Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 6/25/18

Dan Szymborski: A Time for Chats

Dan k: Will Harper rebound ?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

John S: should we expect to see your physique in the ESPN the BODY issue?

Dan Szymborski: They want to SELL magazines.

Dan Szymborski: They should put me on the cover and sell velcro-on clothes for $4.99

Bubba: With the Phillies and Brave emerging with lots of great young talent, and Nationals seeing Soto demolish the league, when do you think the Mets can actually be competitive?  2027?  2049?

Dan Szymborski: Heh.  It’s going to take some planning.

Dan Szymborski: Alderson’s “The middle ain’t so bad there’s no need for extremes!” lip service is not a godo sign

Dan Szymborski: because hte Braves have a lot more talent and the Phillies a lot more money

KyleC: Are you a belieber?

Dan Szymborski: I specifically remember Jon Lieber

Dan Szymborski: Or do you mean a bebieber?

Dan Szymborski: Lebieber?

Dan Szymborski: Maydread Lebieber?

Dan Szymborski: Bieber doesn’t exactly wow me or anyone with his stuff, but he’s comfortable with his repertoire and the fact that he’s striking out like 11 guys a game makes me more confident

Freddy Peralta: You bullish (stat based) or bearish (scout based)?

Dan Szymborski: ENDLESS PANIC

Dan Szymborski: oh, on freddy

Dan Szymborski: I was trying to figure out what you were referring to

Dan Szymborski: didn’t know you meant the name

Dan Szymborski: Would like one less walk a game for sure

Dan Szymborski: His stuff isn’t amazing by any means.

Dan Szymborski: And I don’t think he’s as much of a *pitcher* as Bieber is

Dan Szymborski: Not so much his stuff, but his situation feels a bit like rookie Tony Cingrani

Jonathan: How would (will?) ZiPS handle a case like Alex Reyes, where he had TJS, came back and absolutely lambasted the hitters in every stop in his rehab assignment, but then got hurt again?  Would the dominant MiLB starts prop up his projection, or would ZiPS start getting increasingly pessimistic?

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS will hit him for the injury for sure.  There’s additional risk in there

Dan Szymborski: The projections you see already assume the TJS

James: Astros affiliates have the best records in AAA and AA. How meaningful is that going forward?

Dan Szymborski: Not very.  Never seen much of a relationship here

Dan Szymborski: The number of players that are actual prospects are a small percentage, so those records are determined largely by non-prospects

Jonathan: Will ZiPS project “openers” like Sergio Romo with GS next year?  If so, does that break the old rule of not letting a player’s role influence his projection?

Dan Szymborski: I’m still not sure.  I do have a history of giving the SP/RP projection depending, but I have to think about it

Dan Szymborski: It’s kind of a new thing

Dan Szymborski: I’ll probably just leave it as a swingman role, he’s just swingmanning in early!

Oyster Burns: Is there an upgrade available for the yanks at first, or do you think healthy bird eventually hits better than the options on the market?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll be fine

Billy Beane: Hey Dan. How’s life?

Dan Szymborski: Pretty good!  Had a birthday and got a new car

Dan Szymborski: Not for my birthday

Dan Szymborski: I just needed to get a new car

Dan Szymborski: my old Mazda 6, which I’ve had since 2004, was getting up around 120K miles and was starting to have a lot of annoying problems that weren’t worht the value

Moltar: So, with the knowledge that the Wilpons are going to continue to own the Mets forever (ugh), but pretending that they can afford a market-rate extension, would you suggest that the Mets extend deGrom well in to his 30s, or trade him this season to jump start a full rebuild? (we all know the Mets are going to choose option C, do nothing and slowly get worse and worse while failing to extract anything of value for deGrom until it’s too late, but humor me here)

Dan Szymborski: I’d probably try to trade him and do a full rebuild, but like you, I think the Mets do Option C

Dan Szymborski: Though that’s better than Option J, for those of you that were on Primer/BTF

leprekhan: We see the Braves’ playoff odds, but much of that is based loosely on preseason projections. Do you think the Braves make the playoffs?

