Eno Sarris Baseball Chat — 9/21/17

Eno Sarris: This chat is one thing we could not fully automate, I don’t think.

Guest: has anyone asked for your autograph before? was it weird?

Eno Sarris: Nobody has. that would be super weird.

Sam: Who’s coming out of the NL and why?

Eno Sarris: Nationals. Shorter series favors their dual-ace, superstar-driven strategy as long as Harper is healthy.

2-D: So next time you see Neshek are you going to ask him for his autograph… and hand him a Zack Greinke card?

Eno Sarris: ooof. One thing that might be interesting to the conversation: if I asked a player for an autograph, I would lose my BBWAA membership. The field, the clubhouse, those are supposed to be places where you don’t get bugged for an autograph.

Michael : Is Kyle Gibson actually decent or is this just a lucky hot stretch?

Eno Sarris: Interesting. He’s become more of a four-seam slider guy and his velo is up. That coincindes with a big jump in K% and drop in HR rate while his GB rate has held steady. I actually have a really deep league where I held him through all of the BS and… I think he’s probably a below-average fantasy starter, but maybe usable in some leagues now.

Matt: How for real is Luke Weaver? Top 24 in fantasy next year crazy?

Eno Sarris: top 30 doesn’t seem crazy at all. He’s like a Lance Lynn with the fastball but he has good secondaries.

Big Joey: How far apart in value are Trea Turner and Conforto in a keep-forever league?

Eno Sarris: With the injury, it’s like three rounds at least. It was a bad one.

groucho: What do you think the cardinals should do this offseason?

Eno Sarris: Try to get a star hitter. They are great at filling in holes.

Graver: Alex Wood to the pen in the Postseason? Who would you say should start games 1,2, and 3? Tandem start or just make game 4 a bullpen game?

Eno Sarris: Kershaw, Yu, Hill. Then I think Wood to pen but Game four is Maeda/Wood. Ryu early lefty in pen.

Eno Sarris: dammit someone at door I’ll be back

Eno Sarris: working on the house

AHume92: With all the complaints about blisters, do you believe MLB will take a serious look (albeit quietly) at the baseball this offse

Eno Sarris: I think the blister thing could be real, but it’s also related to grip substances, so they could just enforce that. DL trips are up across the board, and related to 10-day DL usage, which they may look at. Baseball is complicated and every time they make a decision to change the rules, there are a ton of unintended consequences.

AHume92: Sale-Kluber is going to be an incredible ALDS Game 1, isn’t it?

Eno Sarris: 1-0… or like 7-5 of course.

JDX: Does Tommy Pham look like a perennial high BABIP guy going forward beyond 2017?  .373 right now…

Eno Sarris: Hits the ball hard on the ground with speed, I think he could run a .330-.345 easily. Unsure how this package will age wrt power though, and he’s already turning 30.

Vegan Man: Hey Eno, you starting Paxton today? Thanks!

Eno Sarris: Yes

Slapshot: What is best in life? To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to enjoy another Thursday Eno chat.

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer:

Carson Cistulli Eno: But what you might, you might not know, Dave Cameron, is that Heady Topper represents a market inefficiency of sorts, in that supply never really catches up to demand. Your thoughts on that, Dave Cameron?

Eno Sarris: not bad.

The Average Sports Fan: For 2018, is this what we should expect from Aaron Altherr?

Eno Sarris: I’m a little unsure about him. I have an interview to write up, probably for tomorrow. I think he can hit .260 with a .200 ISO, meaning he’s probably good for 20 homers and five stolen bases. I have a feeling people expect more.

JDX: Between Rendon and Votto, who finishes higher in NL MVP voting?  How high do they finish?  We all know neither has a shot at winning.

Eno Sarris: I’ve got a vote for RoY, which should be easier. Rendon might do better than Votto because he’s on a great team. If Rockies fall out of race, do they still give it to a Rox player?

PTBNL:

Q-Ball: What’s next for Albert Pujols and the Angels?  Can he get healthier and better, or is he just a negative win player now?  If so, should the Angels be looking for a graceful way to release him, given the plethora of cheap DH options available?

