Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 9/12/16
September 12, 2016
| 11:56 |
: Gravy fries!
|
| 11:57 |
: Not eating any, just felt like saying it.
|
| 11:57 |
: For those that don’t remember, I’m saving off-topic Qs for the Lightning Round.
|
| 11:57 |
: DOOM AND GLOOM; DOOM AND GLOOM; etc.
|
| 11:57 |
: The Cubs may set the BABIP-suppression record while shifting the least among everyone in the league. What’s going on there? Would they have an even better defense if they shifted more, or have they discovered a flaw in shifting that the rest of the league and all the analysts haven’t found yet?
|
| 11:58 |
: I think that the hoopla around shifting is a little overheated. It’s good, but it’s not a game-changer type of thing generally.
|
| 11:58 |
: Becuase it’s something hitters, over time, can react to.
|
| 11:58 |
: since they seem to be several years away still, should the twins trade dozier in the offseason?
|
| 11:58 |
: They should at least listen to offers.
|
| 12:00 |
: If he keeps hitting a billion home runs, the Twins won’t be able to afford him after 2018. And if he doesn’t, well, then not trading him loses value.
|
| 12:01 |
: Any high-achiever projection left for Archie Bradley? What is it about him that we should have known before the hype?
|
| 12:02 |
: Minor-league walk rate is significant. And a lot of guys simply don’t lose that extra walk or two.
|
| 12:02 |
: Are you able to chat the whole time or will Carson pull you after 7 perfect answers?
|
| 12:02 |
: We must stand up to the darkness in this world.
|
| 12:02 |
: Any chance we will ever get play logs for defensive stats? Especially curious about players like Braun who DRS (+29 career in LF, +6 this year) & UZR (-23 career in LF, -3 this year) disagree upon.
|
| 12:04 |
: Probalby not, but it’s possible as statcast data gets more useful that other providers become more open with data.
|
| 12:04 |
: First off, welcome back Dan! Where would you see Gurriel playing next season presuming Astros give Bregman the reigns at 3B? Across the diamond?
|
| 12:04 |
: Astros are playing it by ear – they probably don’t know yet, so I certain’ly don’t
|
| 12:05 |
: How encouraging is Carlos Rodon’s strong finish to the season?
|
| 12:05 |
: Very, though I was already optimistic.
|
| 12:05 |
: Is the value of a middle infielder who can hit 20+ homers reduced because of the huge spike in HRs this year, or do you think this is a one year aberration?
|
| 12:05 |
: It’s hard to tell. Home run bumps usually stick more often than not, the Dale Sveums tend to be the exception.
|
| 12:05 |
: Kris Bryant is 2nd in the league in WAR, but only 16th in WPA. Should that factor into the MVP discussion? Is he providing value in slightly less important moments, and if so, would you dock him for that?
|
| 12:06 |
: I think the stat is more interesting than useful.
|
| 12:06 |
: Any opinions on Hill situation? Would you let him try to finish?
|
| 12:06 |
: It’s a tough one, becuase it really comes down to what the manager is seeing in his pitcher that a more distant observer might not.
|
| 12:07 |
: I think I would have kept him in until he lost hte perfect game, but that’s a 60/40 thing, not something I’m sure about.
|
| 12:07 |
: Kal Daniels had 129 batting runs in 2,739 career plate appearances. Bryce Harper now has 129 batting runs in 2,710 plate appearances. Is Kal Daniels the greatest hitter of the last 30 years no one has ever heard of?
|
| 12:07 |
: Kal Daniels was really damn good.
|
| 12:09 |
: He had crippling knee problems. If he was 5 years younger and could stay healthy, he’d have 5 or 6 all-star appearances.
|
| 12:09 |
: But he had the double punch of injuries and being done right before serious analysis became mainstream.
|
| 12:09 |
: Plus, he peaked ina very low-offense period right before a high-offense period.
|
| 12:10 |
: Whats your opinion regarding Cistulli having a 4.5 out of 5 star rating according to Rate My Professor? Several students have sung his praises regarding his ability to relay information and he even has a chilli pepper implying that he is “hot”.
|
| 12:10 |
: The Old Ones have strong effects on the minds of man.
|
| 12:10 |
: Does Adrian Beltre not get enough love? He’s putting up another 5 WAR season like clockwork.
|
| 12:10 |
: Yes. It’s a disease of 3B.
|
| 12:11 |
: I’m a believer in the Bochy Magic Touch, but why can’t he see Santiago Casilla for the disaster he is. Law, Strickland
|
| 12:11 |
: ZiPS uses historically similar players to determine likely career arcs, or something like that, right? Have any players had a career arc similar to Bryce Harper that you can think of? wRC+ of 115, 197, and 119 in consecutive seasons seems like it would be incredibly rare, making him a tough case to project.
|
| 12:11 |
: Yeah, but the year-to-year oscillations don’t tend to be particularly meaningful in this context.
|
| 12:11 |
: USELESS STATS DEPT MEMO: Curtis Granderson is on pace to have the lowest RBI/HR ratio of all-time
|
| 12:12 |
: Who’s top? Hoiles?
|
| 12:12 |
: *If* Rich Hill goes on a Sandy Koufax esque run for the next 4 years (last 4 years for this argument). Could he be a HOFer?
|
| 12:12 |
: Well IF he went on a sandy koufaxesque run, he could be of course.
|
| 12:13 |
: Though the voters would have to do a better job than they have. That Mussina and Schilling aren’t in the Hall and pitchers like Kevin Brown get one-and-outed is absolutely absurd.
|
| 12:13 |
: So Hill could be Koufax for 6 years and still get almost no support.
