Eno Sarris Baseball Chat — 12/10/15

Eno Sarris: will be here shortly

Eno Sarris:

Anthony: No other suitors for Miller after Astros acquisition of Ken Giles or is a #MYSTERYTEAM preparing to strike

Eno Sarris:

Eno Sarris: That was supposed to say: Dodgers might still want a reliever after the Chapman thing fell through!

hscer: What the…CiL looks all…weird. When did this happen?

Eno Sarris: new software!

Mike: What do you think of the White Sox acquisition of Lawrie? Could they still make a run at Frazier and move Lawrie to second?

Eno Sarris: I thought Lawrie’s d was much better at second, but I doubt that’s happening. They don’t have many prospects..

Mike: Eno, in real baseball, assuming the Jays can only resign one, would you try and keep Bautista or Encarnacion?

Eno Sarris: Bautista older and more checkered injury history, right?

dynasty doug: dynasty traded scherzer for urias….. too bold?

Eno Sarris: yes

Bork: When Chris Davis comes back to reality, what kind of contract is he going to get? Has he shot himself in the foot after one-upping the O’s contract by so much?

Eno Sarris: I thought he might actually end up being a value since his skillset is less valued these days, but $150 mill is a lot. If that was on the table, he should have taken it.

Nelson: Would Salazar be the appropriate price to land Frazier from the reds?

Eno Sarris: Only two years of Frazier, and probably expensive years for a team like the Indians. I think it’s a decent price, but it doesn’t seem like something they’d do.

Corey: Need Brewery/Beer recommendations for cactus league trip in March. Help?

Eno Sarris: This should help http://beergraphs.com/bb/675-quick-arizona-spring-training-beer-guide/

Fat Man: Am I all alone with Eno yet

Eno Sarris: people showed up

Shawn : Was in NYC (Brooklyn) for a bachelor party a few weeks ago and met the “Head Brewer” for Sixpoint. She was alone and hung out with us for a chunk of the night, and we went to a bar famous for serving…Budweiser (her idea). Upon review if her LinkedIn page – she is the Brewing Manager. My question to you Sir Eno is this: Is Head Brewer and Brewing Mannager the same thing? Head Coach and Equipment Manager are not the same thing…

Eno Sarris: Yeah, no. Brewing is a surprisingly mechanical thing, and only a few people get to do the artistry.

Bob: Is Swanson ready by opening day 2017?

Eno Sarris: I really think he could move that fast. Maybe July 17. He should be in Double-A this year. He’s turning 22.

hscer: The Nationals are basically relying on regression to the mean from everyone except Harper and this new training staff, aren’t they?

Eno Sarris: And some depth pieces and some youth.

Eric: Now that the Mets signed two middle IF, who could they get for moving wheeler and flores?

Eno Sarris: I’d be pounding the ground for a better defensive SS or a lefty center fielder. The Reds have a few shortstops, but you might have to get creative to make all that talent match up.

dynasty doug: dynasty hold on these borderline SPs or cut bait? Hahn, House, Skaggs, Bassitt, Godley

Eno Sarris: Keep Hahn, let the rest go. Unless it’s 20+ teams, then Skaggs, Bassitt are interesting.

Gates Brown: How would you rank the top 3 shortstops for next year?

Eno Sarris: Carlos Corrrea, Xander Bogaerts, Troy Tulowitzki

Eno Sarris: maybe I should switch the second two but it’s early still.

Bruce: Whos the clubhouse leader for saves in Philly?

Eno Sarris: If they interested in keeping costs down on young guys, it’s David Hernandez. He’s pretty good, too.

Todd: Can you make any sense of the Padres? Inflated prices for starting pitchers, and they are (seemingly) sitting on Ross, a guy they probably won’t be able to re-sign.

Eno Sarris: Sat on Upton too long, too.

Giles Owner: Is Giles still going to close for the Astros?

Eno Sarris: yes

Bork: Bautista’s injuries are more self made (see shoulder injury last year) while EE’s are more persistent. EE just plays through them a lot of the time, but its a ticking time bomb. Bautista might be better long term.

Eno Sarris: And he’s more athletic, I hear this argument for sure.

Bruce: If the Blue Jays had offered the A’s a slightly beter package for Lawrie, do you think Beane is objective enough to have accepted it?

Eno Sarris: Yes. He doesn’t give a crap.

MAYhem: Hi Eno! You previously suggested Velasquez was a sleeper (“I believe in him”). How do you feel about him now in Philly?

Eno Sarris: Even better. Dude has a rising fastball, a sizzling curveball, and a change that should be good by movement. Command isn’t great, but I don’t think it’s as bad as some think.

Mike: People seem very divided on Joc Pederson’s future? What do you have as his most likely outcome?