Eno Sarris: He’s hobbled. Sometimes when he runs I wince. I suppose he could get back to something like last year’s work, and only three full time DHs are 10% better than the league with the bat. They’ll keep him another year.

Vegan Man: Been getting into Sours and Gose’s lately (Westbrook Gose, Victory Sour Monkey, Kirsch Gose). Any good recommendations? Thanks!

Eno Sarris: Stillwater has that Gose Gone Wild and its variants which are real fun. I don’t know east coast sours as well, but try Grimm’s stuff, Allagash has some good stuff too.

PTBNL: Saw the posting for the Nats Baseball Ops position, no salary listed – I’m assuming that those types of jobs underpay employees relative to their skillset and experience, given the high demand for jobs in professional sports front offices?

Eno Sarris: Baseball pays terribly. Maybe the only profession where you can do better covering the profession than you can by joining.

E: AJ Pollock is having a good month, what do you think of him for next year?

Eno Sarris: Underrated. I know health looks like a problem, but a full healthy year can still produce a .280/20/30 line that would be extremely valuable in a league with no steals.

Pine Needles: Who would you draft first next year: Whit Merrifield or Chris Taylor?

Eno Sarris: Good one. I think I take Whit because his steals create a higher floor.

AHume92: I hope we get Trackman/Statcast data from NPB some day.  I would love to see the difference the ball makes in spin & movement.

Eno Sarris: Yeah the pitchers themselves all say they get more movement here.

The Dude: My apologies if you’ve talked about it before, but favorite brewery in the Atlanta scene?

Eno Sarris: Orpheus I think? Had a great sour and some good sessions if I remember right.

jake bauers: am i the 2018 version of 2017 hoskins?

Eno Sarris: I don’t see that at all. Doesn’t hit enough fly balls if you’re talking power. if you’re talking surprise player… he’s a young guy, needs a spot in the outfield, may give more with plate discipline and speed and it may not come all at once.

Vegan Man: Better keeper moving forward in a standard h2h – Bellinger or Jose Ramirez?

Eno Sarris: I don’t know if this is controversial, but I’ll take Bellinger. Just looked at a de-juiced ball leaderboard that had Ramirez with 17 steals, he could steal only 10 next year, hit 15-20 homers, have a decent average. It does add up, but his price may be commensurate with his value by this point. At 22, I actually think Cody could make more contact.

Joe’s Mom: Please rank best shot at QS on Sunday, without killing rates: Fister @CIN, McHugh v. LAA, Gohara v. PHI.  Thanks!

Eno Sarris: McHugh, Gohara, but really only McHugh.

Nihilist Eno: The all-time home run record was broken by Alex Gordon. If that’s not the universe laughing in your face, idk what is. Drink Beer, Watch Baseball.

E: Get ready for a lot of autograph requests…

CamdenWarehouse: What if you were asked to sign a beer?

Eno Sarris: Heyo

Jackson C: Your opening comment makes me want to see an AI that could skim recent stats and somehow make a fake baseball chat based on that.

Eno Sarris: yeah but how ludes

Justin: Of this whole long Texas window, wouldn’t it be such a troll if this is the year they get hot, get in, and win it all?

Eno Sarris: 2.5 out. It would be pretty funny. And if they won the wild card game, we’re talking… Andrew Cashner starting game one?

Noah: Do you think Tanaka opts out?  If so, what do you think he gets in free agency?

Eno Sarris: Hmm I was going to say yes but then I looked at details. 3/67? I think he keeps that.

Guest: Eno, will you sign my internet?

Eno Sarris: Done.

Guest: Who is next year’s bellinger?  I mean, a prospect who had a big year in the minors but no one is really talking about right now, but will be atop lists for 2018

Eno Sarris: I dunno if it will happen the same way, but Eric Haase has turned himself into a similar player just by fine tuning his contact point and launch angle. DJ Stewart finally hit for some power for Baltimore but is a bit of a weird guy mechanically.

