Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat — 5/14/13

9:05
Jeff Sullivan: It’s always something, isn’t it? This time my router wasn’t working. All right, full steam ahead!

9:06
Jeff Sullivan: Is this working? Is this working yet?

9:07
Jeff Sullivan: Okay, weird CiL hiccup. Uhhhh this has not been a very promising start

9:07
Jeff Sullivan: Let’s turn to the audience for questions!

9:07
Comment From Aaron
So the Braves and their strikeouts became a big deal over the weekend as many Braves fans and radio hosts freaked out over a 3 game losing streak to a good team on the road. I know you’ve written on it, but any new thoughts?

9:09
Jeff Sullivan: No new thoughts. The Braves are going to strike out a little more than most teams do, but that’s only one of their characteristics. Why would the strikeouts matter more now, as opposed to when the Braves were 12-1? Why was it fine then, and problematic in May?

9:09
Jeff Sullivan: A fun fact that I just tweeted out: the Braves, for all their strikeouts, actually have an above-average rate of making productive outs.

9:09
Jeff Sullivan: Not that I give a hoot about productive outs, but if the Braves are having trouble playing smallball, well, there’s evidence to the contrary.

9:10
Jeff Sullivan: The Braves are fine and not as good as they looked. People are overreacting to their own initial overreactions, which, that’s people for you.

9:10
Comment From jesse
9 am pst??? what is that, it noon here, is that metric or something? Im confused

9:10
Jeff Sullivan: Like I ever start one of these things on time

9:10
Comment From Pete
Who do you think the best and worst managers in MLB are?

9:10
Jeff Sullivan: Based on nothing but my own personal feelings, Joe Maddon and Eric Wedge. In both cases I am biased and I’m wide open to disagreement

9:10
Comment From Langdon Alger
Jeff, do you like memes? If so, which is your favorite?

9:10
Jeff Sullivan: Most of the time I hate the internet

9:11
Comment From Tom
I think the Colin Wyers piece on Heyman and WAR is really good and makes some good points. Do you agree?

9:11
Jeff Sullivan: Haven’t read it but I’m sure there are good points and most importantly, look at where we are — a national baseball writer is citing WAR and not dismissing it right away

9:11
Jeff Sullivan: Heyman wants to understand what WAR is and how it works. That’s amazing!

9:12
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
Aaron Hicks: do you applaud the Twins for sticking by him through his rough MLB start or would you have let him start the year at AAA?

9:13
Jeff Sullivan: I would’ve started him in the minors, but once the Twins decided to keep him with the big club, it would’ve been a shot to his confidence to get demoted within a month. So I think the Twins have done the right thing after doing the wrong thing

9:13
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
Is the resurgence of Scott Kazmir your favorite 2013 baseball story so far?

9:13
Jeff Sullivan: It’s one of them, but I’m also enjoying the struggles of the Angels and the Dodgers and the success of the Yankees because go to hell, attempted pre-season narratives

9:13
Comment From Kyle
chances josh willingham gets traded to a contender this summer?

9:13
Jeff Sullivan: decent

9:13
Jeff Sullivan: half-decent

9:15
Comment From _David_
World Series game 7, the team you’re managing up by one, 9th inning, two outs. Your decent closer is in. Up next are ’04 Barry Bonds, ’04 Barry Bonds, and ’04 Barry Bonds, and ’13 Brendan Ryan. Do you walk the bases loaded? (Assume the catcher doesn’t suck.)

9:15
Jeff Sullivan: this is the hardest question I have ever received in a chat or any form of communication

9:16
Jeff Sullivan: I pitch to the first Bonds. His chances of hitting a home run are pretty low, all things considered. From there, if Bonds doesn’t get out, I reconsider and I think about getting to Ryan, depending on the initial outcome.

9:17
Comment From Monty
Cleveland Indians! Are they really this good?

