| 12:01 |
 Dan Szymborski: Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope you’re all recovered from Cinco de Cuatro.
|
| 12:01 |
The guy who asks the lunch question: What’s for lunch?
|
| 12:01 |
Dan Szymborski: Heh. Nothing, I’ve got a stomach ache.
|
| 12:01 |
Dave: Is the highlight of the Cubs’ season going to be the return when they trade David Robertson?
|
| 12:02 |
Dan Szymborski: A lot of their highlights are likely going to be Suzuki related!
|
| 12:02 |
Dan Szymborski: Plus, not being the Reds is very nice.
|
| 12:02 |
Dan Szymborski: (I’m keeping off-topic questions for the Lightning Round)
|
| 12:02 |
Rick: 1) Rodgers or Gleybar; 2) Arozarena, Kepler, or Pham (pick two)
|
| 12:03 |
Dan Szymborski: Rodgers, A/K
|
| 12:03 |
John: How worried are you about Justin Turner and Nelson Cruz?
|
| 12:03 |
Dan Szymborski: Quite a bit. These are absolutely horrible starts.
|
| 12:04 |
Mike: How bullish are you on Curtis Mead?
|
| 12:04 |
Dan Szymborski: Given how he’s tearing up AA, quite so!
|
| 12:04 |
Champdo: So this is the second season in a row that the Tigers have looked lost at the plate in April&early May. Could there be something they could change to avoid this in the future? Also how much of an impact does a hitting coach really have?
|
| 12:05 |
Dan Szymborski: I think a hitting coach can have significant impact if they have just the right idea/rapport with a player at just the right time, but it’s hard to measure and talent will still win out sooner or later
|
| 12:06 |
Richard: Willie Calhoun seems like a clear upgrade over Zimmer and probably Tapia too. What do you think it would take for the Jays to acquire him?
|
| 12:06 |
Dan Szymborski: I doubt it will take much to acquire Calhoun at this point.
|
| 12:07 |
Dan Szymborski: If he didn’t have options left, he might have even been a waiver wire guy now
|
| 12:08 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure he’s really an upgrade on Tapia
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| 12:08 |
Dan Szymborski: I think I prefer Zimmer going forward
|
| 12:09 |
greenfrog: Hi Dan, who do you think will end up as the best starting pitcher on the Blue Jays in 2022: Manoah, Gausman or Berrios?
|
| 12:09 |
Dan Szymborski: Gausman
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| 12:09 |
Dan Szymborski: I love Gausman
|
| 12:09 |
Guest: Juan Soto is on pace to finish the season with 36 RBI. Do you take the over or under?
|
| 12:09 |
Dan Szymborski: Over of course!
|
| 12:10 |
Jon Daniels: When will my pitching staff get the credit they deserve for Minor/Lynn/Gibson and now Martin Perez. Also yes we used magic to fix Perez.
|
| 12:11 |
Dan Szymborski: The rangers have done a solid job with veteran pitchers in recent years, no doubt.
|
| 12:11 |
dancing dan mcgraw: What do you make out of Cortes? will he overperform Zips?
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| 12:11 |
Dan Szymborski: Oh, Cortes is crushing his ZiPS. No question
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| 12:11 |
sadtrombone: The Reds are now 3-21, and have become the single best storyline in baseball. I get up every day and the first thing I do is check the Reds game to see if they lost (they did). I am seriously invested in them “beating” the 2003 Tigers in terms of losses.
|
| 12:11 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure they’re really THAT bad though.
|
| 12:13 |
Phil Castellini: where you gonna go? O/U 50 wins for the Reds?
|
| 12:13 |
Dan Szymborski: Over
|
| 12:13 |
CM: Taylor Ward breakout looks real. Do you see the potential Josh Donaldson trajectory? Failed catcher with a swing change breaking out at 28.
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| 12:13 |
Dan Szymborski: The longer he keeps it up, the more likely! I wrote about him last week
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| 12:14 |
Facundo: How real do you think my Metsies are? I am not buying that win%, but trust that we are kinda good. I don’t want to suffer, but this team seems to be doing it all over again.
|
| 12:14 |
Dan Szymborski: They haven’t even had deGrom!
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| 12:15 |
Dan Szymborski: Though with the Mets, there’s always this feeling that the bigger the triumph, the larger the disaster waiting is.
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| 12:16 |
Who’s Fabio: Hey Dan – should the Reds try hiring Dancing Homer to turn their season around? Does the Neural Network have an idea of what that might look like?
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| 12:16 |
Dan Szymborski: I once had the neural network give a new mascot to each team.
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| 12:17 |
Dan Szymborski: Can’t find it right now though.
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| 12:17 |
Matt (Oceanside): Dan the Man! Hope you are doing well sir! A couple weeks ago you guys mentioned that the Dodgers prospects list was next up. It’s been two weeks and I’m dying! You guys aren’t aloud to have lives! 🙂 Thank you for all you guys do for us! Appreciate the content! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!!! Especially ZIPS!!!!
|
| 12:18 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m sure it’s on the way! Our prospect team puts a ton of work into these lists while still covering prospects live. It’s not like ZiPS where you have a definite deadline; think of it as an ongoing prospect discussion
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| 12:20 |
Dan Szymborski: Oops, I accidentally hit delete on a Reds reliever question.
|
| 12:20 |
Dan Szymborski: The question is what relievers would be interesting at the deadline.