Noah: Do you think Matt Harvey has anything left?  His mechanics and velocity are much better but his slider isn’t missing bats

Eno Sarris: He never had great command, so the difference between averaging 96+ as he did and 94+ as he is now might be huge. I’ll buy him as my last starter in some leagues, and I would pay his salary one more year if I was the Mets, but it’s not like his clubhouse presence and leadership has bought him more chances than that.

Guest: What to do with Jimmy Nelson in an ottoneu league?  Sounds like he’s going to be delayed next year and worried about his performance coming off the surgery

Eno Sarris: Probably wouldn’t keep. They had to go into the labrum. That’s bad news.

Eno Sarris: Rooting for him of course.

Zach: Giants outfield outlook?

Eno Sarris: They’ll have to buy someone, but Justin Upton told me he hates hitting in SF because of the backdrop in center, so if it ends up being Jay Bruce, Hunter Pence, and Gorkys in center… not great, Bob.

adam: Yandy Diaz has a low minor league ISO but we have recently seen pro ISO eclipse minor league ISO.  Can he make that leap?

Eno Sarris: I dont’ see an accompanying change in gb/fb so I’ll say no.

Hannah Hochevar: Gotta be happy to see Mengden the Mustache having a nice run to close the year, right?

Eno Sarris: Was watching, and it looked okay. He’s always looked better if he keeps the bases clean, though, and can throw 93. Dips to below average velo in the stretch. Love the look though.

Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe: You’ve mentioned before that you’ve asked guys for a catch (specifically mentioning Jharel Cotton) and hit with Hunter Pence (or at least compared results with him). What kinds of unusual requests of players have you made? Have you ever asked someone to go out for a hot dog or a sandwich?

Eno Sarris: Samardzija said we might have a beer some day, and I’d enjoy that. He’s a good dude.

Corey: Hotels are a major league player’s home half of the season. Isn’t people loitering outside or in hotel lobbies looking for autograph stalking? I don’t get imposing on other people’s lives for a scribble.

Eno Sarris: And the tactic they use are gross. They will use kids to collect signatures for them, and they research the players and just lie all the time — hey man I know your sister went to x with her, did this in your hometown. When you hear people in every park trying to get your signature talking like this, you don’t believe them any more.

MLBTR Juggalo: Why is Robles on the big league roster, but Acuna is not?

Eno Sarris: Nationals are good and are willing to catch lightning in a bottle if it’ll help them win it all.

BabyBombers: Who has better long term outlook- Sanchez, Contreras, or Posey?

Eno Sarris: Sanchez or Contreras.

Brad: how did you feel when you saw your tweets with neshek in the arizona newspaper article?

Eno Sarris: Not superb. I mean, I acknowledge that perhaps Neshek has a point about interpersonal relationships, but I was making a point about access and autographs. I guess I don’t feel that bad in retrospect, because we both represented ourselves without too much bluster. But you should see the comments on ESPN. They got pretty intense. And my twitter feed is just now recovering.

Eno Sarris: And as much as Neshek has a good point about interpersonal relationships and any promises Zack may have made, his hand waving through Zack’s struggles in the past were dismissive, and I didn’t appreciate them.

Jackson C: The Red Sox seem to be a tough team to judge. They’re playing great baseball at the moment, but does that lineup have enough punch in a playoff series to get an ace off of the mound?

Eno Sarris: It’s so weird that this team is third-worst by wRC+ in the American League. I’ve always thought of them as a slugging team in the past. I wonder if they won’t go buy some power this offseason. Unclear where they’d put them, though. They have good players everywhere and I love Devers. Right now, though, they seem like a team that could get shut down.

AHume92: Piggybacking off the Weaver question: what do the Cardinals do so well to continuously turn out good pitching?

Eno Sarris: They seem like they don’t go with prescriptive reasoning. Weaver gets really low, so they let him do that and coached him within that. Lynn throws tons of fastballs, so they helped him work on having a few different fastballs. They didn’t make Lynn throw the changeup all the time, or try to stand Weaver up.

Don’t know what to Cueto: Hey Eno, I’m protecting in first place. You rolling with a Cueto 2-start next week? Cheers!!

