Eno Sarris Baseball Chat — 9/29/16

Eno Sarris: happy birthday dad! (I was actually at this show)

Seabass: Resign Ramos in a dynasty at $6? ($220 budget)

Eno Sarris: I dunno. Catchers kinda suck year to year. I kinda just look for whomever is healthy and having a good year. It was a good year but he’s turning thirty, has a torn ACL and maybe meniscus, and probably should be valued as a .270/18 HR guy going forward.

Eno Sarris: And can you value him for the whole year?

Toki: What is going on with Renfroe? Is he for real or is this a mirage and once pitching adjusts good times are over?

Eno Sarris: I like that he’s not missing more than the power, which is not real useful in small samples. Maybe he won’t strike out 25+% of the time, which means maybe he can hit .250+ with good power. It’s also more likely he starts with the team next year, which is important.

Ceej: What do you think happens with Moncada during the offseason to help him progress?

Eno Sarris: Emphasis on contact? If he’s going to hit grounders like that, it’s either that or lift the ball more.

Philosoraptor: I find the theory that some small change in the composition of the ball is causing the HR spike to be the most compelling. As an idiot, I would also expect some meaningful increase in BABIP is the ball is jumping off the bat, but that does not appear to be the case (last three years are .299, .299, .300). What’s a good explanation for this?

Eno Sarris: Homers are not counted in BABIP, so if you looked at BACON, I bet you’d see an increase. Also, increased shifting could be a dampening force even on BABIP.

Zonk: Khris Davis has quietly hit 40 home runs. Did you foresee such sluggery?

Eno Sarris: I thought he would hit 35 at least. It’s like when Upton went to San Diego: the homers that he hits are no-doubters. The real effect might be on BABIP and batting average.

Rick: Eno, I’d like to get your thoughts on Gsellman. Potential #3 SP or more back end?

Eno Sarris: Bit of a kitchen sink guy. I think the Ks will dampen and he’ll be more back end.

Bork: Hello, friend!

Eno Sarris: Hello!

Zonk: Local Chicago writers seem to think the White Sox are going to rebuild. If they put Sale on the market, my gut tells me the Red Sox are a great trade match on many levels. Is my gut right?

Eno Sarris: I think there’s one last ride in this front office before they all lose their jobs, I doubt they keep them through a rebuild with that owner.

Q-Ball: I know Cespedes says he wants to stay in NY, and I’m sure that’s his preference. But there’s no way he’s not opting out, is there? If I was his agent, I would tell him he could probably stay in NY and just get more cash for it….

Eno Sarris: A re-negotiate seems to be the likely situation here, huh? Maybe some clarity on the David Wright situation will help them figure out the salary end.

Bork: What’s wrong with Roberto Osuna? Just fatigue from the long season?

Eno Sarris: I don’t see a problem with the velocity, but he has used the change less and become more fastball/slider late this year. Maybe he’s just more predictable.

Whats that Odor: Who would win a baseball themed “pun off” between all the Fangraph writers?

Eno Sarris: Jeff. Maybe Carson, but probably Jeff.

Q-Ball: If the D-Backs bring in a new GM, what should they do? Re-tool to build a contender around their core, or blow it up? If they try to contend, where are the going to get pitching from?

Eno Sarris: Paul Goldschmidt’s contract alone keeps the window open. This front office might have another year left, in which case, they’ll do something silly like pay Jaime Garcia, thought Garcia probably made himself cheaper. Otherwise they could throw quantity at a better young starter on another team, but that might cost them Ray. A healthy year from Pollock and any step forward from Ray, Shipley, Rubby, Bradley, a Greinke return to form… it’s not impossible this team is better next year.

Dan: Any realistic chance of a Kershaw Cy young?

Eno Sarris: Yes. Almost 150 innings of reliever-like genius gets you in the conversation, especially when Thor only has 180+ and Scherzer had the homeritis. I think he ends up short, but he’ll get a ton of votes.