Eno Sarris: Adjustments and a few superstar seasons, but too low a batting average to be considered a star on the sum of his career, sadly.

Bruce: What do you make of actual baseball “experts” saying that the dodgers are now the 3rd best team in the NL West and now have no choice but to get Andrew Miller.

Eno Sarris: music answer!

Eno Sarris: https://youtu.be/Ob5KzB_EOqc

Eno Sarris:

Eno Sarris:

Eno Sarris: I dunno if that fits, but it’s a silly thing to say.

Zonk: Eno, I need your help understanding the Brett Lowrie trade, since I am not as smart as Billy Beane. Lowrie is no Josh Donaldson (ahem), but he’s a 2-3 WAR serviceable guy who is cheap, and seems like they gave him away. Not even top-30 prospects in a weak White Sox system. And all this to clear a spot for….Jed Lowrie? Is there something I am missing?

Eno Sarris: Money I’d guess. I think he would have shown better d numbers and been a two-win player, myself. A bit of a head-scratcher.

Joyner: Hi Eno! In past chats you’ve flipped on Matz vs. Severino in speculative rankings. Where are you now?

Eno Sarris: Still a little worried that Matz doesn’t have a secondary pitch as good as Severino’s.

Sam: On the question about the likely outcome for Joc Pederson, I’m surprised you didn’t reply, “Strikeout, Strikeout, Strikeout, Home Run.”

Mikey D: JotCast>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>CIL

Guest: spaghetti squash — classic or weird way to prepare a squasah

Eno Sarris: had to work hard to find an interlude in there guys. Nice new thing with Jotcast: the interludes are grouped!

20longyears: Am I right to be questioning the value of Niese, or is it solely because I’m a homer Pirates fan?

Eno Sarris: I don’t like Niese much at all, even with their Searage magic, I doubt he’s an average major league pitcher again. And even if he gets two wins, that’s really a 4/5. Mets didn’t need him, at least.

Q-Ball: Overall, as a Cub fan I really like the moves the Cubs have made so far, that add value without giving up flexibility (Lackey, Zobrist, Cahill, etc). Is that rose-colored glasses, or should I objectively be pleased?

Eno Sarris: I like em, but I like Warren. Castro and Warren could make that Zobrist/Castro/Warren decision look foolish, but Castro, on the whole, is pretty boring, with more of his bad play coming recently.

MSW: What do i do with Brantley in my keep-6 points league? I spent a decent amount to get him in a trade this time a year ago, and he helped win the the ‘chip. Do I really suck it up and not keep him and his balky shoulder? Would probably mean I keep a pitcher like Stroman or Lester instead.

Eno Sarris: Man some people saying June, some August, that’s super scary. Of the two shoulders, Zimm showed that he probably injured the one that will hurt him less at the plate, but still, shoulders are second only to wrist problems in power sapping. And Stroman is pretty exciting…

Rich: Besides Soler, who would the Cubs need topping up to make a real run at Carrasco or Salazar.

Eno Sarris: I was thinking that they might have enough MLB depth to include a starter back, like Hammel or something.

Adam: Mets went into the Winter Meetings needing to improve defensively, solidify the bullpen and get someone in CF. Help me understand what’s going on here.

Eno Sarris: They improved MI depth and got two lefty-hitting MIs. They either going cheap with platoon LHB CF, or stocking up for a trade. Doubt it’s the trade. Doubt they spend.

Cory S.: Is Tyler Clippard going to get severely overpaid? Career 2.88 ERA. Career 4.08 xFIP.

Eno Sarris: Classic guy to beat xFIP. Rising fastball that gets pop-ups, elite changeup. At some point in a pitcher’s life, the sample gets big enough to ignore xFIP, and I think he’s there, even as a reliever.

david: Considering two sabr teams in Mets and Rays have thought Cabrera can play SS maybe they have internal metrics that say he can play ss?

Eno Sarris: I think some of the forward-leaning teams think that positioning can un-do some of the bad. Someone asked Brad Ausmus about Cameron Maybin and Anthony Gose, that their D numbers were bad, and Ausmus said that D numbers have some subjectivity, and that the Tigers are going ot look into positioning their CFs better.

Dan: What do u think of the mets moves and what they should do now? Sounds like they are going to set for a guy like Venable and the scraps of the rp mArket

Eno Sarris: Yup

Mart: Brandon Crawford top 5 fantasy SS? Would you deal James Sheilds for him in dynasty?

Eno Sarris: I think he can hit 15+ next year, which would make him top-10 at least, and that’s probably worth shields at this point anyway.

Nelson: Need some help from you or the crowd. I just got 2 barrel aged IPAs, one wine barrel, the other aged with Brett. Those dont need to be had “fresh” right? I can wait a few months or more?