Eno Sarris: Yeah, if at AZ is risky, home vs Padres should clean it up.

sirras one: Trade Inciarte and trot out Kemp-Acuna-Markakis, or trade Markakis (assuming Kemp can’t be moved) and go with a Kemp-Inciarte-Acuna outfield?

Eno Sarris: Nobody wants Markakis either, I doubt. as much as Inciarte plays decent defense, his offense is about league average. I think he’s the guy the Braves move.

Guest: In the championship, Chirinos, C. Vasquez, Lucroy, or Ianetta as my catcher the rest of the way?

Eno Sarris: Honey Nut Chirinos.

E: Even with all the offense it still seems like we have a bunch of garbage bag catchers for fantasy

Eno Sarris: it’s a tough life.

Pine Needles: Who is the better streaming option: Kyle Gibson at Detroit or Jhoulys Chacin home vs. Colorado?

Eno Sarris: oof. Kyle?

Eno Sarris:

The Dude: The Braves choose to compete in 2018. Who do they deal to current talent? (And if you have any guesses who do they go for?)

Eno Sarris: Inciarte and Newcomb for a cost controlled young starter? Call up Acuna to play CF, tell him to play good D and let the offense come. Sign a slugging corner infielder, there are a ton.

CubFan: Do you think Teoscar Hernandez and/or Willie Calhoun begin next season in the majors? If so, will they be worth having in AL only leagues?

adam: I’m the lude police and this is a lude free zone.

Eno Sarris: Teoscar should. Carerra is a backup, Bautista is a decision, Pillar only sure thing.

James: Hey Eno. How do *you* feel about the Pythagorean Theorem?

Eno Sarris: *pushes glassed up on nose* I was never that good at geometry, found it pretty boring.

adam: dingers > blisters.

Optimist Eno: Opportunity was at your door – it knocked and provided beer and baseball.

Eno Sarris: I did get beer mail yesterday. Did one of you send me Mason beers?

barfves: Ozzie eats triples. 5 in 169ABs.  I heart him.

Eno Sarris: Love him so much.

CubFan: Do you think Green stays in the Yanks pen in 2018 or do they stretch him out as a SP? Is he one of the multi-inning RP that teams are trending to?

Eno Sarris: I’ve talked to him about his splitter and he just doesn’t trust it. Very few Fastball/Cutter/Slider righty pitchers out there.

hp: can you ask for autographs when you’re not working? i.e. if you’re just casually taking in a game with your kids, and they want someone’s autograph and you ask from the stands during BP.

Eno Sarris: Maybe if i didn’t get into the stadium using my card and am not in restricted area

TheDuck: How do you feel about Godley as a keeper?

Eno Sarris: As long as your league keeps three or four pitchers, sure.

CubFan: Kepler didn’t make much progress this year, maybe even regressed some. Think he can take a step forward or is this as good as it gets?

Eno Sarris: I could see the OBP getting better and maybe sealing more because he’s successful, but I’m not sure about the power. It’s all down the line or nothing.

MLBTR Juggalo: How would you rank Rosario’s fantasy value?

Eno Sarris: I bought when he was cheap, I’m out if he’s expensive. Not a great base stealer, and that history of getting suspended, and his mechanics at plate, his plate discipline… just makes me a  bit nervous.

Buff: Weaver has good secondaries? Going into the season most analysts/scouts I read said he had no useful breaking ball. Has it improved that much?

Eno Sarris: The changeup is very good/plus. Not even sure Lynn’s slider is that good. AS for the curve, sure, it’s not great yet. I still really nice ones and see a future in it, and Waino is tutoring him on it.

Brian: What kind of line do you see for Benintendi going forward?  How about Devers?

Eno Sarris: I see Benintendi adding power and eventually having a .300/.375/.500+ season with 25 homers and 15-20 stolen bases. D… I’m agnostic. Looks fine to me out there.

Eno Sarris: I’m a little disappointed in Devers’ fly ball rate, but I could see him hitting something like .275/.330/.475 eventually, no speed, okay D while young. His body is a little worse than I thought.

Brian: What do you make of Schwarber?  Think he’s trade bait?