|
| 12:14 |
: Can someone explain why the pirates are still having Ryan Vogelsong start games? If they’re trying to win this year, he’s a bad option. If they’re trying to retool for 2017, he is a bad option.
|
| 12:14 |
: I don’t actually understand the deal.
|
| 12:14 |
: twins like to sit on guys until they destroy their value. I.e glenn perkins
|
| 12:14 |
: What’s the deal with TNT
|
| 12:14 |
: It’s an explosive that’s easy to handle.
|
| 12:14 |
: Is the yankees farm system strong enough to get a Chris Sale type pitcher and an AS caliber position player this offseason?
|
| 12:15 |
: It *could* be. It really depends on how some conversations go internally this winter.
|
| 12:15 |
: I’m a believer in the Bochy Magic Touch, but why can’t he see the disaster that is Santiago Casilla. Law and Strickland would both be better, especially Law, but he continues to give Casilla the leverage situations.
|
| 12:15 |
: Bochy occasionally has a blind spot.
|
| 12:16 |
: See the awkwardness of getting Belt playing time his first couple years.
|
| 12:16 |
:
|
| 12:17 |
: Hi Dan. Did you ever get that cheese steak I mailed you a few weeks back?
|
| 12:17 |
: DID NOT WHERE IS IT
|
| 12:17 |
: Sorry, sent early – what’s the deal with the A’s BABIP? Bottom of the league offensive
|
| 12:18 |
: Well, they don’t hit very hard and they play in a park that has a large BABIP effect.
|
| 12:18 |
: The Coliseum has a *lot* of plays that can be outs, but never hits.
|
| 12:19 |
: Who is having the biggest successful outlier season this year??
|
| 12:19 |
: Probably Dozier now!@
|
| 12:19 |
: The Red Sox have an incredible core, the Yankees “rebuilt” and are already better than they were before, and the Jays have started leveraging their resources. As a (Devil) Rays fan, how concerned should I be about the parity in the AL East or MLB at large?
|
| 12:19 |
: Very. I am as an O’s fan. But it’s cyclical.
|
| 12:19 |
: How might the Orioles improve their rotation going into next year?
|
| 12:19 |
: Goat sacrifices.
|
| 12:20 |
: The free agent pitching market kinda stinks.
|
| 12:20 |
: Unless the O’s manage to get Hokkaido to post Otani. But even then, someone will outbid the O’s
|
| 12:20 |
: Remember when Hazelbaker was Ruth reincarnate and something was wrong with Freeman? Ahh the good ol’ days of early season samples.
|
| 12:20 |
: Why I answer April for so many things
|
| 12:20 |
: Sale the CY young favorite at this point? Five straight starts of at least 8 IP, but 1-5 since the all-star break. Not his fault he
|
| 12:21 |
: Updated ZiPS probs go up on ESPN Thursday mornings
|
| 12:21 |
: If you were a gm; who would you prefer to have on your 2016 postseason roster: Kris Bryant or Josh Donaldson?
|
| 12:21 |
: Kris Bryant. The positional flexibility breaks a tie.
|
| 12:21 |
: Any idea what ZiPS will think of Kershaw next year? Does it know that he missed time due to injury, and will it reflect fears that any sort of pitching injury might linger by giving him a somewhat lukewarm forecast? Or does it not work like that?
|
| 12:21 |
: It will know he missed time to injury.
|
| 12:21 |
: It’ll reduce his projection from Ridonkulous to Ridonkulous-minus-a-smidge
|
| 12:22 |
: Did I make the worst trade in history? My daughter tells me I’m the most overrated gm in sports – nay she sings it to me with that annoying guitar I bought her.
|
| 12:22 |
: Youtube or it didn’t happen.
|
| 12:23 |
: Those are the WWE-MLB mashups I’ve done through David Ortiz. Gotta look at my pics and videos on Twitter for the more recent ones (Pierzynski, McCann, Altuve, Kevin Goldstein, King Felix, etc0
|
| 12:23 |
:
|
| 12:24 |
: How has Blackmon’s value changed since the deadline?
|
| 12:24 |
: A bit, but not as much as you’d think, simply because there’s one less high-leverage situation for which you cannot acquire him.
|
| 12:24 |
: Did Dave Cameron crash on your couch during his cross country drive? Did you take him out for pizza to the good place? Or the merely OK place that is more convenient?
|
| 12:25 |
: I didn’t meet up with him! Did he come through central OH? I need to communicate better
|
| 12:25 |
: What is the highest WAR a pitcher could possibly accumulate in 32 starts?
|
| 12:25 |
: I dunno, 20? I haven’t run the numbers on allowing 0 runs.
|
| 12:26 |
: Hmm, I get 13.1 WAR for 213.2 scoreless innings.
|
| 12:27 |
: And 14 or so in a hitters’ park
|
| 12:27 |
: It’s likely though that WAR has trouble when we get to *this* extreme.
|
| 12:28 |
: What player from 20-25 years ago do you think would have had a longer career if teams understood analytics back then the way they do now?
|
| 12:28 |
: Petagine possibly. Spent his entire prime in Japan.
|
| 12:29 |
: How long would it take you to attain the equivalent of a black belt in Gymkata?
|
| 12:29 |
: I had a green belt in taekwondo as a kid, but I’m not really gymnastic-y
|
| 12:29 |
: Is there even a doubt right now that Beltre is not a future HOFer?
|
| 12:30 |
: Not in my mind, but half the writers somehow doubt that Mussina and Schilling are HoFers.
|
| 12:30 |
: How surprised would you be if the Royals still make the playoffs (after losing 3 of their next 4 of course)?
|
| 12:30 |
: Surprised but not shocked. It’s still plausible, just a longshot.
|
| 12:30 |
: And the Royals do well when I doubt them and terribly when I believe in them.