John C.: Eno, already thinking about 2017 keepers. 14 team league, keep 4. Miggy, Marte and Stanton feel like locks in rounds 1-3 but my fourth keeper will probably change 100 times this winter. I feel like my best options are C. Davis (4th), Danny Salazar (4th), J. Upton (4th), Rendon (5th), Grandal (10th), Nola (14th) or L. Martin (19th). What’s your hot take?

Eno Sarris: That’s tough! Rendon turned in a quietly good season and has some positional value, which you don’t really have in that top three. I might take him.

Here Come the Warm Jets: Eno! Your help would be greatly appreciated; the answer to this question eludes me: If two division winners have identical records and tied their season series with each other, which one is the higher seed (and therefore potentially gets to play the Wild Card winner)?

Eno Sarris: I think it’s their in-season divisional record, not just matchup, or maybe that’s the next tiebreaker.

Kvn: I need more Korean broadcast HR calls in my life http://m.mlb.com/video/v1194567483/baltor-korean-broadcast-calls-kims-clutch-home-run.

Seabass: LUDUDA TIME

Seabass: Let’s grab a beer sandwich on the house.

Eno Sarris: slowly getting going

Modest Fagersbomb: It’s illogical that left-handedness is a prized attribute of pitching prospects, yeah? Because of the platoon advantage, isn’t it always better for a starting pitcher to be a righty?

Eno Sarris: There are fewer lefties, so getting a good one is still a prize.

Roadhog: Is it okay to get a little excited at a rotation of Gray/Manaea/Graveman/Cotton/Bassitt (Mengden, Alcantara, Triggs, etc) next season?

Eno Sarris: Yes. Cotton gets me tingly, and if Manaea figures out that breaking ball, he could be really good too.

Andrew: Seeing anything different from Jay Bruce that would explain his (mini) surge?

Eno Sarris: He finally calmed down the O-swing and swing% which were crazy out of whack when he got to the mets. He was pressing and then he found himself.

Eno Sarris: http://www.fangraphs.com/graphs.aspx?playerid=9892&legend=1,2,3&statArr=35,102,104&split=base&time=game&ymin=&ymax=&start=2014&end=2016&rtype=mult&gt1=15

Rick: Next year I want to go all in a play NFBC. For the last 10 years I’ve only played Yahoo Leagues. What advise can you give me? How different is using their site compared to yahoo? Not worried if I lose some $$ in the process. I’ll just reduce my beer purchases if I have to. Thanks for all your chats this year. Deadhead Rick 🙂

Eno Sarris: No trading, so make sure you build a balanced squad. Pitching gets tight, so most of your bench should be starters. It’s been a while since I played so I don’t know about the actual user interface.

botchatheny : while moss did carry the team for a month, mozeliak shouldn’t give him a QO, right?

Eno Sarris: No, I think he’d take it, and if they want to improve the defense, he might represent an opportunity to do so.

Billy: Hey Eno! I have 10 innings left and I need K’s badly. Do I roll out Reyes or Gray tonight?

Eno Sarris: Reds K more.

Paul: Had a Kern River Just Outstanding IPA yesterday. First Kern River offering and I loved it. I am missing well made old fashioned west coast IPAs lately. I am getting sick of poorly made NE styles.

Eno Sarris: Everything Kern does is great.

pop tart: Dave wrote about the idea of bullpening yesterday. What exactly would something like that look like in practice for a team such as Boston that doesn’t have a set 4th starter?

Eno Sarris: I think you cover your ass by starting with a regular starter, but having a real quick hook.

The Lure of the Animal: Is Cole Hamels even a legitimate #2 at this point? He has the same fWAR as Eickhoff over the past calendar year.

Eno Sarris: guy has a career 77% strand rate, and fWAR/FIP is dinging him for having a 79% one right now. Otherwise nothing looks like it needs regression, he looks like he owns that 3.32 ERA. He’s an ace in my book. Maybe back end, but an ace.

Guest: Hypothetical: Gray for McCutchen, who says no?

Eno Sarris: Rox will never give up a pitcher that has shown success and is under control.

Robert: What are your thoughts about Altuve’s complete lack of running the past 300 PA?