Eno Sarris: Lefty Mike Napoli. That used to be an offensive thing to say, but I’ve believed it all along, and Napoli was pretty dang good especially for being a right-hander.

E: Start Tyler Anderson at San Diego today? Salazar at LAA?

Eno Sarris: I’ll chuck and duck on Salazar. He can turn in a gem at any time.

Show Hey O’Tawny: Who isn’t good for 20 homers anymore, though? Scooter freaking Gennett has like 25

Eno Sarris: Yeah it’s the price for entry these days.

Uncle Rico: Just another good September for Buxton once rosters are expanded or is he actually ready for a breakout next year.  Fool me once……

Eno Sarris: I think he’s made some good adjustments, but I also think I’d rather look at him in sum than look at his second half splits. I think he’ll always run hot and cold.

tommy lasagna, sr.: if you don’t have kids and want cheap laughs, go to your local playground and watch parents chase their kids around the slides and monkey bars in a panicked craze

Eno Sarris: at least once a day I have to sprint yelling after one of my children.

Orange WHIPs: What do you think about Garret Richards today vs COL? How would you rank Richards, Tyler Anderson and Salazar? Just need QS and OK ratios, don’t need a ton of Ks.

Eno Sarris: Richards first.

Eli: Pujols runs like he’s stepping on hot coals

Eno Sarris: like he’s got a dump in the truck

TheDuck: Ohtani clearly wants to be able to hit and pitch for whatever team he signs with. Doesn’t this give AL teams a big leg up, since he can DH on days he’s not starting? Or does he want to play OF on those days?

Eno Sarris: I used to think it was good for NL teams, but yeah I think he might actually go to an AL team. New York?

E: Favorite amber/red ales for the fall?

Eno Sarris: Don’t love the style. Nugget Nectar and Blazing World I guess.

Mark: If i own a micro brewery and want to send you some sample things to taste (possibly review?) how can i do so?

Eno Sarris: My email is in my twitter bio!

doodman: Um, what do you bring to a bottle share to be a team player?

Eno Sarris: I have a whole section in the back of my beer fridge of Firestone Walker stouts from over the last three years. I grab one of those and then I try to add something hyper local and fresh if possible.

Marcus Banks: I’d love to see something like Statcast in boxing where we can quantify things like hand speed/foot speed

Eno Sarris: Definitely thought about this in the Canelo / Triple G fight. Triple G had less behind his hits and a punch angle close to zero, Canelo was more upwards and forceful.

ATCQ: Is the best way to get into scouting via networking – talking to college coaches or players or whoever to try and climb the ladder to talk to real scouts?

Eno Sarris: These days, one of the best ways is to write.

Marcus Banks: And RIP Jake LaMotta the Bronx bull the raging bull

Jake Lamb of God: The White Sox are completely out of contention, but have you noticed Moncada’s more aggressive approach? His BB/K ratio is down, but he is pounding the ball… Any thoughts? Blip on the radar?

Eno Sarris: He doesn’t have a great contact rate. Sometimes those players are best suited to swing hard and early and stay out of the bad counts.

bhgill41: You think Darvish is better than Hill?

Eno Sarris: You might use some deep splits to decide — like who’s the umpire or the like — because Hill is so hot and cold that it’s hard to really know his true talent at any one time.

El Tim: Regarding the juiced ball explanation for the home run surge, is the idea that batters are hitting for higher exit velocities or are velocities staying the same but the balls are flying further?

Eno Sarris: Both.

Eli: My favorite question from Pitch Talks SF was the guy asking Yeshayah if the front office knew the Giants would be crappy

Eno Sarris: It’s nice to talk to those guys and get access but it’s also hard to expect them to really get into anything up there. Funny question tho.

Jake Lamb of God: Tim Anderson (who was bottom of the WAR barrel earlier this year) has worked himself back too replacement level… The discipline numbers are still atrocious, but any hope his athleticism can support a 2-3 win player?

Eno Sarris: I could see him being a d-first league-average player that has one or two  seasons above that line.

Sonny: Let’s say MLB takes a look at the ball quietly in the offseason and says ‘yeah let’s move production back to the old facility’ and assuming that accounts for 60% of HR spike what the heck do teams do?

