Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 7/8/13

by
July 8, 2013
11:59
Dan Szymborski: Time, Peanut Butter Jelly.
11:59
Comment From zack
Does Colby Rasmus not suck anymore?

11:59
Dan Szymborski: He is a mid-range dude. Rasmus is either the crappiest good player or the best crappy player in baseball.
12:00
Comment From Alex
Grant Green worth a pickup in 12 teamers?

12:01
Dan Szymborski: As long as you know it’s speculative. He’s not going to grab all the palying time
12:01
Comment From Steal this Handle
just how Hard will Michael Cuddyer’s current .374 babip crash back to earth in the 2nd half?

12:01
Dan Szymborski: Pretty hard, though it should be above career line given the park.
12:01
Comment From zack
The Phillies should make a deal with the dodgers, get Ethier. Not only would this add another bloated longterm deal to their payroll, but it would create the awe inspiring Delmon Francoeur platoon

12:02
Dan Szymborski: Tha’ts just depressing.
12:02
Dan Szymborski: and I’m not a phillies fan!
12:03
Dan Szymborski: It is kind of cute that the Phillies think they’re dangling on the edge of buyers and sellers. Kinda like that 30-year-old waiter you know that thinks he’s on the precipice of becoming and actor/model.
12:04
Comment From LarryA
Do you endorse Zips 3.79 ROS ERA for Lincecum?

12:04
Dan Szymborski: Nothing between ERA of 2 and an ERA of 7 from Linc at this point. I don’t have the foggiest idea.
12:04
Comment From GSon
Two chilli cheese dogs w/ onions.. and you don’t want to be down wind later..

12:05
Comment From Steal this Handle
Raul Ibanez: useful rest of 2013 or pumpkin time at some point before?

12:05
Dan Szymborski: His stats will come down a bit, but he can still hack his way to homers.
12:06
Dan Szymborski: He’s completely pointless on the Mariners, but he’s had enough power to be a solid contributor, especially lately
12:06
Comment From Crusty
Mike Trout, a career .400 wOBA guy?

12:06
Dan Szymborski: No.
12:06
Dan Szymborski: He’s below .400 now and he’s not going to be better overall for his career than he has over the first two years of his career.
12:07
Comment From Steal this Handle
Wei Yin Chen: can he get back to last year’s 7+ K rate if fully healthy now/

12:08
Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll be fine. As fine as you can expect a pitcher to be of course
12:08
Dan Szymborski: They’ve been careful about not rushing him back from the oblique – you always worry when teams rush players with those non-arm injuries back given that pain can cause change in delivery
12:08
Comment From bdhudson
WHY DOES EVERYONE ALWAYS ASK IF COLY RASMUS STILL SUCKS

12:09
Dan Szymborski: You don’t have to ask them.
12:09
Comment From Chris
I just traded Andrus and Myers for Stanton good trade for a 10 team roto?

12:09
Dan Szymborski: I’d be happy with Stanton for Andrus and Myers.
12:10
Comment From GSon
Bigger ASG snub.. Longo or Beltre?

12:10
Dan Szymborski: That’s like asking if I rather be castrated with an ice cream scoop or a melon baller.
12:10
Comment From Bret
Would it be silly for the Jays to be buyers at the deadline this year?

12:10
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure they have enough currency to make a move big enough to drastically change the directory.
12:12
Comment From Bruce
Cheer up everyone, its mid-season top prospects lists season!!

12:12
Comment From Nash
Thoughts on Liriano for the rest of the year?

12:13
Dan Szymborski: I’m cautiously optimistic.
12:14
Dan Szymborski: Like Morrow before, people looked at Liriano’s bases empty/runners on stats and reverse-engineered the reason for those splits.
12:14
Dan Szymborski: Which made those people then underrate the players. You expect *some* guys to regularly do that
12:15
Dan Szymborski: (Morrow sucks this year, but he’s actually sucked more with the bases empty than with runners on)
12:15
Comment From bdhudson
Manny Ramirez will have a major league AB this year. True or False?

12:15
Dan Szymborski: I think false
12:15
Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV
Which current MLB player would make the best pro wrestler?