Eno Sarris: Probably an unreported injury/thing he’s dealing with.

Dusty: Can we count on Daniel Murphy in the NLDS? He should be back to normal by the NLCS right?

Eno Sarris: I bet he’ll be fine. A team in their position can drag out a return like this.

blurp: Shawn Kelley is running out that 36% K rate with a 92mph fastball. His slider is great but it’s not “that” great. His pitching motion reminds me a lot of Yusmeiro Petit. I think maybe he has that “invisiball” thing going on.

Eno Sarris: Interesting! I’ll try to find some video from behind the plate. I wish I had that for every pitcher.

Nelson: Are there any really old articles you have in your files you’ve started writing and intend to finish one day?

Eno Sarris: I’ve been working on expected swinging strike rate for about three years now.

Paul: A Renfroe, Margot, Jankowski outfield defense seems kind of nice, right? Dickerson/Jankowski platoon also seems kinda nice. Hope? Wait…this is my Padres. I will see myself out.

Eno Sarris: You have an outfield. Now, about that infield.

Nelson: Is it reasonable to project all these 20+HR middle infielders falling back to career norms next year, or is this the new status quo for most of them.

Eno Sarris: This has been going on since late 2015. It’s the new reality, unless the ball changes again, which is super frustrating.

Willie Wilson: Raul Mondesi has been pretty bad with the stick this season. What kind of a player can he be, he’s still so young. What are the odds he becomes an above-average bat?

Eno Sarris: That swinging strike rate won’t work unless he actually hits for power. Something has to give. Right now I’d give him a 10-20% chance.

Q-Ball: On the Home Run surge, isn’t the most plausible explanation not the ball, but simply more players taking advantage of new statcast data, and altering their swing? Nobody was talking about swing plane 3 years ago, but several players anecdotally have re-tooled the swing to get more loft. What do you think?

Eno Sarris: There’s some evidence that batters are hitting in the ideal launch angle more. But it’s a small effect. If it’s not the ball, it’s adding that effect to a small temperature effect and a tiny velocity effect, but I still don’t see it adding up to the second-biggest home run year on record.

Dock Ellis: Are you a Sigur Ros fan by any chance? Saw them on Tuesday and it was like seeing Kershaw facing Trout in game 7 of the World Series and simultaneously Kershaw strikes out Trout and Trout hits a walk off HR. Just everyone wins.

Hunter Renfroe: You suck, Gary Sanchez!

Boy Jorge: Tell me I’m pretty

Eno Sarris: can’t have people yelling at each other in ludes. gotta calm it down. here’s some beautiful music

Eno Sarris: By the way, that song basically is the line. Any mellower and I skip forward.

Fred Sanford: Cody Reed, Jake Thompson, Mike Clevinger and Braden Shipley all got hit pretty hard this season. How does that change your outlook on them and can you give your opinion on their futures?

Eno Sarris: I’m totally out on Jake Thompson, doubtful on Shipley, meh on Clevinger, but Cody Reed has something for me. Actually threw three pitches with good movement and whiffs, just needs to figure out something with command or sequencing.

Vanimal: Are the Twins going to regret trading away Alex Meyer?

Eno Sarris: They should not have traded away a lotto ticket — even one with a lower hit rate like Meyer — to get from Nolasco to Santiago, no.

Choo Choo: I snagged Bruce off the wire in my dynasty league. Can I at least expect a good 1st half next year?

Eno Sarris: He’s still useful in most leagues, just sorta a tick above replacement. Especially with HR increase.

Tommy Lasagna: Andrew Toles looks like a very good player. Can he keep hitting .300+ and has he worked his way into ABs v Rs next season for LA?

Eno Sarris: The question is what his true talent power is. If it’s a .124 ISO as projections have it, eh. But he’s hit for more power with the Dodgers in his comeback, and if he can hit for league average power, he’ll be useful and a regular.

jayster7: Osuna blew a save a few weeks ago where he threw two straight change-ups to the same hitter, the 2nd of which was hit out of the park (and this was on a night he was blowing his fastball by guys). Maybe that experience has led Martin/Osuna to think it’s better to get beat with your good stuff.