|
| 12:30 |
: How long does a blister take to heal? A week at most? Maybe they should have stopped having him hurl a small rough object for a few days. Maybe
|
| 12:31 |
: Blisters can be really persistent for pitchers.
|
| 12:31 |
: Josh Beckett had a ton of problems.
|
| 12:31 |
: Think Saunders get a QO? He’s quietly simmered down recently.
|
| 12:31 |
: I suspect he does. The market sucks.
|
| 12:32 |
: Does Hill get more than 40m next year? He’s basically been Kershaw over his last 120 innings.
|
| 12:32 |
: Oh, he’ll get more than 40 million.
|
| 12:32 |
: Nolasco got $49 million in a deeper market and nobody really thought he was any good
|
| 12:33 |
: Kevin Brown being 1 and out is simply insane… Behind only Clemens, Johnson and Maddux for WAR from ’90 to 2003.
|
| 12:33 |
: I’ve never owned a cat. Do they fall for the “pretend to throw a ball” trick like dogs do?
|
| 12:33 |
: Only a couple times. Then they’ll need to see the ball.
|
| 12:33 |
: Oops, that’s kind of off topic
|
| 12:33 |
: Felipe Rivero had been a starter in the minors with inconsistent results, but from everything I can tell, his changeup didn’t breakthrough as a plus pitch until he became a reliever. In fact, it didn’t even seem part of his repertoire. Now it’s arguably his best pitch to compliment a strong fastball and an effective slider. Knowing that he now has three pitches to work from, do you think the Pirates should experiment with him as a starter this spring?
|
| 12:34 |
: I think any reliever that has three pitchers should at least be experimented with. Spring training ought to be a lab of experimentation.
|
| 12:34 |
: Speaking of Kevin Brown, is he the only $100 mil+ pitcher FA signing that ever worked out well? The only other one I can think of that’s close is Cliff Lee, and he was great for 1/2 the deal.
|
| 12:34 |
: Hamels has been fine. King Felix mostly
|
| 12:35 |
: And technically, the Greinke $100 million contract worked out fine for the Dodgers
|
| 12:35 |
: What was the funniest player projection that ZiPS spit out in error?
|
| 12:36 |
: Jose Molina had a 1.200 SLG because I hit something and adding a stray number to his HR total
|
| 12:36 |
: Can you think of an even remotely comparable FA comp with Rich Hill? It has got to be the strangest case I’ve seen in awhile.
|
| 12:36 |
: He’s like an extreme Kazmir
|
| 12:37 |
: Considering August’s piece from this morning on Baez and the huge range of UZR and other defensive rankings of players on a year-to-year basis, it seems as though analytics on the defensive side of the game is still far behind the offensive side of the game. To that end, what value can we really derive from WAR rankings for offensive or defensive-sided players?
|
| 12:37 |
: You can derive value, you just need to understand the limitations and volatility of the components.
|
| 12:37 |
: A player with a greater percentage of his WAR from defense, assume a greater margin of error.
|
| 12:37 |
: How will you react when the Braves/Twins go worst to first and face off in the World Series next year?
|
| 12:37 |
: Assume I’m having a coma dream.
|
| 12:38 |
:
|
| 12:38 |
: Watching MLB Network – DeRo is talking about how Strasburg needs to say things like, “ill do my best to get out there” vs. what he said.
Am I the only one who actually prefers to see athletes make candid responses when prompted? |
| 12:38 |
: No, but they’re stupid to.
|
| 12:38 |
: Is there an actual chance that Otani gets posted? And if so, wouldn’t an NL team have more reason to bid highly for him (and by how much)?
|
| 12:38 |
: I don’t think this year.
|
| 12:38 |
: What kind of contract does Kendrys Morales get? Does he get a QO? If so, does he turn it down?
|
| 12:38 |
: I don’t think he gets a QO. Maybe 2/20 or something
|
| 12:38 |
: Could you elaborate a bit on your Bryce Harper answer? Are you saying that the historical comps are based on multi-year samples and don’t really care how you distribute your production across those years?
|
| 12:38 |
: Yes
|
| 12:39 |
: The ups and downs don’t really add a lot
|
| 12:39 |
: When is the correct time to trade Andrew McCutchen? How badly did this season hurt his value?
|
| 12:40 |
: I would absolutely try to trade him this offseason. In a weak free agent market, someone’s going to pay him assuming terrific odds he’s a superstar.
|
| 12:41 |
: Do you think Addison Russell can become a Troy Tulowitzki like shortstop? Does his recent power surge now make him the ‘best of the second-tier’, behind Seager, Lindor and Correa?
|
| 12:41 |
: SSs don’t tier that well.
|
| 12:41 |
: Any hope for Yordano Ventura?
|
| 12:41 |
: I still hold out.
|
| 12:41 |
: Is there a way to incorporate position flexibility into a player’s value, or does that have to be subjective?
|
| 12:41 |
: It’s tricky.
|
| 12:41 |
: Will Wade Davis have any trade value this winter after his trips to the DL this season?
|
| 12:41 |
: Yes
|
| 12:42 |
: Where do you plug in numbers to get a hypothetical WAR?
|
| 12:42 |
: I just plugged it into ZiPS in the WAR calculation part.
|
| 12:42 |
: If the Cubs don’t reup with Fowler after the season, who do you see them using to leadoff? Zobrist?
|
| 12:42 |
: Doesn’t seem liuke a stretch.
|
| 12:43 |
: Does Gary Sanchez have a legitimate chance to win AL ROY?
|
| 12:43 |
: I don’t think so.
|
| 12:44 |
: There’s a rookie who is the current AL ERA leader, after all
|
| 12:44 |
: And Sanchez isn’t maintaining *this* level.