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| 12:20 |
Dan Szymborski: Most likely guys closer to free agency so no art warrn
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| 12:20 |
Dan Szymborski: warren
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| 12:21 |
Dan Szymborski: I think Jeff Hoffman could be interesting and Buck Farmer isn’t toast yet.
|
| 12:21 |
Frank Thomas the Tank Engine: When you consult for MLB teams, what is the form of the deliverable that you provide? A spreadsheet of projections? Data File? A “Memo From The Desk Of Daniel J. Szymborski”?
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| 12:21 |
Dan Szymborski: Usually a spreadsheet or csv of requested data.
|
| 12:21 |
Frank Thomas the Tank Engine: How would you fix the ball issue? (I’m referring to the MLB baseball)
|
| 12:22 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not quite sure at this point. Generally, my biggest complaint is transparency
|
| 12:22 |
Dan Szymborski: But I think we’re at the point where the offense/defense imbalance is too high.
|
| 12:23 |
Dan Szymborski: I think I’d revisit pitcher distance/mound while also livening the ball up considearbly
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| 12:23 |
Dan Szymborski: I wish they’d experiment with 88-foot first base in Atlantic League
|
| 12:23 |
Adam: Has ZiPS adjusted its expectations for offense for the current year? What # does it now expect will lead the league in batting average vs. preseason expectations? ERA?
|
| 12:24 |
Dan Szymborski: Don’t have the exact number in front of me; it melds the expected offense with the new one.
|
| 12:24 |
Dan Szymborski: But for all I know, MLB could suddenly quietly throw in a bunch of lively baseballs without telling anyone because that’s how they roll
|
| 12:24 |
Guest: who on the current Cubs roster (position player-wise) will be part of the next “core” group that will hopefully have success in making the playoffs…Suzuki, Hoerner, Happ? Madrigal a reach?
|
| 12:24 |
Dan Szymborski: I think you answered your own question!
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| 12:24 |
Dan Szymborski: Yes on madrigal even though I dont’ tthink he has huge upside
|
| 12:25 |
GA Blood: Looking at Rowdy Tellez’s discrepancy between wOBA and xwOBA but also his ROS projections. When does performance and expected performance start to impact projections?
|
| 12:25 |
Dan Szymborski: ZiPS uses a simpler model in-season, so no zstats, but you’ll have an impact from at-bat one. The exact impact will vary, of course.
|
| 12:25 |
Frank Thomas the Tank Engine: Should the Angels just trade Jo Adell to a team that could play him every day yet give the Angels back something useful?
|
| 12:26 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s not a bad idea.
|
| 12:26 |
Chris: I’m here to argue that 71 wins vs 64 wins actually matters at some point. As an Orioles fan, is it reasonable for me to have lost all interest in following a roster of mostly AAAA players? Even if some big prospects are on the cusp, there’s still several years of losing; why should fans investing time and energy when management is clearly taking them for granted?
|
| 12:27 |
Dan Szymborski: The problem is that teams know that 71 vs. 64 doesn’t really matter to most, which is why it would have been nice for MLB to be interested in incentivizing winning 71 instead of 64 games financially. The MLBPA was interested, MLB refused to discuss even teh concept.
|
| 12:28 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure the Orioles are necessarily taking fans for granted. It’s just that they had little talent to trade by the time the rebuild started in earnest and the Machado return didn’t work out, nor did most of the fringier prospects of 2019-2020 period. The team was probably hurt more than most by the loss of 2020 minor league season
|
| 12:28 |
Austin: Do you believe Cano is going to get picked?
|
| 12:28 |
Dan Szymborski: Yes
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| 12:28 |
brad penny for your thoughts: has the rockies start interpolated your brain?
|
| 12:28 |
Dan Szymborski: No. Mediocre teams have good months and vice-versa
|
| 12:28 |
Frank Thomas the Tank Engine: Since you are a member of the Cincinnati baseball writers club, could you please make the Reds do better and spend more on players?
|
| 12:29 |
Dan Szymborski: You greatly overestimate my influence!
|
| 12:29 |
James: Is Verlander really just going to be his usual self at 39 coming off TJ?
|
| 12:29 |
Dan Szymborski: We’ve really gotten good at elbows. Not so much at shoulders.
|
| 12:30 |
Dan Szymborski: And by we, I dont’ mean literally: I have made absolutely no impact, positive or negative, on TJ surgeries
|
| 12:30 |
David: Will Kyle Lewis save my Mariners?
|
| 12:31 |
Dan Szymborski: I’d be skeptical. But Kelenic’s been SO awful…
|
| 12:31 |
Dan Szymborski: But J-Rod has come around a ton since first weeks
|
| 12:31 |
Adam: Are you in favor of limiting the number of pitchers on a roster? Any additional (or alternative) methods you support to move the offense needle up a bit?
|
| 12:31 |
Dan Szymborski: I am.
|
| 12:32 |
namiki: Seiya Suzuki has been struggling lately, do you think he can come back?
|
| 12:32 |
Dan Szymborski: Of course!
|
| 12:32 |
Chris: Should kelenic be sent down?
