Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 6/24/13

Dan Szymborski: Let’s get this party started, slightly late!

Dan Szymborski: I’d like to say that I was busy gallivanting around Europe like the stunning handsome playboy that I am, but in fact, I was playing with the tenor recorder I acquired last week.

Comment From mix
Hi Dan! Thanks for having another chat. I was just offered Wainwright for my Jose Bautista in a keeper league, straight-up. It would mean that Rizzo can join the line-up in my Utility slot, so I’m looking favorably on this offer. Snap keep or do I have room for asking for more to balance it? Thanks.

Dan Szymborski: I’d do it, unless Bautista has positional considerations that have value to you (like 3B)

Comment From Bret
How do you see the AL East race shaking out?

Dan Szymborski: It’s going to be pretty close. The Blue Jays are now close enough that they’re suddnely dangerous again. I think all 5 teams have non-zero shots again, but I suspect Boston can hang on.

Comment From Blockhead
What’s the deal with the Grandal and the Padres? He’s gotten only two back-to-back starts in the last couple of weeks. He’s way more talented than Hundley so why don’t they let him start playing and get in a rhythm?

Dan Szymborski: Too much caution. He’s been kind of cold coming back so they’ve been trying to be careful given the layoff.

Dan Szymborski: But still, I think that if they are to win the division, they need grandal in the lineup and playing well. Hundley’s just not as good, as you say.

Comment From Mark
Dexter Fowler: 20/30 guy, or is that too optimistic?

Dan Szymborski: Great shot at 20, decent shot at 30. Below 50/50 though.

Comment From The other Kyle
Advanced metrics aren’t Jeff Locke’s friends and haven’t been for some time. Can he continue to outperform in the second half?

Dan Szymborski: Locke’s got a terrific changeup, but at this point, it’s way too soon to call him a guy that can consistently outperform his peripherals. His control isn’t great (and even Doug Fister, who does have great control and a great changeup, doesn’t outperform his FIP)

Comment From Dustin
How worried should I be about the Reds bullpen? They’ve been atrocious.

Dan Szymborski: Concerned, but there are guys there that should be pitching better. I don’t think they make a move unless Sean Marshall’s timetable gets thrown back again.

Comment From RK
Do you think Anthony Rendon was forbid to run in the minors due to the injuries? I see zips isn’t a fan of the steals but he seems to have pretty good speed thus far.

Dan Szymborski: I don’t have specific knowledge of what the Nats thinking is, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re conservative with his stealing, given his injury history.

Dan Szymborski: You’ve got a guy who can hit and had pretty terrible ankle problems a year ago, so why tempt fate? The net value of his stolen bases is pretty small – he’s not a guy that needs that to have value

Comment From mix
No reason you can’t be a handsome playboy *and* play the recorder. I mean, it’s no jazz flute…

Dan Szymborski: Was playing through the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack to get the baroque fingering back in my head. Havne’t played a recorder in a long time, been mostly playing my clarinet.

Dan Szymborski: Clarinet purists would look down on me, but I have 2 clarinets and play the C Clarinet a lot more than the B-flat one.

Comment From Keeper? I hardly know her
What kind of offensive return could I look for in a 12 team keeper for CJ Wilson? What about Adam Lind?

Dan Szymborski: You’re not going to get a huge return for Wilson since he’s been kind of meh. You’re probably selling him at nearly his lowest value. Lind on the other hand is someone to look to sell. Your exact return can vary wildly depending on who’s in your league.

Comment From Dan
Who should I use at 2b in 12 team roto? Gyorko rutlidge or Franklin?

Dan Szymborski: I’d actually start Rutledge for a few days, just to make sure Gyorko’s groin is OK after he comes off DL

Comment From Keeper? I hardly know her
Is Pedro Alvarez’s recent power surge for real?

Dan Szymborski: Well, he’s not going to hit 9 HRs every month and slug .750, but he’s a guy who does have power potential and will have runs like this occasionally.

Dan Szymborski: If you gave up on him in April, shame on you. You couldn’t expect him to be this good, but you probably dumped him *after* he already had his worst stretch.