Eno Sarris: No idea. I’m not sure they’ve *really* adjusted to the current reality, other than to devalue the one-dimensional power hitter on the open market, and that’s been happening for a while. I guess they just keep doing what they’re doing because it should theoretically affect everyone the same.

ATCQ: Eno, I’m at a crossroads in my life where I need to choose one of several appealing-seeming career/life paths, with many myriad factors, externalities and considerations weighing on my choice.  Instead of actually starting down any of these available paths, I’m spending my whole life on Youtube, Netflix, and Fangraphs baseball chats.  Please advise.

Eno Sarris: Yo I have lived this. Decisions suck. Find a way to live each life without deciding fully, if you can.

Tim Lincecum: Do you know where I am?
(http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/21/where-have-you-gone-tim-lincecum…)

Eno Sarris: I do have an idea actually.

Da Bum: With Arrietas resurgence then injury his FA value is in flummox, any potential playoff pitcher with more on the line this October?

Eno Sarris: Tanaka comes to mind, but not sure if more.

Kris: Drive to Athens for Creature Comforts if in Atlanta

klof: Smoked doppelbock with meaty food > smoked doppelbock solo

tommy lasagna, sr.: is it normal to want to light your garage on fire and let all the accumulated crap in boxes just burn to the ground?

Eno Sarris: are you moving soon?

Post Malone: If computers can drive buses they can surely lude

professor ross eforp: Can we stop this thing where a person makes their name that of a player and asks a question about the player?

not a chat bot: baseball sandwiches? pickle beer! children reggae Oakland

Eno Sarris:

Eno Sarris: Maybe we could automate this

Eno Sarris: MAYBE THIS IS AUTOMATED

YKnotDisco?!: “Lets Make Raisel Iglesias a SP, again” Is he only an improved CH away, ala Severino? Or, are we talking about two completely different levels of arm talent?

Eno Sarris: I think it’s a health/stamina issue with him. Always lost a ton of velo by the fifth.

Dave: Regarding Travis’s piece today, why does it seem like every “How to improve the wild card” take boils down to “How do we make upsets as difficult as humanly possible”? I realize you guys are stat-heads, but is the idea of an underdog winning really that unpalatable?

Eno Sarris: It’s an interesting question. If we wanted the best team to win every year, we should probably just award the World Series to the team with the most wins or the most baseruns or something. I’m coming around on the one-game playoff. One thing… it just seems so SHORT for the second wild card. I’d almost rather give that team and their fans another day or two as a reward for being pretty good. I’d prefer that over a week of spring training at least.

klof: C-Mart @ Reds today?

Eno Sarris: yes.

Inquiring Mind: So, if you’re the Dodgers, how do you handle the season-closing series in Colorado? Do they owe it to Milwaukee to put out the A team if the wild card is still up for grabs? Do they fight for home field advantage or save their starters from Coors?

Eno Sarris: Number one is nobody get hurt.

Erik: Of the young A’s who is most likely to be a useful fantasy asset going forward? Chapman, Pinder or Olson?

Eno Sarris: Chapman I think. Plus D gives huge floor.

Dood: holy crap I’m actually able to make part of an eno chat live!  that’s ludeicrious

Eno Sarris: I’m nearly an hour behind…

sufjan stevens: is Lucas Giolito good?

Eno Sarris: Not this good, IMO. Velo down, rise back up a bit, but I have a feeling people will be able to square that fastball up given a few chances at it.

Derek in Little Rock: Should the Red Sox hire JD Martinez to work out with Xander Bogaerts this offseason?  Bogaerts ran .200 ISOs in the high minors as a teenager, but has obviously traded contact for power in the majors.  He needs more loft in his swing but that’s easier said than done.  He’s taken a step back this year so what do you see for him in 2018?

Eno Sarris: I asked Xander about he ground balls and he said, as long as this is working, this is what I’ll do. Unclear if this year will be enough for him to consider change, though.

Shawn: If you get a beer with Samardzija, who pays?

