Ben Clemens: I’m joined by Dan Szymborski and Luke Hooper, and it’s gonna be a good one
8:01
Ben Clemens: I mean, maybe it will be a bad one, I don’t actually know
8:01
Ben Clemens: But if it’s close, that’s awesome, and if it’s not, well, there’s SO much baseball (and non-baseball) to talk about
8:01
Ben Clemens: It’s Ian Anderson and Luis Garcia tonight, and the Braves need length out of Anderson
8:01
Luke Hooper: Evening! Let’s get this going.
8:02
Ben Clemens: The Astros are running out an aspirational outfield of Alvarez/Tucker/Brantley
8:03
Luke Hooper: Yea that’s some outfield. Garcia isn’t exactly a groundball guy either.
8:03
Ben Clemens: I did like the move of swapping Urquidy and Garcia, though. Urquidy with that outfield sounds even worse
8:05
Luke Hooper: Yea that was clearly part of the rationale. It worked out too, although Urquidy didn’t give up too many flyballs anyway.
8:05
disgruntledmetsfan: unrelated to this game…who will the mets hire to run the team?
8:05
Ben Clemens: You could just call yourself ‘metsfan; know
8:05
Ben Clemens: You know*
8:06
Ben Clemens: either gets the point across
8:06
Ben Clemens: Um… I don’t pretend to have any special insight but I liked what Kevin Goldstein said about it on Chin Music. There’s nothing wrong with trying to hire Billy Beane and David Stearns, but they’ll probably end up with an AGM who is not a national figure
8:06
Ben Clemens: And that’s fine
8:07
Guest: Is this where you get live stats and whatnot?
8:07
Ben Clemens: It is not, but here’s our live scoreboard:
Ben Clemens: It has all kinds of really useful data that makes me sound smart when I do these chats
8:10
Luke Hooper: Yup, the player breakdown page is so nice. I always have that open and our win probability chart.
8:09
The Stranger: This is where we get chili and board game hot takes (sorry Luke, not sure what your non-baseball thing is)
8:12
Luke Hooper: I like board games and chili, in that order. Those are really my only non-baseball interests actually.
8:09
Dan Szymborski: It’s a’me, Szymio!
8:10
Ben Clemens: Hey Dan, welcome
8:11
Scotty: It’s spooky weekend, what is everyone’s favorite horror movie??
8:11
Dan Szymborski: Aladdin
8:11
Ben Clemens: I’m gonna need a little more than that
8:11
Luke Hooper: I’m a spook-wuss so I don’t really like things that are actually scary. Sign me up for watching The Burbs or something like that.
8:12
peanuts252: Hey guys. Do we know if Houston are actively looking to move Alvarez to being a part-time fielder? Or is this solely to get him in the lineup while in the NL park?
8:12
Dan Szymborski: I do more disturbing than straight horror
8:12
Ben Clemens: I think it’s a little bit of both. They’d like to have the ability to play him in the field, but he’ll be a primary DH still
8:13
Dan Szymborski: Looks kinda misty there
8:13
Luke Hooper: He at least played a little bit of left this year. He’s moved well this postseason. I’m excited to see him out there.
8:13
CJ: My favorite ‘horror’ movie: Requiem for a dream
8:13
Ben Clemens: Yordan “Triples” Alvarez
8:13
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, disturbing is more my cup of tea
8:13
Big Texas Butters: So Szym, did you decide to get a new car yet?
8:14
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, so long as the inspection goes well, I’ve lined up a swap for Monday!
8:14
swampymcgee: Bullpen Game for both teams by the 5th inning?
8:14
Ben Clemens: Yeah, which these days we just call ‘game’
8:14
Ben Clemens: Anderson has thrown five balls so far, that’s not a great sign!
8:14
Dan Szymborski: I think first of three consecutive games, they try to stick with starters
8:14
Ben Clemens: Six now
8:15
Ben Clemens: The Braves particularly need to lean on Anderson, they’re trying an opener/bulk combo both of the next two days as of now
8:15
Dan Szymborski: I wasn’t new car shopping, but the offers I were getting made it so that I would’ve been dumb to not consider it
8:17
Luke Hooper: Selling a car in this market sounds great. Until I realized I would need to buy a car in this market too.
8:16
peanuts252: Speaking of triples, congratulations to Owen Wilson for extending his lock on the single-season triples record to 109 years now.
8:16
Dan Szymborski: We all know that Owen Wilson has the record for most triples in a season, but what this book presupposes is, maybe he doesn’t?
8:16
99: is there any worry about putting a guy who usually DHs (with previously bad knees) in the outfield when it’s wet? or does the fact that this is the WS mean Yordan is in LF no matter what?
8:17
Ben Clemens: Yeah, it’s the World Series, he’s gonna be out there
8:17
Dan Szymborski: That’s way to clean up your ballsd
8:17
Dan Szymborski: wait, that didn’t sound right
8:17
Ben Clemens: Anderson didn’t even throw a strike to second lol
8:17
Trick or TreaTurner: Trick or Trea, of course
8:17
Ben Clemens: I’m not 100% sure what this was in reference to, but excellent username
8:17
Luke Hooper: Looks like a more than usual choke-up for Bregman?
8:18
The Stranger: It’s not the knees you have to worry about… I think I tore a hamstring just thinking about playing OF on wet grass.
8:18
Dan Szymborski: I tore a wrist tripping over a cat. I can injure myself in any way in any conditions.
8:18
The Stranger: I sprained a wrist playing with a cat ~15 years ago and it’s still not right
8:19
Dan Szymborski: As I said in another chat, my knee never got over its trip to the city museum in st. louis
8:19
swampymcgee: seems like Braves lack of righties out of the bullpen is going to hurt them these next 3 days…is Kyle Wright going to pitch in a close game?
8:19
Ben Clemens: I think Kyle Wright is going to pitch bulk innings
8:19
desertfox9139: the first time i threw out my back, it was reaching for toilet paper
8:19
Michael H.: Do we know if Houston want to transition Alvarez to being a part-time outfield piece? Or is this solely being done to keep him in the order while in the NL park?
8:19
Dan Szymborski: I think they primarily want him DH
8:20
Ben Clemens: That said, the Astros are pretty great against righties too. Three of their top seven batters are lefty, it’s reasonably balanced
8:20
Dan Szymborski: With maybe just enough OF to keep him competent.
8:20
99: i pulled my shoulder putting a christmas ornament on the tree
8:20
Elliot: Kyle Wright can go through the order once and be okay, it’s after that where things get hairy
8:21
Ben Clemens: Right. I think putting an opener in front of him so that the second time is against a slightly weaker part of the Houston lineup will work well
8:21
Dan Szymborski: I feel like I burned a perfectly good Royal Tenenbaums joke *before* the room filled up
8:21
Jimmy Wynn’s Toy Cannon: I think the Astros trotting out Yordan in left this season was mostly a way to get Brantley’s old knees some rest (especially in the second half of the year)
8:21
Dan Szymborski: Yeah. The DH spot is too useful to rest sore players over 162 games
8:22
Dan Szymborski: so you want to keep Alvarez at least capable of faking a corner OF position from time to time
8:22
The Stranger: I threw out my back and couldn’t walk for three days lifting my daughter out of her crib. The lesson of all this – don’t get old, kids.
8:22
Dan Szymborski: Or have kids!
8:22
Dan Szymborski: Or keep babies in a large cardboard box on top of boxes of beer
8:22
bosoxforlife: Do I have to speak Korean to apply for the Lotte Giants Data Analyst position?
8:22
Ben Clemens: I don’t believe so, but I’ll ask as well and get back to you.
8:24
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, I imagine it would be useful at the very least
8:24
99: Garcia and Framber make it hard for me to hate the Astros now. I love Garcia’s windup so much
8:24
The Stranger: You joke, but google “finnish baby box” – cardboard boxes are great for storing infants
8:25
swampymcgee: first arm out of the Braves bullpen tonight? Minter?
8:25
Ben Clemens: Depends on context
8:25
Ben Clemens: If it’s close, Minter
8:25
Ben Clemens: So, probably Minter
8:25
Ben Clemens: Can’t decide whether that was a bad play by Yordan on that foul ball
8:25
Dan Szymborski: I would imagine English-only would be best in Seoul
8:25
Ben Clemens: or just one that no one can catch
8:26
Guest: may they save minter for a mutli inning opener duty?
8:26
Dan Szymborski: But Busan’s next biggest?
8:26
Ben Clemens: I like using Minter tonight so that you could try to squeeze in an off day tomorrow and still get him for two of three
8:26
CJ: I had a habit of breaking my falls with my front teeth when I was young
8:26
Sir Sassy S Pants: Go Braves, go Pants!
8:26
Ben Clemens: They’ll likely need an opener on Sunday as well
8:26
Luke Hooper: We’ll see lots of Minter over the next three days.
8:26
99: given how close Yordan got, I would think there are a lot of LFs who make that play
8:27
Ben Clemens: Yordan is faster than Brantley, though
8:27
Morbo: Is anyone else as disappointed by the world series match up as I am?
8:27
Ben Clemens: But I do think his routes leave something to be desired
8:27
Dan Szymborski: I wanted M’s Jays
8:27
Dan Szymborski: You know part of the reason they do the tomahawk chop is because people tell them not to
8:27
Morbo: One team was caught cheating in the world series and the participants of the cheating scheme were never punished and the other is a racist cartoon where the entire stadium has made racist gestures directly at a Native American pitcher on national tv. This series is just a perfect summation of everything that is wrong with the league
8:28
JamesD84: 1980s Brave Terry Harper separated his shoulder waving a teammate home to score. And Smoltz burned himself ironing a shirt that he was wearing.
8:28
desertfox9139: the ump should have checked that IMO
8:28
Ben Clemens: And that skips the Braves’ international signing travails!
8:28
Dan Szymborski: I did a neural network of fake baseball player injuries. I’ll have to find that
8:28
Ben Clemens: They, not the Astros, have the GM who is banned from baseball for life
8:29
Dan Szymborski:
8:29
Kyle: Defense bouta be ✨discourse✨ in the Atlanta games I feel
8:29
Dan Szymborski:
8:29
Ben Clemens: Oh yeah, whether it matters or not, it’s just such an easy talking point
8:30
Luke Hooper: Wow, that is very on-theme for our chat so far. Nice pull.
8:30
desertfox9139: was coppy’s trangressions that bad? i am asking honestly
8:30
Dan Szymborski: I liked how it kept giving me Dee Gordon injuries for some reason
8:31
Ben Clemens: Certainly they were not the worst things that MLB teams have done in the international signings market
8:31
Ben Clemens: I do think that the league made an example of him
8:31
Morbo: Madison Bumgardner – Seperated shoulder riding dirt bike (Dirt bike was the name of the bull in the rodeo)
8:31
CJ: Sorry catching up – As for Lotte’s analyst position, I’d think English should be fine for your job. Living in Busan might be a little challenging, especially if you have a family
8:31
CJ: On the other hand, Busan is traditionally a HUGE baseball city
8:32
Morbo: Can I add a real injury to the list Dan
8:32
Dan Szymborski: But real ones aren’t quite as much fun!