Eno Sarris: Yah they already sat in a barrel.

Guest: Okay let’s say this: AZ sees something in Miller they think they can sort out, and unlock #1 potential. Imagine this comes true. Is it fair to say “we can’t judge the trade after the fact” if the trade was made for that exact purpose? If AZ knew they could get 6 WAR and this is what ATL demanded, they wouldn’t be foolish to make that trade ex ante.

Eno Sarris: No, it’s not that Miller has any more potential. It’s that they consolidated talent in the present for potential future talent. It’s a bad trade but an understandable move, if that makes sense.

Skarp hedin: GMing a small market and winning inconsistently is easier than GMing a large market team and winning consistently. Amirite lloking at oakland.

Eno Sarris: I think the question you’re asking is, is it easier to consistently build an 90-win team, or an 81-win team? Because I’m convinced recently that the A’s are trying to build .500 teams and wait until those teams get lucky and win 90 to trade away some assets to win now and then start the whole thing over again.

The Cincinnati Kid: Did you check out Yazoo Brewery while in Nashville?

Eno Sarris: Not the actual Brewery but I don’t love their beers. Had one IPA that was decent from them.

Mike: Do you like Derek Fisher or Nick Williams better as future Philly outfielders?

Eno Sarris: Williams. But Fish has a chance.

The Cincinnati Kid: I’m in a weird league with bonuses, etc. but the ONLY 3 hitting categories are HRs, RBIs, and AVG. What projection system would you use as a guide? Which stat would you hyper focus on?

Eno Sarris: HRs. Then you get RBI.

Guest: Gavin Cecchini has really fallen off a cliff, it seems. Brewers just got him for cash considerations, which, why not if you’re the Brewers, right?

Eno Sarris: Great move for them. Still has a chance, maybe not at third.

Bruce: Alen Hansen opening day 2B for the Pirates?

Eno Sarris: Maybe, but that doesn’t mean 500 PA or anything. Could just hang out until Kang is back.

Eno Sarris:

The Cincinnati Kid: Polanco HRs+SBs in 2016: O/U 43.5?

Eno Sarris: Going for it. Over.

Bob: Is Tyler Flower’s pitch framing good enough to warrant being a starting catcher?

Eno Sarris: Top five, it looks like, and probably a better bat than Jose Molina ever had.

Eddie Brock: Seems like you spend a lot of time listening to music, so are you a nice noise cancelling headphone guy or $5 ear bud guy?

Eno Sarris: Work at home, rarely commute, so I have it playing out of my second monitor.

Bork: Are relievers getting a ton of money this year or am I just paying more attention to the reliever market?

Eno Sarris: As Beane said, it’s a way to make an impact with less money. So more teams are interested in doing that. Which, paradoxically, means more money.

Larry Bernandez: Any Rule-5 picks that could make an interesting impact this year?

Eno Sarris: If Blash can strike out 25% of the time, he’s exciting. Probably a good reliever comes out of the scrum.

Mark: I know you’re typically a re-draft all the pitchers kind of guy, but if you’re in a keep 3 league (OBP / QS) and you pitchers (de Grom, Harvey and Arrieta) are better than your hitters (Abreu, Braun, Betts, Springer) how many pitchers would you consider?

Eno Sarris: Flood the first round with pitchers and get one back. Springer, Betts, Abreu makes me happy in an OBP league.

horace: % chance Conforto is a 4+ win player next year?

Eno Sarris: 20%. Projected to be nearly a three-win player in a full season, and that’s the 50% projection.

Northsider: Should the Cubs be trying sell off Hammel’s contact along with a sweetener similar to AZ with Arroyo? If so, who would be a possible sweetener to get it done?

Eno Sarris: I love Sahadev Sharma, and he thinks Hammel is going to stick in the rotation and Warren in pen, so that says no, don’t sell him. And he follows the Cubs closer than I do. But I like Warren’s mix better than Hammel’s, and they were taking him out in the fourth and fifth. But then Sahadev pointed out that the team rushed him back from a Hammy injury. But then I pointed out he’s always hurt. But then Sahadev pointed out that he’s still gotten to about 170 IP recently. This was a typical winter meeting conversation, except no beer was involved.

Table: I have this fear, I’ll call it Pujols syndrome, that I’m about to see “Heyward to Angels for 12/250”.

Eno Sarris: Yes, I do think they might swoop.

Johnny5Alive: Adam – Sandy alderson doesnt value defense. Am I the only one paying attention?

Eno Sarris: He’s certainly made moves like that, even if he did give Lagares an extension based on his D. But it could also have something to do with this team in today’s league. The Mets have to have the fewest balls in play in a time in which baseball is seeing the fewest balls in play.

