Eno Sarris Baseball Chat — 10/2/14

XkalibaBeats:

Eno Sarris: Why you wanna get funkee with me

Comment From Brian
Thanks for chatting, Eno! What do you make of Yost’s decision to start Vargas over Guthrie tonight?

Eno Sarris: Just looked this up: Angels best in baseball against lefties, and best in baseball against changeups. I don’t love either pitch, but that sorta stands out.

Comment From Bobby Blownilla
Thanks for the chat. Dominated my 5×5 Roto OBP league this year. Won all 5 offensive categories. I like to stay ahead of trends and I’m wondering if I should be shopping Adam Jones this offseason. Good idea or am I tinkering too much since I already led the league in OBP?

Eno Sarris: I’d shop him. This seems peak value. No more power coming, and speed dropping off, and his batting average needs to have all of these skills peaking or it’ll get worse.

Dang. I’m having trouble seeing things I post. This sucks. Refreshing screen.

Comment From Bucco Bruce
You really think Beane deals Donaldson?

Eno Sarris: No. He needs offense and Donaldson is under team control Samardzija, on the other hand, seems possible/probable, given that they’ll get some reinforcements back next year.

Eno Sarris: Still can’t see the things I post! Thanks CoveritLive!

Comment From Vic
Next year’s Top 7? Trout, Miggy, McCutchen, Stanton, Gomez, Abreu, Kershaw, Goldy. Which one do you remove? Or, remove more than one and replace.

Eno Sarris: I might move Goldy up and Abreu down, but I like your list.

Comment From 32 North
Eno… the berliner gets kegged today. Get ready.

Eno Sarris: If the Gose was any indication, I’m excited. I love Berliner Weisses too. Later October, San Diego, go drink at 32 North.

Comment From David
DS predictions?

Eno Sarris: Nationals and Angels? God that so boring. But I don’t see these Royals beating these Angels, particularly now that the Angels don’t have to start their fourth and fifth starters. The Giants/Nationals might be closer, but I’ve been picking the Nationals all along.

Other side… Dodgers and Tigers. The Cards just don’t have the bats, and I don’t get the Orioles.

Eno Sarris: FILTH FLARN FILTH I WANT TO SEE THE THINGS I PUBLISH

Comment From juan pierres mustache
Gonna be in SF next weekend–not sure how many free afternoons I’ll have, but is there one place I should make sure to stop at

Eno Sarris: Easiest is City Beer Store because it has taps (always good, had Societe, Russian River, Alpine and more when I was there last) and then you can also buy stuff to take home.

Comment From NoBatingGloves
Thanks for Chatting! I just turned 21 and I am moving from just straight binge drinking, to something more responsible. I really enjoy drinking the craft beers I have tried. What are the best ways to start teaching yourself how to be a drinker of good beers?

Eno Sarris: Hah. What you can do is use BeerGraphs and sort for your region, and start trying things that are rated positively in your region. Try different styles. Pilsners => Saisons => Belgians => IPAs/DIPAs/TIPAs -> Stouts -> Barrel Aged Stouts. See what you like.

Comment From Nelson
What do you expect for Mike Fiers next year? Better than league average?

Eno Sarris: He scares me with that fastball. I’d pick him if I could have him as my fifth starter, but otherwise I may not own him. If that fastball lived in a nicer homer park…

Comment From hscer
Crap Interface, Ltd.

Comment From Rotographs Commenter 1
THESE PREDICTIONS WERE TOO BOLD!

Comment From Rotographs Commenter 2
NOT BOLD ENOUGH!!!

Comment From Jon
Sad Pirate fan here 🙁

Comment From 1990JaromirJagr
hey eno. i have an interview tomorrow for a job that im 2 years short on their required experience. any advice?

Eno Sarris: Don’t try to convince them that something you did in college counts as experience. Focus on your strengths.

Comment From Bruce
Whats the difference between a Sour and a Gose?

Eno Sarris: Goses are less sour than sours. And sometimes a little salty.

Comment From Guest
Seriously though, please keep doing the bold prediction series. So much more fun to read and then re-visit at the end of the year as opposed to a typical “sleepers” column.

Eno Sarris: Well, I guess I can try to be more precise with my predictions, so that measuring them at end of year is easier. I did want to avoid just saying “Player X will do Thing” for each one.

Comment From Alex
When you take cold showers, do they remind you of home?

Eno Sarris: I never take cold showers any more. Why take one?

Comment From Rated Rookie
Brandon Finnegan is going to be pretty good, huh?

Eno Sarris: In the pen I think. There’s enough doubt about his arsenal that I don’t think he’ll be a starter.

Comment From Alex
Eno. Two parter: Thoughts on the post season so far? And, Finnegan, Norris or Biddle. If I can only keep one, who should it be?

Eno Sarris: One good one, one bad one. Still think the WC series should be a three-game affair somehow.

Now I have to refresh to see the rest of your question.

Eno Sarris: Oh definitely Norris for me. Most likely to be a starer and I really like him.

Comment From Roger Dodger
People can rip on Jonny Gomes all they want, but no one catches that ball Hosmer hit, right?

Eno Sarris: Only negative thing I can say is that if Gomes doesn’t run up on Fuld, maybe Fuld gets it. He was closer.

Comment From Mooking for Love
People already starting to throw cash trade offers at me for Mookie in an auction keeper. IMMA GET SO PAID SON

Comment From Pump-kin
Eno, I had a Pumking a few days ago and I think it confused my taste buds. I’m a frequent IPA drinker, and I like pumpkin things. But this…. I just don’t know. What should I do? Should I drink it again till I like it? I want to like it!

Eno Sarris: I keep trying and the only one I’ve liked is Almanac’s Pumpkin Sour. Because it’s not a cinnamon beer. Secret: not much pumpkin in most of the pumpkin beers.

Comment From Kimball
Panda still a Giant next year? If not, thoughts on where he ends up? Is his D at 3B really sufficient to demand a premium over 1B/DH prices?