Eno Sarris: Very interesting!

Eno Sarris: Martin is an intriguing game caller. When I looked into the ten straight breaking balls Texas threw Brett Lawrie, he said Martin had done that to him before.

Erik: The only thing Bryce Harper was truly elite at this year was his walk rate, which leads all qualified batters. Will that fall off hard next year, when pitchers stop pitching him like an MVP? Or does that respect linger for more than a season? If the walk rate collapses and all else stays equal, we could be looking at a 2-2.5 WAR Bryce Harper.

Eno Sarris: He’s been hurt all year, I’m convinced by the underlying numbers. I think he’ll be good next year, star-level. And a fantasy value.

natsfan: We are well into Oktoberfest. Almost at the end actually. What are your favorites?

Eno Sarris: Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest and Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest.

Erik: Which is more common: teams thinking they can compete before their window is actually open, or teams thinking they can compete after their window has closed? Which is more damaging?

Eno Sarris: Definitely the second happens more often because the front office is trying to keep their job. I don’t actually think the first is too damaging, because what does it mean? You went and bought a free agent too soon? He’ll be around when you’re good again.

2-D: Are there fads with pitches? Seems like sinkers were all the rage awhile back and now the cutter came along to counter the sinker. Watching lefties swing over the top of inside cutters who were probably anticipating sinker made me think of this.

Eno Sarris: For sure. Splitters were the rage at one point. Heck, if you go all the way back, the slider was a revelation.

Rusty: Who are 3 guys you figured would take a step forward this year, but have disappointed? 3 surprises you believe can now hold their gains?

Eno Sarris: That’s a bit much for a chat. I thought Marcell Ozuna’s breakout would look better than this. I do think Jake Lamb can hold this level.

The Cincinnati Kid: Do you trust Stroman today?

The Cincinnati Kid: Do you trust Quintana today?

Eno Sarris: yes yes

The Decedent Moose: Please expound upon your spin rate/deception theory. You said it’s about pitch sequence? Or dependent/effective on the pitch before and after? I’m confused and you have a platform with more than 140 characters.

Eno Sarris: We say that spin rate is a thing that we must report breathlessly, but spin plus arm slot plus velocity equals movement, and we always had movement and velocity numbers. So I think spin is actually an interactive stat. Throw a high spin curveball and then a high spin fourseamer, and the batter can’t tell the difference and is more likely to do something — swing, not swing, whiff. So high spin changeups are supposed to be bad, but Tyler Clippard and Marco Estrada throw high spin changeups (with high spin fastballs) and are really good. And I bet there are guys that throw almost everything low spin and are hard to pick up. Andrew Heaney? Without checking.

The Cincinnati Kid: Jake Lamb and/or Ryon Healy in 10-team Keeper League? (Both can be kept in Rd 10.) Would you keep both, either, or neither?

Eno Sarris: Damn ten teamers are so tough. I love both of them. I think Healy can hit .280 with 20+ next year, and Lamb can hit .250+ with 25-30 home runs next year. Are either of those top ten numbers at third?? More likely Lamb is.

Toki: If Lester throws a complete game shutout with 10k’s to get his 20th win for his finale start of the year does that give him the Cy Young?

Eno Sarris: Maybe but I love love what Scherzer did this year.

Robert the Bruce: True or false: the playoffs determine the best team in baseball. True or false: There is a better option that the current playoff structure

Eno Sarris: False, that’s the regular season. True: the wild card probably shouldn’t be one game.

Eno Sarris: Let’s pick it up a bit. Kid’s home sick so you never know when I’ll have to run.

Benbadatroto: Eno, is there any chance of an Otani posting this year? Like even a 5% chance?

Eno Sarris: If by this year, you mean after this season, then maybe a bit higher actually. He almost came to America before he signed with the NPB, he wasn’t even talking to a Japanese team before the draft at one point. 30-40% after the 2017 season I’d say.