Dan Szymborski: One of the big mistakes you can make in fantasy is focusing on what a player did, not what a player is likely to do in the future.

Dan Szymborski: Alvarez having an OPS in the .500s in April may have hurt when you looked at your roster in early may, but the damage was already done and the only question was how relevant was that single month on the future?

Dan Szymborski: And the answer should have been “not very”

Comment From BRL
I just traded Pedro Alvarez for Josh Johnson in a 10 team keeper league. I know JJ is an injury risk but I have Sandoval, Headley and Carpenter at 3B. How do you think I made out?

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, while I think you’re getting value, I would have liked you to get a little more – you gave up your sell-high guy *for* the buy-low guy.

Comment From ozzie
am i going to regret not selling matt moore earlier in the season?

Dan Szymborski: Depends on the offers you were getting earlier in teh season. Given Moore’s occasional command lapses, you should expect down stretches. He’s not an ace.

Comment From Guest
Hey Dan! Trade Carlos Gomez, who is my backup OF (I have McCutchen in CF and Big Papi at DH) for pitching help? I have Zimmerman, Milone, Teheran, Moore, and a mix of either Oswalt, Volquez, and Morton in the No.5 spot of a dynasty league.

Dan Szymborski: If you’re not playing Gomez and you don’t have any big injury concerns and you can something that can actually help your team, you should do it.

Comment From Morgan
Jay Bruce ROS?

Dan Szymborski: 330/490? That’s kind of the Default Jay Bruce Projection

Comment From Johnny Giavotella
What’s the most incriminating thing I have on Dayton Moore?

Dan Szymborski: Better to try and get something on Chris Getz to use against him.

Dan Szymborski: Like an audio recording of Getz saying “good eye” when someone draws a walk or something.

Comment From Greg
Hi Dave. What’s the deal with Starlin Castro? Can he be fixed?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll be fine in the long run. He’s had a rough season so far and all the Cubs can really do with him at this point is be patient and trust him. They’re not in a pennant race, so they don’t have to panic.

Dan Szymborski: He looks like he’s tryign too hard to pull the ball, but he always has.

Comment From Houzer
So how long until we see Rondon again in Detroit? Theres not a single closer on the roster at this point.

Dan Szymborski: Sure there is. Closers are created, not anointed at baptism.

Dan Szymborski: Rondon’s not far away though – he’s only walked a single batter in his last 7 appearances in Toledo

Comment From Hogwagon
Best of bad options, choose two: J. Parker (v. StL), cahill (@ Was, @ Atl), Holland (@Nyy), E. Jackson (@ Milw, @ Sea)

Dan Szymborski: Jackson, Holland/Cahill coin flip

Comment From Doug
Some rumblings that Danny Espinosa is on the trade market, and I’d think he would a hot commodity at shortstop or second base. Despite his bad year so far, do you think he’s a good bet to return to the 3 WAR season’s he had back-to-back?

Dan Szymborski: He’s not a good bet – you don’t completely give up on him after a bad year, but he’s been just so terrible that you have to adjust your expectations down.

Dan Szymborski: He’s struck out in *half* his AAA plate appearances.

Dan Szymborski: and at least 1 strikeout in every AAA game so far. That’s not a guy who’s going to be a hot commodity at this point.

Dan Szymborski: I think the Nats have better upside hanging onto him than the meager return they’ll get right now

Comment From sea salt
Sabermetrics??? KC moved Sal Perez to the 3 hole and he has been stinking it up. Does this make the front office look silly?

Dan Szymborski: A clown riding a miniature tricycle probably looked silly before he got on.

Comment From BH
How many games (of 92) do the Royals have to win by the AllStar Game for them to be actual AL Central Contenders? Keeping in mind that they play Detroit 14 times after the ASG

Dan Szymborski: That’s hard to put an exact figure on off the top of my head, but they really need to be within 5 games. The Tigers are, in real terms, almost certainly the better team, so if the Royals overperform and the Tigers underperform, they need to be within shouting distance so that it actually matters.