|
| 12:44 |
: Some HOF voters will hold it against Beltre for not repeating his 48 HR year in LA and the dent Safeco made on his mid-career numbers. The again, some will hold his career 338 OBP against him.
|
| 12:45 |
: Voters that are smart enough to understand OBP in context would likely look at the other stuff.
|
| 12:45 |
: What is the A’s motivation for releasing Billy Butler in September? It’s not as if he’s occupying a roster spot, and they’ll still be on the hook for the remainder of his contract assuming he clears waivers. He wouldn’t even be postseason eligible.
|
| 12:45 |
: Well, they can save the 500K if someone signs him. I think he’s a dead cost at this point.
|
| 12:45 |
: Who is your AL MVP? Can Mike Trout lose AGAIN? If the Angels didn’t suck, we might be looking at a 4 time MVP by 25.
|
| 12:46 |
: I’d vote for him (but that’s not the award I’m voting in). He won’t win.
|
| 12:46 |
: What kind of contract does Brett Anderson end up with this winter?
|
| 12:46 |
: Pillow deal
|
| 12:46 |
: Is the ZiPS machine all decked out or is it more a little sticky note on the side of the monitor that says ZiPS machine
|
| 12:46 |
: No stickers or anything.
|
| 12:47 |
: My “work” build is housed in red bitfenix prodigy case. Runs off an i7-3930k with 32 GB of RAM.
|
| 12:47 |
: What player projection did ZiPS spit out that you initially thought was in error, but after further review, was not in error?
|
| 12:47 |
: Adam Warren earlier this year.
|
| 12:47 |
: Why are people so frustrated with Sept 1 roster rules? Because it slows the game? Who cares if you use 18 pitchers, if you have them; who is this hurting? I’m sure the bubble-fringe guys appreciate the end-of-year bonus for being in the ML.
|
| 12:48 |
: One day in the majors gets you MLBPA health benefits for life. That’s a pretty big deal.
|
| 12:48 |
: If Sanchez hits another 7 HR, does he then get a shot at AL ROY? That’s 20 HR for a catcher!?
|
| 12:48 |
: If he gets to 20, then he might make it interesting
|
| 12:48 |
: 3000 hits, 450HR, 600 Doubles, 1500 runs and RBI, that should keep the counting stat happy voters happy.
|
| 12:48 |
: You’ll never go broke betting on the voting being terrible.
|
| 12:48 |
: Will Ryan Howard get a major league contract somewhere this offseason? Or is he more of a minor league deal with an opt out if he doesn’t make the team kind of guy, if even that?
|
| 12:49 |
: He might get a 1-year, $1 million type Jason Giambi offer from an AL team. Probably best retiring.
|
| 12:49 |
: NL Manager of the year seems to be a shoe in for Maddon.. The AL isn’t quite so clear.. do you see it coming down to the three division winners or Tito, Banister, whoever wins the AL East and Buck?
|
| 12:50 |
: Seems to go to the team that most beats expectations and also makes the playoffs, which is Banister.
|
| 12:50 |
: In the NL, there really aren’t many surprsies, so Maddon obviously gets it
|
| 12:50 |
: Maybe Dusty gets a few votes.
|
| 12:50 |
: what would it take to pry Betts away from boston?
|
| 12:50 |
: ALL the tea.
|
| 12:50 |
: Why red case? Was it on sale
|
| 12:50 |
: I like the red case.
|
| 12:51 |
: If MLB adopted a taxi squad approach, what would be the best way to set it up?
|
| 12:51 |
: I’m not sure it’s a good idea. It’ll just be used to pad the back of the bullpen evern more.
|
| 12:51 |
: Will Mark Teixeira make it past 1 year on the HOF ballot?
|
| 12:51 |
: I do not believe so.
|
| 12:52 |
: Manager of the year = award to whatever team out-performed the media’s preseason expectation, which was probably a baseless expectation to begin with?
|
| 12:52 |
: Yeah
|
| 12:52 |
: Though I have to be fair here, the voting is slowly improving, especially on the year-end awards that don’t have a heavy load of legacy voters.
|
| 12:53 |
: Slusser and now Gould and writers like Jeff Passan have done a lot to improve the culture of BBWAA and modernize it.
|
| 12:53 |
: The year-end awards are getting better and time will eventually make the Hall vote better.
|
| 12:55 |
: What does the MVP case against Trout look like? Saying it’s just “the Angels didn’t make the playoffs” seems a little too reductive, since I’m sure the people who vote against him have thought things through and have a well-reasoned answer, even if many people here disagree. What is it about not making the playoffs that renders him ineligible, in their minds?
|
| 12:55 |
: Hey, you’re preaching to the choir.
|
| 12:55 |
: With prospects Brinson and Cordell gone, between Desmond, Gomez, DeShields, and a FA/trade acquisition who is the most likely to patrol CF next season for the Rangers?
|
| 12:56 |
: DeShields returns, so likely the plurality fave.
|
| 12:56 |
: Dan Szymborksi chat is back! Let there be much rejoicing. If I go to an Orioles game, what is the best place near the ballpark to eat a crab cake?
|
| 12:56 |
: Faidley
|
| 12:56 |
: Have you watched Teen Titans Go? It’s surprisingly good. Cartoons in general are a lot better than they were when I was a kid.
|
| 12:56 |
: I have not
|
| 12:56 |
: What are the odds the Mets keep Cespedes (by extending his contract?)? If they determine he’s not a great fit because of position, do they/can they go after a 1B bat like Encarnacion or even Napoli?
|
| 12:57 |
: I think if they keep him, it won’t be by an extension.
|
| 12:57 |
: Because the underlying reasons you don’t pay Cespedes a ridiculous amount of cash long-term still exist. Plus one more prime year is now gone
|
| 12:57 |
: Dan – I just got a burrito bowl, and the rice is only about 75% cooked. My day is ruined.