2-D: Someone brought up finger length for pitchers here last week, but what about flexibility? Is there any emphasis on that and are guys still sleeping with racquetballs in their fingers to help the splitter?

Eno Sarris: For splitters in particular, flexibility is the bar you have to cross to throw the pitch at all. Lance McCullers had a softball he was going to use to stretch out his fingers, so yeah, people still doing that sort of thing.

Robert the Bruce: In general, would you rather have prospects #s 1-3 on your teams, or #s 4-10?

Eno Sarris: 1-3. At the top, quality. At the bottom, quantity.

Robbie: I didn’t think advanced stats had gone too far until you used BACON and meant it….

Eno Sarris: batting average on contact tastes so yummy

Joe, Esq.: Am I the only one who wants this doomsday 5 way tie for the AL WC to happen? I want to watch the world burn.

Eno Sarris: It’s called #TeamEntropy and you’re on it.

Brett Lawrie’s Empty Redbull Can: Hey Eno. Frank Liriano’s been excellent since his trade to the Blue Jays. Think theres a chance he makes their playoff rotation (if the make it to the DS)?

Eno Sarris: He’s the high volatility pitcher that a contending team needs/wants. Better than throwing to a 4.5 ERA every day.

RABBINICAL COLLEGE GUY: Do you think the Braves second half offensive success carries into the beginning of 2017? Why or why not?

Eno Sarris: Yes: Inciarte’s return was big, Kemp is a good bat at least, Freeman’s a true number three, Swanson should be league average at least.
No: The rest of the lineup.

forever it: Given the volatility of pitchers, in a dynasty league do you lean toward holding onto low-minor high-upside guys or guys closer to the majors but more limited upside? Have to drop a few pitchers in an 18-team keep-forever league and deciding between guys like Oscar De La Cruz and Szapucki vs. ones like Ben Lively. Also have Joe Jimenez in the hopes he’s an impact reliever next year.

Eno Sarris: In those situations in particular, the high upside guys. You’ll find the ‘finds’ every year on the major league wire, nobody needs to keep Lively until he shows he can do it in the majors.

Art Vandelay: Twist: Guest was actually talking about Sonny Gray

Eno Sarris: Oh… huh. I think the Pirates say no there.

Bobby: Who are your picks for the 2 NL wild card spots? Who comes out on top?

Eno Sarris: Mets Giants, and then Thor vs Bumgarner and that will be epic.

Blake: Can keep one, both $6 next season: Urias or Moncada??

Eno Sarris: If they are going to get more expensive, and you’re a contender, Urias. I have a feeling it’s 2018 before we see Moncada playing every day.

Sirras: Lucas Duda is back – do we get more Lududas now?

Sirras: Lude-a for Duda!

Eno Sarris: WHER IS MAXAMUZ

Runs Allowed Dickey: Is that really where babies come from?

Eno Sarris: Duda makes them all.

Eno Sarris: That’s why he’s so quiet.

Sort: Whats up with Alex Reyes’ changeup? I thought he was supposed to be power fastball/curve with a poor changeup

Eno Sarris: The change is good but NOBODY is swinging at the curve. 12%. They must be able to spot it coming, and maybe he can’t command it for called strikes. So he’s working with what he’s got.

Q-Ball: Wait, Ryan Schimpf has 19 dingers?

Eno Sarris: And like the highest fly ball percentage of the last ten years.

Eno Sarris: (These things are related, and also really hard to bet on continuing.)

jayster7: Margot vs Renfroe. If the Padres decide to only keep one of the kids on the opening day roster, which one of the two is more likely in your opinion to be the all-year guy?

Eno Sarris: I thought it was going to be Margot. I might be wrong.

Another Green World: Your choice for #4 Dodger starter for playoffs? I’m leaning toward McCarthy/Urias two-headed monster.

Eno Sarris: Heck yeah. That’s pretty tasty.

Sonny: If you’re the Reds and Iglesias is arguable your best (only good?) SP but he can only throw 100-120 IP a season do you go 6 man rotation, Japan-style 1x week, fireman/collegiate + Arm bullpen role? And does any of it matter if you don’t think you can win 80 games anyway?