|
| 12:32 |
Dan Szymborski: Sadly, I think so
|
| 12:32 |
Joey Baggadonuts: What to do about Kelenic? Looking for signs of life and finding none. Keep him on my bench and pray he continues to get playing time once Lewis returns, or cut bait now? Is he a next-year, post-post-hype play at this point?
|
| 12:32 |
Dan Szymborski: I was hopeful about this season, but so far, he’s just been a mess.
|
| 12:33 |
Dan Szymborski: I’d send him down.
|
| 12:33 |
Dan Szymborski: Even as sad as that makes me.
|
| 12:33 |
Tomo: You think Strider gets a look at SP next year for the Braves?
|
| 12:33 |
Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll end up with some starts THIS year
|
| 12:33 |
Guest: what would you do with Paul DeJong?
|
| 12:33 |
Dan Szymborski: I’d wait. For all intents and purposes, this is still April
|
| 12:34 |
Guest: It’s very weird seeing pitiful stat lines with a decent wRC+. Trea Turner is hitting .261/.309/.375 for a 100 wRC+. Which camp are you in? 1. please bring back the juiced balls, or 2. don’t care
|
| 12:35 |
Adam: What would happen if everyone played the entirety of their head-to-head matchups consecutively? I.e. the Dodgers-Giants played each other for one three-week stretch, split between SF and LA. Would the familiarity with the pitchers have any kind of significant impact on offense?
|
| 12:35 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure it would necessarily be a huge impact
|
| 12:35 |
Dan Szymborski: I think it woudl get really tiring though.
|
| 12:35 |
Dan Szymborski: HERE COMES GAME 15 OF THE 17 GAME SERIES
|
| 12:35 |
Chris: When will the narrative shift from Julio is struggling to Julio is dominating. He’s stolen a bunch of bases, crushed it in center and his batting stats have improved tremendously
|
| 12:35 |
Dan Szymborski: Hopefully soon!
|
| 12:35 |
bzink: Expanding on the Willie Calhoun question above, have you noticed any trends or common traits for prospects who tear it up in the minor but the bat flops at the major league level?
|
| 12:36 |
Dan Szymborski: Not really. And the ones that exist aren’t really applicable to Calhoun.
|
| 12:36 |
Dan Szymborski: For example, people tend to overrate guys in AAA who get a HUGE amount of their value from walks.
|
| 12:36 |
Devil Ray Jay Johnson: Are you going to answer any questions with “May”?
|
| 12:36 |
Dan Szymborski: As I said, we’re still kind of in April, games-wise
|
| 12:38 |
Adam: Who’s the first player you think of when I say 1968? 1987? Who will it be for 2022?
|
| 12:38 |
Dan Szymborski: When I think of 1968, it’s Yaz because he was awesome and the long bit of trivia about how low his leading BA was
|
| 12:39 |
Dan Szymborski: 1987, I think Larry Sheets
|
| 12:39 |
Dan Szymborski: because he TORE it up for the O’s that year
|
| 12:39 |
Dan Szymborski: which is something I directly remember
|
| 12:40 |
Dan Szymborski: I might have different, more personal memories of 1968
|
| 12:40 |
Dan Szymborski: but I did not exist in 1968
|
| 12:40 |
daro: CWS is currently a mess with this many injuries. Do you still expect them to finish 1st in the Central AL?
|
| 12:40 |
Dan Szymborski: Yes, but it’s getting tighter. Have a piece coming up tomorrow on the subject that I don’t want to spoil!
|
| 12:41 |
Siri: Do you think MJ Melendez gets a shot at a relatively full time gig, or is this call up temporary? His slow start in AAA looks babip fueled.
|
| 12:41 |
Dan Szymborski: I think for now, it’s temporary
|
| 12:41 |
Adam: I like Tylor Megill because in my head I pronounce his name with the same voice and cadence as TROGDOR
|
| 12:41 |
Papa Reina: For the DMB guys, did you release the spreadsheet of splits/D ratings anywhere?
|
| 12:42 |
Dan Szymborski: I didn’t, though DMB does have it. The weird schedule this year through everything into chaos
|
| 12:42 |
Dan Szymborski: threw
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| 12:42 |
Devil Ray Jay Johnson: The Reds have a long glorious history, but given the current inept management, is it possible for the franchise to fail and have to move if now is the beginning of a 20-something year run of futility? In the other words, are the Reds beloved enough in Cincinnati to survive if they have a long run of being both terrible on the field and in the front office?
|
| 12:43 |
Dan Szymborski: I think it’s unlikely simply because it’s hard to move a team and, let’s be honest, the likely markets aren’t great ones.
|
| 12:43 |
Dave: The Reds would need to go 47-91 the rest of the way to hit 50 wins. Woof.
|
| 12:43 |
Dan Szymborski: I think they can do that
|
| 12:43 |
Ozzie smallbies: Is Eric Hosmer cursed to weave in ok-good seasons in between bad seasons
|
| 12:43 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s happening at just the right time to bail the Padres out of the end of the contract
|
| 12:44 |
A Boy Named Yu: Please convince me not to order BOGO wings from Bdubs for lunch today. Thank you.
|
| 12:44 |
Dan Szymborski: I cannot do so.