Eno Sarris: Really don’t think he’s a Giant. When I asked Sabean about it in the spring, first he sighed and that told me everything. Then he railed into a columnist for calling him fat. Then he admitted that Pablo has struggled with his weight. Then he said they were talking. That order of things suggests to me that Panda is going to want more than they want to give.

Comment From Guest
No, no, no, don’t change how you’re trying to do the bold prediction series. Part of the fun is the different writers taking “bold” a different way. It’s for fun- fantasy baseball is for fun. Just keep doing you, Eno.

Comment From Pete
I need to keep two for next year among: Rendon, Desmond, Scherzer, Kluber.

Eno Sarris: Dammit. I’d need to know the rest of the situation. Because if it’s a keep five or so, then I wouldn’t keep a pitcher and it’s easy.

Comment From Pennsy
Has any other player since Jackie Robinson had as much impact on the field, on Major League Baseball itself, AND on the US cultural/political climate as Roberto Clemente? Shouldn’t the League retire his 21?

Eno Sarris: I could really get behind this.

Comment From Nelson
Desmond is slowly raiging his walks, Ks and Hrs. Is that just becoming old?

Eno Sarris: Yup. You take more pitches, and more pitches means more walks, Ks and HRs. That’s the aging process. Problem is, power peak (by ISO) is 26.

Comment From Jon
Re: Pumking, if you can find Fathead’s Spooky Tooth, give that a try. Also an imperial pumpkin ale but more balanced flavors IMO.

Comment From Krusty
Scherzer banked on having a 2014 similar to 2013 when rejecting $144/6 this last off season, albeit with a purchased insurance policy in the event of injury. Looks like he guessed right, but does this just tack on a couple of years at around $24 or $25 mill? Seems like a lot of risk he took on for the extra amount he will receive.

Eno Sarris: If all he did was tack on $50m I think he did the right thing. If he’d gotten hurt, I bet he could have done a pillow contract and then gotten the old contract a year later.

Comment From Kimball
Thanks to your article/interview, I was super sad for Moss and Dunn on Tuesday. You’ve written about the awkward relationship between reporters and sources (players), but you gotta have felt a pang of disappointment for them after such a great encounter, no?

Eno Sarris: Completely. I now root less for teams than for players. It’s a bit selfish — I was sad that I wouldn’t get to talk to Dunn again, for example. But that’s a legitimately sad thing. That Dunn didn’t get a chance to hit in that postseason game. Moss? Well, he hit those homers, what else could he do. That was nice to see.

Comment From Art Vandelay
This might be my imagination, but it seemed like Bumgarner was throwing a lot more pitches outside the zone than he normally does. Whatever approach he was using, it obviously worked, but did you notice anything to that effect?

Eno Sarris: In his best game of the season, the near no-no against Colorado, Bumgarner threw half of his fastballs outside the zone high. Everything looks the same, strikes, balls, cutters, fastballs, curves. It’s not a Yu Darvish package, but it’s awesome.

Comment From Krusty
Re: Scherzer… the other risk he took on though was the risk of a year long slump that might devalue his services down to $10 or $15 mill per year.

Eno Sarris: Players always believe in themselves and most will take that bet.

Comment From Guest
Curious, did you get any blowback from the Royals about relaying your experiences with them? Or even a “sorry, our guys usually aren’t like this” from their PR department?

Eno Sarris: No response from them. Schedule didn’t work out for me to be in the clubhouse, but I would have gone in again. Even if I just get to talk to Alex Gordon again, and James Shields… it’s a big clubhouse. They can do they.

Comment From Slammin Sammy
The great game. Sometimes it gives you unending joy. Other times it rips your heart out. It almost feels like there’s some kind of twisted, illogical justice being meted out out there.

Eno Sarris: My god the Oakland/KC game was intense and painful and joyful and bad and good and everything wrapped into one.

Comment From hscer
With 42 retired, if 21 gets retired, when does 10.5 follow?

Comment From Dr. ZifZaf
OWWWW! WOOO! WOOO! WOOOOOO! ghasdhf, ahfdo…so, Mike Trout’s first postseason will be interesting to watch OMG I AM A HUMAN.

Comment From Pete
It is a keep five and I have Trout, Harper, Cutch as locks

Eno Sarris: See then I just make sure I get a decent SS in Desmond. Me personally, I’d lock up Rendon and go shopping for a P in a first round that will surely have tons of great pitchers in it.

Comment From Stephen
in keeper leagues, what do you think is more fun: keep X many players for a max of Y years, or keep X many players but each year their round kept goes up?

Eno Sarris: I have a keep forever league and my infield is Votto/Altuve/Tulo/Wright, so even if you don’t have penalties, age will find a way to penalize you. I do think penalties increase player movement though.

Comment From Xolo
The Padres want to trade Kennedy for a bat but what can they really get for him? A one year bat? Napoli?

Eno Sarris: I doubt that’s what they want. Hard to tell what they are looking for, it’s a weird team. Maybe if they target Craig they can get something else in the package?

Comment From George Herman
Does Chris Davis bounce back next year?

Eno Sarris: I’ve never liked his plate discipline numbers coming up in the minors, but his walk rate held steady, and so did his power by ISO. So I’ll say yes, timidly.

Comment From Pete
WAINWRIGHT-KERSHAW!!

Comment From Stephen
So we had a crazy wild card and a boring wild card. Baseball!

Comment From Guest
Is Joyce worth holding on to in 4×4? he had a down yr and half the homers from last yr is he a dec rebound candidate?

Eno Sarris: As a strictly platoon player, he not only loses starts versus lefties, but he also loses late-game at-bats versus them. I think I’d pass.

Comment From Pete
Enoooooooo! PITCHf/x data has Stras throwing less of the gas (which has been getting slower) and more 2-seamers and change-ups. The Giants line-up was very patient yesterday. Can Stras control the change and limit the walks tomorrow?

Eno Sarris: I have a feeling he’ll be fine. Maybe give up a run or two to the heart of the order.