Eno Sarris: From experience with others, I know how it goes. I pretend my pants are so tight it’s really hard to get my wallet out and by the time I get it out, the player is at the register flirting and paying.

Shawn: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, but with Eno as Guy Fieri going to Bars, Breweries, and Brew Pubs. Signature Hair: Check!

Eno Sarris: I mean, I’m down.

Pat: Eno, could you give me some advice? I recently started writing for a blog and felt pretty good about it. I wrote about how Ryan Goins was a well below replacement player using a bunch of stats to back it up. There’s over 200 comments on it and literally everybody is saying it’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever read, citing things like he has a lot of rbi and is a good defender, even though the stats I listed literally say he’s not. After reading all of that, I don’t ever want to write again because it appears people aren’t even going to care what I write and ignore the stats so it seems pointless. Has this ever happened to you? What do you do?

Eno Sarris: Dude. You got 200 comments. That’s huge. Keep it up. You probably got a few people to pay attention.

YKnotDisco?!: Where is this de-juiced ball leaderboard at?

Eno Sarris: Bug Andrew Perpetua.

Ryan: Matt Olsen has visible changed his stance and I don’t think is getting enough credit for his success. He has a high EV and is top 10 in Brls/PA. Do you see him as maybe the Justin Smoak or Justin Bour of 2018 or maybe better than those 2?

Eno Sarris: Stance is up, ev is up, more pull, looks good. I do think he has big holes and will be more of a .250 type big slugger though.

Eno’s Bud: Seeing as how the Yankees could realistically knock out any of the top 3 AL teams by record, it would be really disappointing to see them get knocked out in that looming one game playoff right? Feel like this is a thought that doesn’t get enough attention…

Eno Sarris: Every setup has flaws.

Russell: If I ever run into you I can only hope that you’re wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses while you big time me on my autograph request.

Eno Sarris: I don’t own a leather jacket and I ALWAYS lose my sunglasses.

YKnotDisco?!: LoCain CF for Giants in 2018?

Eno Sarris: Giants v Mets in a bidding war.

Da Bum: Maekakis is God. You can’t trade God. Maybe, and I mean maybe, you trade him for Trout.

Eno Sarris: Well he’s Greek so he’s a god among gods.

23coconuts: Ender Inciarte is the #1 NL outfielder in that new Statcast stat Outs above Average.

Eno Sarris: He’s good out there! The Braves have never valued D as much as others, I feel.

YKnotDisco?!: Is it “have a catch” or “play catch”? Which phrase do you use/prefer?

Eno Sarris: Have… a… catch?

James: How do you find things to write about? I’m in a writer block and don’t know how to get through

Eno Sarris: Watch a game, wait for them to say something silly. Listen to talk radio, do the same. Read something someone else wrote and think critically. Sort a leaderboard for the last 30 days and wonder why THAT DUDE is number one.

TheDuck: Why is no one talking about Austin Hays?  Steamrolled through A+ and AA this year to the tune of a .330 with 32 HR and currently holding his own in MLB as a 21 year old

Eno Sarris: Top 80 in midseason KATOH, found some power this year, team could use him, no patience but hopefully will make more contact going forward, Fringe Fiver with no pedigree… we should be talking about him.

Dunt: I know Giolito’s spin rate was questioned coming into this season, but it looks like his FB is league average this season, while his CU is markedly above league average, and his CH has been slightly below league average. Can we put that narrative to bed?

Eno Sarris: League average spin is the worst spin. You want high or low.

Oyster Burns: Do you think there’s upside to severinos change? I thought I remembered it being his best pitch in the minors, then it disappeared last year. Certainly been good last year, but I think it’s graded out as his third pitch by quite a bit

Eno Sarris: I somehow missed that it now has 10 mph gap, Jeff found that, and that’s HUGE.

Mac: Given that he’s only lost about 1.5mph from his peak velocity, is Homer Bailey really broken?

Eno Sarris: Cobb didn’t get his splitter back since surgery, that could be the problem there too.

Blame: Next Bellinger is Kyle Tucker with the batted ball changes.

Eno Sarris: Not bad. 1.3 gb/fb before, .8 since.