Comment From Bobo
I see Hultzen pitched in AZ on Saturday. Any further updates you’ve heard/read? Thx.

Dan Szymborski: Only that they’re going to be very, very cautious with him. He threw 8 K and 0 BB in that game, btw.

Comment From sea salt
Zoilo – is he Puig East?

Dan Szymborski: Lets not go nuts now – Puig was better in the minors than Almonte.

Dan Szymborski: And in Puig’s case, there were more unknowns, so less of a definition of his short-term ceiling.

Dan Szymborski: While Almonte’s been in the minors for years.

Comment From Houzer
I keep reading that Hellickson is primed for a much improved second half. Are you in agreement with this?

Dan Szymborski: Yes, but I wouldn’t expect an ERA near 3 in the second half or anythinhg.

Comment From Rated Rookie
Who gets bumped from the Rays rotation when Price is back? Has Archer shown enough to stick around?

Dan Szymborski: Depends on Cobb’s timetable, really. He’s still having balance issues.

Comment From An Optimistic Fan
Thoughts on the NL West? I’m pulling for Gerardo Parra and co.

Dan Szymborski: Diamondbacks are the favorite.

Comment From BRL
Will Jarrod Dyson see a lot of playing time for KC since he just came of the DL? He steals bases and was heating up before his injury.

Dan Szymborski: Not a ton, I think he’ll more of a role player that gets a lot of palying time than anything.

Dan Szymborski: But on the plus side, as his promotion led to Getz’s demotion, Giavotella might have more of an opportunity to smother Getz in his sleep now.

Dan Szymborski: Well, his activation.

Comment From Mark at Niagara Falls
What is your opinion, Dan, on the possibilities of 2nd half turnarounds by these underachievers: V-Mart, Hosmer, Josh Hamilton?? Thanks.

Dan Szymborski: Meh, Decent, Pretty Good, but not Ranger vintage.

Comment From An Optimistic Fan
Wil Myers has been merely average thus far. Is that all we should expect from him going forward?

Dan Szymborski: I think in the long run, he’ll be solidly average, but I think tales of superstardom were way too lofty.

Comment From An Optimistic Fan
Nick Swisher and Josh Willingham… potentially done, or just semi-unlucky and kind of sore…?

Dan Szymborski: Somewhere in the middle. Boring answer, but probably the most accurate.

Comment From RaiseIt
I don’t think Jeff Locke can continue this but do you think ZiPS is overly pessimistic?

Dan Szymborski: Yes, but not alarmingly so.

Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll beat his ZiPS projection, but not by enough that I can shove it in the face of the ZiPS SuperComputer.

Dan Szymborski: Though I guess the ZiPS SuperComputer doesn’t actually have a face and taunting a PC doesn’t make much sense.

Comment From Pete
Are the Pirates actually this good?

Dan Szymborski: *this* good? Nope.

Comment From bob
Starlin Castro… should I be worried and give me someone to blame.

Dan Szymborski: Thanks, Obama!

Dan Szymborski: (Whiel I didn’t vote for Obama, I do love the Thanks, Obama meme because of some of the crazies)

Comment From An Optimistic Fan
Is Profar going to be in that Ranger lineup? I know they say he is but… ehh…

Dan Szymborski: They’re going to try. But if they don’t, he’ll head back to the minors as there’s no reason at this point for him to be riding a bench anywhere.

Comment From Skore
Who of the trade candidates would provide the most value to the acquiring team this season, regardless of cost in prospects

Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure we have a solid enough list to really gauge who really *is* available yet. I’ll probably do an article on the subject as we get closer to trade deadline

Comment From An Optimistic Fan
Longo is a top 3 fantasy player by years end… am I crazy?

Dan Szymborski: That’s a little crazy.

Dan Szymborski: But I think there’s more to psychiatry than that.

Comment From BRL
In a weekly league would you take a chance and start Carlos Gomez or sit him and see how recuperates? If it’s a sit whow would you start in his place, VMART, Jhonny Peralta or Parra?