Eno Sarris: Maybe but then you look real bad when it doesn’t work out and all your pitchers are grumbling to the press. What’s actually going to happen is that they try to throw him 5 innings a start and see how long he can take it.

Bart: Pick 2 “franchise” players for 2017 from the following: Hosmer, Cano, Lindor, Cargo, Arrieta, Greinke, Domingo Santana, Castellanos. Thanks.

Eno Sarris: Cano Lindor and boom you have a hell of a middle infield.

Lord above: joke: what’s the worst part about hitting a home run of jered weaver

Lord above: Nobody cares because you’re already up by ten!

Eno Sarris: oh boy

Watty: Useless Stat Dept. Update: Curtis Granderson no longer on pace to break all-time “record” for lowest RBI/HR ratio (min 20 HR). He’s currently at 1.96 (59/30) compared with 1.88 for 2011 Barry Bonds (137/73). It should be an exciting final 3 games to see if Curtis can break this “record”. Baseball fans everywhere are waiting with baited breath.

tommylasagna: at what point does an aging catcher start looking like tom berenger?

Kristen: Can you explain Martin Perez’s singular inability to K guys despite being able to bring it at 96-97?

Eno Sarris: good change, no breaker.

Ronnie: What happens if BAL, DET, SEA, HOU & NYY all finish the year with 86 wins in a 5ive way tie fore 2econd Wild Card?

Eno Sarris: Play in games, and entropy.

Nick: Is this season the real d’Arnaud or is this year an outlier? Personally I think he’s playing through an injury

Eno Sarris: Definitely injured, probably the shoulder. Changed his swing to deal with it and play, but could be better next year.

Jo-Jo Reyes: Think we’ll ever see a new pitch?

Eno Sarris: Tried to invent one earlier this year and it was tough and it was really bad for your shoulder unless you were extremely over the top. But we could see more forkleballs, maybe — forkballs shoved so deep that they come out erratically.

Compton: If the only two criteria for measuring a pitcher were 1) How old-timey his delivery was and 2) Dapperness of his mustache, would Daniel Mengden be the greatest pitcher of the last 30 years?

Eno Sarris: It’s like Juan Marichal plus Rollie Fingers or something. It’s marvelous.

v2micca: I know that the 2016 Braves generally haven’t been interesting enough to generate many articles. But, Freddie Freeman is in the middle of a 30 game hitting streak during which he is posting a wRC+ of 215. Surely that has to be interesting enough for someone to want to take a closer look?

Eno Sarris: For sure. Totally changed his launch angle and started pushing the ball to beat the shift some too. I think there’s a piece coming.

tommylasagna, sr.: try on shorts before buying, or just go for it and let the chips fall?

Eno Sarris: Try em on man. You’ve got enough crappy clothes hanging out in the back of the drawers you never wear.

Kristen: Has any team given away as much prospect talent in trades over the last few years as TEX? Roark, Hendricks, C. J. Edwards, Eickhoff, Brinson, Nick Williams, Luis Ortiz, Dillon Tate, Justin Grimm, Alfaro, Pedro Strop, Cordell, etc.

Eno Sarris: And yet they still have some really good young players in Texas!

RIP Jose: How close are the Phillies to competing again? Looks like there’s a steadily improving young core being built, Rupp, Joseph, Herrera, Franco, Nola, Galvis.

Eno Sarris: Crawford coming soon, maybe Quinn can help in the OF, and they can spend some money on a starter at some point. Maybe 2018?

Paulie Walnuts: Do you think Andrew Triggs is part of Oakland’s opening day rotation next year? Do you think he should be?

Eno Sarris: Maybe he’s the five until Bassit comes back, which gives him a chance to prove the change can work.

tommylasagna, sr.: i give up on fortune cookies

Eno Sarris: There will be fewer bland stale tasting cracker cookies in your future.

The Decedent Moose: So your theory is more about consistent spin rates across similar pitches? Now we’re talking useful information. Is this an article for you in the future?