8:32
peanuts252: “Broke his finger while rooting around in the ground for squirrels” – gonna be honest, I would have 100% believed this if it happened to Bumgarner
8:32
The Stranger: Apropos of Jayson Werth, one of the stranger things I learned in law school was that there was apparently an epidemic of banana peel injuries (and lawsuits) in the early 1900s
8:32
Dan Szymborski: I’ve slipped on a banana peel before
8:32
josh: Roy Oswalt cleared up scar tissue in his shoulder by electrocuting himself on a truck battery
8:32
Ben Clemens: Just to follow up, I checked with someone on the team and indeed, you do not need to speak Korean. It would be helpful, but not a prerequisite. The team has interpreters and two of the analysts are bilingual
8:32
Dan Szymborski: I’m sure most of the front office speaks better English than we do
8:33
Ben Clemens: I don’t know, I’ve heard Josh talk 🙂
8:33
Dan Szymborski: I bet nobody in Korea or Japan writes “should of”
8:33
egm: Home umpires shouldn’t even be able to make check swing calls. If it’s obvious the line judge will see it anyway. There should always be an appeal
8:33
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I think this is a good call
8:33
Ben Clemens: I guess the trick is what’s a check swing vs. what’s a swing, and that’s tough
8:34
Ben Clemens: But if it’s at all close
8:34
josh: Ben I talk very good thank you
8:34
Geebs: The stolen base that got America free “tacos” is going to the Hall Of Fame, mean while Bonds has to buy a ticket
8:34
Ben Clemens: Yeah, but Bonds can afford it
8:34
Luke Hooper: This postseason has done a great job of highlighting how badly MLB needs to figure out something to do with check swings.
8:35
Luke Hooper: 3-2 paint!
8:35
always confused: can y’all do a poll? did Rosario swing or not?
8:35
Ben Clemens: I don’t think we need to
8:35
Ben Clemens: He didn’t swing
8:36
Ben Clemens: If you’re defining it as the bat going parallel
8:36
Dan Szymborski: A swing is whatever the hell the umpire feels like
8:36
Guest: Morbo how can you say that this is a summation of everything wrong with the league, you didn’t even mention the mistreatment of minor leaguers, salary suppression, or conning of taxpayers for stadium dollars. There’s plenty more to be angry at!
8:36
The Stranger: Saw in an article or comments or chat here (my memory is shit) that college baseball has a real rule about how far the bat head goes. Any idea if it’s working for them?
8:36
Dan Szymborski: No idea, but the ncaa has a rule
8:37
Floyd: 8 batters, three balls in play?
8:37
Dan Szymborski: if the barrel head of the bat crosses the front edge of home plate or the batter’s front hip
8:37
Luke Hooper: I’m generally a parallel kind of guy myself. But that college wording seems to be pretty solid.
8:37
desertfox9139: how much does the cold weather effect how far the ball is hit?
8:38
Ben Clemens: I used this handy Alan Nathan trajectory calculator to check
Ben Clemens: A ball hit at 30 degree launch angle at 100 mph at 78 degrees will travel 385 feet
8:38
Ben Clemens: At 58 degrees, that’s 378.7 feet
8:39
Ben Clemens: I hope you were looking for an absurdly specific answer
8:39
Kevin Z.: Szander!
8:39
JamesD84: Would Ron LeFlore be given an opportunity to play in the minors today? I can see teams sayings something like, “Armed robbery and drug crimes don’t reflect our values” or saying, like football coaches would, “He’s been punished, let’s give him a second chance.” That said, I don’t think any team would have on its payroll today someone like Billy Martin with close friends who were in a position to hear about which prisoners had potential.
8:40
Ben Clemens: Interesting fact: if the game was played at -200 degrees F, the ball would only travel 260 feet. Also, everyone would be dead from the cold
8:40
desertfox9139: appx 2 percent difference i see
8:40
desertfox9139: also, i should have went to Illinois rather than DePaul
8:40
always confused: Re: rosario poll – that’s what I thought, didn’t know if I was just a biased home fan!
8:41
Gamer: I am at the game now. What pitch was Anderson hitting the dirt with? Horrible English. I am aBraves fan but not chopping.
8:41
Dan Szymborski: I wouldn’t Chop even if it was awful. I had participating in crowd participation things
8:41
Dan Szymborski: hate
8:41
Ben Clemens: To be clear I think Dan means even if it weren’t awful
8:41
Ben Clemens: And uh, curveball I think?
8:41
Dan Szymborski: Err yeah
8:42
Luke Hooper: Those were curveballs. Enjoy the game!
8:42
Dan Szymborski: I didn’t have enough negatives in the sentence
8:42
Ben Clemens: Anderson is really struggling with location tonight
8:43
Ben Clemens: That changeup was the first secondary pitch he’s thrown in the zone all night
8:43
Ben Clemens: That’s, uh, not gonna work long term
8:43
Luke Hooper: Finally got a curve in now too.
8:44
Tim: was that flyout to riley the furthest play from third base ever made by a third basemen?
8:44
Dan Szymborski: I swear Anderson’s still getting taller
8:44
Luke Hooper: Machado did that a lot this year. He nearly caught one on the warning track.
8:44
Ben Clemens: This sounds like an interesting offseason research project. Manny Machado has made some incredibly wide-ranging plays
8:45
bosoxforlife: Just like baseball when I grew up. The 3rd baseman makes a catch in foul terrirtory down the RF line.
8:45
Dan Szymborski: Have the Astros participated in any games this postseason that were scoreless after two?
8:45
Dan: Does it seem like the Astros are seeing Anderson’s changeup well thus far (aside from the strikeout there)?
8:46
Mateo: How much worse would Ian Anderson be if he was actually trapped in a 65 year-old’s body?
8:47
Luke Hooper: There’s no way he could handle his hyper-extended knee landing at that age. Among many other things.
8:47
The Stranger: This Serena Williams/Wonder Woman commercial just makes me miss American Gladiators. Assault was the greatest sport known to man
8:48
Luke Hooper: I’m pretty sure there is a near-constant flow of new versions of American Gladiator coming out.
8:47
Hugh Duffy: Part of Ian Anderson’s first inning troubles is not always having the feel for the changeup and curveball. You could tell that he was trying to find the release point on the curveball in the first inning. I think he’s found the feel for all three pitches now, but we’ll see in the third.
8:47
desertfox9139: Ian at only 30 pitches, would you let him go deeper than you normally would in a postseason game? i would
8:48
Ben Clemens: You just KNOW Smoltz had a soliloquy ready on how you have to get Anderson early and how he’s vulnerable in the first
8:48
Dan Szymborski: I would too. The Braves probably have two bullpenish games and this is the first of three games with no off day
8:48
Geebs: Lets say the Braves win, dose that make Ozuna a WS champion, in terms of the record books?
8:48
Dan Szymborski: I believe so if he’s still on the roster
8:48
Lars Nootbaar: I hit for the cycle today
8:48
Luke Hooper: He definitely gets a ring.
8:49
Ben Clemens: Nootbaar is mashing in Arizona
8:49
Ben Clemens: That’s your nightly Cardinals content
8:49
Geebs: Re: Ozuna, that’s kinda icky
8:49
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but the question is whether he was on the team or not, right?
8:50
Ben Clemens: The count of my least favorite cliche in announcing is up to one
8:50
Ben Clemens: “If the pitcher makes a mistake, the Braves will hit it out of the park”
8:50
Ben Clemens: No, calm down, that’s not true
8:50
Luke Hooper: Let’s count how many mistakes aren’t hit out of the park.
Dan Szymborski: He might be an ends-type person. If it DOESN”T go out of the park, it wasn’t TRULY a mistake
8:51
always confused: When garcia does his dance on the mound before pitching (which is fantastic) is that a balk? There’s just so much feet movement
8:51
Dan Szymborski: He’s not on the 40-man, but he’s still paid and accrues service time on administrative leave
8:51
Ben Clemens: I actually don’t know if it would be if he did it with a man on base
8:51
Ben Clemens: But also, they would steal before he delivered the ball
8:52
Luke Hooper: As long as he’s consistent with it and not stopping and starting. I think it’s fine.
8:52
Luke Hooper: Whoa, drone shot in the stadium?
8:53
Dan: We need more windups like Garcia’s
8:53
always confused: also, Luis Garcia has a real late 80s/early 90s Ice Cube vibe going and I am 100% for it
8:54
Floyd: Joe Buck *would* like the squeaky-clean suburban ballpark. Probably complains about how there’s no parking around Wrigley or Fenway.
8:54
Ben Clemens: In fairness to Buck, he can’t say if he doesn’t like it
8:54
Russ: Was wondering the same thing with Kenley Jansen’s hip thrust thing he does with no one on.
8:54
egm: The Hard Knocks Cowboys season on HBO had a pretty rad drone shot that went through the whole stadium and offices and everything. Pretty cool
8:54
Dan: I feel like watching a game at a watch party with that many people in the cold can’t be that much fun…
8:54
99: it’s hard not to think Kenny Powers too with Garcia’s hair in the back. He pulls it off though
8:54
Ben Clemens: The national announcer definitely can’t say ‘yeah this park sucks’
8:54
Luke Hooper: Tucker was all over that backup. Nice play.
8:55
Ben Clemens: not a mistake pitch, didn’t leave the park
8:55
Dan Szymborski: D’amnaud!
8:55
Ben Clemens: Also, wasn’t a mistake pitch
8:55
Dan Szymborski: A double is a foible pitch
8:55
Dan Szymborski: A single is an agreement to disagree pitch
8:55
Dan Szymborski: A third is a quibble pitch
8:55
Dan Szymborski: err triple
8:55
Ben Clemens: Brantley just said ‘wow that’s a wall!’
8:56
always confused: A double is a foible pitchA single is an agreement to disagree pitchA third is a quibble pitch
8:56
Dan Szymborski: Makes sense to me
8:56
always confused: these need to be in our lexicon forever
8:56
Ben Clemens: I love this IBB b/c it’s a good way to try to bait Snitker into pinch hitting, but also good move by Snitker not pinch hitting
8:56
Russ: Looking forward to universal DH. Will be happy when a two out double out of the 7 spot results in more than, hey at least we rolled the lineup over.
8:56
Ben Clemens: Totally
8:56
Luke Hooper: Hey now, Anderson looks ready to drive in a run!
8:56
Dan Szymborski: I don’t have anything against complete nonsense.
8:57
desertfox9139: i like the pitchers hitting rule. am i exiled?
8:57
Ben Clemens: I like it when pitcher get hits, it’s cool. I dislike how often it just destroys an inning
8:57
Belowreplacementaccountname: Ian Anderson is Dansby Swanson’s less attractive twin brother
8:57
Dan Szymborski: People get mad at me, but I like both DH and non-DH and don’t really care
8:57
Ben Clemens: Triplet, you mean. Don’t forget about Charlie Culberson
8:57
desertfox9139: ive been a braves fan since 1990, so i am used to NL ball
8:58
Belowreplacementaccountname: And don’t forget Randal Grichuk!