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS is quite the believer in the Braves.

Dan Szymborski: And always remember, the preseason projections do a better job projecting future player than seasonal play right up through the last game of the season

James: How good would a hitter have to be for it to be more beneficial to walk them every time?

Dan Szymborski: Pretty damn good.  I think with these freak extremes, you start to end up breaking our tools.

Oyster Burns: was clint frazier being showcased in center for a trade, or do you think the yanks have him in their plans ros?

Dan Szymborski: I think they’re just playing it day-to-day

Dbo: True or Fact: Sour Patch Watermelons are the greatest movie snack of all time?

Dan Szymborski: I get Sour Patch Kids, but I like the assorted flavors.

Ben: What’s your opinion on conductors like Karajan & Bohm who were Nazis? Avoid their recordings or separate the person from their music?

Dan Szymborski: I tend to think of art as separate, but that’s probably a product of how I was raised

Dan Szymborski: (I don’t mean that I was raised a Nazi, only that my family is typically comfortable with compartamentalizing ethics, if that’ makes any sense)

Dan Szymborski: One of my mom’s parents was a Jewish lawyer who fought in WWII, while the other was a secretary for Dönitz who translated for the British during the war trials.

Dan Szymborski: My godfather is a respected German history professor who served in the Luftwaffe.

Dan Szymborski: Böhm is probably more problematic than Karajan though, IM O

Walsh: Schwarber or Conforto in a dynasty points league?

Dan Szymborski: Schwarber I think is a bit safer

Andrew: Jose Bautista has been pretty great for the Mets. Is this just a mirage, or is he bouncing back to something like his former self?

Dan Szymborski: I wouldn’t go nuts yet

Oyster Burns: do you like happ or ross better as a trade target?

Dan Szymborski: Happ

Oyster Burns: is odubel herrera ascending or hot?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’s ascending

Dan: Somehow you missed ray black after projecting him before. I am chastising you! What’s his Zips. And happy belated birfday

Dan Szymborski: Did I?

Dan Szymborski: I’d have to check

EG: Any thoughts on Bryce Harper’s prolonged slump? Think he’s playing hurt? I know his babip is down, but that’s in part due to the shift… Anything you’re seeing/hearing that could explain what’s going on with him?

Dan Szymborski: Nothing too specific about what’s wrong

Dan Szymborski: You’re inevitably going to have fortune a large percentage of the issue when your BABIP is 100 points below your career and you’re not seriously injured

Dan Szymborski: I suspect there’s been *some* pressing lately.  Until just now, the power’s been missing for a few weesk

Andy: I think the Mets were project for like 84-85 wins before the season.  At least 82.  After this year, is there going to be a lolmets factor built into the projection formula that automatically reduces the win number by 10?  Because good lord this season has been painful

Dan Szymborski: It went downhill pretty quickly after the hot start gave optimism that this would be the year the pitching all stayed healthy and good

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS had the Mets at 80-82, btw

Oyster Burns: gonna be in socal in a couple weeks. between petco, dodgers stadium, and angels stadium, which should I prioritize getting to?

Dan Szymborski: Angels so you can see Trout in his natural habitat.

Rick Sanchez: If data last weeks chat is to be believed, there is ample room to reduce your cat to square footage ratio. I propose acquiring more cats, or divesting space via rent free strangers living in your extra bedroom(s). Preference?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t want strangers here!

Dan Szymborski: Cats, but I want them a bit more spaced out.

Dan Szymborski: Because, as I’ve discovered, it’s stressful when they’re all around the same age and start to die at the same time.

Dan Szymborski: Which I did not consider 20 years ago

Dan Szymborski: Reagan died in late 2016, Pandora back in April and while Galileo’s healthy, he’s also going to be 20 in January.

