Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 3/8/2018

2:00
Meg Rowley: Hello, and welcome to the chat! It is very gloomy in Seattle. Let’s have some less gloomy fun.

2:00
CamdenWarehouse: Do you think this will be Scioscia’s last year with the Angels?

2:03
Meg Rowley: He has said publicly that he wants to focus on the season and address it when 2018 is done. I suspect he’ll be back. He seems to have a productive relationship with Eppler. If he isn’t back, I think it’s more likely the result of a retirement than the Angels moving on. That doesn’t seem super likely either, though he’s been doing this so long, and it is such a grind, who knows.

2:04
Andrew: Jake Arrieta makes so much sense for my Brewers, what do you think the hold up is?  We’ve been burned by overpaying for aging SP’s in the past (Suppan/Wolf/Garza) do you think this factors into management’s decision to not be more aggressive?  Or is there still hope of moving some combination of Broxton/Santana/Phillips for a SP?

2:06
Meg Rowley: It sounds like he (and Boras) haven’t adjusted their demands much, though I expect they will. Teams can always wait longer than individual players. Given that, I’m not surprised the Brewers haven’t been aggressive in moving one of those guys. Why not see where the market ends up?

2:06
cheese: The Dodgers have been too quiet and they have too many OFers.  What do you see happening?

2:07
Meg Rowley: Not a ton right now. Those guys are valuable pieces but they (the Dodgers) don’t seem to feel any urgency to move them. If there are injuries down the road, that could change, but it doesn’t suck to have outfield depth either.

2:08
Q-Ball: If I could bet on Fangraphs projections, I would take the under on the Blue Jays (87 wins), and the over on the Brewers (78 Wins).  What say you?

2:09
Meg Rowley: I would say that I tend to agree with you, in part because I really like that Brewers team, but I would also say that gambling on sports is a good way to break your own heart.

2:09
Gregarious Jones: If you could invent a statistic (assuming it’s humanly possible to measure) and force MLB to track it, what would it be and what would you call it?

2:11
Meg Rowley: Ohhhh my do I love this question. I don’t know how useful this would actually be, but I would be interested in tracking check swings, just to see if it reveals anything cool about plate discipline. My less serious answers because I can imagine writing about it would be:

2:12
Meg Rowley: Robbed home runs, bat flips on fly outs (what a deeply human thing to do), and pitchers who aggressively shake off their catchers and then immediately give up home runs. I could probably get at least three pieces out of that.

2:13
Charles Finley: Jay mentioned in the last chat that between the Pirates and the Mariners, he thought the Pirates were more likely to miss the next decade of Octobers, basically on account of money.  Given that the Mariners are run by extraordinarily incompetence (esp player dev) and that the Pirates are one of the smartest FO in the game, is this a depressing reflection on the fact that at the end of the day, pretty much all that matters is cold, hard cash and ability/willingness to spend it on payroll?

2:16
Meg Rowley: Well, I think it is important to remember we don’t really know how good or bad this current M’s regime is at player dev yet, though you’re right that the prior regime was shockingly bad at it. I also think the difference between front offices is maybe the narrowest it has ever been, so I’m not sure how true it is that the Pirates are one of the smartest. All of that said, I tend to agree with the idea that being good at player dev, coupled with a willingness to spend when your young guys are ready and good, makes you more likely to be in it in October.

2:16
Meg Rowley: All that said, I can’t imagine a moment when I don’t feel sad as a Mariners fan in October, so maybe it’s a wash.

2:17
Adenolith: Is “playoff experience” at all meaningful for playoff success? At that point haven’t major leaguers experienced enough pressure throughout their careers they know how to deal?

2:18
Meg Rowley: I can see it mattering some, just because the stakes are so much greater than even normal player pressure, but I can’t imagine it mattering for that long into a playoff run. Maybe young guys are a little shaky for a half inning or two, but I’d think they’d settle down pretty quickly. Humans are amazingly adaptable.

2:18
Billy Beane: Re: A woman playing pro baseball. I would have to think she would be a LOOGY or a 2B, but I never really considered a catcher. I would think  the arm strength would be problematic unless she had super elite pop-times. Your thoughts? (Also never read the comments)

2:21
Meg Rowley: Lots of questions about Sheryl’s piece (which I encourage folks to read). I think what I’ll say is that we don’t know. How and whether a woman ever makes the majors (I imagine a few will) is a complicated question, but I am sort of shocked at the certainty of some of those comments, not all of which were trolling.

2:23
Meg Rowley: I’m 31. I wasn’t able to play Little League when I was a kid. That has changed, and there is a lot more opportunity for girls to play baseball now. Until that opportunity is even more meaningful, and the best athletes aren’t getting funneled away to other sports, how could we possibly know? MLBers are extreme outliers in terms of their skill. Who is to say there aren’t women and girls who are also extreme outliers? We won’t know until we let ’em play, and see. If you find harm in that, in just that, I think it merits some reflection as to why.