|
| 12:57 |
: Does the loss of Danny Salazar poke a big hole in the Indians real chances at a WS appearance? Does this make the Cubs even more of a favorite..?
|
| 12:57 |
: It definitely hurts. I love Salazar.
|
| 12:57 |
: Is Slusser at the top of the list of female baseball writers in terms of quality?
|
| 12:57 |
: Yes
|
| 12:58 |
: There are a lot of terrific female baseball writers there, Rowley, Gotsulias, etc.
|
| 12:59 |
: Though personally I prefer to think of them as just writers.
|
| 12:59 |
: I don’t think of myself as a sabermetric writer, I think of myself as a writer
|
| 12:59 |
: And while it’s not quite the same thing, there was the same tension against the jockocracy.
|
| 1:00 |
: Is Aaron Judge a bust?
|
| 1:00 |
: That’s really way too soon.
|
| 1:00 |
: Which current MLB player will be the opposite of the Kevin Brown types and inexplicably keep getting enough votes to hang on the HOF ballot for a number of years?
|
| 1:00 |
: Ryan Howard
|
| 1:01 |
: Can you elaborate on the “pillow deal”? That must be some high-quality down if people are willing to work for pillows.
|
| 1:01 |
| 1:01 |
: Mike Trout for Clint Frazier, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Micheal Pineda. Fair?
|
| 1:01 |
: No.
|
| 1:01 |
: Thoughts on the Raiders going for 2 to win the game yesterday? Yes the numbers said it was a bad call, but in reality it was the right one, right?
|
| 1:01 |
: I think it’s a coin flip.
|
| 1:02 |
: The differences were fairly marginal – that an event happened doesn’t mean it was absolutely the most likely one to happen.
|
| 1:02 |
: Was expecting a might wittier answer to my non-sequitur about pillows. I’m disappointed in you, Dan.
|
| 1:02 |
: Sounded like you wanted info!
|
| 1:02 |
: OK, let’s finish with the Lightning Round.
|
| 1:03 |
: The rules of the Lightning Round are simple: I must answer any question, so long as it’s off-topic and not one of the few exceptions (very personal, work-related)
|
| 1:03 |
: And this continues until I catch up or get bored.
|
| 1:03 |
: GO
|
| 1:03 |
: WWE certainly got something right last night making AJ Styles WWE World Champion last night. How long do you think he should hold the belt?
|
| 1:03 |
: 2-3 months!
|
| 1:03 |
: Could an army of Dan Szymborskis, armed only with Klobbs, take down ISIS?
|
| 1:03 |
: Here’s an idea for your WWE wrestling game: Step A) Create Sean Rodriguez Step B) Create Water Cooler Step C) FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT
|
| 1:03 |
: An army of Chuck Norrises couldn’t do it with Klobbs.
|
| 1:03 |
: what do you think of the current arena meta in hearthstone? mage and rogue are being picked an unproportional amount relative to any other class. priest hardly receives any playtime, and classes like druid, warrior, shaman, and warlock are in a mediocre tier themselves
|
| 1:04 |
: There’s a lot that needs fixing. You can’t make arena picks based on card rarity if you’re not going to balance card rarity.
|
| 1:05 |
: And their solution to remove some cards is just jury-rigging.
|
| 1:05 |
: How much would could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
|
| 1:05 |
: Probably a formula based on the mass of the woodchuck and the density of the wood in question.
|
| 1:05 |
: Lots of writers on here don’t care about football. Do you care about football?
|
| 1:05 |
: Yes
|
| 1:05 |
: Best weather, temperature wise?
|
| 1:05 |
: 60 degrees, mostly sunny, gentle breeze.
|
| 1:05 |
: Lightning and golf clubs are a bad combination
|
| 1:06 |
: How much more black could it really be, Dan?
|
| 1:06 |
: Wait, what?
|
| 1:06 |
: Pro Tip: If you are setting someone up for a joke about pillows, do not include the key component of the joke in your set up.
|
| 1:06 |
: AJ Styles and Kevin Owen are champions. Holy poop.
|
| 1:06 |
: Since computers are off topic you can save this for the lightning round if you even choose to answer it. Did you construct your computer yourself?
If yes – have you ever used the slickdeals website to find computer parts? |
| 1:06 |
: Of course I do.
|
| 1:06 |
: I usually use pcpartpicker.
|
| 1:07 |
: I’ve done 7-8 total builds for myself, helped friends iwth another 15-20, and probably helped internet acquaintances with another 50 or so
|
| 1:07 |
: Because I’m cheap and don’t want to buy a second lunch, I’m almost through my uncooked burrito bowl. This is brutal, Dan./ I would wish this upon no man.
|
| 1:07 |
: The problem is that it’s a burrito bowl.
|
| 1:07 |
: If you want a burrito, get a burrito. If you want something in a bowl, get soup.
|
| 1:07 |
: How much Comp season 2 are you playing? I’m doing extremely well and going to break Diamond rank soon.
|
| 1:08 |
: Haven’t played much competitive. MLB season takes away a lot of my overwatch playing time.
|
| 1:08 |
: Before it became the answer to a President disqualifying event, did you know what Aleppo was/is?
|
| 1:08 |
: I did, but I’m a geography/history nut
|
| 1:08 |
: If AJ Styles has the belt beyond Survivor Series he’s going to lose it to Cena at Wrestlemania.
|
| 1:08 |
: NOOOOOOOO
|
| 1:08 |
: What should I take for a foreign language class:Arabic or Chinese?
|
| 1:08 |
: Given the choice, Chinese probably most useful
|
| 1:08 |
: Are you more likely or less likely to see and pay for a professional rasslin match with women or without women?