Dan Szymborski: Over the last calendar year, Gomez is at 290/332/530 with 28 homers and 44 stolen bases. If you’re not starting him, you’ve either ended upw ith crazy depth in the outfield (and should make a trade) or you’re playing in a 4-team league.

Comment From Skore
Do you think B. Crawford has actually taken this big a step forward or luck and sample noise?

Dan Szymborski: He’s a good player thanks to his defense and we should adjust our expectations upward, but he did have a crazy 6 weeks at the start of the year that’s still prominent in his seasonal line and above where we expecth im

Dan Szymborski: I hate the term luck, since it has such a negative connotation.

Comment From danza
does verlander stink?

Dan Szymborski: After a start, I’m sure he does. Like other, non-Cy Young humans, he possesses apocrine sweat glands which, combined with bacterial activity, cause stinking.

Comment From Steve
Hey Dan. What are your fbb stats of choice? Do you like roto more than h2h? Obp and slugging? Quality starts insead of Wins? Holds? Thanks

Dan Szymborski: I tend to go fairly standard. No need to reinvent the wheel – if I want an exact replica of MLB quality, sim leagues work better for that. Fantasy baseball is a different game than baseball, after all.

Dan Szymborski: I tend to prefer roto as there’s a little less micromanagement.

Comment From BookWorm
Who finishes the season with a better record: White Sox or Twins? (Note: I am fully aware neither will finish with a *good* record).

Dan Szymborski: White Sox

Comment From John
Re: Rendon…to follow-up on that theory of ‘minimal stealing because of ankle history’…they did convert him to 2b which, despite any effort at researching, seems that it would increase chance of injury.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but in this case it was a necessity to get him into a lineup.

Dan Szymborski: Having him steal isn’t.

Dan Szymborski: You may not want an injured pitcher to learn a screwball, but you certainly need him to actually be able to pitch to be of value

Comment From Vince
What do you think of Martin Perez? Does he stick in the Rangers rotation this time around?

Dan Szymborski: Much more optimistic this time around as he was quite excellent in the minors.

Dan Szymborski: The high minors have been giving him problems last couple of years.

Comment From fats
is esmil rogers pitching sustainable?

Dan Szymborski: Not to this degree. But he’s been one of those guys that FIp has liked a lot more than his ERA and he does throw in the mid-90s

Comment From Mark
Would you rather have Oscar Taveras or Dexter Fowler as a late-round keeper for the next five years?

Dan Szymborski: Fowler, simply because of park. I wouldn’t trade Taveras straight up for Fowler in real life.

Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV
Dan, what nicknames were you given growing up/in college. I can’t imagine people would want to say Szymborski all the time.

Dan Szymborski: Zim

Dan Szymborski: Dan is an extremely common name and there were usually other Dans in the class, so I’d be called Zim

Dan Szymborski: And in fact, I still go by Zim or Zim-something as my handle when playing games.

Dan Szymborski: Zim in TF2 and all my GW2 characters are Zim-something

Comment From BassmanUW
Starlin Castro’s funk has moved away from just being a BABIP concern, to him just looking awful at the plate a fair amount. He’s clearly working on taking more pitches, as he’s averaging more than a half pitch more per plate appearance than he did in prior seasons. I think it’s worth the effort, but at what point should the Cubs just tell him “you’re a see ball/hit ball type of player, just be that?” If he’s still struggling at the end of the this year? Should they give it another year of work?

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, his BABIP is low, but he’s really looking lost out there.

Dan Szymborski: I think it’s in their interests to be as patient with Castro as they can. It’s not a team in contention right now, so they have the luxury of patience.

Dan Szymborski: Baez, is, of course coming at some point in all likelihood, but he’s not at the point yet at which he’s hit the ceiling of the minors and the Cubs need to make a snap decision on castro

Comment From donny
why does zips still project aroldis chapman to start 10 games ros? is this something you have to manually update? he hasn’t started more than two games in a season since 2010 (AAA).