Comment From Krusty
After 20 yrs of 5×5 rotisserie format, my league wants to do 5 months of reg season roti, and then 2 weeks and 2 weeks of roti playoffs (semis and finals). What do you think of the roti playoffs? I’m a little leery.

Eno Sarris: I have never heard of this. Suggest, perhaps, that you just have two leagues of the same thing. It’s a bit of a bear, but in the pitchfork league, we have an h2h leaderboard and games, but we’re collecting roto stats.

Comment From Los
So I live in Pittsburgh and every year I follow the Pirates and on AL club. This year it was the A’s. How should I feel today on a scale of “Happy that they both made the playoffs” to “Crippling depression”?

Eno Sarris: So sorry. Make the wild card a series!

Comment From Cianfrancco
Looking over Yonder Alonso’s number, his IsoP actually jumped while his BB/K stayed steady. If it weren’t for his .251 BABIP, and his hand injury, he could’ve been a productive player. Could he be a darkhorse first baseman in 2015?

Eno Sarris: Deep league, yes. He can hit for a decent average with moderate pop, it just won’t stack up at mixed league 1B or CI probably.

Comment From Guest
Chisenhall or Dominguez as a backup/bench 3rd baseman in 4×4?

Eno Sarris: Chisenall. Dominguez gave back most of the good he accrued in 2013.

Comment From LarryA
whats lost in all the bunt-gate controversy from Tuesday night is the fact that all the bunts were executed perfectly. Thats pretty remarkable in itself.

Eno Sarris: I was more mad about that delayed steal debacle anyway. No room in my life to get mad about every bunt.

Comment From EnoIsAGod
I got in an argument with some Jays fans who are insanely overrating Marcus Stroman (don’t get me wrong I love the kid). They were suggesting Mookie Betts would not be enough of a return for Stroman, which I thought was insane (I though the trade would at least be fair, if not a Sox underpay). Please agree with me.

Eno Sarris: I love Marcus Stroman, think he can be an ace during his peak, and I’d rather have Mookie Betts.

Comment From Los
Who should I root for now that both of the teams that could be classified as small market and analytical were eliminated?

Eno Sarris: Take small market without the analytical?

Comment From Guest
Do you like Keuchel,Erlin, Mcchugh, Stro and De grom next yr?

Eno Sarris: DeGrom, Stroman, Keuchel….. McHugh…. Erlin.

Comment From Ceetar
my plan: Wild Card 3-game series. Doubleheader Tuesday, if split, 3rd game at #1 seed’s park Wednesday afternoon, followed by the start of the LDS that evening. This gets the division winners games started earlier.

Comment From Guest
Cucumber beer at Twisted Pine in Boulder was surprisingly good. good hot weather beer

Comment From Derek
Who is the A’s starting infield next year?

Eno Sarris: Somehow I doubt they sign Lowrie. Maybe they just go with Sogard there, even though Sogard wasn’t great. I wish Daniel Robertson was ready… or that Russell was around. Donaldson is there, I think he’s staying. And Moss.

Comment From stdeve
allen webster’s velo is way down, fastball not getting any whiffs, can’t even get Ks in the minors…is it time to give up on him?

Eno Sarris: No! By the pitch type peripherals, all of his pitches get above-average swinging strikes. He has no command, but a sexcellent change and a strong breaker. i’m calling him a sleeper for next year.

Comment From juan pierres mustache
cucumber beer what the what

Eno Sarris: Never had one? I had a half acre cucumber beer in Chicago two years ago, was decent. Good in the summer.

Comment From Link
Who do you like to bounce back more Kipnis or Hosmer?

Eno Sarris: Jason Kipnis. At least he continued to steal bases, and what he showed before the injury was better than what Hosmer showed before.

Comment From Fronk
What do you think is closer to Stroman’s true talent level, his 3.65 ERA or 2.84 FIP?

Eno Sarris: FIP. BUT! HR. He may have some homer issues from time to time.

Comment From DB
Do you think park factors get underrated? It seems like a whole lot of good pitching from the west coast teams that play in big ballparks w little humidity. Pitching in the AL east all year is brutal and I personally think someone like Lester doesn’t get enough credit for a great career with those parks and lineups.

Eno Sarris: But then they can seemingly get overrated in a flash when Prince Fielder goes to Texas. I hear you but it’s dangerous both ways.

Comment From Brad O
What’s hurting Weaver this year? K’s are up, BB is up slightly and he’s at 213 IP. Does the increase in HR/9 or HR/FB hurt him a lot or is the small increase in BB/9 larger than it seems?

Eno Sarris: The lower that fastball velocity goes, the harder it is for him to get separation on all his pitches.

Comment From juan pierres mustache
TO ALL NETWORKS COVERING BASEBALL: please more pedro martinez. that is my demand

Eno Sarris: He’s so awesome.

Comment From Rated Rookie

I'll be in San Diego in late November. Will you be around?

Eno Sarris: A little bit later for the winter meetings! Enjoy! (Go to Societe!)

Comment From DB
For postseason I suggest having one of your top relievers with minimal splits pitch the first 3 outs. Then have your starter begin in the 2nd inning. This would allow him to face 1-3 or 1-4 in the order 1 less time through the order. So the starter could go a full two times through, then face the lower part of the order a 3rd time if he is going strong. Then play matchup as the order comes around for the 4th time up. Your thoughts?

Eno Sarris: Sure, but we lost our chance to do it and we had at least one good shot at it with the A’s. Here’s one tiny thing that could be worked around: most pitchers I’ve talked to say that the source of home field advantage is being able to walk right from the bullpen to the mound as a starter. You could do it with some judicious warming, but you would be going against the starter’s routine. And if it doesn’t work out, guess who gets fired.

Comment From Andy5
Is Evan Longoria’s season a sign of things to come or is he a safe bet to bounce back next year? Also, who do you think is the better bet the next couple of seasons, Longo or Donaldson? Thanks!