8:58
Dan Szymborski: In Baltimore, we got TBS (Braves), WGN (Cubs), WWOR (Mets), and subscribed to Home Team Sports for the O’s. SO I got a healthy dose of DH and non DH growing up
8:58
Quarantino Martinez: I’m also agnostic on pitchers hitting. The idea that you lose the DH if you take the starter out is interesting, though.
8:58
Gamer: Organist had Aqualung playing for Anderson. It did not help.
8:58
Ben Clemens: This is a great excuse to post my favorite Randal Grichuk-related content of all time
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I always *thought* I liked no DH because I’d remember particular pitcher hitting moments
9:01
Luke Hooper: Probably a good time to throw up that article from Marcus Kellis about how bad 9 hitters are in the AL.
9:01
Dan: All the discussion around the Braves chop made me realize that I haven’t read anything from a Native American sports writer. Can you direct me to any Native American sports writers?
9:02
Dan Szymborski: I’m not familiar with anything, honestly
9:02
Dan Szymborski: I’ve seen people write about the Braves and stuff, but not other stuff.
9:02
Jordan: Losing your DH for pulling your starter sounds like something thought of by the anti-opener and anti-dh crowd
9:03
Ben Clemens: Garcia was booking it down the line there
9:03
Gamer: Organist with rock a bye baby for Garcia. He is a treasure.
9:03
Luke Hooper: Now “little teapot” for Altuve
9:04
Ben Clemens: Yeah the Braves organist is awesome. He did an interview on Effectively Wild once, actually
9:04
Ben Clemens: A long time ago, I think
9:04
FannyGraphy: It seems like I was reading a few years ago that the sinker wasn’t that valuable a pitcher anymore, while also reading that the two seamer was on the rise. I also read that the 2 are very similar pitches…. Was I mistaken?
9:05
Ben Clemens: There’s a big classification problem, and I’m not sure where I come down. MLB now classifies everything as a sinker, they don’t register two-seamers
9:05
Dan Szymborski: They’re similar, but two seamer’s classification in a lot of systems is with more horizontal movement tailing
9:05
Ben Clemens: That said…. sinkers/2s declined by quite a bit from their peak (the Pirates sinker era, let’s call it)
9:06
Ben Clemens: But they’ve become more effective, because the pitchers with the worst sinkers just stopped throwing them
9:06
Ben Clemens: Anderson looking good!
9:06
Klubot3000: Pretty good interview out of McCullers. Can he replace Smoltz?
9:07
Dan Szymborski: Wait, why is there another Home Alone?
9:07
Quarantino Martinez: Lance is a good first name for a broadcaster
9:07
99: it’s a bummer we didn’t get BA/Frenchy/Ron Darling for the WS, feels like a much more dynamic booth
9:07
Dan Szymborski: BENETTI/PETRIELLO/SMOLTZ/UECKER/HAWK
9:08
Ben Clemens: I like Darling a lot more when he’s in the Mets booth, I think he’s more comfortable when he’s done a ton of research on the players
9:08
Ben Clemens: I think Frenchy is great!
9:08
Ben Clemens: underrated for sure
9:08
Ben Clemens: The best of the postseason has been AJ Pierzynski though
9:08
Ben Clemens: (well, and the statcast booth)
9:09
Floyd: you joke but Bennetti should really be a national broadcaster for the postseason (not just the nerd cast). He’s excellent.
9:09
Dan Szymborski: I’m just going to get tacos I like
9:09
The Stranger: If you’re going to reboot Home Alone, at least go for the “gritty realism” version and have Kevin straight up kill a man
9:09
Ben Clemens: I still think he’ll end up doing Sunday Night Baseball
9:09
egm: As a deadhead, I should probably be keeping track of which songs are used during which inning as bumper music, and then post the set list online
9:09
Ben Clemens: Benetti, not Kevin!
9:09
Luke Hooper: I’ve been a hater of the Buck/Smoltz booth but I have to say, Smoltz has been on his best behavior so far this world series. Minimal grump.
9:09
Ben Clemens: Yeah. I was not enjoying him at all in the ALCS but I totally agree with you
9:09
Dan Szymborski: They should do A-Rod/Smoltz becuase Smoltz will seem really analytical
9:09
Floyd: Minimal grump cause it’s the braves maybe
9:10
Luke Hooper: I think Dave Flemming and Joe Davis are also in consideration for Sunday Night baseball next year.
9:10
FannyGraphy: Small follow up to the sinker question: do you “have” to throw a sinker down in the zone to be effective?
9:10
Ben Clemens: You don’t HAVE to, but it really helps
9:11
Ben Clemens: The movement on a four-seamer helps it get “above” bats
9:11
Ben Clemens: Batters swing under it, essentially
9:11
Ben Clemens: Given that high pitches will tend to create balls hit in the air, you really want batters to swing under
9:11
Donnel: I wonder if maybe Fox told Smoltz to chill considering the occasion
9:12
Luke Hooper: At some point something needed to be done. He’s been far too negative for far too long. He’s not an ambassador for the sport at all.
9:12
The Stranger: My perception is that sinkers left up the zone leave the park often. Any evidence on higher HR/FB on sinkerballers?
9:12
Ben Clemens: Marginally
9:12
Ben Clemens: I haven’t done a location-based look yet though
9:12
Russ: Rosario instantly looked back at the ump probably half-expecting him to ring him up again.
9:12
always confused: OMG rosario almost got it again lol
9:12
FannyGraphy: Thanks for the analysis!
9:13
Ben Clemens: You’re welcome; thanks for the excellent question
9:13
Finnegan’s SSW: Cubs are throwing a lot of 2-seamers up in the zone, still trying to figure out exactly why
9:13
Ben Clemens: How’s that working out for them?
9:13
Russ: Give me a simulcast of Maddux and Glavine chatting like the Manning brothers do for Monday night football.
9:13
Klubot3000: Professional hitterTM
9:13
Ben Clemens: I’d totally watch that simulcast
9:14
desertfox9139: why dont pitchers throw inside changeups to samehanded batters?
9:14
Dan Szymborski: You get too close to wheelhouse
9:14
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I think there’s also a problem of any miss being bad
9:14
Ben Clemens: Too inside, whatever
9:14
Ben Clemens: Too middle, yikes
9:15
Ben Clemens: I think that’s generally the problem with changeups to same-handed hitters; location matters a lot, so unless you have good command of it, it’s dangerous
9:15
Luke Hooper: that type of changeup is so pretty when it’s executed.
9:15
Luke Hooper: Urquidy threw a number of changeups to Soler the other night.
9:16
FannyGraphy: Also how responsible are the Pirates for the sinkers’ decline
9:16
Ben Clemens: I don’t think they are at all. THey were more victims than anything else
9:16
Ben Clemens: When the ball got livelier and homers started going up, the cost of missing with your sinker went WAY up and they were slow to adjust
9:16
Dan Szymborski: There were 2471 changeups from righties to righties in the strike zone on the inside half in 2021
9:17
Dan Szymborski: The BA on those pitches was .292. The SLG was .596.
9:17
Ben Clemens: Yeeeeesh
9:17
Ben Clemens: 2,471 is not many in the grand scheme of things
9:17
Ben Clemens: But it’s not many because those pitches are often mistakes
9:17
Luke Hooper: Ahh, but the whiffs! The whiffs were beautiful
9:18
desertfox9139: that is definitely suboptimal pitching strategy. ill stick to wine rather than pitching
9:18
Ben Clemens: I will as well
9:18
Dicklington: because of its demoralizing effect on beloved home run sluggers the “curved-ball” is one of the most despised plays in all of baseball
9:19
FannyGraphy: If a traditional batting order mindset were used, what would the Braves top of the order even look like? It seems like Ozzie is a prototype of the old school 2 hitter, but who would lead off?
9:19
Ben Clemens: Strangely, the fastest player on the Braves (not counting Acuna) this year is…. Adam Duvall
9:19
Luke Hooper: wow that was a great changeup!
9:20
Dan Szymborski: If you just look at right vs. right inside middle changeups
9:20
Dan Szymborski: .349 BA with a .702 SLG
9:20
Ben Clemens: Did Smoltz know the count there?
9:20
Dan Szymborski: Riley had 17 inside changeups from righties this year. He hit 3 homers on them
9:20
Ben Clemens: He said that if Garcia missed with that pitch, the bases would be loaded
9:20
Dan Szymborski: And that’s for high ones and low ones too inside
egm: Why do players often wrap their pinky around the bottom of the knob? It seems like you wouldn’t get as full of a grip on the bat…
9:22
Dan Szymborski: In my experience, hitters sometimes feel more comfortable by having their dominant hand being move dominant
9:22
Dan Szymborski: I never did that. Maybe that’s why I sucked?
9:23
Luke Hooper: That replay made it look like Bregman got a pretty bad first jump on that.
9:23
Ben Clemens: Yeah, Bregman has not looked good on defense this postseason at all
9:23
Russ: But the TBS crew loved talking about how Rosario was one of the fastest players in the bigs, despite no evidence of that.
9:23
Ben Clemens: Yeah that was very strange
9:23
Ben Clemens: It made me look it up more than once
9:23
Ben Clemens: He’s not slow or anything
9:23
always confused: Dansby’s glorious head of hair is slowing him down
9:24
Luke Hooper: Uh oh, smoltz is grumpy that Soler shot for the moon on a 2-0 pitch.
9:24
Ben Clemens: Someone is going to have to explain to me why a different approach is optimal in the regular season and World Series
9:24
Ben Clemens: I think what he means is that in the WS you should make contact
9:25
Luke Hooper: It’s built on top of the extremely shaky foundation that swinging hard is selfish.
9:24
Kevin Z.: Catching up on chat…neural network fake injuries are hilarious!
9:24
Ben Clemens: Because “THESE GAMES MATTER”
9:24
Dan Szymborski: I’m going to be disappointed when neural networks becomes TOO good because the results will be less funny
9:25
Ben Clemens: This zone is…. variable
9:25
Dan Szymborski: I was trying to complete constitutional amendments the other day with GPT-3, but since they’ve been quoted in that format so often, it usually just quoted the rest of the amendments accurately
9:25
Floyd: is Bergman’s arm okay? Looks like he’s playing fairly shallow and his throws haven’t been very solid. Maybe he keeps that ball on the infield if he’s deeper.
9:25
Russ: If someone as big as Soler yelled no at me for the check swing I wouldn’t dare call him out.
9:26
Luke Hooper: GIVE US THE CHECK SWING CAM
9:26
Floyd: LOT of checked swings tonight
9:26
GracieCat: Russ, they got Eddie Rosario mixed up with Ahmed Rosario and later admitted their error.
9:26
Ben Clemens: Wait really??
9:26
Ben Clemens: That makes a lot more sense
9:26
Ben Clemens: Amed can fly
9:27
desertfox9139: id sit offspeed if i was duvall
9:27
Ben Clemens: I’m sitting fastball, haha
9:27
Hugh Duffy: Rosario’s sprint speed was 29 feet/sec to first on an infield hit earlier in the NLCS. He was fast.