9:18
Jeff Sullivan: They’re on a 92-win pace, and they’re probably a little worse than that, but they aren’t *way* worse than that so they could be able to make a lot of noise for several months. While they’re not Tigers-good, they’re fringe-WC good in my estimation

9:18
Jeff Sullivan: This seems like a good time to consult the FG standings page!

9:19
Jeff Sullivan: Indians projected to finish 82-80. Maybe you want to bump that up a few wins. They’re fine, overall

9:19
Comment From The old professor
Do older players, statistically start slower and ” warm up” as the weather improves, more so than younger players? I’m thinking of Pujols specifically.

9:20
Jeff Sullivan: Can’t think of a study off the top of my head, so I don’t know. Intuitively it might make some sense, but from the other perspective maybe they start stronger and wear down faster. There are arguments you could make either way

9:20
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
There’s a joke itching to be made comparing the pace of this chat to Yu’s slow curve but I am not that mean 🙂 Thanks for all you do Jeff.

9:20
Jeff Sullivan: I swear that this time I was all prepared. I was right here, ready to chat! And then my internet went down, and then the chat window wouldn’t work. It’s fate. These will forever be tardy.

9:20
Comment From Bill
Over/under 3.5 WAR for Iwakuma this year?

9:21
Jeff Sullivan: Over. He’s already at 1.4 by one measure and 2.1 by another. By FIP WAR, it’s going to be close, but I think he’s got what it takes

9:21
Comment From lemonverbena
Was your ethernet card lacking a dongle?

9:22
Jeff Sullivan: yeah probably

9:22
Comment From Guest
Andino and Ryan are hitting something like .160 combined. How long until the Mariners do something, and can Franklin/Triunfel actually play the position?

9:23
Jeff Sullivan: The Mariners aren’t going to rush a prospect because of what’s going on on the big-league club. So they’ll bring up Franklin or Triunfel when they feel like they’re ready for the challenge. They’d give either one of those guys an opportunity to play short, but realistically they’re not long-term shortstops and a year or two down the road the M’s will probably be playing Brad Miller

9:23
Jeff Sullivan: There would be a greater sense of urgency if the Mariners were contending

9:23
Comment From Naveed
Considering contract status, how many pitchers in baseball have more trade value than Madison Bumgarner?

9:23
Jeff Sullivan: Very few of them

9:24
Comment From Bernard
Fun facts to know and share: the Mets drafted 766 pitchers between Gooden and Harvey

9:24
Jeff Sullivan: Here’s looking at you, Bobby Keppel

9:24
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
Jean Segura is pretty freaking good

9:25
Jeff Sullivan: 26 career minor-league home runs. Surprise!

9:25
Jeff Sullivan: One is reminded now of the state of the Angels’ minor-league system

9:25
Comment From CecilFielder
How much faith do you have in the ZIPS & Steamer ROS projections? For example, Rizzo’s ROS counting stats would place him as the number 1 or 2 first baseman at season’s end. I like Rizzo, but do you actually expect him to outperform Encarnacion, Pujols, Goldschmidt ROS like the ZIPS & Steamer projections do? How would you rank those 4 ROS?

9:27
Jeff Sullivan: I have as much faith in them as I have in any decent projection system, which is to say, overall I trust them and in individual cases I disagree. They basically project Goldschmidt and Rizzo to be very similar the rest of the way, which seems reasonable to me.

9:28
Jeff Sullivan: I’d definitely rank Rizzo ahead of Pujols because Pujols is old and fragile and actively breaking apart. Pujols terrifies me, for a guy who’s still a reasonably productive hitter

9:29
Comment From Wobatus
Catcher who is 3rd in sw% among all with 100 PA or more, on a 4 WAR per 500 AB pace, who isn’t named A.J. Ellis. name him:

9:29
Jeff Sullivan: I’ll let you tell me

9:29
Jeff Sullivan: if I find your response in the queue!

9:29
Comment From Bernard
If you’re Joe Girardi, how do you sort out the OF playing time situation with Granderson’s return?