Eno Sarris: They’re both 28! I kinda like what Donaldson has been doing power-wise a little more. This year, all his numbers down the stretch were depressed because he was hurt. Seems like he stays in the lineup more when hurt. I’ll take JD the Bigga Figga.

JT Bigga Figga:

Comment From Guest
CJ Wilson worth a $3 stash for next year in ottoneu?

Eno Sarris: Nah.

Comment From Guest
On twitter the other day you posted that McCutchen’s defense is underrated because of him playing deep, so throws don’t turn into outs. But doesn’t DRS/UZR factor that in (i.e., give credit for making plays from far away)?

Eno Sarris: I’d have to read Mark Simon’s break down, but I assume what happens is that he gets to the deep balls and gets credit for stealing doubles, but that the hits that fall in front of him (more singles) ding him more (by quantity) despite being worth less. And that the team is okay with that despite the way it shows up in the metrics. I’m paraphasing.

Comment From Guest
Pls rank your rest of career priorities: new Oakland stadium, historical grips database, making wildcard a series

Eno Sarris: That’s pretty hilarious. I’ll go with the DB, and then the series. I can always bring a burrito into o.co.

Comment From Bomok
You’re a Mets fan right?

Eno Sarris: My fandom is complicated these days. I’m out on the west coast and my family is all Giants fans. I really enjoy talking to the A’s players. There are great analytical players on all teams that I root for. I have to pay attention to all teams. But yes, the Mets are a team that I pay attention to more than most.

Comment From Big Joe Mufferaw
What can we expect of Andrelton Simmons offensively? Seems like all the tools are there, but what’s with all the weak contact?

Eno Sarris: Think he might be a classic out of nowhere peak guy where he puts it all together for a season and could even MVP (great D, hits .300 with 20+ homers, gaudy R/RBI). But he pops it up a lot and I think there’s a decent amount missing offensively. That’s fine.

Comment From pancakes
Do you think we’ll see a season where the two best records in a league are tied in the same division, so they’re forced to play a 163 and then the loser goes on to lose the wild card and are angry because they burnt their ace and bullpen before having to play in the Selig Game?

Eno Sarris: Oh man love it. Then we might get the series.

Comment From Bomokk
Brett Gardener and a middle relief pitcher for Daniel Murphy, Jon Niese, and Eric Young Jr.
Who says no? and why do they say no?

Eno Sarris: The Yanks had as much trouble on offense as with pitching, so maybe they say no. As for Mets… they need power a little more than OBP/speed, but they need offense in general more than anything, so I kinda like it.

Comment From JCCfromDC
For Pete, I’ll note that while Strasburg’s fastball velo was down earlier in the year, it’s consistently been in the 97-98 range for his last several starts. He’s been working inside more, too, which has really helped

Comment From Guest
Do you know if lagunitas is done with the sixers of sucks? I love that beer but can’t always commit to a full 32 ounces.

Eno Sarris: I know that thing is so big.

Comment From DB
Will Gausman be able to develop a 3rd pitch to elevate him to elite status?

Eno Sarris: What’s it going to be? The slider sucks. I’d ask him to look at a cutter, but his team won’t let him. Knuckle curve?

Comment From juan pierres mustache
i can dig a cucumber vodka mixed drink, guess i gotta find the beer now. as long as it’s not “cucumber spice”

Comment From Guest
the cucumbers almost gave it a melon like taste – so if you like watermelon beer I would give them a try.

Comment From Guest
Thoughts on the rauchbier style? Had one the other day that tasted like bacon. Pepper, smoked flavor. Interesting, but probably wouldn’t make it a go-to.

Eno Sarris: I kinda hate it. Stone’s smoked porter with vanilla has enough sweet to make it work for me. But in general, I avoid the style.

Comment From Andy5
Lagunitas is now brewing out of Chicago. That means I’ll have access to growlers of their beer through the local Growler Gallery in Milwaukee. How excited should I be? (Answer: VERY!!!)

Comment From stdeve
his fastball was 1.9% SwStr% this year though. That’s really bad.

Eno Sarris: Not Fiers (11%) or Weaver (normal) or Gausman (6%) so who is this?

Comment From Derek
I would enjoy a Cliff Pennington reunion in Oakland.. put up 1.5 WAR in 68 games this year..

Eno Sarris: That number surprises me!

Comment From Max Power
Do you buy into the marlins talk about stanton? Can 2015 finally end my Loria induced depression?

Eno Sarris: Eh, they sign people and trade em after anyway, so I doubt it’ll make much of a difference.

Comment From Mmmmm Beer
Union Jack IPA or Green Flash West Coast IPA?

Eno Sarris: GF even though I loved it, then thought it was overrated… mostly because the GF changed recently and tastes more like lagunitas sucks now.

Comment From Marty
out of context quote of the chat: that thing is so big.

Comment From Nelson
I dont really understand who the pumpkin craft beer market is. Whos buying this sh-t?

Comment From Alex
Would you take Joey Gallo, or Rusney Castillo no salaries?

Eno Sarris: I’ll take Castillo because I’ll know sooner if I got something. Gallo is further away and then even when he gets up, what if he Baezs at first? There might be another time to get Gallo. The time is now for Castillo. Because of his age, you’ll know by May next year if you want to keep him aroun.

Comment From hscer
Jeter once hit .340 with almost 100 RBI and the voters thought his defense was good…and somehow Justin Morneau won MVP that year. So Simmons?

Comment From Mmmmm Beer
WHATTTTT? GF changed the recipe? I was having such a great day today. Sigh, no more.

Eno Sarris: Many of the flagship beers change. Stone’s IPA and Ruinten have changed often.

Comment From LarryA
Keuchel that mich higher than McHugh? His lack of Ks is a bit of a penatly

Eno Sarris: It’s true. If it’s a one year question, maybe they equal. I’m just a little worried about all those breakers. We’ve seen a bunch of pitchers hit that 30% slider mark this year that showed up in Zimmerman’s research on elbow stress.