2:23
William: Is there anything (reasonable) that you would change about Spring Training and the “pre”season?

2:24
Meg Rowley: I would change our expectations of it. It’s training camp. It’s practice. If you take it for what it is, a chance to see baseball in March, and maybe sit in the sun, it’s easy not to get exercised about it being too long.

2:25
Matt Warfield: Most impactful season from the remaining FAs available?

2:27
Meg Rowley: This requires us to believe the Rockies will add a bat, which they are stubbornly refusing to do, but the Rockies could sure use another bat. Mike Moustakas has one of those. I don’t think it’ll happen, but it’d be impactful.

2:28
elb: MLB is frustrated with the players’ lack of cooperation with pace-of-play measures, and the PA is frustrated with many teams’ reluctance to improve themselves via free agency. These two things seem ripe for a give-and-take in coming CBA negotiations to the benefit of all. Too optimistic?

2:29
Meg Rowley: I think you’re right that these are the sort of smaller concessions that typically smooth the way for other, bigger things, but I also think you might be a little too optimistic just because I expect that those negotiations will be very contentious generally.

2:30
Matt: Meg – does the term “Hall of Very Good” bother you as much as it does me? “fame” is in no way related to, or sequentially after “very good”. It’s like saying that a guy who is 6 feet tall doesn’t belong in the Hall of Very Tall people, but would be more of a guy for the Hall of Sandwiches.

2:32
Meg Rowley: Eh, I’m not that bothered. I think it recognizes a particular group of players whose play was good, but maybe not so essential to the story of baseball as to merit induction. That said, I’m a big Hall person, and think it is mostly useful as a museum anyhow, so several Very Good guys should probably be in the real Hall who aren’t.

2:32
Monsignor Martinez: Are veteran FA’s not currently signed to contracts happy to be missing ST?  Is ST not as important for established players?

2:33
Meg Rowley: I would love to see this studied to a greater degree. It isn’t like they aren’t doing work to prepare for the year. Some of them are at the FA camp! But there have definitely been guys in the past who have seemed to suffer for not going through ST. No one is looking back at Kendrys Morales’ 2014 as a success.

2:34
ChiSox2020: Do you think Mike Moustakis to White Sox makes sense? 2 year deal with team option if they can’t sign Arenado in 2020?

2:35
Meg Rowley: This seems like the other natural landing spot. Sure. Sure! He’s not a real Arenado sub, but he fills a need, and maybe things progress more quickly than they’re expecting with the young guys and then hey, it is sure cool to have a Mike Moustakis around.

2:35
Adenolith: When will we finally get a group of players who don’t care about hat position, bat flips, etc… and just like playing the game. More than pace of play, I think people don’t watch baseball because it takes itself too seriously.

2:37
Meg Rowley: I don’t know if that is so unique to baseball. I think people like to be annoyed and some of the things that motivate annoyance at bat flips and hat position are icky and nefarious and not going anywhere. I do think it seems to be a less common complaint than it used to be, which is good. But we’ll never have a league completely free of fussbudgets.

2:37
Adenolith: How many lawyers or trained negotiators does the MLBPA have? Seems to me if they want to get anywhere, they need fewer guys like Tony Clark, and more guys with a strategic, negotiating mindset.

2:37
Meg Rowley: Give me a quick moment to try to find a tweet

2:40
Meg Rowley: I haven’t had a chance to read this yet, but this from Evan Drelich indicates the union is looking to add more staff to its bargaining unit. Tony Clark isn’t the only guy in there, but the next CBA is likely  to be very contentious and the greater the resource the better. We’ll see if they actually act on that need.

An in-depth look at state of MLBPA and CBA: how we got here, what forces are at play. The union is moving toward ad… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
7 Mar 2018
2:41
Bill: Meg, I loved your recent series on ejections. Thank you. I am wondering: what new trends in ejections will you be looking for in 2018? Will a new category of ejections emerge? Among managers, is there anyone you consider an innovator in the art of getting thrown out of baseball games?

2:43
Meg Rowley: I will say that the actual list of categories was 38 strong, but I didn’t want to tax readers’ patience, or drive Carson mad. I think we are likely to see the curtailing of mound visits contribute its own colorful category. Also, Rick Renteria and Jeff Banister participated in so many different sorts. We could always see something new from them.

2:43
jamie: Players should have a longer window to accept the qualifying offer. Then teams might be less likely to hand them out to everyone. Gotta feel for Moose

2:45
Meg Rowley: It isn’t a bad idea. It’ll be interesting to see if there is any change to how many guys are offered (and subsequently take) QO’s. But yeah, I feel for Moose. I feel all of ’em. Whether they or we should have seen this coming, we didn’t and I have to think they would have made different choices.