Eno Sarris: Yeah I’ve been poking around and I need help.

Raindog: I’m pretty sure the only people to ever lead MLB in wOBA in their final season are David Ortiz and Ted Williams (and Williams didn’t qualify for the batting title). I just wanted to pass on this ridiculous stat.

Sandwiches: Spicy coppa or soppresetta? Pickles or peppers?

Eno Sarris: Coppa. Peppers.

RealGm: Honestly re Otani posting from what I’ve read hand shake deal when signed for pennant which happened yesterday. So I’d say 99% he posts

ShakeYourTushieHasegawa: What’s the difference between a forkball and a splitter?

Eno Sarris: Splitter more in the fingers, forkball more in the hand. Splitter harder, less movement.

Q-Ball: Keith Law admits he was wrong about Kyle Hendricks. Were you?

Eno Sarris: I’ve always liked him, but more as a three, so I guess I was wrong. One caveat is that a three can have a one season, so we’ll have to see if he can have this plus-plus elite-level command on the glove side next year again. It’s rare for a righty to have great command to the glove side, and that can really neutralize a lefty.

JKD: As hobbled as Harper has been, he still has 49 XBH and a .200 ISO. He’s missed a lot more (20% soft contact rate, up from 15% career), but even on that has just been unlucky – .261 BABIP (.317 career). And his hard-hit rate is basically right at his career average. Even this Harper has punished and is capable of punishing a lot of balls out over the plate.

Eno Sarris: It’s like Correa. Correa’s had two big injuries that killed momentum during his best stretches. But he’s so good he’s still been 25% better than the league average. Harper, in a healthy season, will Trout.

CamdenWarehouse: Frank Liriano? Is this actually a thing? I thought the days of giving Hispanic players anglo nick names was over.

Eno Sarris: Oh is it offensive or old-school? I always liked calling Eduardo Rodriguez “Ed.” No idea that was a thing once.

Socrates: Eno, first of all thank you so much for your writing. As an A’s fan it is an absolute blessing that we have you since the rest of the sports world ignores us. Do you see Oakland getting better next year with it’s youth movement underway?

Eno Sarris: yes. Rotation has some really nice pieces that are ready to go, and the infield is looking nice. Just need to find a couple outfielders.

tommylasagna, sr.: my wife’s in st. louis visiting her ex, what beer should she try?

Eno Sarris: Urban Chestnut Shnicklefritz or anything from 4Hands and the real question is what are YOU drinking.

The Mitt: Best pitcher on the planet pitches 75% of a season, serious Cy candidate. Best player on the planet on a bad team will probably lose MVP (again) to a lesser performer on a contender. Thanks a lot, the word “valuable.”

The Oriole Bird: Hey Eno, remember when I told you Adam Jones was a really interesting dude, and probably much smarter than people realize? I said, hey why don’t you interview him? Maybe you should heed my advice more often, dontchathink?

Eno Sarris: Oh it’s not a question of want. I don’t get all the players I want. That would be amazing.

Frankie Fast Hands: I enjoyed your thoughts on the home run spike in the ESPN roundtable. Even though the change started second half last year, shouldn’t the top HR hitters have higher totals with a juiced ball? Seems we are going to have about the same amount of hitters above 40. Also, has there been any evidence that the HR spike has increased fan interest?

Eno Sarris: Yeah what I don’t get is why we don’t have a 60+ guy this year. Maybe steroids really did slant towards the hitter, and pitching is ‘relatively’ better in this era, but the ball has evened the playing field a bit?

Fangraphic Artist: Have you ever had a bad beer made by Foothills (Winson-Salem, NC)? I haven’t yet….

Eno Sarris: Yes, they are pretty good across the board even if I don’t remember a standout.

shaemoose: Is Schimpf an Uggla type guy, or different

Eno Sarris: Similar, I think.

Zach: Perhaps I’m very biased as a Pirates fan, but it seems like despite the setback this year, they still have an incredibly strong internal infrastructure in place. That said, they still need to do some serious heavy lifting this offseason to contend with the Cubs. If you were their GM, what would you be emphasizing this off-season?