Comment From Guest
would $20 be too much for Tomas in 4×4?

Eno Sarris: yeah I’m worried about the most recent crop of Cuban players. Guerrero could be a bust, the translation on Tomas and Castillo aren’t great.

Comment From stdeve
sorry, was talking about webster – 1.9% swstr on his four-seamer. Two-seamer is higher but I’m wary that might be some misclassified changeups sneaking in there

Eno Sarris: Ah yes that’s a problem. But at 93-94 it shouldn’t be a problem. Sinker’s at 92-93, change at 85, I doubt there are a lot of changeups there. But the team can see those numbers too. it might be as simple as a Roark/Kluber — ditch the fourseamer.

Comment From john
to the 21 year old who wants to drink responsibly… drink sours, they both taste excellent and are so expensive you can only drink like 2 a night!

Comment From Guest
Re: Who’s buying pumpkin beers. Guests of people throwing Halloween parties that don’t know what kind of beer to bring. Trust me.

Comment From Doubtful Danny
Does Arrieta begin next season as the Cubs’ ace?

Eno Sarris: Sure.

Comment From juan pierres mustache
speaking of altered recipes, Stone’s current IPA is pretty meh. Never understood what the idea was there

Comment From Guest
Would you say K’s are easier to come by than Whip and hr/9 in fantasy?

Eno Sarris: Ks are up huge around the game. On the other hand, the source of those extra Ks is called strikes. So BB% and WHIP are down too.

Comment From Hops Hops Hops
Pretty damning podcast recently for Eric Hosmer. What are you looking to get for him in a dynasty? In win now mode, have him and Chris Davis as my black hole at 1B

Eno Sarris: I think in a win-now situation, you might as well keep both of those guys and hope you get one win-now guy out of it next year. Better than selling low. And I do think your chances are decent, despite being a little down on both.

Comment From Bomok
Thanks, Bye!
AAAHHH there’s an ad coming up below me!!! AAAHHHH SAVE ME…

Eno Sarris: OH IT STARTED WORKING NOW

Comment From LarryA
Why cant we make custom graphs in BG to see how the ratings change after a recipe change?

Eno Sarris: it’s a big query, hard on the server, which just crashed for a day. But we’re embiggening our site and it’s on the list.

Comment From Tom
Where can I find your article on the Royals’ clubhouse? I can’t find it. Thanks.

Eno Sarris: Super painful to transcribe http://www.hardballtimes.co…

Comment From Sadwick
Pumpkin beers provide a valuable service, they allow breweries to rid themselves of bad batches of beer with the addition of a little pumpkin and spices. The same thing happens on St. Patrick’s Day using green dye instead.

Comment From Guest
also… tell that guy visiting SD to try El Indio for some crazy good mexican food. (gotta eat sometime, right???)

Comment From Guest
Eno, What round would you be comfortable drafting Kipnis next year, 5×5 obp league?

Eno Sarris: I think I’d be itching to pick him up after the fourth ended. AS bad as he was, Pedroia’s age and health problems were worse. So you’ll get Altuve and Cano… and then there will be a void. Maybe Gordon goes in the second/third… The fourth will be tough to avoid him.

Comment From LarryA
how much less question volume do you get now vs midseason?

Eno Sarris: This is the time to get my full attention.

Comment From Rated Rookie

El Indio…thanks for the rec.

Comment From Hops Hops Hops
El Indio is AMAZING. Used to live in SD, family goes there whenever we visit

Comment From DB
Will we ever see a team use a good arm to go once through the lineup or on a 40-45 pitch limit and be used as a 6-8 inning guy? Seems like you could have a couple of these in the bullpen and have them go every third day or so. Thinking a starter who has fringe results but would be able to add 2-4 mph to the FB and maybe a bit more on the breaking pitch. Be perfect for a 2 pitch guy.

Eno Sarris: Could do as much for the game as a sixth starter. Seems like an obvious way to do the postseason, too.

Comment From Brandon
Pitching Verlander instead of Price in Game 2 is a mistake, right? I could make an argument for Price as the best pitcher in Detroit

Eno Sarris: I would pitch Price yes.

Comment From Rated Rookie
Final keeper question for an 11-team, 16-keeper 5×5 league that uses HR, RBI, SB, BA and OBP (a little redundant): Hosmer or Myers? It’s a question of Hosmer’s BA/OBP vs. Myer’s HRs for me.

Eno Sarris: You know what? I’m keeping Myers. Myers OBP could easily be similar/same as Hosmer’s given their BB%s. So it’s really BA vs HR and I could see a .270 BA projection for Hosmer next year.

Comment From Fronk
Zach Wheeler, Daniel Murphy and D’Arnaud for Bautista, who wins?

Eno Sarris: It’s one year of Bautista so it’s not happening.

Comment From Mmmmm Beer
Is Guerrero now expected to swipe more bags with less wind resistance from missing part of his ear?

Comment From Sadwick
Remember kids, don’t do sleep and get 8 hours of drugs a night.

Comment From Bud Black
Pass on El Indio. Everyone goes there and it’s just aight. Find a hole in the wall (ask a local).

Eno Sarris: Up and down for the first official interlude.

Comment From Guest
Any chance rotographs could publish sumting about the ottoneu arbitration process for newbs and maybe more ottoneu strategies as well?

Eno Sarris: If you try the ‘ottoneu’ link or Chad Young’s link (right hand side of RG), you can get there with a lot of streaming. But trust me, he’ll reprise that stuff before arbitration happens. I’ll get him to publish a guide to the offseason soon.

Comment From Matt
Could Christiam Yelich be the next Brantley? Fantastic plate discipline that kinda looks like Choo-esque, he is only 23, so he can still cut down on the K and gain the 15-20 HR power that was possible. But he needs to hit the ball in the air more. Only 19.7% FB-rate which is Aoki/Revere esque. Weird profile.