|
| 12:44 |
Dan Szymborski: Wait, they do BOGO wings on TUESDAY
|
| 12:44 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not going to suggest it for “boneless wings”
|
| 12:45 |
A Boy Named Yu: Could a team made up of the ZiPS top 25 players be competitive in MLB? Assuming you factor in building a balanced roster and not just literally the top 25 players regardless of position.
|
| 12:45 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m a bit confused by the question
|
| 12:45 |
Dan Szymborski: Why wouldn’t an All-Star team be competitive?
|
| 12:45 |
Appa Yip Yip: How much should I be overreacting to Kikuchi being good last night?
|
| 12:46 |
Dan Szymborski: Hopefully it’s justified since I talked him up quite a bit this spring!
|
| 12:46 |
A Boy Named Yu: Can we get a happy medium with the MLB ball that’s somewhere between crazy pinball ball and 1968 ball?
|
| 12:46 |
Dan Szymborski: Apparently not.
|
| 12:46 |
Colton: Hey Dan, hope all is well! Of all the major breakouts that have happened so far this year, which one do you/ZIPS think is the most real?
|
| 12:46 |
Dan Szymborski: Kwan
|
| 12:46 |
Morbo: Thoughts on MLB/Rawlings producing balls individually tailored to each stadium? (Let’s assume it’s done competently) If done correctly it could have a considerable impact in normalizing park factors and might be a better solution than MLB’s current semi-random yearly changes.
|
| 12:46 |
Dan Szymborski: Oh god, I dont’ even trust MLB to have the SAME ball at all times
|
| 12:47 |
Dan Szymborski: This sounds like a disaster in waiting
|
| 12:47 |
Christian Colon for Men: How weird is it going to look with guys in 2019 hitting 30 HR and posting 100-105 wRC+ when guys in 2022 with basically the same line except hitting 18 HR will post 110 wRC+?
|
| 12:47 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s going to!
|
| 12:48 |
A Boy Named Yu: Why does MLB The Show make stupid roster decisions in Franchise mode? The Yankees signed Story and then also traded for Tatis Jr. in the same off-season.
|
| 12:49 |
Dan Szymborski: I like that better than what the Yankees did!
|
| 12:49 |
mariners: Were the Mariners expectations to high entering the year? I think we were because so many people predicted us winning the division, which in my opinion, is the astros to lose
|
| 12:49 |
Dan Szymborski: It depends how high were high
|
| 12:49 |
Dan Szymborski: If you mean, say, 93 wins, I would think that way too high
|
| 12:50 |
Dan Szymborski: People should not have assumed 90 wins was the baseline
|
| 12:50 |
Dan Szymborski: But I thought the m’s imrpoved to be a real 85 win team or so
|
| 12:50 |
Dan Szymborski: and they’re not far behind THAT pace
|
| 12:50 |
A Boy Named Yu: Any chance Reds ownership actually sells or relocates? They sure are good at their jobs.
|
| 12:50 |
Dan Szymborski: Sells, yes, relocate, probably not
|
| 12:50 |
Guest: Still bewildered by the lack of discussion concerning Bauer on this site, is this a managerial decision or are the article(s) coming along?
|
| 12:51 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure. What topics to write on is usually a very personal thing; we talk about what we want to write about and talk about news.
|
| 12:52 |
Dan Szymborski: Just speaking for me, I *rarely* write about things that aren’t the game itself.
|
| 12:52 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s not my area of expertise and I don’t think I have the sensitivity.
|
| 12:52 |
A Boy Named Yu: George Lucas should have killed off Han Solo after Empire – Yay or Nay?
|
| 12:52 |
Dan Szymborski: No
|
| 12:53 |
Turgid: Is there such thing as an underhand curve?
|
| 12:53 |
Dan Szymborski: The first curves in baseball WERE underhand!
|
| 12:53 |
A Boy Named Yu: Do any baseball video games consult with you to see which prospects might explode into stars so they can model their game similarly?
|
| 12:53 |
Dan Szymborski: Not directly, though OOTP uses me as a starting point
|
| 12:54 |
A Boy Named Yu: What are some players you really liked and played for a while but just didn’t accrue much WAR?
|
| 12:54 |
Dan Szymborski: Joe Orsulak
|
| 12:54 |
Dan Szymborski: lots of sidearm/submarine relievers
|
| 12:55 |
Dan Szymborski: large adult sons
|
| 12:55 |
Dan Szymborski: as a large adult son, I appreciate those guys
|
| 12:55 |
Guest: The track record of players who get sent down after their first extended stint in MLB is terrible. I guess he was already sent down once last year.. but yikes.
|
| 12:55 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure that’s *causative* though
|
| 12:55 |
Dan Szymborski: but reflective of skill – better players are less likely to need to get devoted
|
| 12:56 |
Dan Szymborski: demoted
|
| 12:56 |
Zach: How fast do you think MLB will pivot from this modern “dead ball”?
|
| 12:56 |
Dan Szymborski: No idea. They’ll do it in the most awkward, opaque manner posssible though
|
| 12:56 |
9 game world series: Didn’t they have a 9 game WS once? Even that feels too long
|
| 12:56 |
Dan Szymborski: They did that for a few years around dead ball end (19-21)
|
| 12:57 |
Dan Szymborski: 1919
|
| 12:57 |
Dan Szymborski: I guess that was unnecessary; you guys probably remember it wasn’t 2019-2021
|
| 12:58 |
Guest: Lots of value from walks being overrated – like Valera?