|
| 1:09 |
: Neither more or less likely. Assuming that we’re talking actual women’s wrestling, like the kind you see in Japan or WWE has been moving towards, not Diva pillow fights.
|
| 1:09 |
: How far back would you need to move the PAT line to make it 90% worth it to go for two?
|
| 1:10 |
: I’d have to think about the numbers, can’t really think of it that quick
|
| 1:10 |
: Last live band you saw?
|
| 1:10 |
: If just bars and stuff, not sure. Last actual concert was decemberists in columbus last year
|
| 1:10 |
: Do you have any updog?
|
| 1:10 |
: I do not.
|
| 1:10 |
: Did No Man’s Sky disappoint you?
|
| 1:10 |
: Yes. Got my refund.
|
| 1:10 |
: What do you think of the recent purchase by Liberty Media of Formula One?
|
| 1:10 |
: I hope Formula One doesn’t want ownership to invest in their product.
|
| 1:10 |
: How much grit could Grichuk chuck if Grichuk could chuck grit?
|
| 1:11 |
: Depends on the size of the grit.
|
| 1:11 |
: How great was the Cowboys loss yesterday?
|
| 1:11 |
: Was a good game.
|
| 1:11 |
: Lots of footballs don’t care about writers. If you were a football, would you care about writers?
|
| 1:11 |
: Not really. Footballs can’t read.
|
| 1:11 |
: Warmest/most uncomfortable stadium you’ve ever been in?
|
| 1:11 |
: Veterans
|
| 1:11 |
: Been away from Destiny for about five months. I also just finished my NG+ of The Witcher 3. So I have the allotted vg time to get back into it. Thoughts? (I’m actually pretty sure you don’t play it)
|
| 1:12 |
: If you’re an FPS and you’re not Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, you’re either on the PC or I don’t play you.
|
| 1:12 |
: iceman vs superman www?
|
| 1:12 |
: Superman. Ice doesn’t seem terribly useful.
|
| 1:12 |
: If I had to guess at which player Granderson is trying to beat out for lowest HR/RBI ratio, I’d take a shot at Bonds who had 137/73
|
| 1:12 |
: Beetlejuice x3 or Candyman x5?
|
| 1:12 |
: Beetlejuice as the extent of his powers is still untested.
|
| 1:12 |
: Rag top 370 Z or Hard Top w/ a moon roof 370 Z?
|
| 1:12 |
: Hard top
|
| 1:13 |
: whats your favorite type of bread
|
| 1:13 |
: Rye
|
| 1:13 |
: what is the year make and model of your car?
|
| 1:13 |
: 2004 Mazda 6s.
|
| 1:13 |
: Still under 100K miles. It helps not having a commute.
|
| 1:13 |
: Why does coffee make me have to poop uncontrollably?
|
| 1:13 |
: Gastrin.
|
| 1:14 |
: Bristol Motor Speedway hosted a college football game over the weekend.. Fan? or no Fan?
|
| 1:14 |
: Of college football? Yes, but not ravenous.
|
| 1:14 |
: Is a burrito bowl like an ice cream cone in a cup w/o the cone?
|
| 1:14 |
: I’m sorry I’m late but have a serious question: how much does a ZiPS projection change between seasons vs in-season updates?
|
| 1:14 |
: There’s no one sentence or one paragraph or one easy number answer for this.
|
| 1:14 |
: Is it time the Fangraph writers admit the Braves move for Kemp might not have been a completely bonkers move?
|
| 1:14 |
: No
|
| 1:15 |
: Call me when the NL has a DH.
|
| 1:15 |
: And even then, the NL having a DH wasn’t part of the original analysis.
|
| 1:15 |
: As long as defense is a thing, Kemp’s terrible.
|
| 1:15 |
: He’s literally league-average if his OPS+ is 130.
|
| 1:15 |
: You know it’s true. Ever since AJ beat Cena he’s been set up to lose to Cena in a rematch.
|
| 1:15 |
: I know, but I’m still sad.
|
| 1:15 |
: My 2 month old sneezed his mother’s milk in my face this am. Do you have kids?
|
| 1:15 |
: No.
|
| 1:16 |
: As Patton Oswalt said before he had a kid, I have an invisible child named “10 hours of sleep a night.”
|
| 1:16 |
: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you generally rate the experience of flying (nationally, internationally, or however you want to define it). Personally, I like getting to places quickly and for the most part appreciate flying. I rate it a 7.5.
|
| 1:16 |
: 3
|
| 1:16 |
: I fly a lot and I hate it.
|
| 1:16 |
: There is an age minimum to be POTUS. Why not an age maximum?
|
| 1:17 |
: There wouldn’t be an age minimum if it wasn’t alreayd in there.
|
| 1:17 |
: What about a consumer mascots version of WWE? Could you make L’il Sweet fight The Noid?
|
| 1:17 |
: THE KING
|
| 1:17 |
: dont you find it comical that the nfl wants to limit injuries so they move the kickoff back, and then they go and move the pat back to encourage teams to go for two more often?
|
| 1:17 |
: They probably weren’t think of that
|
| 1:17 |
: Wouldn’t it be a bit awkward if August Fagerstrom joined the Decemberists? I doubt he’d fit in.
|
| 1:18 |
: I don’t even know how to answer that.
|
| 1:18 |
: How much corn could J.B. Shuck if J.B. could shuck corn?
|
| 1:18 |
: 60 cobs an hour.
|
| 1:18 |
: On a scale of one to ten, how excited would you be if the Yankees outsourced all of their medical decisions to Theranos?
|
| 1:18 |
: 9
|
| 1:18 |
: Did Tony Stewart kill a man? And if so, should he be laying low for the rest of his career, avoiding the limelight?