Eno Sarris: I think Yelich could really break out next year and I love him but Brantley had about half the strikeouts and got to 27 before he broke out. Not really the same thing. But Yelich next year, yes. I think he can hit for a good average and approach 20/20. I want him where I can get him.

Comment From Marty
Do yoou play Out of the Park baseball? Seems super complicated, but maybe I just need to find a groove.

Eno Sarris: I played for a while for a review and really liked it but my life is full right now. Baby coming next Tuesday!

Comment From DB
Thoughts on the O’s not allowing the cutter? Seems like a weird decision w the success of the cutter, but not really educated on injury from it. Gonna hold Bundy back?

Eno Sarris: I’ve written about it a couple times. And I’ve talked to players about it since, and they are mostly like ‘wut.’ Jake Peavy said, literally, “I wouldn’t want to play for an organization that wouldn’t let me throw the cutter.” To be fair, though, I doubt the O’s would keep a player from throwing the cutter. They just won’t give it a young player. And Dan Haren himself said that he agreed that the cutter can steal velocity. The cutter seems like a ‘career saver’ that you use when you’re already losing velocity. But if you get taught the pitch right, and don’t get around the side of it, I don’t see the problem. And Gausman needs a breaker. Maybe they call Bundy’s pitch a slider and look the other way. it’s a tough thing, the cutter and slider are very simliar. See my Bumgarner piece for GIFs of what might be called a slider and what might be called a cutter.

Comment From GardenHire for Hire
Oswaldo had sneaky power in limited ABs this year. With full season of ABs (if he can stay healthy) and some luck is 30-35 HRs a possibility

Eno Sarris: Yeah I didn’t believe because he was a one-tooler with power in a bad park for that sort of package, but he made it work. I like him enough.

Comment From Rated Rookie
In one ottoneu league I’m in at least one of the teams is abandoned. Ghost ship, nothing of any value abandoned, such that I can’t imagine anyone wanting to take it over. My roster is pretty flush (finished 2nd for the second year in a row) and was thinking of swapping teams to make the league more competitive. As it is, the league is 11-teams by default. Your thoughts?

Eno Sarris: That would be very nice of you. Perhaps the league would allow some sort of ‘expansion draft’ where they do something offline and protect x amount of players and the new person gets to pick some players from y’all. Less drastic. But if you took that team and rebuilt and won, whoo boy.

Comment From Guest
My league is transitioning from a keep 5 to a dynasty. Any suggestions for how to value prospets/young major leaguers/veterans in next year’s draft?

Eno Sarris: Get your lineup in place and take shots in the bench/util rounds. Don’t overpay for a hyped prospect and then have to start a bench veteran because of it.

Comment From Jeff
Klaw just called Matt Kemp MVP-caliber. That sounds like a real exaggeration, right?

Eno Sarris: You have to ignore some of the defensive miscues, which seem to be real over the course of his career. The bat also has a lot of swing and miss in it, but he’s also talented. Very talented. I find it hard to evaluate him because of the swings in his career, the d, the holes in his swing, while on the other hand you have the things he can do and has done.

Comment From LarryA
Baby name : Cascade Nugget Sarris?

Eno Sarris: I’m focusing on Sauvin as a middle name. It’s not looking good.

Comment From JBizzy in T.O.
Keeper Q – Arrieta or Betts?

Eno Sarris: Betts for me. Craig looking like he’s on the outs. Victorino could easily be a 4th OF.

Comment From Guest
I thought Bundy was throwing the cutter again now… ?

Eno Sarris: That’s what I’m saying, I don’t know how that works. Maybe they call it a slider. Or maybe they call it a cut fastball. Because when someone pointed out to Duquette that Mariano was good with a cutter, he said no, that’s a cut fastball.

Comment From Guest
Is Lucas Gilioto (sp?) going to be as good as advertised? If he can stay healthy that is.

Eno Sarris: Top two SP prospect in minors.

Comment From DB
Did read the nice piece on Bum, well done. Could you expand on the grip used for the cutter? Do most have the same grip? I thought the cutter was thrown as a FB but with the fingers just slid out to the side where as the slider has rotation from the wrist at the end.

Eno Sarris: Most pitcher say you want to avoid ‘manipulating’ the ball much, or turning your wrist. But yes, the biggest difference between the cutter and the slider is how much you get on the side of the ball. May be a distinction without a difference, but less wrist action is usually healthier.

Comment From TKDC
Any thoughts on the Fangraphs Player of the Year rating system? Seems like in most years, only a few guys should get anything above 0.

Eno Sarris: I really like what it might do for our ability to compare MVPs!

Comment From Gila Monster
I’m been on the Lucroy for NL MVP promotion tour on the internet lately and wanted to know how you view catcher framing in MVP context. He was worth 6.3 WAR and saved an additional 23.7 runs according to BP, which hypothetically gives him a an 8.7 WAR. Even splitting the difference, he is roughly as valuable at Trout/Kershaw. How do you balance framing? Would you take into consideration that a catcher physically can’t catch everyday/ has intangibles like game calling?

Eno Sarris: I have him easily in the top three. But because I’m just personally unsure that his framing is worth almost 2.5 wins, I’m just sliding him in right behind. This is no slight to the excellent work they are doing. It’s just relatively in it’s infancy.

Comment From South Side Slick
Panda Sandoval or Cuddyer? Which would be a better fit for the White Sox?

Eno Sarris: Pablo younger, but I doubt the sign either.

Comment From Matt
Scouts love Kemp because his the one of those “incredibly raw pure multi-sport athletes” that they love to dream on…and he was one of the few that panned out.

Comment From David
Assuming they all have full time starting jobs in 2015, please rank Betts, Taveras, Pederson, Hahn, and McHugh in an OBP/SLG roto league

Eno Sarris: If they all had jobs… OBP…. I’d move Pederson ahead of Taveras. I just love Bett’s contact rate, Pederson’s K rate will keep his OBP down even if it’s better than Taveras’. Enough questions about Hahn and McHugh to leave them at the back.