|
| 12:58 |
Dan Szymborski: No, I’m thinking those 250/370/370 type guys
|
| 12:58 |
Dan Szymborski: Valera has power and was VERY young
|
| 12:58 |
Morbo: I like when an .800 ops is the cutoff for a good/solidly above average player offensively. But I like when the ops isn’t driven by inflated home run rates. The 4% rate of home runs per batted ball feels about right
|
| 12:59 |
A Boy Named Yu: 1968? Gibson. 1987? Dawson
|
| 12:59 |
Claude Aardvark: pick one pitcher long term: Shane Baz or Hunter Greene
|
| 1:00 |
Dan Szymborski: Greene. With two players of similar outlook, always take the one who ISN’T out with elbow problems!
|
| 1:00 |
A Boy Named Yu: If Verlander plays as long as Nolan Ryan did, will he become the new Nolan Ryan.
|
| 1:00 |
Dan Szymborski: They’re different types
|
| 1:01 |
Nolan: HSK looks way better at the plate this year. Is this is ZIPs redemption arc?
|
| 1:01 |
Dan Szymborski: I certainly HOPE so!
|
| 1:01 |
Grimmel Forb: Has your opinion on the AL East changed after April?
|
| 1:01 |
Dan Szymborski: It has not
|
| 1:01 |
RTJ: There has to be a better wing place near you Yu
|
| 1:02 |
Bob Loblaw: So Dylan Cease is the best pitcher right now, right?
|
| 1:02 |
Dan Szymborski: I hope so. I need an escape after having the nerve to put him in my breakout piece a SECOND time after a year in which he DID break out
|
| 1:03 |
Dan Szymborski: Look, the sports has balls in the name, we talk about the balls a lot, and a ball is a VERY common call in baseball.
|
| 1:04 |
A Boy Named Yu: ZiPS top 25 – I guess I meant prospects only. My bad.
|
| 1:04 |
Dan Szymborski: Ah, that makes more sense.
|
| 1:04 |
Dan Szymborski: I think the team would be *lousy* but like 70-92 lousy
|
| 1:04 |
Dan Szymborski: not Reds lousy
|
| 1:04 |
Cave Dameron: Would you be surprised if Joey Votto retired midseason if he continues to be very cool on such a bad team? Thank you!
|
| 1:04 |
Dan Szymborski: I wouldn’t be surprised.
|
| 1:05 |
Dan Szymborski: Votto does not seem the type, to me, to hang on a super long time if he can’t turn it around.
|
| 1:05 |
Effectively Wild: They discussed Bauer on there.
|
| 1:05 |
Tomo: Bauer…he’s not playing, and we all know the situation with a quick Google search…what are you looking to hear?
|
| 1:05 |
Tomo: you need a shirt that says “This means WAR!!”, with a subtitle explaining the formula. Top seller…
|
| 1:06 |
Guest: I’ll ask the same previous question about the top ZiPS players on one roster, but you don’t get to consider having a requisite amount at each position. If there are 4 pitchers in the top 26 in ZiPS you’re stuck with those 4 pitchers. How competitive is that team?
|
| 1:06 |
Dan Szymborski: I think pretty good
|
| 1:06 |
Dan Szymborski: I think we’d be a little short on pitchers
|
| 1:06 |
Dan Szymborski: but they’d be all starters so you can tandem them
|
| 1:06 |
Eric the Red: There should be a legal avenue for fans to put team owners in jail for theft of joy
|
| 1:07 |
Derek: I’m a huge OOTP fan, without getting overly deep – in what context do they use you as a starting point?
|
| 1:07 |
Dan Szymborski: The initial ratings for players, where applicable, are largely based on ZiPS
|
| 1:08 |
Dan Szymborski: OOTP has used ZiPS since 2016
|
| 1:09 |
Dan Szymborski: Markus Heinsohn basically gets to see finished ZiPS before anyone else!
|
| 1:09 |
Dan Szymborski: (Except me)
|
| 1:09 |
Dave: Are boneless wings a sandwich? Bread, meat, bread.
|
| 1:09 |
Dan Szymborski: Dangit
|
| 1:09 |
Adam: What’s the most notable game you’ve ever attended in person?
|
| 1:09 |
Dan Szymborski: Final game at Memorial Stadium
|
| 1:09 |
Guest: What is your ideal game start time?
|
| 1:10 |
Dan Szymborski: I don’t have an ideal time
|
| 1:10 |
Dan Szymborski: Now, games I go to, I like 4:05 games
|
| 1:10 |
Dan Szymborski: I’ll leave about 1:10 to get there about 2. Get beers before the fans get in and talk with writers
|
| 1:11 |
Dan Szymborski: Now, as a WATCHER
|
| 1:11 |
Dan Szymborski: I just want there to be 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, and 10:05 games every day
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| 1:11 |
Dan Szymborski: NO EMPTY SLOTS
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| 1:11 |
Trevor: Should I not be concerned about the Mets abysmal stat cast #s? They get on base a ton but all the contact data seem bleak right now.