12:16
Dan Szymborski: Matt Holliday has those popeye forearms
12:16
Dan Szymborski: Reddick of course, already has experience playing the wrestling crowd
12:16
Dan Szymborski: David Ortiz would be big if he did a comedy dance.
12:17
Comment From Steal this Handle
which park is playing the most differently this season: Petco or Safeco?

12:17
Dan Szymborski: Both have played a little less extreme, but both remain strong pitchers’ parks
12:17
Dan Szymborski: Risky to draw too much into 3 months of home/away stats.
12:17
Dan Szymborski: But the evidence of a *drastic* change isn’t there
12:18
Comment From zack
When will Matt Moore start throwing more strikes?

12:18
Dan Szymborski: He may never. Losing that walk or two is the biggest obstacle for him to be a star.
12:18
Comment From Sgt. Pepper
Does Zips adjust pitcher WL totals if a player gets traded or otherwise switches teams?

12:19
Dan Szymborski: On my end it does, but I don’t actually know if the implementation that Apples uses has that ability
12:19
Comment From Dr. Met
Anything in Josh Reddick’s numbers since returning from the wrist injury predicting a second half surge? LD rate encouraging and so is the walk rate no?

12:20
Dan Szymborski: It is, but I think 2012 was his ceiling
12:20
Comment From mr. anonymous
dan straily.. thoughts on his somewhat pedestrian k%, but impressive swstr%? shouldn’t he be striking more guys out?

12:21
Dan Szymborski: he’s good at getting batters to swing at crap, but he doesn’t have that killer out pitch.
12:21
Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV
CarGo (the Gomez version) has been amazing, but his value drops in an OBP league. Is a .330 OBP moving forward reasonable?

12:21
Dan Szymborski: I think it is
12:22
Dan Szymborski: He always had a puzzling low BABIP for a fast dude. His ucrrent BABIP isn’t likely sustainable, but he should have enough to keep that BA high enough to keep the OBP non-terrible
12:22
Dan Szymborski: It’s kind of sad that the Twins ended up with the good side of the Santana trade after all, but never got any of the benefit
12:22
Comment From Steal this Handle
% odds Cas(s)ey Janssen (old, iffy shoulder) gets hurt and Delabar takes over the 9th in TOR this year?

12:23
Dan Szymborski: 115%, thus breaking math.
12:23
Comment From Sad Elephant
Grieve with me over the A’s only getting one All-Star, (and its not Josh Donaldson), please.

12:23
Dan Szymborski: I’d Ben Grieve with you, but that might be even more depressing
12:24
Comment From Guest
What’s the % chance that Trout and/or Harper reach 100 career WAR?

12:24
Dan Szymborski: Don’t have the exact numbers but perhaps not as great as one might think on the surface.
12:24
Dan Szymborski: The surprises for a guy on top of baseball are almost all negative. That’s why SI covers and Madden boxes are “curses”
12:25
Comment From atoms
What’s the most likely Kevin Gregg destination?

12:25
Dan Szymborski: Tigers? Maybe Red Sox once they discover they don’t have enough pitchers to change closers every week?
12:25
Comment From Bird
16 team dynasty league. I was offered Hosmer/Lawrie for Ortiz. I’m not compete, other guy is. I accepted now trade is being reviewed. This seems fair to me. Your take?

12:26
Dan Szymborski: I’d take it.
12:26
Dan Szymborski: And even if I wouldn’t, I don’t think that’s veto-worthy
12:26
Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV
Brandon Beachy: Will he make contributions this year, or am I basically holding onto him for next year?

12:27
Dan Szymborski: I think he’s more of a gamble for this year. He’s been fair in rehab stint but his command hasn’t been very sharp.
12:27
Dan Szymborski: I like Beachy, but I think he’s far more likely to be a plus going into 2014.
12:27
Comment From mr. anonymous
brad miller has been batting leadoff for the m’s the last couple of games, do you think this will continue?

12:28
Dan Szymborski: It could – the m’s aren’t exactly overloaded with “classic” leadoff types
12:29
Comment From LaLoosh
if Scott Hairston can return a decent RP prospect, what is Marlon Byrd worth?

12:29
Dan Szymborski: I wouldn’t play the proportion game – I’m surprised the Cubs got someone with a pulse
12:30
Comment From BH
Should Billy Butler be sent to the Camp Krusty Fat Camp until he can hit dingers again?