Amaury Telemaco: If putting “extra mustard” on a pitch is a good thing, is that an implication that ketchup is bad, and should never be used on my hot dog sandwiches?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Dan Szymborski: I think also, it means that Jered Weaver is ketchup

All Cats Are Beautiful : What’s the most frequent misuse of zips data that you encounter?

Dan Szymborski: “ZiPS DOESN’T PROJECT ANYBODY TO HIT .300”

Dan Szymborski: “No, ZiPS doesn’t project anyone to have a mean projection of .300.  BUt not everyone hits their mean projection, some will hit at a level they only have a 10 percent chance of achieving and .300 hitters are going to gravitate towards the people having better seasons than expected.”

Dan Szymborski: “SO WHY IS NOBODY PROJECTED TO HIT .300?”

Dan Szymborski: <mute>

Dan Szymborski: (Actually, at least Altuve was projected to hit over .300)

All Cats Are Beautiful : Is there any application of zips data you would like to see more of?

Dan Szymborski: Not offhand.  I’m usually the best equipped to do ZiPS stuff so if I think of it, I probably do it

Pio: Franco seems like the sort of promising-but-flawed young bat that a team like the Padres should take a chance on but is he a better experiment than Villanueva?

Dan Szymborski: It’d be nice if they had 1B open for these experiments.

Kiermaier’s Nasal Vestibulitis: Dan…for next week..we challenge you to grow a mustache and then shave off between the start of and ending of this moderately above average chat you suffer through.

Dan Szymborski: You think I can grow a reasonable mustache in a week?  Not a chance.

Bort: Colin Poche is doing ridiculous things in Triple-A, and he’s done them his entire minor league career. What are the Rays waiting for?

Dan Szymborski: Soon I would imagine.

Dan Szymborski: Maybe they’re seeing if he’s getting strikeouts by holding batters family members hostage or something

Jay: Have you seen what Keyvius Sampson is doing in the KBO? Leading the league in strikeouts – I heard from a friend in Korea that he looks fantastic. Looks like he may be able to come back to the MLB next season and be a viable SP3.

Dan Szymborski: I actually have not.

Amaury Telemaco: Baseball has some fun if outdated terminology. What would you update, and how? My vote is for “can of corn”, which allegedly comes from the 19th century, and always confused the hell out of me. I might call it “pop tart sandwich time!” because they are light and fluffy, and I’m always happy to catch one

Dan Szymborski: ASS IN THE JACKPOT

Dan Szymborski: BELTRE CATCHES IT IN THE HOT POCKET DOWN THE LINE

Dan Szymborski: A HARD COVFEFE TO THE SHORTSTOP AND LEGGO MY EGGO, A SAFELITE-REPAIR-SAFELITE-REPLACE AT FIRST

The Old Buccaneer: Machado isn’t going to be traded, is he? Baltimore won’t get an offer they like, he will play out the season, and all the O’s will have to show for him is a compensation draft pick.

Dan Szymborski: I’m assuming he isn’t because it may be the dumbest possible outcome, short of say, releasing him.

HeyDan ChristenSzym: What are the odds that an entire MLB career is way too small of a sample size and we just haven’t realized it yet? Mike Trout has just been riding the mother of all hot streaks and it’s no guarantee he’ll ever revert back to the mediocrity he is.

Dan Szymborski: heh

Yon: Luis Castillo’s SwSt% is at 13.7% (up slightly from last year). His velocity is trending up a little bit lately (although still down for last year). Is he capable of returning to his stats from last year (ERA, whip) or did he overachieve?

Dan Szymborski: I remain hopeful.  He’s extremely talented.

Bork: Kendrys Morales has put up Trout like numbers the last 15 games.

Dan Szymborski: Problem is the trout-like numbers the rest of the games

benla: waht do you think the dodgers would have to give up to get gennett, and do you see any other bidders to drive up the price? (indians maybe)

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, I think the Reds play it like Cozart and watch him walk for a draft pick or nothing.

Angelus Novus: The king he wears a broken crown/his house of rubble, halfway down/it’s time to leave this land alone/to sail away his driftwood throne.

Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe: Dan, talk about the holes on the Nationals roster. Is this a case of a lack of health? A lack of depth? Or mis-reading the competition in the division? Still think they run away with the East?

Dan Szymborski: The OF depth isn’t really bad

Dan Szymborski: Difo was actually better than I thought, but I don’t think their spare infield options are all that great

Look Dude: Clearly the Rays are showcasing Sergio Romo’s talents for blowing games in the early innings AND late innings.  It’s an astute move.  There’s a strong market out there for these kinds of results.

Dan Szymborski: Rockies?

Jay: I have added Edwin Jackson in my dynasty league. What should I expect RoS?

Dan Szymborski: You better be in a 50-team league

yojiveself: 2 parts – do you ever compare your preojections with other systems and see anything out of whack and then re-evaluate?  For instance, let’s say you have Donaldson hitting 40 hr’s and everyone else has 30 – do you reassess?

Dan Szymborski: Generally speaking, systems tend to be close.

yojiveself: 2nd part – do your projectiuons typically come out before others?  around the same time?

Dan Szymborski: I like to give them out in dribs and drabs, team-by-team, over the offseason

Dan Szymborski: More fun that way

Dan: With his injury, is worrying about Justin Turner when all his indicators are basically the same (other than D) the equivalent of “April!” ?

Dan Szymborski: It’s still April

Dan Szymborski: for him

Dan Szymborski: ITS ALWAYS APRIL SOMEWHERE

Dan Szymborski: Wait, that doesn’t work

Dan Szymborski: THE SUN NEVER SETS ON THE APRIL EMPIRE

Angelus Novus: This is my favorite Fangraphs chat.

Dan Szymborski: My condolences.

resumeman: How do you pronounce “wRC+” when speaking?

Dan Szymborski: Woo Rock

Dan Szymborski: ok, not really

Dan Szymborski: double-u-arrr-seee-plus

Pancake Hell: The amount of hamstring,groin and oblique injuries SHOULD be an embarrasment to MLB and the supposed physio staffs of all the teams. Pitchers can’t run without hurting themselves and it seems like everyday going from first to third is more dangerous than than waking through a minefu

Dan Szymborski: Hamstring and groins were always a thing

Dan Szymborski: But when did we start having obliques and capsules?  I dont’ remember those growing up.  Did humans start growing those recently?

Jambalaya: I have been polling a number of the vast army of trolls who pepper you with nonstop Nick Markakis questions and predictions.  Now that he is an allstar and in light of your immediate resignation, would you like to recommend a colleague who will be inundated with similar questions about an as yet unidentified player (perhaps Johan Camargo or Eddie Rosario) who will be catapulted to stardom through sheer force of massive trollery, and thus demonstrating the egregious falsehood of that colleague’s reasoning?

Dan Szymborski: Ask Gleeman if Luis Rivas is going to have a big comeback

Dbo: If baseball players were like pokemon and could only communicate through saying their own name, who would give the best interviews?

Dan Szymborski: Johnny.  Damon.

Billy Beane: Hey Dan, your baseball writing and projection systems but your most important work is your dogmatic approach to delicious foods. Keep fighting the good fight!

Dan Szymborski: I’LL KILL YOU ALL

Dan Szymborski: Sorry, I have occasionaly psychotic fugues.

Ethan: Did you ever think Tucker Barnhart would be an average hitter?

Dan Szymborski: He’s a decent player that always projected well

Pancake Hell: What is up with all the groin, hamstring and oblique injuries? Pitchers can’t cover first base without pulling something and batters going from first to third is more dangerous than walking through a minefield with clown shoes on.  Where is the conditioning failing?….and hand injuries with headfirst slides is a different rant.

Dan Szymborski: WHY ARE YOU GOING INTO A WAR ZONE DRESSED AS A CLOWN

Ethan: Is Eugenio Suarez a top 10 3b?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Hello There: Manny Margot is hitting .359/.431/.547 with a 11% BB% and 12.5% K% in June. This pleases me.