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| 1:11 |
Dan Szymborski: Some of it is baseballs. Everything’s down right now compared to expected
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| 1:11 |
Guest: There’s precedent for top players retiring midseason if they’re not performing up to their own standards. Mike Schmidt did it, IIRC.
|
| 1:12 |
Dan Szymborski: The thing is, Mike Schmidt wasn’t even THAT awful. Just below his standards
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| 1:12 |
Appa Yip Yip: Wow you don’t show your ZiPS to your mom?
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| 1:12 |
Dan Szymborski: She has little interest in baseball
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| 1:12 |
Dan Szymborski: Beyond, presumably, liking that I make a good living at it.
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| 1:12 |
Dan Szymborski: Most people close to me are of that opinion.
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| 1:14 |
Dan Szymborski: My esteemed better half, who I dragged along to the Staten Island panel that FG was at, was very perplexed by multiple days of nothing but people talking about baseball. But she liked that eveyrone was super nice to her
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| 1:14 |
Appa Yip Yip: If anything boneless wings are a dumpling
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| 1:14 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Best interaction with a MLB player?
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| 1:14 |
Dan Szymborski: Generally non-baseball things
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| 1:14 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Griffey might have the best midseason retirement. He got mad because someone reported that he was napping during games and the next day he called while driving cross country to say he had retired
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| 1:14 |
Dan: Are you surprised more players don’t do what Roger Clemens did and retire them come back partway through the season? I feel like skipping some of the grind of a long season has to be tempting especially if you’ve got kids home from school for the summer.
|
| 1:15 |
Dan Szymborski: I think you have to be REALLY good to make that work
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| 1:15 |
Dan Szymborski: Long layoffs are hard
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| 1:15 |
Dan Szymborski: and teams are going to be suspicious
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| 1:15 |
Richard: I love the shorter base path suggestion. Forces defenders to play shallower which opens up hits on the ground and increases the running game.
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| 1:15 |
Dan Szymborski: And if a ball hit into play has a higher % of being a hit, there’s more incentive to put ball in play
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| 1:15 |
Dan Szymborski: OK, LIGHTNING ROUND time.
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| 1:16 |
Dan Szymborski: I have to answer questions so long as they’re not baseball or a few exceptions (confidentiality, excessively personal, politics)
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| 1:17 |
Tacoby Bellsbury: Apart from Skyline “chili,” what would be on your Mount Flushmore of least-desired foods?
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| 1:17 |
Dan Szymborski: broccoli/cauliflower. I’d eat skyline every day to avoid those
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| 1:17 |
Dan Szymborski: and I should note that it’s Cincy chili STYLE I hate, not skyline specifically
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| 1:17 |
Dan Szymborski: it’s not like I turn around and mainline Gold Star
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| 1:17 |
Dan Szymborski: also, you probably shouldn’t intravenously consume chili even if you do like it
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| 1:17 |
GBS42: During the Opening Day chat, you said something about having three four-ways. I know you were talking about division ties, but I was hoping you maybe had changed your mind about Skyline chili. To each their own, of course, but I like it, whether it’s “chili” or some meat stew abomination.
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| 1:17 |
Dan Szymborski: No
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| 1:18 |
MilwaukeeBeerJays: Back in the 90s in Canada there was a music video countdown tv show called “the hitlist” that was hosted by a guy named Tarzan Dan. What is your favourite primate, Dan?
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| 1:18 |
Dan Szymborski: chipmanzees of course
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| 1:18 |
Dan Szymborski: chimpanzee
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| 1:18 |
MilwaukeeBeerJays: If you were to consume enough chili, would you be interested in setting up a premium content OnlyFarts page?
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| 1:19 |
Dan Szymborski: That sounds like a lot of work and very niche
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| 1:19 |
Dan Szymborski: I’d have to live chili
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| 1:19 |
A Boy Named Yu: How come they don’t make college baseball or basketball video games? I’d play the crap out of those.
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| 1:19 |
Dan Szymborski: Remember, there were college rights issues that shut down college games for a long time.
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| 1:19 |
Dan Szymborski: NCAA Football reboot supposed to be in 2023
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| 1:19 |
Dan Szymborski: I imagine there will be a basketball one at some point too
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| 1:20 |
Dan Szymborski: As for college baseball, that’s another thing entirely: college baseball just isn’t that popular mass-market
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| 1:20 |
Derek: Regarding your data deliverable question, I would like to imagine it being a 12 foot, hand-rolled scroll delivered by owl….but spreadsheets are cool
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| 1:20 |
Dan Szymborski: Where do I get trained owls? That seems to add a lot of overhead, I’d have to raise my hourly rate
|
| 1:20 |
Morbo: Can I get a poll for how many margaritas I should drink today? With the options being:
|
| 1:20 |
Morbo: A:0 B: 1 c: too many
|
| 1:21 |
Dan Szymborski:
How Many Margaritas Should Morbo Drink?