9:30
Jeff Sullivan: I start taking time away from Ichiro, because he hasn’t earned it and Wells has done more. Gardner, I stick with as a regular. So basically you have Gardner, Granderson, and one of Wells/Ichiro depending on the day

9:30
Comment From _David_
It might not be Wedge’s fault at all, but if, say, Ackley’s agent thought the team’s undervaluing walks was hurting his client’s career and massively reducing future pay -is player development/coaching something agents ever complain to the team about?

9:31
Jeff Sullivan: Very very seldom, and in this case it’s up to Ackley to figure things out. He’s not broken because the Mariners have told him to be more aggressive. He’s broken because his approach and swing are messed up

9:32
Jeff Sullivan: Even in the event of coaching staff incompetence, they know more about baseball than baseball agents do

9:32
Comment From Three Fingers Stump
As a Sens fan, did you take any joy in watching the Leafs choke?

9:32
Jeff Sullivan: heavens yes, and I can’t stand the Bruins

9:32
Comment From Anon21
T/F: Watching a preternaturally gifted athlete like Andrelton Simmons make a spectacular play is greatest aesthetic experience that baseball provides.

9:33
Jeff Sullivan: Torn between this and watching Clayton Kershaw’s curveball

9:33
Comment From Marty
This chat is like a Phil Humber first inning

9:33
Jeff Sullivan: One of these days I’ll pitch a chat perfect game

9:34
Comment From Wobatus
Was signing Rick Ankiel a really dumb move by Mets?

9:34
Jeff Sullivan: Not really dumb. Curious, but their outfield sucks and Ankiel is interesting in both good and bad ways. Of course, I’d prefer they look younger, but things being what they are…

9:34
Comment From Sweet Lou
Rafael Montero is destroying AA. Why isn’t there any helium surrounding him?

9:34
Jeff Sullivan: because we’re on the planet Earth

9:34
Comment From Danny Espinosa
Can I stick in the league with my K rate? Is my defense really good enough to keep me around? (maybe with a trade to a team that needs a shortstop?)

9:36
Jeff Sullivan: Good news! Your K% is down from 29% to 23% so far between 2012 and 2013. You’re a little BABIP away from being productive enough. You can make it — you’re just seldom going to be consistent

9:36
Jeff Sullivan: To put it another way, Espinosa had consecutive 3+ WAR full seasons with a bunch of strikeouts. I think that counts as proof of concept

9:37
Comment From Bernard
I have tickets to CC vs Felix tonight. How excited should I be scaled to VORV (Value Over Replacement Volcano)?

9:37
Jeff Sullivan: relative to a volcano you should be 0 excited

9:37
Jeff Sullivan: relative to a stupid pathetic regular mountain you should be 8 excited

9:37
Comment From Wobatus
Paul Konerko done?

9:38
Jeff Sullivan: Highly doubt it

9:38
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
was anybody writing articles begging Ken Griffey Jr. not to play so hard/run into walls at the time?

9:38
Jeff Sullivan: There probably would’ve been some stuff along those lines in 1995, when he busted his wrist

9:38
Jeff Sullivan: But there used to be a lot less publicly available baseball writing

9:38
Comment From Jeff
So if the New-Baldo is at least a little like Old-Baldo, and new Kazmir is at least effective, the Indians have a chance to be a playoff contender, yes?

9:38
Jeff Sullivan: You bet!

9:39
Comment From Sweet Lou
Which disappointment would you bet on to return to above average – Haren, Dickey, Dunn, Lawrie?

9:40
Jeff Sullivan: I’ll go with Lawrie, with Dickey not far behind

9:41
Comment From JackMorris
Do you still think David Price is a top 10-15 starter this season? What about Gio? Concerned about either yet?

9:42
Jeff Sullivan: Not really worried about either. I think Gio probably hit his peak in 2012, since he’s never going to have much in the way of precise command, but I like them both as very good starting pitchers in their respective leagues

9:42
Comment From The Humber Games
Think Grandal starts in the minors or gets plugged right in once his suspension is up?