Bruce: Anything not to like about Jarred Eickhoff for 2016. Dude dominated downt he stretch last year.

Eno Sarris: I like him a lot, that slider is elite for whiffs. But the fastball is below-average by velocity, and the sinker looks pretty bad. So if the straight, rising fastball is enough to overcome the velocity, and the slider/curve is enough to overcome an iffy change… then nothing to worry about.

tim: How would you rank the young shortstops on who you would rather have? I’d go correa bogaerts russell seager lindor

Eno Sarris: I’d probably move Seager ahead of Russell as much as I like Addison.

Table: What is the fascination with a guy like Leake, when the Cardinals could sign Buehrle on a very short term to bridge the gap to Reyes, and the return of Lynn?

Eno Sarris: Youth I guess

Ron Stamos: You bullish on Anthony DeSclafani again this year? His 2nd half splits and FIP making me think he’s worth a late flyer in my 12 team league draft come March…

Eno Sarris: yeah, the slider/curve combo worked for him.

Eno Sarris:

Sam: How bad do you feel for the Friars? Last year they used everything to become relevant, this year they get dramatically worse than the Diamondbacks and find themselves only better than the Rockies.

Eno Sarris: The honeymoon is definitely over. Preller going to have to find those international signings that made him famous.

Dan: Is Storen available?

Eno Sarris: Supposedly. Mets should be in on that.

JV: Street $4, Choo $16 or Belt $10 in an OBP league for 2016?

Eno Sarris: Belt.

Marc: What do u think about the giles trade? I’m supprised at how little the astros thought of Vince Velasquez

Eno Sarris: Or how much they thought of Giles. I mean, couldn’t VV be Giles if you made him a bullpen guy full time?

The Cincinnati Kid: In his prime, can (will?) Swihart be a Top 8 catcher for fantasy? What could I pencil in for stats in a few years?

Eno Sarris: I don’t believe in catching prospects.

Eno Sarris: The catcher debut age is older, the bust rate is higher, and the bat value almost never great.

Biscuit: Have you spent time discussing catcher grips/mechanics at all? Is there a consensus on the “correct” footwork/throwing mechanics. Seems like it would be a huge advantage if some team could isolate this and use it to convert better bats to catchers.

Eno Sarris: Hey I should do this.

Meowmix: This may seem like a dumb question, but what do pitchers do when then they recover from Tommy John? Do they have to report to work everyday and maybe look at film or study pitching, or is it pretty much like a vacation for them?

Eno Sarris: Nah, they have to start working out fairly quickly. Even if not arm stuff, they have to work out their bodies. And then the arm stuff starts quickly, just not throwing. Working the resistance training, that sort of thing. It’s pretty hard work.

The Cincinnati Kid: Can we start a GoFundMe account to get Chris Davis as the Rockies first baseman?

Eno Sarris: I was hoping Trumbo would end up there.

birdwatcher: Oops! Let’s try again. In an AL only format, I’ve inherited a lousy team, so I’m patiently trying to build a cheap, competitive team. I have Trevor Bauer and he’s cheap. I want Franklin Barreto as my future SS and he’s even cheaper. Fair deal (the other owner wants Bauer) or should I ask for another small piece?

Eno Sarris: Fair deal, knowing how these leagues work.

Guest: My question re: Miller wasn’t clear. I’m not saying that’s how it is, but I feel like often when a “bad trade” turns out differently than we expected I wonder how much we can credit the team with being smart in making the deal. We can say “they should have gotten Sonny Gray” for this package, but if they think Gray tops out at 4 WAR but can (and, let’s imagine, do) turn Miller into a 6 WAR pitcher, then what they were trading for wasn’t what we are relying on in our valuation.

Eno Sarris: Yah, but results-based looking seems weird. If Dansby doesn’t work out, and Inciarte isn’t great in CF, and Blair is a middle reliever… it probably still was a great trade for the Braves.

beer: did you try any new beers in nashville? (you are/were there, right?)

Eno Sarris: Had the Alltech Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Aged, and it was too thin and too sweet. Had an IPA that I liked but I forget the name now. Something with an M.

Johnny5Alive: While we are getting better at prospect evaluations, is it pretty safe to say we don’t know really know that much? It’s a bad move for DBacks, but everyone is acting like Dansby is guaranteed to be a stud middle infielder and Blair a really good starting pitcher when evaluating the trade.The probability that both turn into what everyone is claiming now is actually very, very low, correct?

Eno Sarris: Well not very very low. Something like 20% (50% times 40%).

Table: After all these “sources” give false information, i.e. 4/80 for Zobrist. Does the writer then call the source after the fact and go “duuuuuude”?