Comment From Milby
Puig’s value seems to be on the low side. Think he’s a good bounce-back target?

Eno Sarris: yes. I like it.

Comment From Rob
Eno, did you see my community post about evaluating your pitcher analysis method? If so, what did you think?

Eno Sarris: Oh no! I’ll go read it after this!

Comment From Marty
who’s most likely to be playing 3B in boston next year?

Eno Sarris: What if it was Panda? I don’t know, really. They might take Cecchini and Middlebrooks to camp and see what happens.

Comment From Rated Rookie
Is speed the emerging competitive advantage in the current offensive environment? Does that enhance the value of a Jose Peraza-type prospect (in real-life and fantasy)?

Eno Sarris: If all the catchers can’t throw, and most of the pitchers can’t stop them, then yes it’s not a terrible idea. But it can’t be speed without OBP, that’s not that great.

Comment From Clubhouse Mouse
Which players that you talk to/know are craft beer guys? We see Bummy double fisting Bud Light in the club house, is that because they’re easier to chug? Sponsorship deals? Lack of taste? Will there be a day when players celebrate a playoff entry with snifters of barrel aged imperial stouts?

Eno Sarris: The closest I got was getting Adam Lind to talk about liking pilsners. So I’m still waiting. I know Jorge Ortiz and Andrew Baggarly like craft beers, as does Corey Brock. But of course writers like good beer.

Comment From Bomok
Trades aside. Is Dayton Moore a good GM? I love the way he got defense and speed to dominate, all at an insanely cheap price.

Eno Sarris: He did find some undervalued assets. Dunno about that ‘dominate’ tag though.

Comment From hscer
the problem is craft brewers can’t pay for endorsements

Comment From marvins throneburied
Eno, do you think Finnegan has a great shot at the rotation next year? Seems to have enuff minor league experience…

Eno Sarris: They changed him to a reliever so fast it’s hard to tell. 27 innings in the minor leagues. College guy, some question he could be a starter. Slider’s been meh. We’ll see. They’ll probably have to stretch him out some.

Comment From Rated Rookie
I don’t like beer but it doesn’t make sense to spray expensive beer around a locker room on a sweaty ballplayers. Why not use something that is already pretty close to water, like a Bud?

Comment From Josh
Predict the Mets OD 2016 middle infield.

Eno Sarris: Wright Flores Herrera Duda. Murphy/Niese go in a package to get something tasty for the lineup. Eh. Now that I write that. Shrugs.

Comment From Bartolo Colon
How much longer can I keep this up?

Eno Sarris: year or two.

Comment From hscer
By the way is there a less expected player than CJ Wilson as part of a national ad campaign?

Eno Sarris: Marketing department must have looked at his twitter profile or something.

Comment From doug
What do you project out of corey dickerson next season? Some say his BABIP is due to regress but in coors field, why can’t it stay slightly elevated?

Eno Sarris: Yeah that park loves BABiP. I think he could at least .275 with 20/10, with plusses on all of those stats.

Comment From Joe
Curtis Granderson for Ricky Nolasco

Comment From Mike
Could the Mets sign Jed Lowrie?

Eno Sarris: Only if they trade Colon and/or Murphy for cost savings.

Comment From Bomok
Should ballpark factors consider new dimensions as a new stadium? It seems only fair. Also Zack Wheeler does better on the road that iskilling his FIP-.

Eno Sarris: Handedness park factors get at that a bit.

Comment From Guest
Since you said you doubt the Sox sign either Panda or Cuddy, does that mean they are still in rebuilding mode, or those particular guys just aren’t good fits for the Sox?

Eno Sarris: Figure they’re in rebuilding mode. If they want to do a build/rebuild, I think panda a decent fit. There were tons of questions about Matt Davidson, and Gillaspie is the kind of guy you move around, you don’t count on him, IMO.

Comment From Guest
Eno, Please suggest three to keep, Kipnis(7th), Dickerson (18th), Kluber (23rd) and De grom (22nd)?

Eno Sarris: Too much value in the non-Kipnis keepers. Even if you have to draft Kinpis in the fourth to get him back, there’s more than 3 rounds of value on the other guys.

Comment From hscer
Would any SP in this Angels-Royals series be a part of Washington’s playoff rotation?

Eno Sarris: Wow. Looking at Fister, Ventura maybe. Probably no.

Comment From Bomok
Braves to rebuild? Can the Mets get Simmons? if so, who fr. Same Q about Gattis for LF.

Eno Sarris: Gattis is an interesting idea, they don’t seem to value D as much as some. But there’s not much projection left in Gattis. Even if Braves make moves, they’ll keep Simmons.

Comment From Nate
Is it just a coincidence that the top 3 teams in FB/GB rate this year are GM’d by Billy Beane, Sandy Alderson, and Theo Epstein?

Eno Sarris: Yeah, getting grounders might be overrated, especially as batters are keying into the low pitch now.

Comment From David
Hell, there aren’t many KC hitters that would crack the Nats lineup either. Gordon would have to fit in somewhere I guess, and Perez/Ramos is awfully close. The rest? Not so much…

Comment From klof
Pumpkin beers are so often overspiced and usually they’re on a pale ale base. Would you agree that the pumpkin addition would work better on a porter or a brown ale?

Eno Sarris: My favorite is a dark sour pumpkin, so yes.

Comment From klof
choo or bruce. more likely to bounce back strong in 2015?

Eno Sarris: Bruce. Younger, had more time between his injury and now.

Comment From Nate
Those FB/GB rates are for hitters, not pitchers.

Eno Sarris: Same thing. Fly ball hitters do well against ground ball pitchers.

Comment From DTSS
I don’t see how retiring someone’s jersey league-wide helps anything. Was Mariano Rivera somehow an affront to Jackie Robinson’s legacy? Do other stuff to honor Clemente, sure, but let’s hold off on retiring more #’s. I’m more in favor of players choosing a number to honor a player who wore it – like Ian Desmond wearing Frank Robinson’s.

Comment From Guest
Jennings or Polanco dynasty?