12:30
Dan Szymborski: Krusty Fat Camp was based on imitation gruel and very low-calorie diets – Butler would lose fat, but he’d also lose muscle.
12:30
Dan Szymborski: I think he’ll hit a few more in second half, get around 15, which isn’t an unreasonable number for an off year for him
12:31
Dan Szymborski: He may look like someone you want to hit 40 HR, but he’s not that guy
12:31
Comment From bill brasky
Chris Carpenter worth a DL stash?

12:32
Dan Szymborski: If you have the room, he’d be a fun stash
12:32
Dan Szymborski: He’s made a career out of defying injury odds
12:33
Comment From bdhudson
The Mariners will be competitive in the year 20XX

12:33
Dan Szymborski: Isn’t that the year the NES games Mega Man was set in?
12:33
Dan Szymborski: I’ll say 2015, but predicting the near future is already hard
12:33
Comment From Steve
Have you ever seen something like the Hamilton chewing tobacco thing? The guy actually seems like he knows what he’s doing now that he’s chewing again!

12:34
Dan Szymborski: I’ve seen lots of people be pathetically sad off of nicotine!
12:34
Dan Szymborski: When my sister quit cigarettes, she was going into tears every day
12:35
Dan Szymborski: And I made fun of her when she bit into celery and thought the taste was intense
12:35
Comment From bill brasky
Does Peavy get traded?

12:36
Dan Szymborski: I think he does. The White Sox usually hang around just close enough that the delusional can make a case.
12:36
Dan Szymborski: I don’t think they’re close enough this time.
12:36
Comment From LarryA
Out of Henderson, Axford and Krod, is it safe to assume that Henderson is the only one left after the deadline?

12:37
Dan Szymborski: They don’t *have* to trade Axford right now.
12:37
Dan Szymborski: He may be more valuable when/if he gets some saves again someday
12:37
Comment From Steal this Handle
would a drastic change of directory be like C:\ to Z:\?

12:37
Dan Szymborski: Wait, what?
12:39
Dan Szymborski: Sorry, was talking to my editor
12:39
Dan Szymborski: I change letter drives quite regularly
12:39
Comment From Nick
The Pirates are currently letting Jose Tabata get the lion’s share of at bats in right field, and so far he hasn’t been terrible. Do you think he’s the answer in right or are the Pirates shopping for outfielders at the deadline?

12:40
Dan Szymborski: The thing is, the Pirates have gotten to where they are from patience – I’m not sure they pull a big trigger here, but they wouldn’t be against it if the opportunity arises
12:40
Comment From Pat
Nova here to stay you think this year? Thrown pretty solid in the minors this year too..

12:41
Dan Szymborski: I keep thinking Nova has turned the corner.
12:41
Dan Szymborski: If you guys recall, I named him as one of the most likely guys to crush his projection this year
12:42
Comment From Sgt. Pepper
Why the hell would MLB put A-Gon on the final ballot and possibly take votes away from Puig. I mean two members of the Los Angeles Puigs on one team isn’t going to help.

12:43
Dan Szymborski: I doubt they gave that much thought
12:43
Comment From Steal this Handle
best pro wrestler current MLB player: Farnsworth. Have you seen this video?: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC4QtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9mt0_0k40t4&ei=1OXaUcy1DqvC4AOk-IHICA&usg=AFQjCNHYH56RXAngK6O1Dg95VComT_-QHQ&sig2=vz_8yCmYsU-GAZdLQ_9arg&bvm=bv.48705608,d.dmg

12:43
Comment From Trevor
How good is Miguel Cabrera?

12:43
Dan Szymborski: Good enough that there are no proper adjuectives.
12:43
Comment From Crusty
Really? Trout’s already at .394 wOBA and has been just over .400 this and last year. I’m hazarding a guess that almost everyone on the career .400+ wOBA started off slower than Trout.

12:44
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but you’re doing a survivor analysis by only looking at the survivors.
12:44
Comment From Slick
Kunfu Panda could be Kamala revisited.

12:44
Dan Szymborski: I don’t think that gimmick woudl fly today.
12:44
Dan Szymborski: I’m still amazed that they could get away with it 25 years ago
12:45
Comment From Sgt. Pepper
With Brett Lawrie coming back should we expect the Jays to surge to the stop of the standings in Red Bulls consumed above replacement?