9:42
Jeff Sullivan: I don’t have inside info, but I suspect the minors, given the way Hundley has been hitting in his stead

9:43
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
Is Bartolo Colon ageless?

9:43
Jeff Sullivan: No, he has an age

9:43
Comment From Too Many Joes
I realize you have many awesome things you already do, but Worst Pitches (result) was maybe my favorite baseball column ever. If you get a chance to bring it back on a limited basis (monthly? Bimonthly? Yearly?) I would probably wet myself with excitement.

9:43
Jeff Sullivan: I don’t think this is something I’d be doing regularly, but I could see myself doing it once a month or so, so, thanks for the idea!

9:43
Comment From lemonverbena
Your USSM post outlines how Ackley isn’t walking and is getting progressively worse as a hitter. If you had to guess, are Ackley’s problems mental? Is he simply “pressing”, or is this the real Dustin Ackley?

9:45
Jeff Sullivan: I don’t think he’s pressing, in that I don’t think he’s mentally overwhelmed, but I don’t think he’s made the right adjustments and it’s possible that pitchers are exploiting some hole that Ackley has yet to patch. The walks and strikeouts make little sense given Ackley’s patience and contact numbers, but now they’re sustaining. I don’t know who the real Dustin Ackley is, at this point. I don’t think he does, either, and that’s part of the problem.

9:45
Comment From Kate Upton: Fantasy MVP
The Angels are now 10 games back from the Rangers. What percentage of alternate universes exist where the Angels manage to win the AL West? 1%? 5%?

9:46
Jeff Sullivan: Maybe 2%? 3%? Baseball Prospectus says 5.3%, but that strikes me as a little high, for no reason in particular. Maybe I’m biased by how bad the Angels have been for a month and a half

9:46
Comment From LarryA
What does it mean when you baseball writer types say “first-division player”? Is Chris Nelson a first division player?

9:47
Jeff Sullivan: It means the writer is overcomplicating a simple concept, the way scouts do. I think the idea is that a first-division player can play in the toughest division in the league. It’s not something I’d ever think about, myself.

9:48
Comment From David
Honestly, the only two fan bases who really should be panicing are those in TOR and LAA

9:48
Jeff Sullivan: I think Yankees fans could rightfully panic about the possible presence of witchcraft

9:48
Comment From patriot
Does Boston lefthander Felix Doubront’s FIP of 2.83 and BABIP of .420 belie his 6.40 ERA in 32.1 innings this season?

9:50
Jeff Sullivan: When a guy has a bad ERA and good peripherals, sometimes it’s the guy’s fault, but more often, things are bound to regress in a positive direction. Now, Doubront has a .331 BABIP for his career. But that career doesn’t yet span 230 innings, so it also needs to be heavily regressed. The likelihood is that Doubront is okay

9:50
Comment From Zack
Is it Wheeler time yet?

9:50
Jeff Sullivan: Give it a month

9:51
Comment From zack
Better rest of season: Josh Hamilton or Vernon Wells? Seriously, I’m not sure.

9:51
Jeff Sullivan: Hamilton, by not nearly enough of a margin

9:51
Comment From jesse
it became an issue because there was an instance where the braves had a man on 3rd with one out and followed with 2 Ks. Anecdotal evidence is what talk radio is about

9:53
Jeff Sullivan: This year, when there’s a runner on third and fewer than two out, the league average is 50% scoring. The Braves come in at 54%, fifth-best in MLB. How about that

9:53
Jeff Sullivan: The Marlins have the second-worst conversion rate and they seldom strike out

9:53
Comment From Anon21
That Bryce Harper wall collision was hard to watch, and I don’t even like the guy. How does a person who’s been playing professional baseball all his life just run full tilt into the fence like that?

9:54
Jeff Sullivan: Because he’s been conditioned to care only about getting the baseball, and because he’s still relatively new to the outfield, all things considered. There aren’t a lot of opportunities to practice balls in play like this one.

9:54
Comment From Dave M
Rangers and Bruins, who wins in how many games?