Eno Sarris: Same thing they always do. Find something cheap that helps the team. They have good players. They’ll be good again soon.

Joe: Just want to make you aware of an instance in last nights Pirates/Cubs game where Hurdle stopped play to raise a point to the umpires that because of the way Zobrist and Rizzo were playing an aggressive bunt shift, that Zobrist should technically be classified the first baseman and therefore, Rizzo cannot where a first base glove and was officially scored as the 2B (the play resulted in a bunt that Rizzo tossed to Zobrist and a 4-3 scoring)

I can think of no better way to get the youngsters into baseball than nitty gritty rulebook chicanery!

Eno Sarris: That’s pretty amazing. Why kill the shift when there are moments like this that can lead to a half hour of interesting conversation with your child???

Tony: Donaldson, Kershaw or Stanton to keep over the next 3 years? No significant needs basis.

Eno Sarris: Kershaw.

Sonny: Mike Matheny=Ryan Locthe? How hard is it to fail in the world as a beautiful and athletically gifted moron?

Eno Sarris: I’ve got a manager evaluation piece coming, because I have a vote for AL manager of the year, and WHOOF on Matheny. Bottom on all fronts.

2-D: Have you seen the Grateful Dead with John Mayer in the lineup? I’ve heard good things.

Eno Sarris: Jake Peavy played some for me in the clubhouse and we agreed that he sounded really good but also a little rehearsed. As he relaxes, could really nail it.

STiVo: Did you see the recent Slate article on saber vs. mainstream media? There was a great part in which Neyer admits that he blasted Tim McCarver at the time (15ish years ago, I think) for talking about how important it was for catchers to turn borderline pitches into strikes. Neyer basically said “woops.” Pretty funny. And the piece is breezy and balanced–won’t take long to read.

Eno Sarris: I did like it. I don’t think we have to kill people for being wrong if they are obviously interested in asking questions. But I feel like every part of my knowledge about baseball could be wrong, and the only thing that really annoys me from an analyst is being super sure about the way they see things. Just wait two years.

Eno Sarris:

Nelson: Any thoughts on half acre Daisy cutter?

Eno Sarris: All day. Any day.

twinmh: Every question about Gray I’m asking, which one? How do you read the minds of your audience?

Eno Sarris: Well it probably wasn’t Chummy. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1004965&position=P

Matt: Khris Davis and Marcus Semien have combined for 4.8 WAR this season. All A’s position players (including Davis and Semien) have combined for 4.7 WAR this year. That is all.

Eno Sarris: Wow. And Healy has 1.5 so that’s a lot of muck from the rest. Still, Healy, Semien, Davis, that’s a 3/4/5 and one of them plays an important position. They just have to get not terrible at the other spots.

jayster7: You’re a free agent beer drinker. Ignoring all other facets of your life except for beer, which city do you want to sign with if that’s the only city you can drink beer in going forward?

Eno Sarris: Could be Boston actually. Though I love sours… and San Diego keeps pushing the envelope. Might be there.

Broseph: Sir, for tomorrow, do I trust Pineda, Rich Hill and/or Bumgarner in a Roto? Thanks!

Eno Sarris: Mabye, yes yes.

Art Vandelay: I mean, I don’t have a problem with it (though I can see why people might) but Twins fans have called him Frankie for 10 years.

tommylasagna, sr.: how many shrimp jokes can a guy like schimpf handle before he snaps?

CamdenWarehouse: Bob Clemente

Bill: As many pointed out in Sullivan’s articles, a juiced ball wouldn’t help the top HR hitters equally, because the marginal utility of added flyball distance is not the same for all hitters. A guy with warning track power will see a lot more homers with a juiced ball than a guy like Stanton. An extra 10 feet doesn’t matter if the ball is already well over the fence already.

A cat: Went to Costco, turned into the beer aisle, first glance was all pumpkin. Went home, drank some wine.

Eno Sarris: You did well.

Eno Sarris: Okay guys, the sick little dude is going nuts. I gotta go. It’s been real.