12:45
Dan Szymborski: Red Bull!
12:45
Dan Szymborski: I can’t stand it.
12:45
Dan Szymborski: I’m excitable enough if you get my adrenalin going
12:46
Dan Szymborski: I’d like to see Lawrie play completely healthy
12:46
Comment From Maxamuz
I missed Enos chat this week and I was mentioned 3x. Are you a fan of Lucas Duda?

12:46
Dan Szymborski: I am. He’s a guy that would most likely not have gotten much of achance in teh minors 20 years ago
12:46
Dan Szymborski: He’s a born DH though.
12:47
Dan Szymborski: He looks worse out there than Todd Hundley
12:47
Dan Szymborski: He’s worse out there in Kevin Reimer, who had great reflexes to start running when the ball hit the bat, but had a habit of running in the exact wrong direction
12:48
Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV
Huh. Seems like I have to reexamine Matt Holliday’s forearms.

12:48
Dan Szymborski: http://diamonddiariesdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/holliday-forearms.jpg
12:48
Comment From Guest
How many more times does Bonderman have to puke all over his shoes before the Mariners call up

12:49
Dan Szymborski: He had a solid enough run that he’s worth looking at, though he was frigging awful against the Reds on saturday
12:50
Dan Szymborski: Generally speaking, I’d be more interested in signing a reclamation projection if you can get an option year, like the Cards do frequently with theirs
12:50
Dan Szymborski: Bonderman would be more interesting to give a chance to if they had, say, a $5 million option on him for 2014
12:51
Comment From Classy Freddie Blassie
Think the O’s trade for Garza or anyone else?

12:51
Dan Szymborski: They’ve played the conservative card generally and I expect them to continue
12:51
Comment From Tom
What would it take for the Cards to swing a deal for Cliff Lee?

12:52
Dan Szymborski: What would really help is the Phillies realizing their position.
12:52
Dan Szymborski: They still kind of think they’re in contention.
12:53
Dan Szymborski: If Amaro does become a seller, I dont’ think he’s goign to give anybody bargains for Lee. The Cards will have to give up one of their young pitchers in all likelihood
12:53
Comment From In last place
Can you shed any light on how DMB uses Zips? I can’t explain the drastic underperformance of players like Pedroia, Desmond, and Goldschmidt.

12:53
Dan Szymborski: You’re going to have players underperform simply due to random chance.
12:54
Dan Szymborski: I was once in a DMB league and Clarence Mitchell had one of the best years
12:54
Comment From zack
Have the cardinals finally realized the peter the kosmonaut isn’t good?

12:54
Dan Szymborski: I hope so. I still think they have this idea in the back of their minds that Kozmic Pete showed enough last fall to be better than he is, but I think the realization is setting in that he’s simply not a starter.
12:55
Comment From Nash
100 WAR is an awful lot…Pujols was the most dominant hitter in baseball for a decade, and he’s still “only” at 86.7 for his career and slowing down.

12:55
Dan Szymborski: Yeah. Great players have more nasty surprises than pleasant ones because they’re so high.
12:56
Dan Szymborski: If you’re on top of Everest, you’re far more likely to fall down than fall up!
12:56
Dan Szymborski: Is there any surprise on the top of a mountain that’s *good*?
12:56
Comment From GSon
Can someone put a hurtin on Mad Max Scherzer and are the Indians the team to do it?..

12:57
Dan Szymborski: I love the Silver Hammer!
12:57
Dan Szymborski: It especially makes me glad as I talked him and Darvish up all winter.
12:57
Dan Szymborski: I’m having a better-than-average year with Players That I’m Obsessed With
12:58
Dan Szymborski: I actually have $200 on Scherzer winning the Cy Young (from one of my prop player bet pieces on ESPN this spring)
12:58
Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV
Dammit Dan, I thought of that Ben Grieve pun before I read your response.

12:58
Dan Szymborski: See, as the moderator, I can TOTALLY STEAL ALL YOUR JOKES AND NOBODY CAN PROVE IT~!
12:58
Dan Szymborski: Though i swear I thought of Ben Grieve first
12:58
Comment From LarryA
2013 World series on the line, who do you want closing the game for you?