0 (4.5% | 2 votes)
1 (4.5% | 2 votes)
2 (11.3% | 5 votes)
3 (9.0% | 4 votes)
Till he sees black (11.3% | 5 votes)
Till he sees new colors (59.0% | 26 votes)
Total Votes: 44
|
| 1:21 |
Kip: Did you have a Dreamcast? I broke mine out recently and it’s amazing how ahead of the times Sega was.
|
| 1:21 |
Dan Szymborski: Surprisingly, that was one of the first mainstream systems I did NOT have
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| 1:22 |
Dan Szymborski: There just weren’t enough games at the time that I wanted and I got my fill because my friend Chris Burton had a Dreamcast
|
| 1:22 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Is this is the lightning round? If so, favorite taco and toppings? (Or is it fillings on a taco?) (Or do we go Kenny Powers and say “fix-ins”?)
|
| 1:22 |
Dan Szymborski: al pastor
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| 1:22 |
Dan Szymborski: onion and cilantro
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| 1:23 |
Dan Szymborski: always onion and cilantro
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| 1:23 |
Dan Szymborski: I don’t need fancy complex tacos
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| 1:23 |
Dan Szymborski: Give me al pastor or carnitas or chorizo
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| 1:23 |
Dan Szymborski: and onion and cilantro
|
| 1:23 |
Guest: How are you enjoying the WWE game?
|
| 1:23 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s much improved over the last one. It’s nice that they actually took the missing year to make it not suck
|
| 1:23 |
Dan Szymborski: I’d like more randomness and events in WWE Universe
|
| 1:24 |
Adam: Has the Digital Dandy ever attended the Kentucky Derby?
|
| 1:24 |
Dan Szymborski: I have not. I’ve been to about a dozen Preaknesses, but never to a Kentucky Derby or a Belmont
|
| 1:24 |
Morbo: Thanks guys. I look forward to discovering ultra-gold and infra-cyan
|
| 1:24 |
Fish Taco: But maybe not if you don’t live in a coastal state.
|
| 1:24 |
Jeremy: Would you play a video game based on a quest for good chili?
|
| 1:24 |
Dan Szymborski: I think that’s more as a sidequest.
|
| 1:24 |
A Boy Named Yu: Favorite mixed drink or cocktail?
|
| 1:24 |
Dan Szymborski: dark and stormy
|
| 1:24 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Favorite margarita?
|
| 1:24 |
Dan Szymborski: not really into them
|
| 1:25 |
A Boy Named Yu: Any video game contacts? I pride myself in creating new and realistic prospects into my games so I don’t have to buy the new version each year. Would love to turn my primary hobby into something more.
|
| 1:25 |
Dan Szymborski: I had more a few years ago when I did esports for ESPN
|
| 1:25 |
Dan: OOTP uses you as a starting point? Did they put you in a motion capture suit or was it just video analysis and a stop watch?
|
| 1:25 |
Dan Szymborski: Well, the ZiPS!
|
| 1:25 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Wasn’t there a March Madness EA Sports game at one time?
|
| 1:25 |
Dan Szymborski: There was
|
| 1:25 |
Dan Szymborski: I loved the franchise mode
|
| 1:25 |
Dan Szymborski: You’d start off on a lower tier school
|
| 1:25 |
Dan Szymborski: like Albany
|
| 1:26 |
Dan: If Eric Hosmer had a contract that ended this past off-season would he even have signed a major league contract? Clearly he would have been worth it but was anyone expecting some amount of bounce back?
|
| 1:26 |
Dan Szymborski: I think he would have gotten a MLB contract, but of the 1/3 variety
|
| 1:26 |
Appa Yip Yip: Why do Americans like college sports so much? Aren’t they just worse versions of pro sports?
|
| 1:27 |
Dan Szymborski: You can enjoy things without them being the best version. And people go to colleges and have a lot of loyalty
|
| 1:27 |
SJ: College baseball and basketball games were discontinued long before the rights issues shelved football. Presumably that means not enough people played them.
|
| 1:28 |
Yo-Yo: Favorite handheld console ever? Switch doesn’t count.
|
| 1:28 |
Dan Szymborski: PSP
|
| 1:28 |
Dan Szymborski: I have a jailbroken one, so I have all the old emulators on it
|
| 1:28 |
Dan Szymborski: So I play old SNES games on it
|
| 1:28 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Don’t you hate every ape you see, from chimpan-a to chimpan-z?
|
| 1:28 |
Dan Szymborski: My sister and I like to sing that together at family holidays
|
| 1:29 |
Dan Szymborski: You’ll never make a monkey out of me!
|
| 1:29 |
A Boy Named Yu: Jackie Robinson’s number and the meaning of life, the question of everything in the world, are the same number. Coincidence?
|
| 1:29 |
Dan Szymborski: Probably?
|
| 1:29 |
Appa Yip Yip: If your career ended in scandal what would the scandal be?
|
| 1:29 |
Dan Szymborski: It might involve being stoned
|
| 1:30 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Best burrito fillings?
|
| 1:30 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m much bigger on tacos than burritos
|
| 1:30 |
Dan Szymborski: I tend to like carne asada in burritos
|
| 1:30 |
Dan Szymborski: But I’m nto as big a fan because it’s something I don’t tend to care for – starch IN starch
|
| 1:31 |
Yo-Yo: Chris Jericho was the best wrestler of the Attitude Era and the years beyond. Agree or only slightly agree?
|
| 1:31 |
Dan Szymborski: Unfortunately, Benoit was the best and my favorite WWE wrestler. But Jericho was better as an overall entertainer
|
| 1:31 |
Steve O.: Would you eat a carrot hot dog? (yes, it’s a thing)
|
| 1:31 |
Dan Szymborski: eww
|
| 1:31 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Best state capitol building you have visited?