Dan Szymborski: FanGraphs used the starter projection instead of the later reliever projection. ZiPS doesn’t make any future role expectations.

Dan Szymborski: It has to be something that can be run every morning, after all.

Comment From Mike
SS seems like even more of a premium position than usual this season. How much noise is there between what Nick Franklin has done so far and his modest ROS projections?

Dan Szymborski: His ROS doesn’t contain his minor league data (FG isn’t equipped for this), so his actual ROS is already higher.

Comment From aarbergable
Does it sound like a bad tenor recorder player when people talk about their 2nd and 3rd place fantasy finishes? Win or shut up, right? (I know bad tenor recorders, all my kids play’d ’em)

Dan Szymborski: heh

Dan Szymborski: But I think your kids are playing soprano recorders.

Dan Szymborski: a tenor is like 18 inches long. this one’s made of rosewood

Comment From Evan
Is Jason Heyward going to turn it on or are all of the Braves bats going to disappoint this year?

Dan Szymborski: He’s already turned it on somewhat, but those April/May lines still dominate

Dan Szymborski: Long run, he’s fine

Comment From Blockhead
What do you think of how the Rangers are handling Profar by turning him into a super utility guy to get him every day action? Could they ruin him? As an aside, I think Kinsler’s DL stint and his return has kind of cemented that he’s the spark plug to that offense.

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think they’ll ruin him, but it’s a necessity if they want to get him playing time.

Dan Szymborski: If he starts to struggle, he’s very young and they can always do a 180 and send him down to play full time with AAA

Comment From Rated Rookie
Struggling with my infatuation with Chris Archer. Would Teheran be too much to give up for him?

Dan Szymborski: Depends his risk-averse you are. I think Archer has the higher ceiling, but also the lower floor.

Comment From Joe
Is my Lind for Gordon good deal?

Dan Szymborski: I’d do it.l

Comment From Evan
Which is the real Cespedes? .224 BA or .292 BA?

Dan Szymborski: Again, the boring middle answer, but closer to 292 than 224

Comment From Joaquin Andujar
Please say something about Terry Puhl.

Dan Szymborski: at Toronto SABR , we had to name all Canadian players with 1300 hits in one of the questions.

Dan Szymborski: We got Stairs, Walker, Heath, and O’Neill, but did not get Puhl or George Wood

Comment From Greg
What did you think of Oswalt’s debut and what do you expect from him ROS? Is he a decent fantasy option in a deep league?

Dan Szymborski: I’m cautiously optimistic on Oswalt, though I worry about the park itself.

Dan Szymborski: yeah, he had that .380ish BABIP last year, but *hitters* being dragooned into pitching have a .330-.340 BABIP historically, so it’s silly to call that an ability

Comment From Forsyth
Allen Webster got 21 (!!!) swings and misses in 4.1 IP against the Tigers, but also allowed 5 runs. What the heck am I supposed to take away from that kind of start in terms of his readiness?

Dan Szymborski: From what I saw (I did see this game), it looked like when he was missing, he was missing into a crushable pitch rather than out of the strike zone. I have nothing to back this up but observation, however.

Comment From Blockhead
It’s not exactly Puigmania levels of crushing the ball but Rendon has a 161 wRC+ since being recalled. Is he legit?

Dan Szymborski: He’s also got a .400 BABIP, but I think he could be really, really good.

Comment From LaLoosh
Espinosa is obviously injured. He needs to shut it down and get healthy. If that happens he’s make someone a very nice SS, imo.

Comment From zack
Has Colby rasmus taken a step forward?

Dan Szymborski: I think he’s a 250/320/450 guy going forward and as long as you know what he is, you won’t get disappointed

Comment From zack
The Orioles could use another starter. Any chance they go after cliff lee?

Dan Szymborski: Probably not.

Dan Szymborski: The O’s played it super-passive in the offseason and given that it hasn’t bitten them, I expect them to continue

Comment From Tomcat
So far in June DJ Lemahieu .294/.342/.426(75PA) and Nolan Arenado .295/.326/.511(92PA) look like good long term solutions at 2B/3B for the Rockies. They on 3.1 and 4.4War/155 paces this year

Dan Szymborski: Purely from self-interest, I’m glad LeMahieu is playing well, given that ZiPS gave him the 13th-best .300 BA odds in baseball.