12:58
Dan Szymborski: Mo. Winning is fun, but winning with the storybook ending even funner.
12:59
Dan Szymborski: And people still don’t hit his cutter.
12:59
Comment From Guest
Same question for Colby Lewis. Wasting my time?

12:59
Dan Szymborski: He’s speculative. He’s worth stashing, but not so much that you should worry about dorpping if something more itneresting comes your way
12:59
Comment From Kevin
Regarding Machado, his bat seems to have cooled off after a blazing start. Should we expect some of his doubles to turn into homers in future seasons, or is what we see now what we can expect (not that it isn’t good)?

12:59
Dan Szymborski: Usualloy some of them turn into homers, though this tends to be overrated a bit.
1:00
Dan Szymborski: His OPS+ is around 120, which really is more reasonable expectation
1:00
Comment From Shaun
Who ends up taking AL MVP, Cabrera or Davis?

1:01
Dan Szymborski: As terrific as Crush has been, I think Cabrera’s the default choice
1:01
Comment From Dan
Why are the Tigers perpetual underachievers?

1:01
Dan Szymborski: They have amazing front-line talent, but they’re always weaker at something than the average person realizes
1:01
Comment From Brandon
Puig seems pretty similar to Jeff Francoeur when comparing their first seasons.

1:02
Dan Szymborski: Frenchy didn’t torch the minors
1:02
Comment From Bart
Who would you start at 1B going forward, Hosmer or Moss?

1:02
Dan Szymborski: Hosmer
1:02
Comment From Tim E.
A question that would have been laughed at before this season: Who will have the better career, Moore or Corbin?

1:03
Dan Szymborski: I still think Moore has more upside, but Corbin on average will have the better career
1:03
Comment From Guest
Is Smoak catching fire?

1:03
Dan Szymborski: Smoak’s been actually good lately, not just not-so-crappy
1:04
Comment From bdhudson
Has an active MLB player ever been charged with murder?

1:04
Dan Szymborski: Julio Machado
1:04
Dan Szymborski: And Urbina was at least charged with attempted
1:05
Comment From Baron Von Waffles
Parra, an ASG snub or no?

1:05
Dan Szymborski: Not for me – I don’t really look as the ASG as simply “Best First Half guys”
1:06
Dan Szymborski: the ASG voting isn’t even designed well to reward Best First Half guys
1:06
Dan Szymborski: If you vote at every opportunity, April homers are going to be part of the voting “resume” many more times than a June home run
1:07
Comment From Chris
Whats your favorite old school baseball player name?

1:07
Dan Szymborski: If you mean current old school, Buster Posey has the name of a silent film star
1:07
Dan Szymborski: old timers, you have Vinegar Bend Mizell
1:07
Dan Szymborski: Bristol Robotham Lord
1:08
Dan Szymborski: not making that up
1:08
Dan Szymborski: And William van Winkle “Chicken” Wolf
1:08
Dan Szymborski: Oil Can Boyd was a great classic-styled name
1:08
Comment From Keeper? I hardly know her
What do you think of the Twins circa 2015? Do you think they will be a serious power with all the talent they have?

1:09
Dan Szymborski: They *could* be, but I’m not sold yet. I still think they’re in kind of the late 90s/00s O’s rut where they think they’re clsoer to relevance where they are
1:09
Comment From Keeper? I hardly know her
Is there any god the Phillies can pray to to fix their farm system?

1:09
Dan Szymborski: Any god that would inspire Amaro to retire and go on a pilgramage
1:09
Dan Szymborski: pilgrimage
1:09
Comment From Keeper? I hardly know her
Can we start a letter writing campaign to convince the Phillies that they are sellers?

1:10
Comment From Dan
Now that it’s past mid-season can we start pestering you on twitter for MLE’s and Zips for minor players?

1:10
Dan Szymborski: People already do!
1:10
Dan Szymborski: I can’t always reply quickly – I have my fingers in a lot of pies
1:11
Comment From BH
Should we bet money on the Eric Hosmer power hitting streak (7 HRs in the last 15 games) to continue through 4 games at Yankee Stadium?