Pine Needles: Joe Mauer’s xStats are elite: .389 xOBA this year and .381 last year. Is there a good explanation why he under-performs that so much (and to a lesser extent, a guy like Mitch Moreland)?

Eno Sarris: I *think* Andrew has horizontal angle in there, but pull > push.

Eno Sarris:

Ranger Dan: Does Willie Calhoun turn your crank? Strange body but seems like a decent hitter. Do you think he can be the Ranger DH as early as next year?

Eno Sarris: I wonder if another team would take Odor. Below replacement with 30 homers…

Eno Sarris: I do think a strong spring could get Calhoun on a roster to start the year.

Zonk: What do you do this offseason if you are the Giants?  A teardown doesn’t seem to be in the cards, just sign a few guys and pray?  I just don’t see how they get good….

Eno Sarris: Got a piece about this coming Friday on The Athletic, on how bad they actually are. There are some indications they aren’t as bad as we think. Add some offense, Cueto returns to some form and gives them a real number two… 85 win team? Not impossible.

Ranger Dan: Another Ranger question. With what Claudio has shown over the last several weeks do you think he has a chance to enter next season as the closer? Or do you think Kela or Bush takes a run at the job?

Eno Sarris: I can’t imagine that a guy that throws at Claudio’s velocity will remain a closer for long. He also has an arm slot that should lead to big platoon splits.

Moltar: Saw this dude open for Mike Eagle in Brooklyn a few years back

Halo me: Never would have thought that Parker would come out of nowhere to be the Angels closer. Do you think he keeps the job next year or does crazy Scioscia go back to Bedrosian?

Eno Sarris: he told me he’s throwing Tyler Clippard’s change! I think he has a chance to stick.

Russell: Clayton Richard pitches vs COL today, not Garret Richards.

Eno Sarris: that’s less exciting.

Derek in Little Rock: How did you score Alvarez vs. Golovkin?

Eno Sarris: Triple G by decision.

Anthony: Why did Odorizzi get terrible?

Eno Sarris: Never found a breaking ball that’s good.

Anthony: I don’t know if you saw Derrick Goold’s post on cutters, but he opines that it’s a high – risk, high – reward pitch. Should the league as a whole increase, decrease or stay the same with regards to cutter usage?

Eno Sarris: I’ve written extensively on this, and it’s hard to sum up except to say: there are at least three types of cutter. One, the cut fastball where you just change the seams a bit, I don’t think it’s very risky. The other two are risky for velocity because you start to get around the ball and lose some velo because you’re not behind the ball the same way.

Jeff in Allston: Going to Burlington, VT this weekend. What’s my beer strategy? any breweries to see besides Magic Hat?

Eno Sarris: I wouldn’t go there. Go to these place: https://oct.co/travel/drinking-green-burlington-vermont

tommy lasagna, sr.: moved three months ago.  the garage is my achilles.

Eno Sarris: oh yeah ours still sucks too.

Sonny:

Sonny: that spooky youtube clip is the artist Will Schaff who does Okkervil’s album art explaining he isn’t Will Shaff

Hey man: Regarding the one game playoff: How is this worse than the old days of winning 100 games, but losing the division by one game and not making the playoffs at all? Or a 100 win division winner losing to an 90 game division winner?

Eno Sarris: It’s not! But we can always get better.

res: Pat’s article: https://jaysjournal.com/2017/09/20/blue-jays-ryan-goins-should-not-be-…

Fieri: Here’s an idea to fight writer’s block: Get an interview with Tim Lincecum

Gary: Duchess de Borgogne a great sour? Trying to expand from lambics.

Eno Sarris: Very good opening salvo.

LetsWin2: Do you think roster expansion should take place in April iso Sept? (thinking about pennant races vs AAA talent and extended bullpens)

Eno Sarris: one reason it happens late is that the minor league season is over!

Kirk: Do you still believe Cody Reed and Amir Garrett can make it as starters or are they both relievers?

Eno Sarris: I’m out, mostly.

Eno Sarris: Man I got people messaging me and knocking on the door I’m sorry gotta go!!!

Eno Sarris: thanks for hanging out!