9:27
Luke Hooper: Hey, here’s your runners on base, rock the baby situation.
9:27
Ben Clemens: Garcia just doesn’t throw his secondaries in the zone, and the bases are loaded
9:28
Ben Clemens: That’s true!
9:28
Ben Clemens: Don’t even think of trying this crap on Randy Arozarena
9:28
Ben Clemens: He’d be dancing on the plate
9:29
Ben Clemens: Excellent pitch calling by Maldonado/Garcia there, I loved it
9:29
Ben Clemens: Attack until you’re ahead and then fish
9:29
Mateo: Is the absence of October Arozarena the biggest loss of the postseason?
9:29
Dan Szymborski: Gotta give someone else a chance to be a folk hero!
9:29
Russ: There is absolutely more than enough time to steal home during that windup.
9:29
Dan Szymborski: Every postseason should have its own unique band of folk heroes
9:29
Ben Clemens: I miss Dan’s “Clayton Kershaw and the Infinite Sadness” meme
9:29
Ben Clemens: personally
9:29
Dan Szymborski: I have such a collection of Dodgers ones now
9:30
Ben Clemens: Remember when Enrique Hernandez was the best hitter in baseball for 16 seconds earlier this month?
9:30
Dan Szymborski:
9:30
Ben Clemens: And then went like 0-20 as soon as A-Rod said analytics couldn’t explain how hot he was
9:31
Dan Szymborski:
9:31
Tony Snell: #WhenYoureHotYoureHot
9:31
Dan Szymborski: THat was some of my better photoshop work, I think
9:31
egm: Agree with Smoltz. Freeman should be messing around on third more
9:31
Ben Clemens: 100%
9:31
Dan Szymborski: I nailed that font and hot to fill out the star
9:31
Ben Clemens: Smoltz has some bad takes, but this is not one of them
9:31
Quarantino Martinez: Like pantsing the 3B coach?
9:32
Ben Clemens: or doing his own dance to create a dance-off
9:32
Mateo: “Agree with Smotz” is a dangerous take to toss out there. You’re made of sterner stuff than I.
9:32
Dan Szymborski: I *did* need to curve the font though, which was a mistake, but I was trying to finish quickly!
9:32
Tony Snell: If he wasn’t so crochety Smoltz would realize he has more takes that are sabermetrically-aligned than he thinks
9:32
Luke Hooper: Just another check swing.
9:33
desertfox9139: is an odd-numbered lead good or bad?
9:33
Ben Clemens: If you want to know how bad A-Rod’s even leads take was
9:33
Dan Szymborski: Even leads are better
9:33
Ben Clemens: THE OFFICIAL MLB WEBSITE MADE FUN OF IT
Dan Szymborski: The solo homer doesn’t tie it if it’s two and the grand slam doesn’t beat you if it’s four
9:34
Dan Szymborski: And, I assume, a six run lead is more than five
9:34
Ben Clemens: Their job is to promote baseball… and they decided the best way to do it was to make fun of one of its biggest stars/former players
9:34
Ben Clemens: Strictly because his take was so obviously ridiculous
9:34
Dan Szymborski: And sure, a seven run lead is more than a six run lead, smart guy, but an eight run lead is more than a seven run lead!
9:35
Floyd: I’m sure they have a play for when Garcia is in the windup with a runner on third but wet/rainy/Freeman isn’t the time to call it. Maybe they figure saving something for game 7? Still not a reason to not at least mess with him a bit tho.
9:35
Dan Szymborski: There’s only so much forbearance you can have with something so funny
9:35
Quarantino Martinez: Enrique is a tree in the woods: he’s still the best hitter in baseball, but no one’s there to see it/pitch to him.
9:35
always confused: also: NOBLETIGER
9:35
Ben Clemens: There was indeed a NOBLETIGER
9:35
Ben Clemens: let’s see if we can get a TOOTBLAN and FARTSLAM for the trifecta
9:36
Ben Clemens: actually whoops
9:36
Ben Clemens: Not a nobletiger, there was one out right?
9:37
Ben Clemens: (No Outs Bases Loaded Ending with Team Incapable of Getting Easy Run)
9:37
Ben Clemens: to go with Thrown Out On The Bases Like A Nincompoop
9:37
Ben Clemens: and of course Fielder Allows Runner To Score Like A Moron
9:37
always confused: OOBLETIGER?
9:37
Dan Szymborski: This has been a surprisingly low scoring game
9:37
Tony Snell: Oobletiger?
9:38
Ben Clemens: Yeah, the Braves must be loving this
9:38
Ben Clemens: I think a low-scoring game benefits them more
9:38
Ben Clemens: Do you guys think Bregman is hurt? He really hasn’t looked right to me
9:39
Ben Clemens: Jake wrote about it today, but ‘is he injured’ is slightly diff
desertfox9139: as a braves fan, i love the offensive attrition. i am used to it
9:39
desertfox9139: stalingrad games favor the braves
9:39
Quarantino Martinez: Is that why they decided to score fewer times last inning?
9:39
Dan Szymborski: There’s an offseason project
9:39
Ben Clemens: No no no, you have to get to an even lead first
9:39
Dan Szymborski: Match every game of the postseason with a WWII battle
9:39
CJ: I’m slow today – your photoshop reminded me how much I HATED what Roberts and Co. has done over the years
9:40
Dan Szymborski:
9:40
Luke Hooper: I tend to assume that at this point in the year if someone is really struggling, there’s probably an injury there.
9:40
desertfox9139: kursk would be a fun one
9:40
Hugh Duffy: Is Bregman injured? 🤷♂️ May not be 100%, don’t know if that’s injured.
9:40
Floyd: houston seems to be taking all the way first pitch but lotta bad swings late in counts.
9:40
Ben Clemens: Really good take
9:40
Ben Clemens: I totally agree with this
9:41
Ben Clemens: Do you guys actually think that Brian Snitker is managing like there’s no tomorrow?
9:41
Ben Clemens: There… there is going to be a tomorrow, I hope
9:41
egm: 2017 WS game 5 Dan! Which battle? Maybe some aerial/naval battle in the pacific?
9:41
Dan Szymborski: Hey, I can’t think of all these now!
9:41
Luke Hooper: Sure looks like the rain is heating back up
9:42
Finnegan’s SSW: If there’s no tomorrow I’d hope he wouldn’t be managing at all
9:42
Dan Szymborski: You need to match the flow of a battle with win expectancy graphs
9:42
always confused: I will always appreciate the internet creating beautiful acronyms such as NOBLETIGER, TOOTBLAN, and FARTSLAM among others
9:42
Ben Clemens: So uh, Smoltz is saying he didn’t throw strikes in 3-1 counts in the postseason?
9:42
Ben Clemens: I don’t think that tracks….
9:42
Ben Clemens: I guess it’s easy to feel that way, though
9:42
Dan Szymborski: Doesn’t mean Eric Gregg didn’t call them strikes!
9:43
Ben Clemens: One of the hardest people to evaluate is always yourself
9:44
Morbo: Not me. I’m easy to evaluate. I’m a gurmpy news monster who is very good a yelling
9:44
CJ: Wow Eric Gregg reference – THAT strike zone sure did leave an impression on many people
9:44
Dan Szymborski: Glavine was probably the larger beneficiary
9:44
Ben Clemens: Oh, this is Morbo of the “the Annihilator” Morbos?
9:44
Ben Clemens: Welcome!
9:44
Luke Hooper: Ahh I hadn’t even thought about a Greinke pinch hit at-bat. That’s what I’m rooting for.
9:45
Ben Clemens: oooh
9:45
Ben Clemens: he still does need that tenth steal
9:45
always confused: re Weather: the rain ain’t gonna get heavy but it’s been cloudy and drizzly all day and i don’t think that will change
9:45
Mateo: “That put a smile on Zack Greinke’s face!” [cut to Greinke doing the absolute opposite of smiling as usual]
9:46
desertfox9139: wow, yordan can run
9:46
Ben Clemens: He’s roughly average when he’s going
9:46
Ben Clemens: haha now the zone is HUGE
9:46
Luke Hooper: That pitch is going to be on the ump scorecard twitter page tomorrow.
9:46
Ben Clemens: I mean, that was just atrocious
9:46
Ben Clemens: This zone has been quite bad tonight
9:47
Floyd: The thing is the 0-0 red light has kinda worked for Houston. Anderson’s all over the place and it benefits Houston immensely to get into the Atlanta pen early. Take till you get a strike and dare Anderson to adjust by throwing first pitch heaters over the plate.
9:47
Luke Hooper: He went with the barehand!
9:47
Ben Clemens: I’m very in favor of the 0-0 red light in this situation
9:47
Ben Clemens: Anderson is the kind of pitcher you want to use it with
9:48
Ben Clemens: Walk-prone, before you get into the Braves’ bullpen situation
9:48
Hugh Duffy: The zone is bad? Welcome to the World Series, Ben.
9:48
egm: You guys chatting through the rain delay viewing of Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball?
9:48
Hugh Duffy: I think Brian Snitker has to get a win today. Leave tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow. If the Braves get a win tonight, worst case scenario is they see a Game 6.
9:48
Floyd: Yeah, Anderson hasn’t been beating them, they’ve been beating themselves with bad swings/weak contact at balls out of the zone.
9:49
desertfox9139: every ian inning is gold now
9:49
Ben Clemens: I don’t think he HAS to, because you know, teams win from 2-1 down
9:49
Ben Clemens: but it would definitely help
9:50
Rion: Where do you draw the line between hitters having bad swings/weak contact and pitchers inducing them
9:50
Ben Clemens: Great question that I don’t have a good answer to
9:51
Ben Clemens: I think it’s something that accumulates over time. It’s hard to tell the difference in a single game
9:51
Ben Clemens: To paraphrase Mookie Betts, both the pitchers and hitters drive Benzes
9:51
Luke Hooper: It must be so annoying pitching as, or facing, Garcia in MLB the Show.
9:52
Morbo: legit question how are post season stats counted or not counted for career stats? They aren’t counted right? Is the reasoning because it gives players who make the post season more often an unfair advantage over a player who plays for the Orioles? This has always confused me a bit
9:52
Luke Hooper: They are not counted.
9:52
Mateo: Joe Buck smoothly transitioning from saying “No score, 4th inning” to “with Atlanta up one” shows why he’s a pro lol
9:52
Ben Clemens: Look, say what you want about Joe Buck, he truly is a pro
9:53
desertfox9139: is this high leverage enough to use your best lefty?
9:53
desertfox9139: *assuming blake is their best lefty*
9:53
Ben Clemens: Sure
9:53
Luke Hooper: Honestly, Buck is so good at weird stuff like that. He does such a good job of setting up his next sentences.
9:53
Ben Clemens: Then, you just leave them in afterwards
9:53
Ben Clemens: Wait, hm, where are they in the lineup?
9:54
Ben Clemens: Oof yeah
9:54
Ben Clemens: TOugh situation here
9:54
Russ: Top of the order.