Eno Sarris: Actually I sorta saw that happen. The Javier Baez trade to the Braves that never happened. The guy who reported that was standing right next to me on his phone the whole time. He didn’t seem too pissed. I think that’s because he knows his job is just to get rumors out there. He didn’t even check his first source before he ran with it. Because the winter meetings is 80% bull.

Emily: Thoughts on Addison Russell versus Anthony Rendon in standard 5×5 keeper leagues?

Eno Sarris: Russell could be better long-term keeper, but very sure Rendon will be better this year.

Drew: Desmond to the OF? What’s his landing spot?

Eno Sarris: Someone going to give him a shot at SS. I think Padres make sense.

ScaredCat: Fear for Kolten Wong?

Eno Sarris: No. Gyorko is depth.

Saul Porer: Who is clown-ass-clown you podcast with?? Sounds like he’s really good looking at the very least. Also, when’s the next ep???

Eno Sarris: Mega Podcast coming after this chat.

Snarfle: I’m annoyed that the Mets didn’t go double Cecchini when they had the chance. Also that the A’s broke up Lawrie/Lowrie.

Matt: I just wanted to say thank you for the great chats every week, Eno! You are a 5 WAR chatter.

Johnny5Alive: Eno, you or anyone on here checked into this new app for smart tvs and stuff called qello for concerts and music documentaries? thinking about buying my dad a subscription and curious if anyone has actually used this yer

Eno Sarris: Well that wasn’t a great interlude. We can do better.

Snarfle: Alright dude, I should probably go to work, but think about this: what if this whole time this has only been Trout’s larval state, and there is an entirely new beast coming. I don’t mean that he will hit 80 homers, I mean that he’s an alien or a new kind of human or something. And yeah, that new thing could hit 80 homers.

Eno Sarris: We did talk about this a couple times over beers. What will his peak homer output be? I think 50 is possible.

Keith Hernandez’s Moustache: It’s Garin to the Brewers not Gavin. Gavin is still safely in Mets org I hope. And I hope he has fallen off no cliff. Are those two related? That’s confusing from a parents perspective to name their sons only one letter apart.

Eno Sarris: Yes, related lol.

Rory: Given what the the Dbacks paid for miller, are the Mets’ anticipating to make a killing on Harvey when they trade him in the 2016 esp given the lack of FA pitchers next year

Eno Sarris: Yah, except that trade the Braves made would have made a lot of sense for the Mets… now.

klof: when do we see giolito, urias, and de leon on a MLB mound?

Eno Sarris: This year. But not full year or anything.

klof: heard that MBC was changing Lunch and expanding its distro. how do you think it compares to Another One?

Eno Sarris: Love Lunch. Prefer it. Hopefully they don’t change it much.

Allen: As someone who has watched Conforto almost every game he played this year, i’ll take way over on the 20% chance of 4+ win season

Eno Sarris: I was speaking mostly from a projections standpoint I guess. I really do like him.

Zonk: Fun Fact: Jason Hammel had a lower FIP last year than $110 mil man Zimmermann. Why does every Cub fan want to get rid of him?

Eno Sarris: Two pitches, hurt.

MSW: Who is more likely to regret walking away from a deal on the table, Cueto or Davis?

Eno Sarris: Neither.

here comes the boom: Cubs should use Warren in the 100 inning relief ace role. If anyone’s going to bring it back, it would have to be Maddon, right?

Eno Sarris: See I think Hammel is perfect for this. Keeps him healthy, keeps him facing guys twice at most.

Bruce: Can Pillar repeat last year? .280 10/25?

Eno Sarris: Under on batting average.

George: Am I the only one who expects major progression from TDA? Only catcher who had more WAR/games played was Posey

Eno Sarris: Love the dude. Averages 40+ games missed due to injury a year over his career so far.

Cody: Does Roberto Osuna have a legit shot at being a good starter?

Eno Sarris: has the pitches but not the innings.

Dub Nation: Matz for Puig. Who says no?

Eno Sarris: Dodgers?

mets: haha dude thought garin cecchini was gavin cecchini

Eno Sarris: Not this dude! and.. there’s one letter difference. I’ve seen Gavin play some, and he’s hyper. If he can unlock a little power, maybe he can be an outfielder. He’s stuck between positions with that bat.

Pirates Hurdles: David Wells scoffs at your “working out their bodies” assertion.

Eno Sarris: Hah yeah well him and Colon probably watch video and eat paella or something.

anon: Chances in 2 years Castro returns to all-star form and Zobrist is on the bench/DL?

Eno Sarris: Definitely non zero, especially considering their ages.

Guesto: Will we ever see a crowdsourced professional contract in any sport?