|
| 1:19 |
: Well, he literally did. But legal responsiblity? No. I’m not sure there’s even moral culpability – I believe Ward assumed the risk and I don’t think there’s enough clear video evidence to say Stewart was even reckless.
|
| 1:19 |
: best star trek tv series?
|
| 1:20 |
: DS9
|
| 1:20 |
: Digging into the article now, but just saw a headline that Johnson has more Daily Newspaper endorsements than Trump. He still won’t be debating, will he?
|
| 1:20 |
: No, 15% is the requirement
|
| 1:20 |
: How do you feel about winter tires? I’m thinking about running some ultra high performance all seasons on my AWD SUV for 9 months and some winters for the 3 coldest months. Nobody I know thinks it’s necessary, but the from all the forums I’ve read, they say the traction and braking is awesome.
|
| 1:20 |
: Never used ’em. If the roads are too icy for me to go out on, I just hunker down in my fortress.
|
| 1:20 |
: What is your opinion of breadbowls?
|
| 1:20 |
: Meh.
|
| 1:20 |
: did you buy it new?
|
| 1:20 |
: Yes
|
| 1:20 |
: Walked in, wrote a check, car’s given me no problems in a decade.
|
| 1:21 |
: I have no real inclination to replace it.
|
| 1:21 |
: Except for normal maintenance of course.
|
| 1:21 |
: Worst thing was a hose going, giving me a really awkward fuel mix in which the tach jumped all over at idle.
|
| 1:21 |
: But that was under $100 to repair.
|
| 1:22 |
: And there was a wheel that got very slightly malformed, giving me a weird vibratrion
|
| 1:22 |
: What is your favorite ancient civilization/society
|
| 1:22 |
: byzantines. maybe han china.
|
| 1:22 |
: Do you park inside or outside? Driving that rarely, hopefully you don’t have any undercarriage rot/rust
|
| 1:22 |
: Garage
|
| 1:22 |
: It’s not that I drive rarely, I just don’t have that daily grind
|
| 1:23 |
: Would you look forward to a chance to ask Bellicheck a question, or would you look at it negatively knowing his typical approach?
|
| 1:23 |
: DOn’t have any burning Qs.
|
| 1:23 |
: That I’d expect an answer to
|
| 1:23 |
: You may have broken the FanGraphs record for mentioning the word “pillow” in this chat, previously held by Carson Cistulli during his famous pillow fists of rage period
|
| 1:23 |
: Perfect Dark: two humans vs. however many dark sims you were allowed (six, I think?) King of the Hill with unlimited score, unlimited time. Moving hill. Dragons and laptop guns are a must, N-bombs when you want to get weird. Lots of beer/bag wine/etc. SO MANY nights in college spent this way.
|
| 1:24 |
: Yeah, stuff like that was a blast.
|
| 1:24 |
: Do you pronounce Grichuk like “witch-uk” or “gry-chuck”? And why isn’t his nickname the Chukwagon?
|
| 1:25 |
: I’ve got bad news for you: It’s actually neither.
|
| 1:25 |
: It’s GRICH ick.
|
| 1:25 |
: how fast can you run 1 mile?
|
| 1:25 |
: Dunno, it’s been awhile. I jog occasionally, but havne’t tried to actually *run* a mile.
|
| 1:25 |
: I once backpacked in Telephone Canyon in Utah, in Zion Natl Park. The only reason we could find to name it that was there weren’t any there.
|
| 1:26 |
: Regarding the Cubs and shifting/BAPIP… I’ve read that the Cubs have been playing Baez wherever the coaches believe he’ll have the most defensive impact. So they’re not really shifting guys, but they are placing their best defenders efficiently.
|
| 1:26 |
: Iceman can’t die, but I fail to see how he’d manage to kill superman. That’d be a very long battle.
|
| 1:26 |
: Superman would just ignore the ice and go about his daily schedule
|
| 1:26 |
: I get to sleep until March. Bork Jr will be the end of my sleeping.
|
| 1:26 |
: Civ 6! Civ 6! Civ 6! I’m really stoked for it.
|
| 1:26 |
: Lightsaber or Holodeck?
|
| 1:26 |
: Holodeck.
|
| 1:27 |
: Favorite Kaz card? Medivh hasn’t been nearly as fun or useful as I had hoped….
|
| 1:27 |
: Medivh’s Valet. It’s a useful card in mage and.
|
| 1:28 |
: The entrance is amazing.
|
| 1:28 |
:
|
| 1:28 |
: Don’t think they’re worried about injuries during 2 pt. conversions; they’re worried about gunners getting a 40 yd. running start to pulverize the returner.
|
| 1:28 |
: If you were in the market for a high end 4K TV right now, would you go with LG’s OLED or Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology?
|
| 1:28 |
: Not sure really
|
| 1:28 |
: When you see Ed O’Neil, do you think, “Hey it’s Al Bundy!”, or the guy from Modern Family, or, longshot, “Dutch”?
|
| 1:28 |
: Al Bundy
|
| 1:28 |
: Are you getting a $.50 Frosty today? How many?
|
| 1:28 |
: No
|
| 1:28 |
: If the D’Backs replaced their front office with your ZiPS machine how much better would they get?
|
| 1:29 |
: Probably not very as they likely don’t know my password
|
| 1:29 |
: What is a limelight?
|
| 1:29 |
: Sprite + Light -Lemon
|
| 1:29 |
: 60 cobs per hour, sure, but probably only 1-2 Cobb’s.
|
| 1:29 |
: Olive Garden breadsticks overrated or underrated?