1:11
Dan Szymborski: DON”T JINX HIM!
1:11
Dan Szymborski: Every time I say nice things about him, he goes a month without an extra base hit
1:11
Dan Szymborski: So for Hosmer’s sake, I say he’s a bad man who should not be on your fantasy team ever.
1:11
Dan Szymborski: Oh, on classic names, I forgot Urban Shocker
1:13
Dan Szymborski: You can use that name for so many things, a wrestler, a law enforcement weapon, a sexual position popularized in a series of gonzo city-based porn videos. The possibilities are endless.
1:13
Comment From Corey Klobber
Brett Lawrie kinda resembles Christian of Edge & Christian

1:13
Dan Szymborski: He actually does a bit.
1:13
Comment From zack
Vernon wells is back to being Vernon wells isn’t he?

1:13
Dan Szymborski: Yup. He just compressed all his non-suck into a single month this time around
1:13
Comment From Ben
Everyone knows Jeff Locke isn’t as good as his 2 ERA. But just how far do you expect him to regress?

1:13
Dan Szymborski: I expect somewhere around 4 or so
1:14
Comment From Douglas Von Werter
Hamilton does not “chew tobacco”. He dips snuff. There’s actually a huge difference.

1:14
Dan Szymborski: I assume the basic concept is simialr. Nicotine delivery.
1:14
Dan Szymborski: I don’t have a lot of personal smoking knowledge other than cigars while golfing
1:15
Dan Szymborski: I was kind of disappointed that the peer pressure growing up wasn’t like those videos they show you in middle school
1:15
Dan Szymborski: You know, where those gangs of kids pressure you to smoke and you have shout SMOKERS ARE JOKERS! and run away and tell an adult
1:16
Dan Szymborski: In my experirence, it was more “Dan, you want a cigarette?” “Nope” and that was it
1:16
Dan Szymborski: Real let down.
1:16
Comment From Guest
Dan, Dan, he’s our man! If he can’t do it, noone can!

1:16
Dan Szymborski: Demonstrably untrue. I cannot have babies, yet the human race has persisted.
1:16
Comment From Mike
Dan – the Phillies are delusional because they have to be with their TV deal expiring at the end of next year. If they were to blow up the team it would cost them tens maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars. 5th worst run differential in baseball? No problem we are contenders!

1:16
Comment From Bo
In your opinion, what’s the biggest wedge between the SABR community and traditionalists?

1:16
Dan Szymborski: First principles in a lot of cases.
1:17
Dan Szymborski: Traditionalist fans are actually the hardest to overcome.
1:17
Dan Szymborski: Baseball itself was actually the easiest – teams have quite the financial interest in evaluating players properly
1:18
Dan Szymborski: And I have to say, I’d have taken the opportunity to move more into mainstream media if I knew how generally welcoming most people are
1:18
Dan Szymborski: I was one of the 90s usenet guys, so I had a built-in distrust of media in general.
1:18
Dan Szymborski: But going on a 3 1/2 years now, i’ve never had an uncomfortable moment with any of the ESPN guys I interact with regularly that aren’t big stat guys
1:19
Comment From zack
Is Duda worse than francoeur put there?

1:19
Dan Szymborski: Yes.
1:19
Dan Szymborski: A few more and I have to go!
1:19
Dan Szymborski: So this is the time for quick questions and random crazy questions.
1:19
Comment From Gila Monster
Are you worried about Kung Fu Panda? He has been truly awful since he returned from.the DL…

1:20
Dan Szymborski: Getting there. He’s been fug awful, looking lost out there.
1:21
Dan Szymborski: I think there’s value in letting him crush the PCL for a week.
1:21
Dan Szymborski: If he goes 3-for-30 there, at least you know something else is wrong
1:21
Comment From Trey
Better career: Machado or Lawrie, and is it close?

1:21
Dan Szymborski: Machado.
1:21
Dan Szymborski: I don’t think it’s close – Lawrie’s not a shortstop (and Machado should still be one)
1:21
Comment From Redbeard
Are the Giants in the Phillies denial boat also or is it just the division they are in?