Bork: Don’t give the Jays any ideas. I wouldn’t put it past Rogers to start a GoFundMe to raise money to sign players.

Bork: Or Loria starts a GoFundMe as a campaign for fan interaction so he doesn’t have to spend money. HAVE YOUR SAY IN WHO WE SIGN!!

Eno Sarris: an interluded dedicated to the word no

Guest: Chats are like waiting in line to get your question answered but you also get to hear all the other people in front of you get their questions answered and they all have better questions than you so it’s fun.

Eno Sarris: lol

B-Diggity: Any idea if Max Kepler can be an above average OF defensively?

Eno Sarris: I like his athleticism, I would guess yes.

Eno Sarris:

Larry Bernandez: Are pitchers generally safer picks for Rule 5 draft? It seems easy enough that you use the pitcher you draft only for blowouts, where with position players, you kind of need to use them regularly.

Eno Sarris: The only counter argument is utility guys that can offer some defensive value around the field. This is, by the way, also the best way to shop in the non-tender market.

-C: It’s National Lager Day. What are some of your favorite lagers??

Eno Sarris: The hoppy ones, which is cheating.

Pirates Hurdles: I guess what Guest is saying is that we don’t know all the info that goes into a team making these decisions, so maybe we should shut up and just watch the games. Our opinions may be more uninformed than we think.

Eno Sarris: Eh, that’s a little less fun. A lot less fun, actually.

marc: Eno, what we (me) have all been waiting for. When does melancon get traded so caminero can at least be the 8th inning guy and start setting up for saves?

Eno Sarris: I would do it if I were them, and they were rumored to at one point. Maybe they link up with the Dodgers now.

Cory S.: Expected Corey Seager slash line? Steamer has .265/.315/.423

Eno Sarris: Over on power

klof: how do i identify which owner is the dave stewart of my fantasy league?

Eno Sarris: Ask around if anyone thinks Brett Lawrie is worth Josh Donaldson because he was once traded for him.

klof: does gallo get regular PT? or we wait until hamilton gets hurt again? does mazara overtake him?

Eno Sarris: Mazara is right there. I think we wait until Hamilton is hurt, but a Moreland trade might change things.

josh d: what is billy beane’s scheme right now? should we stop considering him savvy? and why do we buy into the idea that the A’s area small market team with a low budget, especially with all the tech moving into oakland?

Eno Sarris: Well nobody goes to that park and their season ticket subscriber base is terrible, so there is some poverty there. It’s a bad park in a bad area, not sure the tech is helping a ton. But I’ll have more on this next week after talking to Beane.

Derek: Tell Johnny5Alive that I’ve used qello before and it’s pretty awesome. Nice mix of concerts and a lot of really good bands. Nothing otherworldly, but for the cost, I enjoy it if you like watching concerts on TV.

Johnny5Alive: or its not creative to name sons only 1 letter apart

Eno Sarris: How about naming them all Rougned.

Matt: As a Mets fan what are your thoughts Eno on getting Walker instead of Zobrist? I like it, Walker for a year then hopefully Dilson in 2017, and don’t have to pay Zobrist +$10 mil when he’s in the latter half of his 30s.

Eno Sarris: Yeah actually, not mad at that so much. Four years to a 35 yo is a bit of a stretch.

Bork: Are the Yankees just biding their time until the 2018 free agency? It looks insane.

Eno Sarris: And yet they probably can’t get under the lux tax unless they jettison a bigger piece. Saw people talking about how they saved a tidy chunk of change in trading Watson. $1.6m. Are you kidding me?

Johnny5Alive: Should I, as a glasnow owner in an NL only dynasty, be sad thats he is now blocked by niese?

Eno Sarris: I would say “blocked” because there’s a lot of mediocrity in the back end of that rotation.

Guest: Have you moved off writing fantasy articles more now that you have player access? Was that conscious or just natural career growth? Just curious, because I enjoy all your stuff.

Eno Sarris: I find talking to players super compelling, so I guess it was on purpose, but it’s very hard to exercise 100% control over your own career. You can want things, and then you have to have a bit of luck for them to happen.

James: How long until Nashville gets an MLB team?

Eno Sarris: Hung out with some guys from the Sounds, and they averaging about 8k a game, so I don’t think they are there yet. Still, that’s gotta be pretty good for Triple-A.

ZM: Latos to Pirates? buying this rumored reclamation project?

Eno Sarris: They do this sort of thing, and he has more upside than a Locke or Niese at least.

Johnny: Saw you at the Winter Meetings. Didn’t come over and say hi. Very much regret it.

Eno Sarris: Should of!

Stinky Pete: Lots of relievers coming off the board, both free agents and via trades. Who is left out there for teams like the Mets to bolster their pen?