|
| 1:31 |
Dan Szymborski: I’ve only visited annapolis
|
| 1:32 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: What was the last song you danced to?
|
| 1:32 |
Dan Szymborski: I don’t typically dance
|
| 1:33 |
Dan Szymborski: I think the last thing I danced to was Love Rollercoaster at a costume new years party at the mansion at O in DC sometime around 2007
|
| 1:33 |
Sirras: Have you ever referred to folks who use ZiPS as ZiPpers?
|
| 1:33 |
Dan Szymborski: I have not
|
| 1:33 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Favorite McDonaldsland character aside from Grimace?
|
| 1:33 |
Dan Szymborski: Mayor McCheese
|
| 1:33 |
Dan Szymborski: then the Hamburglar
|
| 1:33 |
A Boy Named Yu: Did Han shoot first?
|
| 1:33 |
Dan Szymborski: Of course.
|
| 1:33 |
A Boy Named Yu: Would you rather be a Jedi or a Harry Potter-world wizard?
|
| 1:33 |
Dan Szymborski: Harry Potter wizard
|
| 1:33 |
Derek: Stoned to death or reefer stoned? Big difference here
|
| 1:34 |
Dan Szymborski: Could be either
|
| 1:34 |
brad penny for your thoughts: ever sung any songs from The Dysfunctional Family Christmas album? a staple in my home
|
| 1:34 |
Dan Szymborski: I have not.
|
| 1:34 |
A Boy Named Yu: Soft shell or hard shell?
|
| 1:34 |
Dan Szymborski: Soft corn
|
| 1:34 |
Szym Scandal: Secretly the founder and owner of Skyline Chili.
|
| 1:34 |
brad penny for your thoughts: does your scandal involve being stoned and…burritos?
|
| 1:34 |
Dan Szymborski: It COULD
|
| 1:34 |
A Bush Named Yew: Chocolate frosted donuts the best donut?
|
| 1:34 |
Dan Szymborski: Boston Creme
|
| 1:34 |
A Boy Named Yu: Prince or Bowie?
|
| 1:34 |
Dan Szymborski: Bowie
|
| 1:34 |
Pain: Twitter account @xkcd just tweeted out the 10 hardest Semantle puzzles to try and guess. Good luck.
|
| 1:34 |
Insert Witty Name Here: Rank in order of best to worst: Dan Rather, Dan Szymborski, Lieutenant Dan, Dan Aykroyd, Dan Marino.
|
| 1:34 |
Dan Szymborski: Aykroyd, Marino, Rather, Lt. Szym
|
| 1:35 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Our local taco shop makes a 1+ pound burrito with only carne asada, onions, pico, and guac. How does that sound?
|
| 1:35 |
Dan Szymborski: I could go for that. That’s a lot of burrito
|
| 1:35 |
Brent: Favorite skyline backdrop for a major or minor league stadium? Hard to top Truist Field in Charlotte or PNC in Pitt in my opinion.
|
| 1:35 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m biased so it’s Camden
|
| 1:35 |
A Boy Named Yu: If you had to create yourself into a football video game but keep your physical traits mostly the same, what position would you make yourself?
|
| 1:36 |
Dan Szymborski: fullback?
|
| 1:36 |
Dan Szymborski: Not that fullbacks are used much
|
| 1:36 |
Brett Tomko Trucks: Did you have to square dance in grade school or middle school PE?
|
| 1:36 |
Dan Szymborski: Yes, we did in elementary school
|
| 1:37 |
Gant: Oldest commercial jingle that still pops into your head from time to time?
|
| 1:37 |
Dan Szymborski: Mr. Bucket?
|
| 1:37 |
A Bush Named Yew: Have you ever said I like the cut of your jib?
|
| 1:37 |
Dan Szymborski: Not unironically
|
| 1:37 |
Yo-Yo: Aliens — ubiquitous or rare? For single-celled and for intelligent life?
|
| 1:37 |
Dan Szymborski: Rare, but there are a lot of planets so probably a lot
|
| 1:37 |
Color Coordinator: What is the most underutilized color for teams in sports?
|
| 1:37 |
Dan Szymborski: green
|
| 1:37 |
Guest: 
|
| 1:37 |
A Boy Named Yu: Not a question, but thanks for answering so many of mine today. Lunch is over, back to business.
|
| 1:37 |
Dan: Does anyone in the chat have a 30 grade tool?
|
| 1:38 |
Dan Szymborski: I haven’t scouted everyone
|
| 1:38 |
Dan Szymborski: Uh oh, did I do seomthing?
|
| 1:38 |
Dan Szymborski: On that note, it’s time to end for another week.
|
| 1:38 |
Dan Szymborski: Thanks for coming everyone!
|
Dan Szymborski is a senior writer for FanGraphs and the developer of the ZiPS projection system. He was a writer for ESPN.com from 2010-2018, a regular guest on a number of radio shows and podcasts, and a voting BBWAA member. He also maintains a terrible Twitter account at @DSzymborski.
Joe Orsulak was no star but he wasn’t bad. I had Joe O on my Strato team back around ’89 or ’90 and wasn’t too worried when I had to play him.