9:54
Jeff Sullivan: Bruins in 6

9:55
Comment From Ivan
I have a keeper AL league is it time to give up on blanton

9:55
Jeff Sullivan: um yes

9:55
Comment From Josh Dowd
Any options to shoring up the Mariners back end of their rotation?

9:55
Jeff Sullivan: The guys they have should do better, and Hultzen/Paxton approach. Beavan’s around but he’s Beavan. It’s a real shame Erasmo Ramirez is probably lost for al ong time

9:55
Comment From Conflicted in Birdland
Jeff, I’m having a serious existential quandary here. I couldn’t sleep last night. I’m in second place in my keeper league and my team looks awesome for this season. However, I’m an Orioles fan, and I love owning Adam Jones and Chris Davis. I want to complete the fantasy/real-life symmetry by acquiring Machado, but so far I’ve been rebuffed, including my offer of Wright, Price, and Kimbrel, and I’m thinking about taking it even further. Here’s my question: would you rather pay a heavy price to own your favorite players, and hurt your chances this year, or stay at the top, and watch Machado blow up on another guy’s team? Would you rather finish last and own your favorite player or finish first and not own him? Thanks.

9:57
Jeff Sullivan: I’d rather finish first and not own him, because how much you like a player should be independent of whether or not you own him on your fantasy team, and there’s satisfaction to be gained from finishing first in a league. Say Machado’s good. In one situation, you’re happy about your team and about Machado. In another situation, you’re less happy about your team and happy about Machado. Which wins?

9:57
Jeff Sullivan: I am not good at fantasy baseball

9:58
Jeff Sullivan: If anything I’d rather have a team of my least favorite players, so that way I’m covered no matter what happens

9:59
Comment From Derp
Vernon Wells has as many HR as Pujols and Hamilton combined

9:59
Jeff Sullivan: and 2.1 more WAR

9:59
Comment From Bubba
Is James Jones getting interesting? How long until Nick Franklin? Gotta at least take a look, right?

9:59
Jeff Sullivan: Jones is getting re-interesting and Franklin might be a month or so off depending on his sustainability

9:59
Comment From zack
Will Carlos Beltran’s postseason performances be enough to get him into the hall of fame?

10:00
Jeff Sullivan: It will be a factor but not a major one?

10:01
Comment From zack
Who do you have more optimism about: Lincecum or Ubaldo?

10:01
Jeff Sullivan: Lincecum because the strikeouts never went away

10:01
Comment From Jared
Let’s say in a very hypothetical scenario some team wanted to trade for Brendan Ryan. What

10:01
Jeff Sullivan: I think you nailed it

10:02
Comment From Pat G
Can we expect S Miller to keep pitching like an ace with only two pitches?

10:02
Jeff Sullivan: A.J. Burnett throws two pitches, and he’s at 35 career WAR with flashes of acehood. It’s doable with a heater and a curve. It’s not the recommended path, but not everyone has to follow the same instructions

10:03
Comment From Guest
More likely to happen in 2013 for Jean Segura: 15 HRs or 50 SBs?

10:03
Jeff Sullivan: Steals, because I believe more in his speed than his power

10:03
Comment From Bill
What are we to make of Josh Beckett at this point? Peripherals look in-line but the on-field results aren’t there

10:04
Jeff Sullivan: I know it’s always a lame response but I’ll take a guy with a bad ERA and good peripherals over a guy with a good ERA and bad peripherals

10:05
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
do you think the day will come soon that we can watch our local team on MLB.tv?

10:05
Jeff Sullivan: Soon, geologically speaking

10:05
Comment From zack
Is a pitchers ratio of swinging strikeouts to called strikeouts important and how consistent is it year to yea?

10:06
Jeff Sullivan: It’s important for some guys — Vance Worley, for example, has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to get called strike threes. It’s only moderately stable, to my knowledge

10:06
Comment From Mike C
What’s going on with AJ Burnett’s high K rate, and does it look sustainable at all? SSS?

