is trying to keep more stuff from the head as there’s a lot of important stuff in there

Dan Szymborski: You see that with piledrivers too. And of course chairs after benoit.

Comment From Maguro
favorite blackrock combos?

Dan Szymborski: The Grim Patron stuff is great fun

Comment From Kenny Rogers
Your take on the beard frenzy?

Dan Szymborski: I wish I could grow a convincing one

Comment From JP
Ever think of re-doing it?

Dan Szymborski: Not really

Comment From mtsw
Do you prefer “B” or “S” to indicate switch hitters in your spreadsheets?

Dan Szymborski: S. Sometimes if I look quickly I’ll see a B as R.

Comment From Sean
What is your favorite civ to play as? I’m working a cultural victory as the Mongolians (whom wiped out China) on a 23-civ giant earth map.

Dan Szymborski: Polynesia

Comment From Phillies113
How many of your answers in these chats are lies?

Dan Szymborski: None I hope

Comment From The Oberamtmann
Are you also excited about AROD! in the early going as I am?

Dan Szymborski: I do not know how excited you are.

Comment From Josh G
Favorite ballpark?

Dan Szymborski: Camden

Comment From Orel
Who is the hottest chick on Game of Thrones?

Dan Szymborski: Natalie Dormer of course.

Dan Szymborski: And on that note, time to end chat for another week.

Dan Szymborski: Thanks for coming out! As a reminder, you can find my work at ESPN.com, chats and projections here at FanGraphs, and DSzymborski on Twitter and Steam. Also twitch.tv/zimsmash. And I have an A-Rod piece up now!

Dan Szymborski: http://es.pn/1J6i6bE

Comment From Sean
Polynesia for insta-embarkation?

Dan Szymborski: I like instant embarkation. If you happen to be on a map with a lot of water, you get such a tempo gain.