Dan Szymborski: I told you @#^%# he’d be fine.

Dan Szymborski: I think I did.

Bo: Are the bidders for Machado really going to get more competitive in the next month, or would Baltimore be wise to move him now?

Dan Szymborski: Here’s the thing about Machado:  If the Dodgers, immediately after losing Seager, struggling horribly, didn’t bowl over the Orioles, at what circumstances WOULD someone do so?

Dan Szymborski: The reality, I think is that the O’s are going to get a J.D. Martinez package for Machado.

Dan Szymborski: And the question is if they’re smart enough to accept it or turn that down in a fit of pique

5 Run Homer: How long until Edwin Jackson plays for all 30 major league teams?

Dan Szymborski: He still could!

Dan Szymborski: It’s scary that HE’S STILL ONLY 34

Dan Szymborski: He played against Randy Johnson!

Usagi Yoszymbo : I’ll bet traitorous Cistulli is crying into his solyanka over Mother Russia’s drubbing at the hands of Uruguay today.

Dan Szymborski: he should be waterboarded forever

Chuck: Has there been any discussion about prohibiting defensive shifts in MLB? Number of shifts employed has gone up exponentially. I get that it’s strategy, and you need to counter strategies, but it’s the same as watching an NBA game with Hack a Shaq

Dan Szymborski: Little buzz.

Dan Szymborski: Which is stupid.

Gerbs: Can zips methodology be used for college baseball as well?

Dan Szymborski: The results aren’t great, I only use college data when I have to

KeyviusSampsonFan: Please tell me something good about Keyvius Sampson

Dan Szymborski: Keyvius is a good name.

5 Run Homer: Bulls or bears?

Dan Szymborski: Bulls, I’ve never eaten a bear

Dan Szymborski: I mean part of a bull, I haven’t eaten an ENTIRE bull

Matt: On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s your favorite letter, and why is it elephant?

Dan Szymborski: On a scale from Green to Potato Salad, my favorite letter is <thunk>

5 Run Homer: Other bullish/bearish joke: I’m neither, I’m cubbish/blackhawkish/whitesoxish

5 Run Homer: Who wins the NL Central?

Dan Szymborski: I think the Cubs edge out, but it’s a real close th ing

Billy Beane: Max Muncy is currently forecast by ZiPS to be basically replacement level for the rest of the season. I’m sure you, Dan Szymborski, think he will be better than that because you can see with your human eyes that he has significantly changed his swing and somewhat his approach. o you think there is anything you could do to make ZiPS tell the difference between real changes and hot/cold streaks more quickly? Or is the nature of breakouts and projection conservatism such that this isn’t practical? I feel like average launch angle could inform his projection some, but I will defer to your expertise on the matter.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, I’m not buying ZiPS there

Dan Szymborski: WTF did the power come from?

Greg: Is Jo Adell the next Juan Soto?

Dan Szymborski: Very possible.

Bork: Do you still have a PC dedicated to just ZiPS?

Dan Szymborski: Yes, though it’s not just for ZiPS, but for any baseball stuff I’m running

Dan Szymborski: The little ZiPS box runs on an i7-3930k

Billy Beane: What did you go with for the new car?

Dan Szymborski: I got a 2018 subaru crosstrek.  A practical car, though I did get the limited trim, becuase my Mazda 6 had the leather and the heated seats and all that and I didn’t wnat to psychologically downgrade at all

Dan Szymborski: Though the 6 did have an edge when you want to do a real quick acceleration on the highway

steve: are you a big classical music fan? favorite composers?

Dan Szymborski: Yes.  Mahler, Bruckner, Messiaen, Liszt, Hummel

Dan Szymborski: My music collection is incredibly OCD when it comes to organization

Dan Szymborski:

steve: recommendations if you like dark, minor key stuff?