Eno Sarris: This is the kind of thing that gets me into trouble, but I like Polanco. Five years younger, pre-peak, and his BB, K both better than average. More power upside as he grows, and stole 14/19 in half a season. Pencil projection for him next year is .260 with 15 homers and 30 stolen bases. And that’s early in his career.

Comment From david
Trying to solve a bet—> who would you rather have bat for you with 2 outs, 1 man on 2nd in the 9th inning for the Nats: Souza Jr, Hairston, Schierholtz or M. Taylor?

Eno Sarris: Righty on the mound, I’m saying. With two outs, contact rate matters. So I’m taking Schierholtz. Or Hairston if it’s a lefty. The other two going to strike out 1/3 of the time. All you need is a single.

Comment From John Stamos
Dynasty would you rather: Desmond Jennings + Nomar Mazara or Jacoby Ellsbury

Eno Sarris: Jacoby

Comment From David
I agree with DTSS. I like the giving of a number as an honorific, not the retiring. The Orioles used to hold on to 35 (Mussina) and only give it to a pitcher they thought would be worthy. Until they gave it to Josh Towers. Then that kind of went away…

Comment From throneberried
Will Yasmani displace Yonder next year, if it looks like his OBP will go back up? Would love to get his every-day 1B at-bats at the C position…

Eno Sarris: I think Yasmani will catch.

Comment From Guest
How good could a healthy Trumbo be next yr in Az?

Eno Sarris: .250/35?

Comment From Marty
Wait, are we saying Shields isn’t preferred to Gio?

Eno Sarris: Ah there it is. Shields has to beat Fister or Gio. Gio hard to evaluate because this year hasn’t been great, but he’s been great.

Comment From klof
what should we expect from taijuan walker next year? full time starter?

Eno Sarris: I think so. Maybe some issues with the walk rate. Good strikeout rate. Maybe some injury timeout.

Comment From Milby
More likely to maintain gains in 2015: Steve Pearce or Lucas Duda?

Eno Sarris: For me, it’s Duda. Pearce looks like he’s ramping up for the fastball, and all of his stats against non-fastballs suck. I think he’ll see a ton of junk next year, and not in the Folsom Street Fair kind of way.

Comment From David
Seriously. We’re only one year removed people. The answer to most questions is still DUDA!

Comment From Bomok
Harper next year full season #’s?

Eno Sarris: .275/25/5. Maybe health finally works out for him.

Comment From Guest
How many competitive years do the A’s have left before they have to start over?

Eno Sarris: Is there maybe a window created by Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss? Crisp? They can shuttle pitchers in and out, but they need some cost controlled offense to make it work.

Comment From GM Dreamer
If you could take over one organization right now which would it be and why?

Eno Sarris: I’d have to decide between Cubs and Mets. One one hand PITCHING. On the other hand HITTING. Bust rates say take the Cubs. And it would be exciting to try and put them in the right places and find arms. yeah, the Cubs. Because I’d be using my pitcher sleeper powers hard core.

Comment From Fronk
Bautista has 2 years left not 1

Eno Sarris: Okay that makes it more palatable. If it was Niese, I might take your deal.

Comment From Jeff
Does Maybin ever start hitting home runs? He hit a monster bomb last year in AZ so the physical strength’s there.

Eno Sarris: If he struck out half as much he could fit the brantley profile. But home park is tougher than Brantley’s.

Comment From Doug
What brewery would you target if you were going to GABF?

Eno Sarris: Maine if they were there. Want them most of all, never had. By our stats, all of their beers are above average. Also, the Colorado beers like Funkwerks and Crooked Stave.

Comment From Dave Camerons Puppy
Glad GF changed its recipe, I never really got your hype for it in these chats last year or so

Eno Sarris: It’s funny. They were one of my first recent loves. Then I stopped buying it, after Double Jack and then the fruit IPAs started coming. Then they tried to change their recipe to be more fruity and I understood why, but I’ve moved on. I’ll still drink it some.

Comment From juan pierres mustache
i might be able to send you some Maine, but should wait until next batch of Lunch gets to stores here–the options out now are good but not their best

Eno Sarris: WANT LUNCH

Eno Sarris: Actually I kinda want lunch.

Comment From Rated Rookie
Any Carlos Carrasco-types on your sleeper pitcher list you care to share here?

Eno Sarris: I’m flushing the list out. Allen Webster, Randall Delgado, Chase Anderson are on the list for multiple positive pitch types, decent fastball velocity.

Comment From GM Dreamer
What do your hard core pitcher sleeper powers see the Cubs doing in regards to SPs this offseason?

Eno Sarris: Maybe go get Maeda from Japan?

Comment From The Big Dipper
How long are you chatting for?

Eno Sarris: I’m flagging. Geting hungry.

Comment From Guest
how about this fun trade: Josh Donaldson for Addison Russell +

Eno Sarris: Oh boy. But the Cubs have a third baseman! (I don’t know if Bryant can play third)

Comment From Phil
Better rivalry the next 10 years, Kershaw/Bumgarner or Sale/Kluber?

Eno Sarris: Kluber’s too.. nice? Too mellow. Kershaw Bugmarner have the fire.

Comment From Sandy A
What is your take on Stephen Souza’s likely ceiling?

Eno Sarris: 25? Hard hitting? Right-hander? Strikeout issues? No hits against righties in debut? I think maybe he’s a righty platoon bat.

Comment From DB
Hockey advanced stats has quality of competition. Why don’t we see that in baseball. Wouldn’t think it would be that hard. Only question would be if you used year stats, stats at game day, etc. I would think it would be especially beneficial for pitchers. Will we see this anytime soon?

Eno Sarris: We’ve talked about it a lot. It’s super hard. Early in the season, what do you know about quality of opposition? Just use projections? For a whole team?

Comment From Rated Rookie
Thanks Eno. Let’s go eat lunch.

Eno Sarris: Done. Thanks guys!!

Comment From Marty
lata eno