10:07
Jeff Sullivan: I don’t see reason to believe anything’s changed, at least not this significantly. Burnett has a better catcher than he did a year ago, but assume that K% is going to look a lot more familiar the rest of the way

10:07
Comment From jwh
Can we expect some fairly extreme regression from Matt Moore? His BABIP is currently only .196 and he’s walking a (relative) ton of people, but the Rays’ defense seems to have a history of bailing pitchers out more often and for longer stretches than the stats might otherwise suggest (as in the case of Hellickson).

10:08
Jeff Sullivan: Moore had a near-4 ERA last season with way fewer walks. The runs are coming if the control isn’t

10:09
Comment From Coodle
Any animosity towards the Leafs? Thoughts on their collapse?

10:09
Jeff Sullivan: 🙂

10:09
Comment From The other Kyle
Heading into the World Series Game 1, would you rather have excellent Top 3 (think 2013 Tigers) or elite Top 2 (Think RJ-Schilling Dbacks)?

10:10
Jeff Sullivan: Obviously depends on the rest of the picture but I think I’ll take an elite top 2 that can start 5 of 7 games

10:10
Jeff Sullivan: presuming the third starter doesn’t completely suck

10:11
Comment From Sean
What has a higher offensive ceiling? Didi or Simmons?

10:11
Jeff Sullivan: Simmons by a bit

10:11
Comment From Rhymenosaurus
What are the Mets waiting for with Wheeler? Super Two?

10:11
Jeff Sullivan: Yeah. Or as they’d refer to it, “better consistency”

10:12
Comment From Guest
Did you have any input in who took over at LL when you left? They seem to be doing a good job over there but it’s just not the same without you an Matthew.

10:12
Jeff Sullivan: Some limited input on the first guy, none on the rest of the giant writing staff

10:12
Comment From Jeb
Why is there a robot under my bed?

10:12
Jeff Sullivan: You put it there

10:12
Comment From Jack
What would you consider “peak” years? Hitters 26-29yrs old..pitchers 27-30?

10:12
Jeff Sullivan: I think pitchers peak earlier than that

10:13
Comment From Naveed
Tell us something about Barry Zito.

10:13
Jeff Sullivan: He faced Randy Winn 48 times, allowing nine hits

10:14
Comment From zack
Where will Cliff Lee be pitching on august 15?

10:14
Jeff Sullivan: Nowhere, because it’s a scheduled Phillies off day

10:14
Comment From Wagner Johnson
What do you think is the current inefficiency among major league front offices?

10:14
Jeff Sullivan: relief pitching

10:15
Comment From Angus Archer
Mark Reynolds is striking out less, walking more, while making managing to make more contact when swinging outside the zone – his usual kryptonite. Can he finish the season with .260 avg., a version of his old self. No one is talking about him this year, obviously expecting him to regress.

10:16
Jeff Sullivan: Reynolds contact: 68%. Reynolds contact last year: 68%. Reynolds average last year: .221. I suspect he ends up below .250, but he should still continue to produce some

10:16
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
Great Gatsby the NES (flash) game: http://greatgatsbygame.com/

10:17
Comment From TJ
So i’ve asked this twice already in this chat so you may ignore me b/c i keep hammering it, but you used to cover my Mariners, man! Michael Morse going to turn it around? 30 homers? .280 average???

10:18
Jeff Sullivan: Maybe, probably not. Michael Morse is not an elite-level bat. He’s a guy who swings a lot and hits dingers. Streaks like this are to be expected

10:18
Comment From Guest
Do you think there would be more than .5 WAR difference between Truinfel and Ryan over the rest of the season? If yes, who has the higher WAR?

10:18
Jeff Sullivan: No

10:18
Comment From Guest
what do you make of jesus montero’s early struggles? is wedge justified in benching him as much as he has this early in the season

10:19
Jeff Sullivan: He is not a very good player, and yes, because days off can still be work days and Montero needs a lot of work

10:19
Comment From Mike
Is getting called strikes a skill for pitchers?