9:54
Ben Clemens: Oh no I meant in the Astros lineup
9:54
Ben Clemens: Pitcher’s spot is due up this inning
9:54
Ben Clemens: I don’t like this pull given that
9:54
Ben Clemens: Give him a batter
9:54
Luke Hooper: This feels like a Ben article.
9:55
Russ: Years ago in The Show I did Hideo Nomo’s windup for my pitcher and it got old after about two batters.
9:55
egm: I think Buck puts his jock colleagues in the booth at ease too. He’s quite loquacious
9:55
Ben Clemens: Agreed
9:56
Luke Hooper: I was binging some old world series highlights recently. Joe Buck has gotten miles more engaging and enthusiastic over the last 5+ years. I feel like pre-2013 or so he was completely bored out of his mind.
9:56
Ben Clemens: I liked the 2011 WS calls
9:56
Ben Clemens: But I, and he, may have been biased
9:56
Ben Clemens: I mean, just lol Eddie Rosario
9:56
Ben Clemens: When you’re hot you’re hot
9:57
Luke Hooper: Really!? Haha I was just about to reference Game 6 as peak bored buck.
9:57
Ben Clemens: you didn’t like ‘and we will see you tomorrow night’?
9:57
Ben Clemens: It’s very funny that Dusty is now peak sabermetric with his bullpen decisions, by the way
9:58
Ben Clemens: Third time through? Get him!
9:58
Luke Hooper: I mean that’s a classic call sure. But he uses that a lot. He did that as far back as the Boston comeback.
9:58
Tony Snell: Buck should be the bulk broadcaster and then you bring in someone who’s more animated to finish off the big moments
9:59
Lily: “And we will see you tomorrow night” just reminds everyone that he only has his job because his last name is Buck.
9:59
Ben Clemens: Now that’s fair, lol
9:59
Ben Clemens: I did partially like it b/c it reminded me of Jack Buck
10:00
Luke Hooper: The walk off was fine. It’s more all the other ridiculous plays in that game.
10:00
Chatz: This really is a miserable slog of a game though…
10:00
Shodai: Which do you think will cause more fans to lose their home in the next 5 years: MLB promoting cryptocurrency or MLB promoting sports gambling?
10:00
Ben Clemens: Hey I’ve been enjoying it!
10:00
Dan Szymborski: crypto
10:00
Dan Szymborski: anyone who wants to sports gamble already can really
10:00
Dan Szymborski: but crypto generally will create winners and losers
10:01
desertfox9139: i am waiting for WallStreetBets to buy some ad space
10:02
Dan Szymborski: STONKS
10:02
Ben Clemens: I just liked the pitch
10:02
Ben Clemens: should have been the Astros’ defense
10:02
Dan Szymborski: What doesn’t Lenny Dykstra have now?
10:02
always confused: the answer is always money
10:02
Dan Szymborski: Checks out.
10:02
desertfox9139: diamondhands!!! you can use that when a pitcher is left in too long
10:02
Ben Clemens: Yeah Dusty had paper hands tonight
10:02
Dan Szymborski: I’d prefer cougarhands
10:03
eastman: Peak bored announcer? A particular orioles broadcaster said during a 2009ish August blowout, “here we are, moving into the bottom of the fifth…. sometimes this game will make you want to do that.”
10:03
Russ: I didn’t even realize that Ian Anderson hadn’t allowed a h*t.
10:03
Dan Szymborski: It doens’t feel like he’s throwing a no hitter
10:03
Ben Clemens: Oh, I thought Russ meant ‘hat’
10:03
Hugh Duffy: I have come to like Dusty more since I read an interview ere he admitted his earlier managerial errors. The fact that he has evolved has allowed him to stay in the game.
10:03
Dan Szymborski: He hasn’t allowed a hut, either, as no makeshift dwellings have been constructed on the field
10:03
Ben Clemens: Hugh, I TOTALLY agree
10:03
Guest: Would you support the World Series in a neutral site every year? That way we could use a domed stadium (or maybe a location in SoCal) so teams don’t have to put up with the miserable weather every October. The revenue from the games could still be given to the two teams playing the game (perhaps with an offset for the club operating the stadium solely for the expenses of doing so), and we could find another way to give the team with the better record an advantage (home field advantage matters little in baseball anyway).
10:04
Dan Szymborski: No.
10:04
Dan Szymborski: World Series isn’t a BIG EVENTS like the super bowl is
10:04
Dan Szymborski: you want normal homeish crowds
10:04
Ben Clemens: You should listen to Jay and Kevin on Dusty, this week on FanGraphs Audio
10:04
Ben Clemens: That’s what we call a cross-promotional opportunity
10:05
Luke Hooper: Anderson has 4 whiffs on 74 pitches!
10:05
Dan Szymborski: Very nice.
10:05
always confused: i know i said the rain wouldn’t get heavy but the TV is making me look like an idiot
10:05
Ben Clemens: Can’t predict the weather
10:05
Luke Hooper: We need to hear again from that guy that’s at the game.
10:05
JamesD84: Are the sites like UmpScorecard.com generally considered accurate? They give low accuracy ratings to the umpires I hear announcers complain about and high ratings to ones who I never hear complaints about, so that makes me think they might be at least somewhat accurate. And do they, or any similar internal measurements, affect which umpires get postseason assignments? I believe assignments used to be seniority-based as part of MLB’s contract with the umpires’ union.
10:05
Ben Clemens: Generally, yes
10:05
Ben Clemens: They’re reasonable
10:05
Joe: Etan Greene is still right about umpire impact aversion, I think
10:05
Ben Clemens: Umpires are graded on their accuracy based on the official MLB zone
10:06
always confused: i was walking around in shorts this afternoon!
10:06
Mateo: It’s ok. You were confused.
10:06
Joe: This is an…. Odd ph choice
10:06
Ben Clemens: I think the thinking there was ‘low leverage, just use some rando’
10:06
Shodai: Umpire chat reminded me that Joe West is not an MLB umpire and that made me happy, so thank you all!
10:06
The Stranger: One of the saddest things about modern baseball is that Anderson has zero chance of finishing this game whether he allows a hit or not
10:07
Ben Clemens: Yeah… for the story, I would prefer to see him stay in
10:07
Ben Clemens: But if the Braves want to win, they should not let him do that
10:07
Ben Clemens: So it’s a bind
10:08
Luke Hooper: It’s one thing if this turns into a 6-0 game or something. But as of now, you have to make decisions while ignoring the fact that it’s a no-hitter.
10:07
Chatz: somewhat related to the pitchers not seeming like they’re actually doing what they’re doing, Hallion has done a ton of ump show stuff.
10:08
Guest: Off-topic question for the commercial break: whatever happened to the grievances the MLBPA filed against certain low-payroll clubs for not spending enough?
10:08
Floyd: Shoulda let Grienke hit there
10:09
Dan Szymborski: I have zero idea
10:09
Dan Szymborski: The Bryant grievance seemed to take years to rule on
10:09
Mateo: It seems that way because it took years to rule on.
10:09
Scuffy mcgee: Has there been a less likeable team than the astros…maybe the black sox?
10:09
Ben Clemens: Allowing that hit to Rosario really panned out for the Astros in the end
10:09
Dan Szymborski: early 90s mets
10:10
Russ: Braves near the top of the order and already taking Anderson out? Why not let him start the next inning at least?
10:10
Ben Clemens: Yeah I don’t love it
10:10
Ben Clemens: But I kind of get it
10:10
Ben Clemens: TTOP is real
10:10
Ben Clemens: Take a 1-0 lead into Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley, and it could be 1-1 fast
10:11
Ben Clemens: Yuli can pick it
10:11
Dan Szymborski: But here’s the thing about the Astros
10:11
Dan Szymborski: There are a TON of players on the team that weren’t on the Astros in 2017
10:12
Ben Clemens: Totally agreed. Yordan and Framber are two of my favorite players in baseball
10:12
Luke Hooper: Plus Dusty raises the likability factor, a lot.
10:12
Ben Clemens: I’m against the organization, but for plenty of people within it
10:13
Dan Szymborski: Like do we hate the pitchers? The Braves were the only team to enter the World Series with a 2017 Houston pitcher on their roster
10:13
Chuck: I’ve always been pretty skeptical about how cut and dry the tv strike zone makes things seem. Kevin Goldstein said something similar in a chat I think. Plus the Atlantic League experiment (which I think MLB was involved with). And removing the element of the game with arguing balls and strikes. Idk. How much entertainment are you willing to sacrifice in the name of efficiency? What industry is this after all? I’m not some old timer, those were the days kind of guy, but I do wonder how far is too far for from the central purpose and appeal of the game (source of income too).Just curious about how others feel.
10:13
Ben Clemens: Chuck, I’m totally with you
10:13
Guest: Yankees in the early 2000s were more dislikeable; not only was that the height of the big-spending “Evil Empire,” they also had a slew of steroid users like ARod, Giambi, and Sheffield.
10:13
Joe: I barely remember the early 90s Phillies but they were apparently awful
10:14
Ben Clemens: I like the probabilistic strike zone, and the TV zone is not great sometimes. The TV zone is not what they’d actually use, of course, but I just like an ump-driven zone
10:14
The Stranger: I can’t get worked up about cheating. I’m not at all convinced that a bunch of other teams weren’t doing some variation of the same thing.
10:15
Hugh Duffy: The pitchers weren’t the ones banging trash cans, Dan.
10:15
Dan Szymborski: But they shared culpability
10:15
Chatz: Y’all just never lived through Eric Gregg or what?
10:15
Ben Clemens: There just aren’t umpires that bad anymore
10:15
Luke Hooper: Fasted guy on the team, at it again!
10:16
Ben Clemens: If they were that bad, sure. But the grading system has helped a ton
10:16
Tony Snell: Oh no Smoltz has been set off on Pitcher Usage Talk
10:16
Catherine: Taking out a pitcher throwing a no hitter is worst case scenario for bringing in grumpy Smoltz right?
10:16
99: overall, did the automated-zone experiments done this year point to a success or failure of the system?
10:16
Ben Clemens: Like a Magic 8 Ball, they pointed to ‘ask again later’
10:16
Ben Clemens: They’re definitely not ready for prime time yet but the progress has been good
10:17
Joe: Taking out a pitcher on less than 80 odd pitches make morbo something something something
10:18
Morbo: I’m pro electronic strike zone but there should be like 30 different ones that are all slightly different in how the ball strike probability is weighted in various parts of the zone. The zone should be chosen at random by a computer before every game. I like the different shaped zones that umpires have. I dislike lack of consistency. Basically I want a reliable strike zone not necessarily a valid strike zone, within reason.
Hugh Duffy: And Mike Fiers has my respect for blowing it all open. But all four starting infielders on the Astros were part of the sign stealing.
10:18
Dan Szymborski: I don’t even give Fiers that much credit for it
10:18
egm: I’m fine with just kind of irrationally foisting all the blame for 2017 on Correa, Bregman, and Altuve. They were the “leaders” of the clubhouse I assume
10:19
Dan Szymborski: He was happy to warn his teammates for a year and nobody else and gain advantage for his team
10:19
Morbo: MORBO IS ANGRY BUT NOT BECAUSE THEY PULLED THE PITCHER. MORE BLERNS ARE NEEDED!