1:22
Dan Szymborski: I think their competition is less stiff
1:22
Dan Szymborski: in the NL East, they’d need to be sllers too
1:22
Dan Szymborski: and there’s at least *some* upside in the pitchers.
1:22
Dan Szymborski: I don’t think the Phils are seriously underperforming their “true” ability
1:22
Comment From zack
Apparently there is serious interest in Michael young, who was one of the two worst players in baseball last year

1:23
Dan Szymborski: Young’s actually a not-terrible fit for a few teams.
1:23
Dan Szymborski: I think he’d actually be useful in New york
1:23
Comment From bdhudson
Who wins the NL Central?

1:23
Dan Szymborski: Cards
1:23
Comment From Steve
$200 down on Scherzer? What odds did you get on that?

1:23
Dan Szymborski: 20-1
1:24
Dan Szymborski: It would be unfair to write a prop bet piece and not risk money.
1:25
Dan Szymborski: Stanton leading league in HRs at 13/2 not looking so good. Hamilton under .295, Hamilton under 31 HR looking good, Ruggiano under .290 BA looking good, Carter over 25.5 HR good, Darvish over 14.5 wins looking reasonable
1:26
Dan Szymborski: Ubaldo over 3.90 ERA looking good, Lincecum over 199.5 K looking iffy (30-40%?)
1:27
Dan Szymborski: I think I’ll get the Pence under .285 but lose Pence under 23.5 HR
1:27
Comment From bdhudson
Ah I forgot about Ugueth!!! At any rate, thanks!

1:28
Dan Szymborski: One of the stranger cases, no doubt
1:28
Comment From dirck
Yogi was charged with butchering the English language and logic in a double murder .

1:28
Comment From bdhudson
Exactly Dan – hence why Harper is an all-star while Desmond is going to lose the final vote

1:28
Comment From Kyle
Why does this chat have to end? Have you ever considered doing a marathon chat?…One that woyld break all fantasy baseball records?

1:28
Dan Szymborski: Solo, I think about 2 hours of me is all that people can put up with
1:28
Dan Szymborski: But I did do 12 hours in a FanGraphs group chat
1:28
Dan Szymborski: and 8 hours in an ESPN group chat
1:29
Comment From Sgt. Pepper
I just want there to be a player named Old School Baseballman

1:29
Comment From Sgt. Pepper
Will there ever be a Szymborski in the MLB or are you representative of the gene pool?

1:29
Dan Szymborski: There has not, but Tom Szymborski was the closest, making it to AA.
1:30
Dan Szymborski: I’d really like there to be a Szymborski in MLB simply so that I can more easily get my name into MLB the Show for career mode.
1:30
Dan Szymborski: I always have to be “Dan Szuminski” pronounced
1:30
Dan Szymborski: Sony actually said they’d get to me, but they haven’t yet
1:30
Comment From Dan
Phenomenal Smith. The Only Nolan. Arlie Latham. Jack Glasscock. You slipping man…

1:31
Comment From juan pierres mustache
you’d probably get more work done if you didn’t have your fingers in pies all the time

1:31
Dan Szymborski: But then I’d have to get a whole new, slimmer wardrobe
1:31
Comment From Gregory
Don’t look now but Justin Smoak is hitting like a league-average 1B according to wRC+

1:31
Comment From Gregory
Smoak wRC+ is 120, qualified AL firstbasemen are 113 on average while major league 1B average is 109.

1:31
Comment From RK
Puig: I wouldn’t call 60 games torching the minors.

1:31
Dan Szymborski: It wasn’t a *long* period, but he torched when he was there
1:31
Comment From Sadwick
I don’t think any videos shown in middle school have ever been, even remotely, representative of reality.

1:32
Comment From Sgt. Pepper
One of these days someone is going to accidentally omit a space and hyperlink to some really nasty porn.

1:32
Dan Szymborski: I do generally click before I post them!
1:33
Dan Szymborski: There’s an old BTF meme in tricking people into viewing madeline albright pictures
1:33
Comment From Big Boy Pramberger
best cold cut sans bread…i say salami (preferably wrapped around some provolone)

1:33
Dan Szymborski: speck
1:33
Comment From Michael Scarn
ZIPs has Chris Davis for a .366 wOBA ROS, seems a little low doesn’t it?

1:33
Dan Szymborski: I think it is too. But I may have orange-and-black glasses.
1:34
Comment From dirck
Yankees will be moving that statue of Jeter back out to SS soon

1:34
Comment From Rags
Bristol Robot-Ham Lord’s nickname was “The Human Eyeball.” Thank you for enlightening me of his existence.