Dan Szymborski: Pettersson’s 6th may be the darkest classical work I’ve ever heard

Dan Szymborski: Among more popular stuff, maybe Shostakovich’s 8th string quartet

Look Dude: Is there anyone or anything out there that does an actual analysis on how different systems did at players preseason projections?

Dan Szymborski: Someone does something every year

Dan Szymborski: I don’t usually publish cross-projection stuff I look at

Dan Szymborski: I have an insurmountable conflict of interest

Brian: Dan – question for you on Dan Straily. Comparing year over year his pitch types/velocity look about the same and the swinging strike rate is still over 10% but his hard contact rate has spike from 32% to near 50%. Anything that jumps out to you as a reason for the spike? Thanks!

Dan Szymborski: I’d have to dig into brooksbaseball etc to verify this, but from the starts I’ve seen from him, it doesn’t look like he’s varying the speeds of his shitty fastball all that well this year and leaving more to hang in the wheelhouse

Billy Eppler: Could, should, and will I get Choo to bat in front of Trout?

Dan Szymborski: Wuldn’t be a bad idea.  Choo’s healthy and really really godo this year

Factory of Sadness: It’s possible to have your eyes open to people’s beliefs without avoiding their art entirely. But then again, I was raised on George Szell recordings

Kiermaier’s Nasal Vestibulitis: With Jaun Soto and a hopefully healthy Victor Robles in 2019…do the Nationals let Harper walk and average out his salary amongst other players to build a deeper  team?   Pancakes or Waffles ..one or the other…not both. Explain.

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think they average out the salary in a victory for the baseball proletariat

Dan Szymborski: And waffles.  Waffles are easier to store stuff inside.

The Old Buccaneer: Chaos Blades or Leviathan Axe?

Dan Szymborski: I’m a fan of axes

Dan Szymborski: AND MY AXE!

The Old Buccaneer: Have you been to the Orioles’ stadium in Sarasota? If so, how is it?

Dan Szymborski: Not since they renovated it

Bo: If you’re a big money team (Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers), how high would you be willing to go for Harper for this offseason?

Dan Szymborski: $250 million.  There are some risks with Harper.

Dan Szymborski: The thing with Harper is that he’s a terrific player and immensely talented.

Dan Szymborski: but we still only have one OMFG BRYCE HARPER IS GOD SEASON

Dan Szymborski: The fact that he’ll be only 26 in year 1 is great

Dan Szymborski: but if I’m going to $300 million, I want the player to be so awesome that if my chief rival signs him, there’ll be nothing I can do but quietly wait for death to come.

Billy Beane: Do you have any intentions of adding cats to your home as some are going? I think you could really blow up by posting kitten pictures in addition to wrestling and baseball and chili.

Dan Szymborski: I have a near kitten!

Dan Szymborski: She fetches a hair tie.

5 Run Homer: Cat update?

Dan Szymborski: Galileo is meowing for food.  Cassiopeia is bullying Mercutio.  The usual

My name is Judge…: john harper and tom verducci claiming the sox rebuild is a failure not yet 2 years in because their 23 year old 2b and 21 year old sp are not mlb all stars.  a bit premature on that?

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, that’s a bit premature

Matt: You’re snide comment about the O’s potentially releasing Machado got me thinking. This is a real possibility, isn’t it? In a “na na boo boo” kinda way where Angelos somehow thinks he’s outsmarting his opponents.

Dan Szymborski: NOT FUNNY

James: Is Kyle Tucker an upgrade for the Astros at the moment? How much audition should he get for a potential playoff roster spot?

Dan Szymborski: I think he would be.

Von Hayes: April Is Coming

Barry: I was recently reminded that in 2015, the Yankees were infatuated with Kyle Schwarber and would have taken him instead of Torres in the Chapman trade. Does this gnaw at Theo Epstein? (To the extent that anything gnaws at Theo Epstein, given that he seems to have an amazing life.)

Dan Szymborski: I’m still not convinced that was the option

O’s Nos: At some point, do the O’s just tell Chris Davis to stay home?