10:19
Hugh Duffy: If he hadn’t gone public, MLB would have done nothing.
10:20
Russ: Will there be any game chats on here for games 4 or 5?
10:20
Hugh Duffy: Oakland told the Commissioner’s Office and complained, but until Fiers went to Sports Illustrated MLB was going to do nothing.
10:20
Ben Clemens: There will not be, but if there’s a Game 7, this same crew (give or take me, but probably I’ll join) will be back
10:21
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, but he didn’t know that ahead of time when he kept it to himself. It may have been *helpful* but he doesn’t come out smelling like roses wither
10:22
always confused: WE NEED PEARLS
10:22
Ben Clemens: I don’t quite understand why Soler is in over Joc
10:22
Russ: Unfortunate. These are always a delight. Where else can I get an instant response about inside righty on righty changeups mid game?
10:22
Dan Szymborski: Twitter?
10:23
The Stranger: I’m kind of rooting for Minter to get shelled here as karmic retribution for pulling Anderson in the middle of a no-hitter
10:23
Ben Clemens: If you root for him to get shelled, you’re rooting for Smoltz
10:23
Ben Clemens: I make no value judgment about that, of course. Just letting you know how it works
10:24
Ben Clemens: The ‘everyone has to be perfect’ argument is not a strong one, imo
10:24
Ben Clemens: I just don’t think there’s any evidence that that’s how pitchers work
10:24
Hugh Duffy: Nobody comes out smelling like roses. All the members of that team who didn’t participate were complicit. Even the members who said they should stop didn’t do enough to stop it. It’s only when this stuff is made public is there any chance of doing something about it, like with sticky stuff.
10:24
Dan Szymborski: I’m not saying it wasn’t helpful
10:25
Ben Clemens: Oh, just to be clear: I wouldn’t have pulled Anderson. I actually wrote about this exact circumstance!
10:25
Dan Szymborski: Only that I’m not buying Fiers as the white hat either
10:25
Mateo: Jose Altuve is going to hit a home run and it will lead to Discourse #callingmyshot
10:25
Ben Clemens: I would have gone batter-by-batter with him given the staggered lineup
10:26
Chuck: The Stranger’s comment kind of reminds of a Crash Davis, catchers being kind of happy when they get shaken off and the pitcher gets rocked situation
10:26
Mateo: Bruh. You had to wait until after he struck out to post my prediction from four minutes ago? lol
10:26
Luke Hooper: Sorry, meant to do it before but thought it was still funny after.
10:26
Ben Clemens: Oh man I assumed Dan did it given the trollish timing!
10:26
Ben Clemens: Luke, I underestimated you
10:27
Mateo: I forgive you. My “lol” was genuine, shockingly.
10:28
Dan Szymborski: This upcoming at bat is the kind that separates the Minter from the Mintest
10:28
chair user: How often does Houston play with the roof open?
10:28
Ben Clemens: VERY rarely
10:28
Ben Clemens: less than a third of the time
10:28
eastman: Mintleast
10:28
Luke Hooper: In the postseason, it’s been open 5 times in 50 games.
10:29
Luke Hooper: Their win in Game 2 was the first win with the roof open.
10:29
Ben Clemens: I truly hate the way fans act when opposing players get hit. I don’t think this is particular to Atlanta at all
10:29
Ben Clemens: It just sucks
10:29
egm: Bregman. Such a cocky number. 2. Pffft. Gimme a 33 or 45 all day
10:30
Ben Clemens: Whereas this kind of take I love
10:30
Guest: it was his draft pick #
10:30
Ben Clemens: Also single digits are awesome
10:30
Dan Szymborski: That’s even worse!
10:31
Ben Clemens: Uhhhhh
10:31
Ben Clemens: Like I know he missed his target but what
10:31
Ben Clemens: lol Smoltz
10:31
Ben Clemens: ‘you can’t tell me that the setup doesn’t affect the call’
10:31
Ben Clemens: dude, NO ONE says that
10:32
Ben Clemens: I don’t think Smoltz completely understands what we mean by framing
10:32
Dan Szymborski: “Hey Minter, why isn’t YOUR number your draft position? Oh, right, you can’t put 1174 on a jersey LULZ!” -Troll Bregman
10:32
Jordan: I can’t figure out this “don’t pull him in the middle of a no hitter” frame of mind, I bet Johan Santana wishes he was pulled
10:32
Chatz: you still like the human element?!?!
10:32
Dan Szymborski: Humans are complex molecules
10:32
Scuffy mcgee: I need the fangraphs chat alternate broadcast featuring Dan’s cats
10:33
Dan Szymborski: It’s not very interesting. One’s slept here the whole game and when I went upstairs to get some chicken the other three were just sitting in a circle watching a stinkbug that was on the outside of the living room window
10:33
Chatz: Playoff Minter, real thing.
10:33
Hugh Duffy: Totally the Mintest.
10:33
Luke Hooper: Minter is something else.
10:34
Donnel: I would like to apologize for alleging that Smoltz was “chilling out”
10:34
Ben Clemens: I think the quick hook on Anderson set him off
10:34
Rich: Humans are ugly bags of water
10:34
Ben Clemens: He WAS chilling out early on
10:34
Jay: why is only Dan special enough for a profile pic?
10:34
Luke Hooper: Yea he’s making my earlier comments look bad.
10:34
Chatz: Because he’s prettiest.
10:34
Dan Szymborski: Lord help us then
10:34
egm: I was joking of course 🙂 Bregman just seems kind of cocky
10:35
Ben Clemens: Bregman is a troll and I think baseball needs more trolls
10:35
Hugh Duffy: Everyone knows Dansby is the prettiest.
10:35
Dan Szymborski: Bichette has wonderful hair
10:35
Dan Szymborski:
10:36
Ben Clemens: Bo Bichette?? Bo Bichette?? Where??
10:36
Hugh Duffy: Bo Bichette is the AL Dansby.
10:36
Ben Clemens: As an added bonus that screen cap is even from that scene
10:36
Joe: Dansby looks like he was made in a Nashville lab
10:36
Guest: Reliever performance from year to year seems to fluctuate to quite a large degree; is there any research that bears this out? E.g., research that compares year to year variance in reliever performance to variance for other positions?
10:36
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure how you’d express it relative to other positions
10:36
eastman: I’m wondering, Dan, why you keep your chicken upstairs. You’re in the basement and going up to the ground floor is the simple explanation, but it isn’t the funniest
10:36
Dan Szymborski: I don’t have a downstairs fridge!
10:37
Russ: Joe, Vanderbilt basically counts as a Nashville lab.
10:37
JamesD84: Is there any research on the idea that batters do better the 3rd or 4th or whatever time they see a reliever in a postseason series? Certainly seems plausible, but I have no idea if it’s true.
10:37
Dan Szymborski: I haven’t seen anything
10:37
Russ: It just dawned on me that Ian Anderson is technically a rookie. I feel like he’s been in my life for years.
10:37
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, the postseason was such a large percentage of the 2020 season
10:37
Dan Szymborski: but didn’t count for rookie eligibility
10:37
Dan Szymborski: Arozarena was a rookie too
10:38
Dan Szymborski: I totally forgot he was a rookie too until I was filling out my ballot
10:38
Joe: And yet wander Franco won’t be next year
10:39
Ben Clemens: Now, I’m ready to complain about the Rays’ treatment of Wander
10:39
Joe: Am I misremembering things or was Minter totally worked to death in college in the CWS?
10:39
Ben Clemens: Leaving him down so long was really rough
10:39
Luke Hooper: I don’t think he made it to the college world series. He literally threw out his arm on the Minute Maid mound in college. According to him.
10:39
Ben Clemens: He lost a year of arb payout for it, and it was kind of a joke. Very clearly belonged in the majors
10:39
eastman: I prefer to think that your chicken is on the 3rd or 4th floor…
10:39
eastman: I’m just being silly and bored obvi
10:39
Dan Szymborski: My whole career is based on me being silly and bored
10:40
Mike: The drop-offs are less extreme, obviously, but between Bregman and Bellinger, who do you think is more likely to get back to their earlier form? A part of me feels Bregman has leveled off a bit and will be more consistent, but Bellinger will either find it again and click or just stay lost.
10:40
Ben Clemens: Yeah I can’t put numbers to it but offhand I think that
10:40
Ben Clemens: One caveat: I do think there’s some chance that Bregman is just playing hurt
10:40
Ben Clemens: And will come back next year as good as ever
10:41
Ben Clemens: But he always had to make the absolute most out of his contact to hit for the crazy numbers he used to
10:41
Luke Hooper: I think the less juiced ball is hurting him in that regard.
10:41
always confused: as someone with the same hair as Dansby Swanson: please don’t hate us because we are really, really, good looking (like Zoolander)
10:41
Chatz: Why not Joc?
10:41
Ben Clemens: Do you think he’s hurt or something?
10:42
Ben Clemens: Weird not to use him there
10:42
The Stranger: You want to keep your chicken at higher elevations, obviously. It’s a well-known fact that thinner air decreases flavor, which is why airplane food tastes like ass. But not everybody knows that the inverse is true as well – store your food at altitude and it’s extra delicious when you bring it down
10:42
chair user: I think he’s waiting for runners on for Joc, he generally uses Adriana w/ no runners on.
10:42
Ben Clemens: Ah, good call, thanks
10:43
Ben Clemens: I disagree with that
10:43
Ben Clemens: But you nkow, it is at least a reasonable conjecture
10:43
chair user: Which part.
10:43
Ben Clemens: Oh, that Adrianza is the right call there
10:43
Dylorama: Is the tv strike zone the same one you find live on Gamecast and Savant?
10:43
Ben Clemens: It is not
10:43
Ben Clemens: It’s worse
10:43
Russ: Maybe this is why I feel the way I do about Ian Anderson. EIGHT playoff starts:
Lowest ERA in 1st 8 career postseason starts (since ER official in both leagues in 1913):
Orlando Hernández: 1.22 Ian Anderson: 1.26 Cliff Lee: 1.26 Orel Hershiser: 1.52 Stephen Strasburg: 1.55
30 Oct 2021
10:43
Guest: That is also why the Navy submariner corp touts 5-star cuisine as one of the main selling points of enlistment.
10:44
Dan Szymborski: But you also have to be in an underwater metal tomb
10:44
Dan Szymborski: I’d be too claustrophobic to appreciate the food
10:44
Luke Hooper: Raley, the other Texas A&M guy.
10:45
Joe: Maybe it’s less Dave Roberts and more playing the Braves gives you bullpen brain worms
10:45
99: do managers sometimes remove pitchers when there are 2 outs in the inning so that if the next guy is wild he only needs one out (pseudo-circumventing the 3-batter rule?)