Comment From kevinthecomic
Jeremy Bonderman is blocking Erasmo Ramirez’s path to the big leagues. I can’t believe I just said that.

Dan Szymborski: I’m a sucker for a comeback story

Comment From Das Otter
Micheal Pineda, worth the wait?

Dan Szymborski: If you have a spot you can stash him, absolutely

Dan Szymborski: He’s had a couple of starts for Tampa, but they’re taking it carefully

Dan Szymborski: It’d be better for the Yankees if he were an outfielder that could hit

Comment From kevinthecomic
A guy in my league offered me Huston Street for Starlin Castro. Should I reject his offer or punch him in the nose and then reject his offer?

Dan Szymborski: Depends on league rules relating to violence.

Comment From amherst
Will Middlebrooks and Alex Liddi, the same-age, same-size, same-handedness starting thirdbasemen in the 2011 Futures Game. Do their similarities outweigh their differences?

Dan Szymborski: Let’s not go too nuts about coincidences.

Comment From David
Wil Myers has been mediocre in 30 PAs, Puig has been awesome in 78, and Almonte has been Nuevo

Dan Szymborski: He’s been new?

Comment From David
Almonte? Myers? Do people realize that a baseball season is more than 30 PAs long?

Dan Szymborski: No.

Comment From Jared
SZYM down 18%, woof. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=szym&ql=1

Dan Szymborski: They seem to be involved in algae-food products

Dan Szymborski: which sounds kind of gross

Comment From G Money
Is Trevor Bauer coming up any time soon or is he just a lost cause?

Dan Szymborski: His control has still been shaky in pretty much every minor league start

Dan Szymborski: so if you’re in a redraft, he’s a lost cause probably

Dan Szymborski: but it’s way too soon to call him a lost cause in general terms

Comment From mick
In 2016, Pete Kozma’s job is _________.

Dan Szymborski: safer than it ought to be, even though the Cardinals are good despite Kozma, not because of him.

Comment From ben
Who has the ugliest swing in the majors right now? Prettiest?

Dan Szymborski: Can I call Youkilis ugly? He gets results, but I never figured out how

Dan Szymborski: Cano for pretty

Dan Szymborski: or Cabrera

Dan Szymborski: prettiest I’ve ever seen is still will clark

Comment From Guest
You appear not to know that C.Gomez slammed into the fence last6 night and hurt his shoulder from the answer you gave about sitting him

Dan Szymborski: Thought it was just a mild sprain

Dan Szymborski: has there been news on him in the last few hours? I was under the impression taht he was going to fine

Dan Szymborski: A few more and then time to go

Comment From Don
Is it crazy to think of trading Braun to acquire Machado in a dynasty league?

Dan Szymborski: no

Comment From Guest
Tigers costing themselves wins by keeping Castillanos down? seems like it’d be easy to move miggy back to first, Prince to DH, and forget about V-Mart

Dan Szymborski: He shoudl be up, but he’s not playign 3B for the Tigers anytime soon

Comment From Marver
Odds the following GMs are fired before the offseason? Dayton Moore, Ned Colletti, Jerry Dipoto, Josh Byrnes, Doug Melvin?

Dan Szymborski: 10%, 1%, 35%, 5%, 5%

Comment From Ben
Tepesch mode. Can we get this to stick please?

Dan Szymborski: I think I used Tepesch Mode in an article recently too, but I don’t know if it stayed in after editing

Comment From Annie Van Dykstra
Z.Almote- does ESPN realize there is no Puigmania for this guy because hes been in the system and everyone knows this is crazy above his head?

Dan Szymborski: The writers at least haven’t gone nuts

Comment From Patrick
Can the Phillies get anything in the way of a prospect haul by dealing Papelbon and Michael Young? Why have they not just outright cut Delmond Young, I’d rather see Frandsen in RF…am I crazy?