Dan Szymborski: They’re paying for the spoiled hamburger AND BY JOVE THEY’RE GOING TO EAT EVERY LAST TEN BUCKS WORTH OF IT

Kiermaier’s Nasal Vestibulitis: Carson just ordered a bit more food discussion into this chat to make it more palatable…really.

Dbo: Who is this Jambalaya character and why would he choose such a name? Everyone knows that Jambalaya is a confused man’s chili replacement

CamdenWarehouse: forget about timing, Baltimore fans would just happy with Machado being moved at all

Von Hayes: The Dodgers want to stay under the luxury tax threshold, wouldn’t Machado blow them past that

Dan Szymborski: Their situation wasn’t all that kind

Cutch: Where am I getting traded?

Dan Szymborski: Nowhere

Ben: Who’s your favorite conductor for Mahler symphonies?

Dan Szymborski: Bernstein

Dan Szymborski: then Bertini

Dbo: Whats your preference on chicken wings? Do you go drumsticks or flats?

Dan Szymborski: I like a mix.

Matt: Professional runners get hamstring injuries, why wouldn’t baseball players

Kiermaier’s Nasal Vestibulitis: Your composers sound like the German midfield.

HeyDan ChristenSzym: What to do now that Vanity Player Ian Desmond is actually playing well? Extend him?

Dan Szymborski: Gotta make sure he retires in Denver so that he gets their logo on his plaque in Cooperstown, not the Nats!

Jkim: As someone w/ ADHD, anything after the early Romantic Era I can’t listen to the entire piece. I need that theme-variation style of Mozart & other Classical Era composers.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, I don’t think Bruckner’s a great recommendation in this case

Sung Min: I am a Hanwha Eagles season ticker holder and I agree that Keyvius Sampson looks great. He is a swinging strike monster and looks like a new and improved pitcher here in Korea. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he went back to the MLB next season and pitched well.

Dan Szymborski: Hey SMK!

Dan Szymborski: If that is you and not an imposter

Devil Ray Jay Johnson: Who is the best baseball player from the last 25 years that you sometimes completely forget played?  Quilvio Veras

Dan Szymborski: Jay Bell?

Dan Szymborski: I was once doing one of those sporcle things naming lineups

Dan Szymborski: And I COULD NOT remember Bell in the middle infield for the late 90s Diamondbacks

Dan Szymborski: I kept trying spellings of Danny Klassen because I thought maybe I was spelling it wrong or it was Dan Klassen

Dan Szymborski: I got Andy Fox BUT NOT JAY BELL

CamdenWarehouse: Everyone I know who has been to Ed Smith Stadium has given it great reviews

Post Malone: just LMAO at Dave Cameron “Harper is getting AT LEAST $400M no way anything less than that.”

Dan Szymborski: He’s having a relatively poor season for him

Dan Szymborski: If he had the MVP year, I think he’d get it

Matt: True or false: Brian Cashman has been micro dosing Ellsbury with nerve agents so that his muscles are brittle, and he doesn’t play baseball anymore.

Dan Szymborski: Sounds true.

Ben: Have you listened to the start of Vanska’s Mahler cycle with Minnesota Orchestra? (5 & 6 on BIS records)

Dan Szymborski: I have not!

Dan Szymborski: I’ve enjoyed his Nielsen and his Sibelius

Von Hayes: Mike Trout Quintet

Sung Min: I am not the same person as @sung_minkim on twitter, but I do respect his work.

Bernie: I just bought a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek a month ago. Cool Grey Khaki. Amazing car. I love it.

Dan Szymborski: A little perturbed ipod classic doens’t play nice with it, but I discovered today that thumb drives do

Kiermaier’s Nasal Vestibulitis: Dittos on Ed Smith Stadium. Great renovation. Blue Jays stadium in Dundein is past antique. Favorite item to store in your waffles?

Dan Szymborski: On that note, time for me to take off.

Dan Szymborski: Thanks for coming everyone!

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