10:46
Ben Clemens: Perhaps. They’re certainly more willing to play matchups with two outs
10:46
Dan Szymborski: No matter how many times I hear that bell, I think The Undertaker’s about to enter
10:46
Scuffy mcgee: Loved that article grading Dave Roberts post-season managing. Think he should have gotten an F- though
10:46
Guest: Setting aside Game 7 for obvious reasons, for which game (1 through 6) is a victory in that game most highly correlated with a win in the series?
10:46
Dan Szymborski: I doubt there is one
10:46
Rick: Also if Joc hit, Astros would counter with Raley.
10:46
Ben Clemens: I’d guess it’s one of the first four games, actually
10:47
Ben Clemens: Teams that sweep are usually a lot better than their opponents
10:47
Ben Clemens: But, as a caveat, I’m drinking some wine and I haven’t thought through the implications of that statement yet
10:47
Russ: I bet a lot of game 6 wins actually result in the series ending then and there.
10:47
Ben Clemens: Oh interesting
10:47
Ben Clemens: Yeah if you win G6, you probably win the series 75% of the time
10:48
Ben Clemens: Now I’m on that as the answer
10:48
The Stranger: Game 5, maybe? Big deal in a 2-2 series and a possible series ending win
10:48
Ben Clemens: if every game is 50/50, the G6 winner necessarily wins the series 75% of the time. That’s quite solid
10:48
Chatz: That’s why the game needs more balls in play, that’s basically the first “highlight” in like 3 innings. I still watch every baseball game though.
10:48
Dan Szymborski: You have to change the ball/rules in a way to incentivize it
10:49
Ben Clemens: Guess we can’t talk about how the Astros sacrificed defense for offense JUST yet
10:49
Russ: What’s your wine of choice for the night, Ben?
10:49
Ben Clemens: a blend from a really neat local winery, Clif Family
10:49
Ben Clemens: which is actually founded by the clif bar founders, but is a separate thing
10:50
Luke Hooper: Yea considering the low score there’s been a big lack of defensive plays.
10:50
Dan Szymborski: I like when he says “deals with Luke Jackson” like he’s a crabby customer
10:50
Ben Clemens: Sir, I’m trying to help you.
10:50
Clemlibby: Are you eating a Clif bar with it?
10:50
Ben Clemens: No but they do offer a tasting where they pair Clif bars with wine!
10:51
Luke Hooper: Now that is weird.
10:51
Ben Clemens: Yeah I’ve never done it, haha
10:51
The Stranger: White chocolate macadamia nut is the best pairing with everything
10:51
Floyd: “This wine pairs well with our chocolate-peanut butter”
10:51
Russ: Hey I actually know of them. I’m in SF as well.
10:51
Ben Clemens: Oh nice! I highly recommend them, the food truck there is great too
10:52
chair user: How do y’all feel about his 4f/sl usage and do you think he should throw more heaters?
10:52
eastman: Inferring (dangerous) the intent of the question (which victory is most predictive of the series outcome) maybe series winning victories should be excluded from the calculation
10:52
Chatz: Totally agree, one day we’ll deaden them ball and lower the mound and it’ll be awesome until someone figures out how to get around it.
10:52
Ben Clemens: We talking about Jackson? If so, I’m fine with the pitch mix, it’s nots like he’s pinpoint with the fastball either
10:53
Dan Szymborski: But does lowering the mound really change the *incentives* to an all-or-nothing offense?
10:53
Special Guest: What’s the probability that this ends a no hitter at this point?
10:53
Ben Clemens: Dan, I’ve never thought about this seriously
10:53
Ben Clemens: But, have you?
10:55
Ben Clemens: Offhand, 10%-ish
10:55
Ben Clemens: 1-(1-.270)^7
10:55
Luke Hooper: That Tucker liner was 108.9 and had a .670 expected batting average.
10:56
Fire Ken Tremendous: What’s up gang? Sorry I’m late
10:56
Dan Szymborski: It’s too late to make me think
10:56
Guest: 2022 Steamer projections are out. Where are our new 2022 ZIPS projections, Dan?
10:56
Dan Szymborski: You gotta wait!
10:56
Chatz: I think deadening the ball further might, with the lowering of the mound just counteracting the current strikeout rate (maybe) so as to hopefully not decrease overall offensive baseball? It probably wouldn’t work.
10:56
Dan Szymborski: That would work better, I think
10:56
The Stranger: I think you have to deaden the ball to make spraying line drives an optimal hitting strategy again
10:57
Dan Szymborski: I’d like to see one of the independent league test 88 feet to first
10:58
Luke Hooper: Huh, shorter first base would be pretty interesting.
10:58
Ben Clemens: Dan why not just bases that are two feet longer?
10:58
Dan Szymborski: It would look silly!
10:58
Ben Clemens: Just huge ridiculous pillows out there
10:58
Joe: Quick and dirty math taking the averages of the players in the playoffs and assuming nothing about the pitchers the no hitter is at about 35%
10:59
Dan Szymborski: can’t make a reference to baseball pillows without this classic
10:59
Dan Szymborski:
10:59
Ben Clemens: That sounds…. high
10:59
Ben Clemens: They’d need to be below .200 hitters on average
11:00
Ben Clemens: (1-.200)^6 is only 26%
11:00
Joe: There are a lot of 0.0 hitters in the series
11:00
Ben Clemens: Oh c’mon then
11:00
Ben Clemens: You have to use some kind of reasonable expectation of how likely they are to get a hit
11:01
Dan Szymborski: I like when Buck inserts a reference to something like Google Cloud and then an event happens midsentence and he switches mid sentence back to the thing and never gets back to the thing he’s plugging.
11:01
Ben Clemens: I ballparked .270 for the Astros, but like, .250 or something?
11:01
Dan Szymborski: And Smoltz doesn’t follow up because Smoltz wasn’t listening and doesn’t care about any of that
11:02
Ben Clemens: Again, Buck is very smooth
11:02
chair user: Gold Glover vs. Young Thicc.
11:02
Dan Szymborski: And hey, Brennaman did a smooth transition between talking about the end of his career to announcing a homer!
11:02
Joe: BA of upcoming guys (basically the flat prior): 0.125, 0.0, 0.167, 0.417, 0.0, 0.143
11:02
Ben Clemens: The flat prior should be their regular season averages at the very least
11:02
Ben Clemens: but yes Dan
11:03
Ben Clemens: very good point
11:03
Luke Hooper: We live chatting for the Masked Singer after this right?
11:03
Ben Clemens: Thom Brennaman was so smooth he became a meme
11:03
Ben Clemens: This is gonna be an abrupt change but I really don’t get that Alter Ego show
11:03
Ben Clemens: Masked Singer, I don’t love it, but I’ll watch it
11:03
Ben Clemens: Er, well, that’s probably unfair
11:03
Ben Clemens: I’ve watched two episodes in my life
11:03
Ben Clemens: Boy
11:03
Ben Clemens: Hallion’s zone is just expanding and expanding
11:04
Ben Clemens: Whoever said he was ump show-ing this game, I totally agree
11:04
Dan Szymborski: MATZEK ON THE CASE
11:04
Dan Szymborski:
11:04
Guest: End of his career? Nonsense! Thom Brennaman was back behind the mic earlier this year, calling high school events for Chatterbox Sports
11:05
dagg.nah.bbit: @Dan… Imagine if broadcasters were to integrate ads into their play by play… “Slick pick up by Correa… just like Bounty… the Quicker Picker Upper”.
11:05
Luke Hooper: They kind of do have to do that. Baseball radio has so many random sponsors for everything the announcer has to say.
11:05
Tony Snell: Wow that one’s pretty good @Dan
11:05
Ben Clemens: A+ from e
11:05
Ben Clemens: me*
11:05
Dan Szymborski: To be young and hip, I make references to a TV show that 80 year olds watched 30 years ago
11:06
Quarantino Martinez: I like it when a pitcher doesn’t get the call, throws the same pitch, seemingly from stubborness, and gets the call.
11:06
Shodai: Or the average age of an MLB fan these days Dan.
11:06
Dan Szymborski: True story: I’m the only non-business to have purchased a legal copy of Adobe CS6
11:06
Ben Clemens: Analysts seem to like the idea that if a pitcher gets a call, he should throw another pitch in the same location
11:07
Ben Clemens: I think that would be an interesting (but difficult) thing to look at
11:07
Miles: Hey, can y’all convince Meg to do a chat if there’s a game 7? Set editorial duties aside for a bit
11:07
Dan Szymborski: Luke and I are already on the schedule for a possible game 7
11:07
Ben Clemens:
No-no?
Yes (25.7% | 9 votes)
No (74.2% | 26 votes)
Total Votes: 35
11:07
Dan Szymborski: Meg works enough as it is!
11:07
Ben Clemens:
Odds of no-no
<5% (30.5% | 11 votes)
5-15% (22.2% | 8 votes)
15-35% (36.1% | 13 votes)
more (11.1% | 4 votes)
Total Votes: 36
11:08
Quarantino Martinez: Your question is No-no but the answers are Yes-No. Explain?
11:08
Ben Clemens: No
11:08
desertfox9139: what is adobe CS6?
11:08
Dan Szymborski: Creative Suite 6 before they went to the cloud
11:08
Luke Hooper: Quick everyone change your answer!
11:08
Shodai: You can’t do a bullpen chat for game 5, what if one host just doesn’t have it that night??
11:08
CJ: Oh no
11:08
Ben Clemens: So uh
11:09
Russ: I blame Ben for that.
11:09
Ben Clemens: Can we talk about Eddie Rosario’s defense now?
11:09
Ben Clemens: It’s atrocious
11:09
Luke Hooper: His closing speed on that play was terrible.
11:09
Ben Clemens: That should be an error
11:09
Ben Clemens: That was a high catch probability play there
11:09
Quarantino Martinez: Rosario giveth hits but doesn’t always taketh them away
11:10
Ben Clemens: I mean it won’t be an error
11:10
Dan Szymborski: The problem with no-hitters is that errors are so dumb
11:10
Ben Clemens: That’s not how errors work in the real world
11:10
Ben Clemens: But that’s an error
11:10
Ben Clemens: He made an error that allowed the runner to reach
11:10
desertfox9139: klesko would have caught that
11:10
Ben Clemens: Yordan would’ve
11:10
Dan Szymborski: You could vomit on a routine groundball and do a jig around it while the runner goes all the way around the bases and that crap is going to be a hit
11:10
Luke Hooper: Was Siri taking a bathroom break? What was that?
11:11
Morbo: Ben Clemens might have caught it
11:11
Ben Clemens: Morbo, I would not have
11:11
Quarantino Martinez: Dusty was trying to call for Siri earlier there, but it just kept going to his iPhone.
11:11
CJ: What Dan said
11:11
Morbo: I didn’t say where you would have been playing
11:11
Ben Clemens: Not sure it would have mattered
11:11
Ben Clemens: I’d be terrified!
11:11
Luke Hooper: Siri has a huge lead!
11:12
josh: Castro hitting instead of Siri or McCormick makes no sense to me
11:12
Ben Clemens: I’m okay pinch hitting with Castro here
11:12
Quarantino Martinez: I like that Siri swivel!