2:45
CamdenWarehouse: Is it just me or is the Cheers theme song overrated?

2:45
Meg Rowley: How dare you?

2:46
Concerned in Sodo: Under what circumstances can the M’s part ways with Ichiro without a fan base mutiny?

2:47
Meg Rowley: Woof, it could be real bad. Though they also have a few guys in that outfield who could conceivably go down to Tacoma. Maybe it’ll be fine!

2:47
Safety Stegosaurus: When you’re feeling a bit angry and someone asks how you’re doing do you ever say “me growley”?

2:47
Meg Rowley: In my head? Yes. Out loud? Sometimes also yes.

2:48
Yogi Bear: Why won’t umpires enforce the stay in the batter’s box rule?

2:50
Meg Rowley: YEAH WHY WON’T THEY? This is a great question. I think about this question all the time. I think I have landed on the answer that maybe the guys who are the worst offenders are big stars, and maybe that isn’t the fight they want? I expect that it will improve somewhat this year because Manfred wants it to and it is such a big source of delay. Or maybe it’ll take Robinson Cano hitting his decline for us to see it enforced more regularly.

2:50
William: During your graduate studies, did you enjoy teaching? Were you considering that as a possible career path? Or were you thinking about research?

2:51
Meg Rowley: I did enjoy it. As a political theorist, you almost have to enjoy teaching because the research dollars you bring in will never be enough to earn your keep. I left because I wanted to be able to live in Seattle for sure, but teaching is great.

2:51
Meg Rowley: Except when you have to teach grammar. That part is less fun.

2:52
Rockie Dangerfield: New Rule Proposal: DH’s must use a metal bat, but are disqualified from DHing for the remainder of the season if they hit 25 home runs

2:53
Meg Rowley: Batters already hit the ball so, so hard! Imagine a come backer off a metal bat. People might die. Like, right in front of us.

2:53
Lou : Would the NPB or even the KBO ever be realistic for the Neil Walkers of the world?

2:55
Meg Rowley: I still think he’ll get a major league job, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of what Travis called the middle class guys considering moves overseas. Check out Sung Min Kim’s residency pieces. The KBO and NPB are rightly being seen as viable career options now, rather than a last stop at the end of a career.

2:55
Capps: Will Carrter Capps rib-bone necklace give him enough special powers for the first ever season with a 0.00 ERA?

2:55
Meg Rowley: Lord ballplayers are a quirky bunch. (No.)

2:56
ouch: Do you think the blister epidemic will continue this year?

2:56
Meg Rowley: And with it, gross suggestions of how to rid oneself of said blisters!

2:57
Billy Beane: ‘fussbudgets’ is a new word for me. I am a fan.

2:57
Meg Rowley: It is a very good word that we should all use more.

2:57
Arron: Can someone please sign Conor Gillaspie!!!

2:58
Meg Rowley: If it is any comfort, someone probably has already signed this year’s Conor Gillaspie, and we just don’t know it yet.

2:58
Matt: A recent FG article got me thinking about the gray area of mound visits. For example, during both replay reviews, and home run trots. Are those mound visits? If they are, then doesn’t that imply that the capping of mound visits was more of an end in itself than a means to an end?

2:59
Meg Rowley: This is sort of like Justice Stewart’s obscenity test, right? I know it when I see it?

3:00
Meg Rowley: I don’t think going out to the mound during a home run trot or a replay review would count as the rule is currently written? You’re not extending the time of game at all. It isn’t as if you would be throwing the baseball then. If anything, those are the ideal times to go have a chat.

3:01
Rory: The Billy Hamilton suggestion by Travis seems so interesting and I’d like to believe that it would work. How soon do you think a manager would consider doing something like that? Or are player’s egos too big to do anything like that?

3:03
Meg Rowley: I think it really depends on the player and who is delivering the message. I’m inclined to think the answer is no, they aren’t too big to make changes like that because they want to help their teams win and stay employed. How much buy-in you have though probably depends on who is asking and how they ask. There’s a lot of value in being able to communicate in terms everyone in the conversation understands and accepts.

3:03
Hello Hi Hello: How bad must the Royals’ finances be if they’re slashing payroll AND cutting down on clubhouse bandwidth?

3:04
Meg Rowley: This offseason has brought a lot of crazy, crazy stories and even accepting that as true, that was one I never thought I’d see.

3:06
Meg Rowley: Alright friends, I’m sorry to cut this one a little short, but I need to go finish writing a thing to keep Carson’s previously mentioned madness at bay. I’m sorry for what I didn’t get to (except for the trolly women in baseball comments– those were rude) and look forward to picking it up again next week.





Meg is the managing editor 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 twitter @megrowler.

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Anonymous
6 years ago

Can’t unsee “Me Growly”. Thanks a lot, Steg.