Eno Sarris: Joe Blanton? Don’t laugh, decent reliever. Bastardo if you need a lefty. Tommy Hunter still out there, I think. Clip show.

anon: For positioning the CF: See Fowler this year with cubs, usually regarded as below average. maddon said they were going position him shallower and voila average def.

mets: so you dont think he sticks at short then? gavin that is

mets: i know gavin had a bunch of errors this year, but i thought they were mostly either rushing throws or making throws on balls he should put in his back pocket

Eno Sarris: I was talking about the other one.

Keith Hernandez’s Moustache: It’s burrito o’clock

Eno Sarris:

Jacks: Hey is Kyle Gibson a keeper at $7 in a 12 team al only roto, 9 keeps – $260 budget?

Eno Sarris: Yes. Just wrote his player cap. Which, check it: they will be RotoGraphs player caps on 1200 pages… for free this year.

Drew: Chances I can schedule a meeting with you at next year’s Winter Meetings in DC?

Eno Sarris: The most effective pitches started with “let me buy you a beer” lol

Max: Where do Jay Bruce/Votto/BP/Frazier end up?

Eno Sarris: BP to Diamondbacks is a chance the Reds should jump on. The rest stay for differnt reasons.

Petey Bienel: Kelley, Petit, Perez – not quite the sexy bullpen adds, but effective shopping?

Eno Sarris: I love them actually. Kelley is Gregerson with a little more velocity, Petit has the invisiball and Perez has been a decent LOOGY since he stopped starting.

Drew: Luhnow said he didn’t value velo as much as the rest of the league a few months ago. He played the long game, kinda like how I approached dating in college

Frank: hey hey hey

Shawn: What is your “White Whale” beer?

Eno Sarris: I’m about to get it: Tree House Julius. It’s in the mail, headed to my house.

Bork: Would the Braves/D’Backs trade even fly in fantasy leagues? It’s like that guy who always does ridiculous trades to piss people off. Except this time it went through.

Eno Sarris: Someone ran it through OOTP and the fake Dave Stewart said “Why would I do this trade? No Way.”

Art Vandelay: All that Bay Area tech money doesn’t go to the A’s, it goes to the Giants, that’s the whole reason the A’s tried to sue their way into San Jose.

Eno Sarris: Exactly.

Sirras: Mark Reynolds to Colorado. So much for Trumbo or Crush Davis and their 80 homer seasons…

Eno Sarris: Could still be fun.

lunch: how much better do you feel about the braves rebuild now than you did on monday?

Eno Sarris: Way better because they finally got a bat!

Guest: KING KENTA: Pitch, where you when I was walkin’?
Now I run the game got the whole world talkin’, King Kenta
Everybody wanna knock the ball off him, Kenta
Japanese man taking no losses
Pitch, where you when I was walkin’?
Now I run the game, got the whole world talkin’, King Kenta
Everybody wanna knock the ball off him

When you got the ZIPS (What’s the ZIPS?)
The ZIPS is the power that be
You can see it when you’re lookin’ down spreadsheets
(Oh yes we can, oh yes we can)
I can dig pitching, but a pitching with a strike framer?
What the heck happened? (Oh no) I swore I wouldn’t tell
But most of y’all fear bats, like you got the bottom bunk in a Tampa Rays hotel
(A Rays hotel)
Something’s with the batter (Something’s with the batter)
And if I got a nose for some strikeouts then I’d rather be a pitcher than a batflippin’ baller

Eno Sarris: Rockit

Joeu: Any validity to the reports the A’s are interested in Maeda? Supposedly they’ve scouted him extensively and are interested in Kazmir, whose price is rising but is the same tier of pitching

Eno Sarris: Beane mentioned that people scratched their head at trading some guys away one year and then they signed Cespedes and did some other stuff and were good. Maybe the Lawrie deal was to clear up cash for a Maeda type thing. But don’t expect the payroll to go over 85-90. He specifically said that every time they’ve ever spent more than they had, it went terribly and it was a hole they had to dig out from under.

The Boat: How does one become a baseball scout?

Eno Sarris: Recently, it seems like you scout for a blog until someone notices your work.

Eddie Brock: Does Maeda’s size worry you at all? He’s listed lighter than The Freak

Eno Sarris: A lot of stuff worries me about him. HIs translated stats look like Gallardo’s.

beer: what if the person buying the beer insisted on bud light

Eno Sarris: quick meeting.

Joeu: Lawrie got sold for a 2016 reliever and a guy Kantrovitz wanted to draft. It’s been all but confirmed Lawrie (and Butler, who DIDN’T USE THE WEIGHT ROOM IN 2015) were the clubhouse problems.