|
| 1:29 |
: Overrated
|
| 1:29 |
: you bought a brand new car in cash? baller status
|
| 1:30 |
: Well, it was a check, not a briefcase of cash. I’m a fan of not having financial obligations, even if it costs me money.
|
| 1:30 |
: Fav food, and why is it pierogies?
|
| 1:30 |
: Chicken milanese
|
| 1:30 |
: Sky-diving or scuba-diving?
|
| 1:30 |
: Scuba easily
|
| 1:31 |
: Have you met Hackerman?
|
| 1:31 |
: Never met a meme
|
| 1:31 |
: winter tires are necessary if you run summer tires in the warmer months. summer tires are useless below about 50 degrees f. They’re not just useful for snow but cold weather traction as well.
|
| 1:31 |
: I use all seasons
|
| 1:31 |
: What are your cats’ favorite toys? My girlfriend buys our cat toys but she still prefers to play with random trash. Crumpled foil balls are her favorite.
|
| 1:32 |
: Reagan has this toy squirrel. Mercutio this giant catnip stuffed white rat. Pandora like drinking straws. Galileo your fingers under an area rug
|
| 1:32 |
: Gree chuck
|
| 1:32 |
: GoldenEye – Me and my three roommates with prox mines in the basement to decide who had to wash the dishes that had been accumulating in the sink for 2+ weeks.
|
| 1:32 |
: In prox mine battles, we would all die 6 or 7 times in a row because of spawn mining
|
| 1:32 |
: Just bought Rimworld, seems fun. You seen it yet?
|
| 1:32 |
: I’ve seen SimCopter1 play it on Twitch, but haven’t tried it
|
| 1:32 |
: Sorry Bork, your wife’s going to be getting up in the middle of the night quite a bit before March arrives….one of the fun parts of pregnancy
|
| 1:32 |
: Have you ever thought about having your legs replaced with either the standard metal robot legs, or some form of robot tank tread? Seems like one might be able to score some life-hack points with such a move.
|
| 1:32 |
: I wouldn’t mind robot legs.
|
| 1:33 |
: But not just to replace them.
|
| 1:33 |
: iceman could freeze every fluid in supermans body
|
| 1:33 |
: That seems like a kryptonite workaround
|
| 1:33 |
: When you see a turtle crossing the road, do you get out and help him along, or think “sucks to be you, dude!”
|
| 1:33 |
: I can’t recall seeing a turtle in the road.
|
| 1:34 |
: A priest, a rabbi and a monk walk into a bar, and the bartender says “Hey, what is this – some kind of a joke?”
|
| 1:34 |
: The Chickwagon is even BETTER!
|
| 1:34 |
: But what if they knew your password?
|
| 1:34 |
: Then you’d have to teach them to operate windows
|
| 1:34 |
: Where r the 50 cent Fosties?
|
| 1:34 |
: Wendy’s
|
| 1:34 |
: Do you use a laser pointer to play with your cats?
|
| 1:34 |
: Yes
|
| 1:34 |
: Since you’re not a fan of having financial obligations, what’s your credit like?
|
| 1:35 |
: My balances are $0.
|
| 1:35 |
: credit score only in mid-700s, I’m told because I don’t utilize credit often
|
| 1:35 |
: Technically isn’t any form of diving that starts out of the water a form of sky diving?
|
| 1:35 |
: I think it’s a cultural definition, not a technical one.
|
| 1:36 |
: 10 feet up really isn’t the sky except in a technical sense
|
| 1:36 |
: How do you feel about athletes making on-field statements outside the scope of the game? Appropriate?
|
| 1:36 |
: Their business.
|
| 1:36 |
: “Cat Dancer” is the most awesome cat toy ever. Cats go crazy. They cost like $3. I am not a paid spokesperson.
|
| 1:36 |
: Actually a lied, Mercutio likes milk tabs better than the white rat
|
| 1:36 |
: If real-life consequences are on the line, like in Harry Caray’s Ghost’s example, is Oddjob a dick move, or a smart decision?
|
| 1:36 |
: We were not allowed to use Oddjob or Moonraker Elite #2
|
| 1:37 |
: Favorite dessert?
|
| 1:37 |
: Cheesecake
|
| 1:37 |
: Can you stop talking now? I’m kinda waiting for Eric to start his chat.
|
| 1:37 |
: No
|
| 1:37 |
: Can you please clue me in on this Bork business? What/who is it? (srs) (i used the serious tag so you have to be serious)
|
| 1:37 |
: Squirrels don’t understand the concept of halfway.
|
| 1:37 |
: I think zips machine sans password would still be better. It wouldn’t be able to trade away players for pennies on the dollar
|
| 1:37 |
: Well, if your data is left to Arizona’s FO, be rest assured that without outside help, it’s the equivalent of building a completely secure network.
|
| 1:37 |
: Yeah I was thinking more about your credit score. It blew my mind growing up that paying off everything in full was “bad”.
|
| 1:37 |
: How many people just googled “cat dancer”? +1
|
| 1:37 |
: Does it trouble you that all the major sports leagues are complicit in the military’s pursue of convincing young children to go to war?
|
| 1:37 |
: Not my business.
|
| 1:37 |
: And I’m caught up!
|
| 1:37 |
: And now it’s over.
|
| 1:38 |
: Thanks for coming everyone. As a reminder, you can find my work at ESPN.com, chats and projections here at FanGraphs, and at DSzymborski on Twitter. And thanks for not asking a billion NL ROY questions to piss me off.
|
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
things I learned in this chat – thank God I’ve never been trapped in a room or bar with Matt, possibly the most annoying “person” I’ve seen in quite a while. Matt, please shut up and go enjoy your Hitlery rally with the rest of the braindead left (pardon the redundancy).
Hey Bob, I’m heading to the cleaners. Do you want me to pick up your robe and hood?