Dan Szymborski: Not a haul for Papelbon. He’s not cheap.

Comment From Greg
There was talk of T. Bauer coming up as the Indians mang. pulled him after only 3 1/3 inn, and then he throws the stinker yesterday. What do you think the Indians plans for him this year are?

Dan Szymborski: I think they’re wait-and-see mode. If he starts cruising, they’ll find room for him, but they’re not banking on him as anything more than an fill-in

Comment From Annie Van Dykstra
Arod comes back to an OPS o/u .900 by year end?

Dan Szymborski: Under.

Dan Szymborski: His last .900 OPS was in 2009

Comment From Uematsu Fan
A Final Fantasy VI music reference on a FanGraphs chat? Sweet! Final Fantasy IX also has some stuff that might be lovely on a recorder. Perhaps more medieval than baroque, though.

Comment From Fantasy Durr
If I provide a list of player names, could you please re-order them in any fashion you see fit? Also, it would be great if you could offer a conclusive opinion based on insufficient data.

Dan Szymborski: heh

Comment From Manny Banuelos
When will I start throwing again?

Dan Szymborski: Haven’t heard an update on him in a while. I believe he’s done some tossing, but nothing approaching a “real” pitch yet

Comment From Gous
That guy asked about Gomez because he

Comment From Gous
Thy guy asked about Gomez because he might have a shoulder injury

Comment From Tomcat
Should I trust Tyler Chatwood’s great leap forward?(1.80FIP in the PCL, 2.56FIP in MLB)

Dan Szymborski: Wouldn’t get super exicted quite yet.

Dan Szymborski: Again, I thought Gomez was OK. He’s day-to-day, after all

Comment From mick
Will Clark had an amazing swing. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh….

Comment From Guest
Will the Mariners trade Iwakuma this year?

Dan Szymborski: No

Comment From Suspicious
Dave, for real do you actually play the clarinet?

Dan Szymborski: I’m an excellent piano player and am competent at clarinet, oboe, recorder, and the various bass clef brass instruments (tuba, trombone, euphonium)

Comment From Norm
Josh Hamilton has a nice swing, too bad he uses it mostly on bad pitches.

Comment From David
With MIL not playing today, I wouldn’t expect much Gomez news until tomorrow morning. This is the part where I deride weekly leagues again in favor of daily lineups!

Comment From atoms
Byrnes is 5 times more likely to get canned than Colletti!??! whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Dan Szymborski: Both minimal. The Dodgers seem ridiculously attached to Ned Colitis

Comment From atoms
Re: Gomez, it looked bad on the replay, that’s probably why people think it might be more serious.

Dan Szymborski: Yeah, it was an ugly play. But they have called it a sprain and if the Brewers are hiding the severity, I’m not the guy who’s going to break that story

Comment From Oddjob
Terence Stamp or Charles Dance?

Dan Szymborski: They’re both pretty awesome

Dan Szymborski: but I like Tywin Lannister better than General Zod

Comment From Sean
Is Prince Fielder now a sub-30 home run guy? 30 last year and on pace for 23 this year.

Dan Szymborski: Probably. It’s a lousy park for him

Comment From TJ
Any idea what’s wrong with Victor Martinez? Guy used to fall out of bed and hit .300 … now he looks like every other catcher in the league and he’s DHing!

Dan Szymborski: He’s 34 now and missed a year due to injury.

Dan Szymborski: People get old.

Dan Szymborski: I was once mostly muscle, now I have a beer gut and my doctor feeling my prostate once a year.

Dan Szymborski: And on that note, time to sign off for another week!

Dan Szymborski: Thanks for joining me, everybody, hope to see you all again. As usual, you can find most of my writing on ESPN.com, chats and proj. at FanGraphs, DSzymborski on Twitter, and wherever pasty nerds are worshiped as gods among men.

Comment From JP
There were 20 shootings in Baltimore this weekend alone.

Dan Szymborski: Were there? I didn’t do it!