1:34
Comment From LarryA
Someone gave you odds on Ruggiano under .290?

1:34
Dan Szymborski: That was the vegas over/under, believe it or not
1:34
Dan Szymborski: Jumped at that one
1:34
Comment From Steal this Handle
Rzepczynski seems close enough to szymborski to call it a day

1:34
Dan Szymborski: Szyuminski is a little closer pronunciation wise
1:34
Comment From Sgt. Pepper
Maybe you can get a player to change his name to Syzmborski in exchange for an optimistic Zips projection

1:35
Dan Szymborski: It would be depressing if we did this transaction and then he changed his name to the wrong spelling!
1:35
Comment From Dr. Met
Ever watch the gender norming video in high school? The one where they make a crazy feminist come out and say there are no physical differences between male and female firefighters strength? That blew my mind.

1:35
Dan Szymborski: I dont’ think so, but I didn’t pay much attention.
1:35
Dan Szymborski: I was one of the kids who sat at the back of the class goofing off most of the time, never doing homework, and counting on tests to get me good grades
1:36
Comment From Michael Scarn
I had a crazy dream last night in which there was a 4 team trade between the Brewers, Dodgers, White Sox, and Yankees in which Ryan Braun ended up with the White Sox and Cano with the Dodgers, but I can’t remember who went to the other teams. Help me fill in the blanks!

1:36
Dan Szymborski: If it was my dream, it would be Charles Grodin and then you’d travel to italy on a hovercraft driven by the surviving members of Badfinger.
1:37
Dan Szymborski: Seriously, this is my most recent dream log entry
1:38
Dan Szymborski: Me and Antonio Vivaldi went to Five Guys to get burgers. I bought him a hamburger and he stabbed me. It was actually Tom Wilkinson and not Vivaldi, even though I know what Vivaldi looked like.
1:38
Comment From LBest
what’s your favorite part working in media?

1:38
Dan Szymborski: I like all the social aspects. And working at home, I don’t have to put on pants.
1:39
Dan Szymborski: Some people in media grudgingly accept social media
1:39
Dan Szymborski: Me, sit me at a couch with some beer and I’ll talk to fans/readers/etc. all day and all night
1:39
Comment From Sadwick
PANTSLESS CHATS!!!!! This will not go over well with my co-workers.

1:39
Comment From Nick
Brewers get a sack of dirty laundry from the Yankees, White Sox send Dunn and any other old reclamation projects to New York

1:40
Dan Szymborski: Dunn wouldn’t actually be a bad fit in the park.
1:40
Comment From Nick
you’re a fucking pussy

1:40
Dan Szymborski: is that part of the question? I”m not sure how it connects.
1:40
Dan Szymborski: And on that note, time to log off for another week!
1:41
Dan Szymborski: Thanks for joining me and I hope to see you guys next week!
1:41
Dan Szymborski: As a usual reminder, you can find my work at ESPN.com, chats and projections at FanGraphs, and at DSzymborski on Twitter.
1:42
Dan Szymborski: (and Steam – one of the nice things about working at home is lots of time for nerdy game playing)
1:42
Comment From GoGoMrPoPo
“Dan Szymborski:
Is there any surprise on the top of a mountain that’s *good*?” Umm, ask, I dunno, friggin MOSES, dude?

1:42
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but Moses came down with a preachy list of rules!
1:42
Dan Szymborski: Before he went up, you could totally covet all the stuff you wanted.





 

Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.

6 Comments
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Cube Jockey
10 years ago

Can teams trade international signing bonus allocations for future years, or only for the current year?

1
Nick
10 years ago
Reply to  Cube Jockey

Does Dan Symborski ignore anyone elses questions in his “chats”

Dudes a chump if you ask me..

-18
Bookbook
10 years ago
Reply to  Nick

He gets something like 50 questions for every one he can answer. You ain’t special.

3
N8
10 years ago
Reply to  Nick

Nobody asked you what you think of him. Name calling is pretty immature. I would like to read some of these great questions he didn’t answer. Please share.

2
Bookbook
10 years ago
Reply to  N8

I didn’t name call. Ain’t none of us special, you know. Not even the special few who get a question answered by the great Szym.

-1