10:19
Jeff Sullivan: For some, yes, absolutely

10:19
Comment From Dustin Ackley
Say something good about me…

10:19
Jeff Sullivan: You are a starter in the major leagues! Wow!

10:19
Comment From Unfortunate Mets Fan
Jeff, best place to watch baseball games in Portland? Also, is there ANY good pizza in this town?

10:20
Jeff Sullivan: Claudia’s is a neat spot and yes there’s plenty of good pizza, like at Nostrana, or Mississippi Pizza, or others!

10:20
Comment From neal
who should be the mariners shortstop? Ryan, Franklin, or Miller? I hope that its not Andino. Hes so boring

10:20
Jeff Sullivan: Right now it should be Ryan. In the second half it should probably be Franklin. In the second half of next season it should probably be Miller. It should almost never be Andino

10:21
Comment From K-nuck
Justin Masterson. Pleaseexplain

10:21
Jeff Sullivan: Good pitcher again, like he was in 2011

10:21
Comment From Kyle
Shelby Miller or Tony Cingrani long term?

10:21
Jeff Sullivan: Miller

10:21
Comment From zack
Delmon has 4 walks. Josh Hamilton has 8 in over a 100 more PAs. Discuss

10:21
Jeff Sullivan: They’re hacks

10:22
Comment From 14E
Jack Z is done, yes?

10:22
Jeff Sullivan: No

10:23
Comment From 14E
Who is the worst every-day position player you’ve ever seen in the bigs?

10:23
Jeff Sullivan: Probably Neifi Perez, but recency bias tells me Yuniesky Betancourt for a year or two in Seattle

10:23
Comment From Fred Armisen
Favorite Portlandia skit? Any?

10:23
Jeff Sullivan: I think Portlandia is for people who don’t live here

10:24
Comment From Jimmy010
Do you think MLB should get rid of the Super 2 Rule?

10:24
Jeff Sullivan: I think they should at least make the cutoff come later in the season

10:24
Comment From Steve
Is Giancarlo Stanton still a Marlin at the end of the season?

10:24
Jeff Sullivan: Yes, but not at the start of next season

10:24
Comment From Joe
Dave made the point on USSM about Millone having reverse platoon splits and gave Wedge flack for starting a bunch of righties, but which platoon splits do we believe? Millone is better vs righties, but Ibanez has a career of not hitting lefties. Do you go by the batter platoon splits or hitter?

10:25
Jeff Sullivan: I think you have to look at both, but I put more weight on the pitcher’s splits. Someone has investigated this before but unfortunately I don’t have a link

10:25
Comment From Queries from the Clown, bro
Come on, not even “Cool Wedding” did it for you on Portlandia?

10:25
Jeff Sullivan: I think a lot of the ideas are solid and a lot of the execution is lacking

10:25
Comment From Bory
Have you been watching the NBA playoffs? The Warriors/Spurs series is all kinds of fun to see

10:25
Jeff Sullivan: It’s hockey season

10:25
Comment From K-nuck
Jimenez or Masterson for the rest of the season

10:25
Jeff Sullivan: Masterson

10:26
Comment From Robert
How good can Travis Wood be? Solid mid-rotation guy?

10:26
Jeff Sullivan: A #4 that can look like a #3. Exciting!

10:27
Jeff Sullivan: I need to get going you guys, busy day and I can’t afford to lose track of time again.

10:27
Jeff Sullivan: Thank you everybody for participating, I apologize for the content I didn’t have time to address, and we’ll do it all again at the same time next Tuesday. Have wonderful mornings and afternoons and nights. So long!





Jeff made Lookout Landing a thing, but he does not still write there about the Mariners. He does write here, sometimes about the Mariners, but usually not.

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Paul
10 years ago

Is there any way Ike Davis turns it around this year? Any chance at a .250 BA with 20 Homers for the rest of the year? Picked him up for 10$ in a 14 Team Mixed FAAB 100$ budget league.