11:12
Ben Clemens: but like…. it wouldn’t have been my first guess of who dusty would use
11:12
Dan Szymborski: Hey Smoltzie, hitters hit worse when there are more pickoff attempts
11:12
Luke Hooper: Siri’s not really getting a good read though.
11:13
Morbo: would have just hit you in the forehead?
11:13
Ben Clemens: exactly
11:13
chair user: Throwing runners out is very 2000 and late.
11:13
Russ: Castro wasn’t close on all three of those fastballs.
11:14
Morbo: My brain kept processing Siri as the apple assistant. I don’t have an iPhone and never had but still
11:14
Dan Szymborski: OMG YOU ARE SMOLTZ
11:14
Ben Clemens: Smoltz talking about four-seam fastball carry
11:14
Ben Clemens: More of this please
11:14
CJ: I miss bunting once in a while
11:15
Chatz: How the hell did he pop that up like that?
11:15
Miles: .003 seconds!! John smoltz, folks
11:15
Dan Szymborski: With shorter distance to first, bunting improves as a play!
11:15
Ben Clemens: Yeah .003 seconds is VERY FAST
11:15
Jeremy: Siri has a “100” emoji necklace?! Between that and Joc’s string of pearls, this is an all-time postseason for necklaces.
11:15
Ben Clemens: I like Brantley’s primary-color geometric shapes too
11:15
Dan Szymborski: When you start getting even slight chances of a bunt attempt becoming a hit, the math for a bunt gets better VERY quickly
11:16
Shodai: Alexa would have already been on third by now.
11:16
Luke Hooper: Siri bringing the chaos on the bases again!
11:16
Dan Szymborski: OMG, for a second I thought he was going to go home
11:16
Ben Clemens: To be fair, you said that minutes ago
11:16
Jeremy: Way better necklace postseason than that one year when all the Rangers were wearing those rope-like necklaces that supposedly boosted their energy or whatever.
11:16
Ben Clemens: That one was terrible
11:16
Quarantino Martinez: Though a better play has him
11:16
Chatz: i Think that’s on Dans.
11:16
Ben Clemens: Yeah, Siri was out there
11:16
Dan Szymborski: Ah, so he could have gotten him if he had gotten it
11:17
sam_nahem: Please steal home
11:17
CJ: Boy Brantley is so late
11:17
The Hamburglar: Dansby not having a great game
11:17
chair user: Dans a lil bit in his head rn.
11:17
Dan Szymborski: He’s still my favorite Gatsby character
11:18
The Hamburglar: Was really hoping Rosario would just rush in and completely whiff on it
11:18
Ben Clemens: Rosario has family circus routes
11:19
Ben Clemens: and ever since someone noticed that he wasn’t actually Amed Rosario, his speed can’t bail him out
11:19
chair user: Who do I lobby to get my no-hitter back?
11:19
Luke Hooper: Even he thought he was Amed.
11:20
Ben Clemens: I prefer to think of it that way
11:20
Dan Szymborski:
11:20
Ben Clemens: the baseball player equivalent of Wile E Coyote not falling until he looks down
11:20
Dan Szymborski: 911!
11:20
Miles: Can I ask things like this during commercials? Bob Melvin take?
11:20
Dan Szymborski: You can ask anything at any time
11:20
Ben Clemens: Love it for the Padres
11:21
Luke Hooper: Bummer for the A’s
11:21
Ben Clemens: This chat has been surprisingly on-topic for us
11:21
Adam: You just opened the floodgates Dan
11:22
Ben Clemens: So we’ll see if the floodgates are ACTUALLY open
11:22
Scuffy mcgee: Are we sad for the As or is their crying poor act tired
11:22
Ben Clemens: So tired
11:23
Quarantino Martinez: So tired. Especially with this stadium nonsense.
11:23
The Hamburglar: The A’s are for sure selling off pieces, right?
11:23
Ben Clemens: Yeah verrrrry high likelihood
11:23
Hugh Duffy: It’s been a close ball game! We have so much to talk about!
11:23
Ben Clemens: Yeah this game has been very entertaining AND there have been some good talking points
11:23
chair user: The A’s have been poor my whole life and I’m starting to think its a feature not a bug*.
11:23
Tony Snell: I feel like a slow pace disproportionately hurts a pitcher’s duel
11:24
Luke Hooper: What is up with d’Arnaud!
11:24
Ben Clemens: I agree with this
11:24
Ben Clemens: Wow
11:24
Dan Szymborski: “The Next Batter is D’Arnaud a Quick Word from Home Depot.”
11:24
Special Guest: Shazam!
11:24
Ben Clemens: I was just about to say Graveman looked awesome
11:24
Ben Clemens: So I guess I’m outing myself
11:24
Fire Ken Tremendous: No d’oubt about that one
11:24
Ben Clemens: As wrong
11:25
Scuffy mcgee: Loan Depo dan! It’s Home’s cousin
11:25
Quarantino Martinez: How can you have loans in a depot. They aren’t physical objects.
11:25
Ben Clemens: virtual depot
11:25
Russ: D’Arnaud gets his lumber from Home Depot.
11:26
Dan Szymborski: dangit!
11:26
Dan Szymborski: It’s a Depot own by Ioan Gruffydd
11:26
Ben Clemens: I *think* that was the first time that Fox has cut into the crowd to show the chop
11:26
Chatz: I think FOX has tried real hard not to show the chop.
11:26
Ben Clemens: haha jinx!
11:26
chair user: Travis definitely gets my vote for ‘best baseball player who really doesn’t look that athletic or like he’s even having a good time being there.’
11:27
chair user: I do wonder what the internal memos regarding how much they broadcast the chop are.
11:27
Ben Clemens: TBS was going whole hog
11:27
Scuffy mcgee: I’m on fire tonight. I hope you guys are getting the same amount of enjoyment from my comments as I am seeing them being published
11:27
Dan Szymborski: I would imagine they try not to write anything down about that
11:27
Ben Clemens: whoever just went back and voted ‘yes’ to our no-hitter poll, you’re wild and I love it
11:27
Dan Szymborski: Businesses should be smart enough that you only discuss controversial things in person with both people being quiet and using white boards.
11:28
Alf: How surprised are you that Manfred said that he is essentially in favor of the chop?
11:28
Ben Clemens: Like, as shocked as can be?
11:28
Ben Clemens: And also disappointed
11:28
Morbo: “I would imagine they try not to write anything down about that” Dan you just made lawyers everywhere very proud of you
11:29
Ben Clemens: As they taught us at Goldman, before you put anything in an email, imagine how it would look if you read it aloud in a Congressional hearing
11:29
Dan Szymborski: His answer was basically “This is the answer to the question that I hope will get people to stop asking me this question and talk about something else.”
11:29
Morbo: Ben, how are you still capable of being disappointed by Manfred?
11:29
Ben Clemens: Because I’m a dummy
11:29
Hugh Duffy: Never email when a call will do. Never call when a nod is enough. Never nod when silence does the job.
11:30
Luke Hooper: Wise words.
11:30
Dan Szymborski: DEAR TACO BELL, CAN I TRANSFER MY TACO CREDIT TO A TACO VENDOR WHO HAS TACOS I WANT TO EAT? THX, DAN
11:30
Luke Hooper: Maybe I’m crazy but the Bregman injury talk has me thinking that he’s constantly grimacing when they show his face.
11:31
Russ: Is Heredia really that much of a defensive upgrade over Duvall in CF?
11:31
Ben Clemens: No, but Duvall is more comfortable in right and Soler is not good
11:31
Jeremy: Sell your taco credit to someone who likes Taco Bell Dan.
11:31
Dan Szymborski: Who wants to invest in my cryptocurrency that can only be liquidated in tacos?
11:31
Ben Clemens: TaCoin
11:32
Morbo: Taco bell is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine
11:32
Fire Ken Tremendous: I bet the Moon could talk David Ortiz into that Dan
11:32
Dan Szymborski: Just wait until the sentencing
11:32
Luke Hooper: Didn’t even have time to get hyped for a big Yordan at bat.
11:32
Dan Szymborski: OH GOD SMOLTZ STOP
11:33
Quarantino Martinez: Lots of pop ups to Riley
11:33
Russ: I swear to god if Smoltz talks about the shift one more time…
11:33
Russ: Smoltz talking about the shift. Everybody drink.
11:33
Jeremy: There is no way that TaCoin doesn’t already exist.
11:33
Quarantino Martinez: It’s like scalping tacos in the taco bell parking lot
11:33
Guest: I remember being a summer associate at a law firm. First rule from the partner I worked with: NEVER email me; just come talk face to face
11:33
Morbo: Tacos are probably my favorite food so I don’t really see a problem with a taco only crypto
11:33
Ben Clemens: it would be an NFT; I don’t want my tacos to be fungible
11:33
dagg.nah.bbit: So is Carlos Correa tying this game?
11:34
Tony Snell: @Luke I thought that he was grimacing last time up
11:34
Luke Hooper: So we’re both probably crazy.
11:34
Ben Clemens:
Correa HR?
No (84.2% | 32 votes)
Yes (15.7% | 6 votes)
Total Votes: 38
11:34
Russ: Not now Ben!
11:34
The Stranger: Does the NFT get you the actual taco, or just a hash representing ownership of the digital concept of the taco?
11:35
Ben Clemens: Ooh, a taco with hash browns in them
11:35
Ben Clemens: in it*
11:35
Ben Clemens: Totally in
11:35
Ben Clemens: love breakfast burritos and tacos
11:35
Jeremy: Come on Tucker, tie this so we get free baseball to go with our free tacos.
11:35
Sean: These polls have some great timing
11:36
Ben Clemens: I really like the way Snitker managed this game, give or take a few outs for Anderson. Bring out the heavy artillery if you’re ahead. Just b/c it was an obvious choice doesn’t mean it was a bad one
11:37
Luke Hooper: Yea and it helped that his relievers have been amazing.
11:36
dagg.nah.bbit: It did not happen… good thing I did not invest any of my Tacoin on a Correa’s chances
11:36
Tony Snell: Why are they pushing this Atlanta As Deprived Of Baseball Success narrative?
11:36
Ben Clemens: b/c a)narratives are easy
11:37
Ben Clemens: b)Smoltz
11:37
Tony Snell: The Braves have been… well above average in any time period except like the last 12 years
11:37
Clemlibby: Thanks guys!
11:37
Russ: Great game. Wonderful chatting with yall.
11:37
Ben Clemens: Everyone, thanks so much for chatting with us
11:37
Luke Hooper: Who saw a 2-0 final score
11:37
The Hamburglar: Eddie Rosario comes out of nowhere once again to drop the ball
11:37
Quarantino Martinez: Thanks guys!
11:37
Scuffy mcgee: It’s been a pleasure men of substance
11:38
Luke Hooper: Thanks for joining. Have a good night everyone!
Meg is the editor-in-chief of FanGraphs and the co-host of Effectively Wild. Prior to joining FanGraphs, her work appeared at Baseball Prospectus, Lookout Landing, and Just A Bit Outside. You can follow her on Bluesky @megrowler.fangraphs.com.
Dan Szymborski: It’s a’me, Szymio!