Eno Sarris: Nah. A) I saw Billy in the weight room every time I was in the clubhouse, although mostly on the bike trying to stay slimmer. B) Not everyone loved Lawrie, but he wasn’t the problem. If there was a problem, it was that nobody knew each other and the team was bad.

Eno Sarris: Lawrie is intense and talks a mile a minute, but he’s upbeat and some guys even liked him.

Q-Ball: Rex Brothers was claimed by the Cubs last month, before L.J. Hoes was acquired by the Orioles. Does that confirm the theorem, Bros before Hoes?

Eno Sarris: slow clap

Q-Ball: But, Brett Lawrie is only estimated to make $3.9 mil or so. Is that really much savings?

Eno Sarris: My recommended outlay for Maeda was something like 4/60, of which probably 20 is posting fee, meaning you might only need to clear $10m to go for it. Unless people think he’s Zimmerman and give him 100 mil with 20 taken off for the posting. That’s a bit crazy though.

Drew: Re Scouting: or be a former major leaguer. But going to games and meeting the scouts should help you learn about openings in scouting departments

Guest: Wait, player caps are free this year? I don’t mean to be all “teacher you forgot to gave us homework” but that’s definitely the most valuable resource for my annual FG+ subscription to me.

Eno Sarris: Just making some changes around here.

Johnny5Alive: Wait, there is a 20% chance that both Dansby turns out to be a star AND Blair turns out to be a 2/3? Those are very high odds

Eno Sarris: I was using definition of bust that has them as valuable if they average over 1.5 WAR. So Blair could be a five and still make it as valuable. Dansby at star level is more like 40% — he’s a top 20 bat. If you want to make Blair a two-three, then it’s probably something like 15% for him and 40% for Dansby and yeah that’s 5%. But if you’re talking the two of them being useful, it’s 20%.

Yehuda: I just got on and am not sure if this was discussed. Do you think Freddie Freeman will be traded soon and why?

Eno Sarris: No and because he’s on a contract and of a decent enough age that he could still be valuable when the team is good again.

mets: having a rule 5 guy only pitch in blowouts trashes their development. which they still clearly need

Eno Sarris: Dunno. it’s not A1 time in the big leagues, but it’s still them versus big league hitters.

CAM: So where does Heyward go? And who needs him the most?

Eno Sarris: Cardinals can compete for wild card without doing much, but if they want the division, I think they need him back.

beer: i’ll never forget the picture of lawrie with a beer duct taped to his hands

Snarfle: Now I’m AT work. Shu brought us breakfast burritos.

beer: the director adam mckay was on colbert last night and mentioned when he was in his 20s he called the phillies org pretending to be the indians GM and got thru to the phillies GM. it was pretty funny – http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/remembering-when-you-could-prank-call-phillies-gm-colberts-late-show

Snarfle: Pangolin, climbing a tree.

Eno Sarris: Hey now you guys are rolling.

Sirras: Imagine, for a moment, a sentient gorilla. This gorilla has a dream of playing first base in MLB. The gorilla has sufficient hand-eye coordination to put the bat on the ball and obviously has quite a bit of power projection because, you know, he’s a gorilla. The gorilla has also promised to do his best not to hurt anybody. You’re the commissioner. Do you allow the Colorado Rockies to sign the gorilla?

Eno Sarris: You mean, like this guy?

Eno Sarris:

Eno Sarris:

Q-Ball: So, what exactly happens at Winter Meetings? Seminars on game rules? Is there a buffet? Is every GM at the bar?

Eno Sarris:

Eno Sarris: dammit

Eno Sarris: Rule 5 draft. Manager’s luncheon. BBWAA meeting. Manager media availability sessions. Free agent press conferences. GM availability upstairs for some. And then a great bar scene, but it’s mostly beat writers, scouts, and job seekers down there.

Hi Erix: Eno! You a scotch drinker? Got any favorites?

Eno Sarris: Laphroig. Caol Isla. Highland Park.

duke: “sentient gorilla” is a mean thing to call mark reynolds

Matt Damon: MATT. DAMON.

Guest: here’s that whole King Kenta thing not all smushed (there’s more) http://www.athleticsnation.com/2015/12/8/9873990/king-kenta

Derek: Which prospect do you like the most out of the haul the Phillies got for Hamels and Giles?

Eno Sarris: Williams and Velasquez.

Mike: Trying to host a beer tasting party… what are some absolute musts?

Eno Sarris: Start light with a pilsner (PIVO from FW) and a saison (Dupont) and maybe a session (Easy Jack). Then do your best local fresh IPAs. A sour can refresh the palate before you finish with BA stouts.

Eno Sarris: Okay guys, time to prepare for Mega Podcast.

Scott: I would love to hear the Simpsons’ song “Canyonero” when Caminero comes in for a save!