Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 8/14/18

2:00
Meg Rowley: Hello! Welcome to the chat!

2:00
mike sixel: I’m sorry I had fun at work today….won’t happen again…..

2:00
Meg Rowley: I assume this is in reference to David Bote.

2:01
Meg Rowley: One thing is, bat flips are fine. Bat flips can be great! Bat flips when one has one on a walk-off grand slam are terrific.

2:01
Meg Rowley: Another thing is, we could collectively be more selective about who we give the time of day to.

2:01
Mike: Are DRA and DRA- ever coming to Fangraphs?

2:02
Meg Rowley: I don’t believe we have plans for that anytime soon, but I can check!

2:02
asinwreck: Has Adam Engel just had the greatest week by a bad player in MLB history? How would we evaluate that statement?

2:03
Meg Rowley: He had one of the better ones. He certainly had one of the flashier ones. I would imagine every week in the majors feels like a gift for borderline players like him, and this one had to feel especially good.

2:03
Chris: Is BOS babying Sale a little *too* much? Could hurt his CY chances…

2:04
Meg Rowley: Given the choice between a healthy Chris Sale in the playoffs and a Chris Sale who wins a Cy Young but then is less good, I think we know that they would pick

2:04
Meg Rowley: Always be careful with pitchers, imo. Pitching is so bad for you. Why do we let anyone do it?

2:05
Kevin wears a t-shirt to BP: I stumbled upon a GIF of Chris Davis’ change-up earlier today, and it got me thinking: would Chris Davis, as he is now, be worth 2 more WAR as a reliever than he would be as a batter?

2:05
Meg Rowley: No. Pitching is really hard.

2:05
Mike: Favorite Frasier episodes?

2:06
Meg Rowley: When they try to save the restaurant by buying it and it goes horribly, horribly wrong on opening night and then they never, ever suffer financial consequences.

2:06
Concerned fan: What’s your verdict on Severino? Mechanics? Injury? Tipping? The Royals and Mets having unstoppable offenses?

2:07
Meg Rowley: Without knowing anything special or insider-y, I think he’s probably just fatigued.

2:07
Meg Rowley: Looking at Brooks, his velo is down but only a tiny touch, so I’m not inclined to guess that he’s injured.

2:08
Meg Rowley: There might be a bit of pitch tipping, but I think he might just be a little tired.

2:08
Mitchell : Since the beginning of the 2010 season, Mariner first basemen have posted a 93 wRC+ and accumulated -2.8 WAR over some 6400 plate appearances, with Logan Morrison’s 0.8 WAR in 800+ PAs the best of the bunch. How is such sustained crapitude out of a single position even possible?

2:09
Meg Rowley: It’s a funny thing because they’ve brought in different guys, and many of those different guys made sense!

2:09
Meg Rowley: And yet, a sea of blah.

2:09
john cale: should the mariners trade paxton this offseason?

2:09
Meg Rowley: Honestly, how dare you? And on a day he’s starting!

2:10
Meg Rowley: They should, and probably will, listen on offers. I don’t think they should be in a rush to move him or anything, but this team’s gonna be… less good and soon and for a while. It never hurts to listen.

2:10
Raymond: Who has been your favourite non-Mariners team to watch this season?

2:11
Meg Rowley: Mariners, don’t read this.

2:11
Meg Rowley: The Mariners aren’t my favorite team to watch this season.

2:12
Meg Rowley: I’ve enjoyed the Astros quite a bit (sorry Mariners), though I feel grumpy at them following the Osuna trade. The A’s during this run have been fun. Boston has been fun. I enjoy that D-Backs team quite a bit.

2:12
Meg Rowley: I think the conclusion we can draw is, Meg likes baseball.

2:13
Meg Rowley: Apologies, I am at my mom’s today because she is traveling for work and is worried about the dogs being alone, and I had to let one of the pups out.

2:13
Sam: If/when the Nats get eliminated and *crosses fingers* if the Dodgers don’t make it, would that make the Cubs the odds-on NL favorite?

2:14
Meg Rowley: We have them as the team projected to do the best in the NL already, I believe.

2:14
Meg Rowley: 93.6 wins. Not bad.

2:14
Dorian V.: I’m of the opinion that Mike Zunino is, in fact, not very good. Change my mind.

2:15
Meg Rowley: Mike Zunino has a very specific kind of value. He is mostly very strong, and very good at pitch framing. He is limited.

2:15
Meg Rowley: He shouldn’t be held responsible for those t-shirts imo.

2:15
Finn: I know only uneducated peasants care about K/9, strikeouts in general, etc., but man whenever Sale steps on the mound right now it’s electric. A true joy to watch.

2:15
Meg Rowley: I think a lot of educated peasants care about strikeouts!

2:16
Meg Rowley: Strikeouts are great! They aren’t the only great thing. They aren’t the only way to be great. But they are pretty nifty. And Chris Sale is pretty nifty at them!

2:16
Lunar verLander: The reigning World Series teams are currently both fighting for the lead in their divisions, which they were projected at the beginning of the season to run away with…baseball sure can be fun.

2:17
Meg Rowley: It sure can be. I still think the Astros will put some distance between themselves and the A’s/Mariners. They are much, much better than both of those teams. The distance isn’t as great for the Cubs, but they are still better.

2:17
Meg Rowley: But isn’t a race fun?

2:17
Astros: Would be worried if you were me?

2:18
Meg Rowley: About my immortal soul? Perhaps. About your baseball? Not even a little.

2:18
Kyle A: who do you think gets sent down to make room for Cano? Forgive the ignorance if that’s already been announced. Stay safe with the smoke 🙁

2:18
Meg Rowley: First, thank you for that.

2:18
Meg Rowley: The smoke is really bad. Fire freaking sucks so badly.

2:19
Meg Rowley: And likely Casey Lawrence. I don’t think they’ve announced that yet, but they let him go and go yesterday after they had to pull Gonzales, and he has options so.

2:19
Hannah Hochevar: Who’s your bet for Orioles all star rep 2019: Bundy vs. The Field?

2:19
Meg Rowley: The field. Never underestimate the weirdly good reliever.

2:19
Bo: What would it realistically take for Acuna to steal ROY away from Soto?

2:21
Meg Rowley: All these ever really take are a couple of really good or really bad weeks in either direction. The biggest knock against Acuna is going to be that the PAs are leveling out and Soto’s got .6 WAR on him but this stuff can move quickly as we’ve seen.

2:21
Rockie Dangerfield: Whoda thunk that the NL West would come down to which team’s bullpen sucks the least?

2:21
Meg Rowley: Wouldn’t be the first time that that’s what a playoff race came down to.

2:22
Bo: Time to panic if you’re a Nationals fan?

2:22
Meg Rowley: It isn’t good.

2:22
Hae-Lo Dee: What’s to think of Kyle Seager? His numbers the last couple years seem like a reasonable decline, just way too young.

2:23
Meg Rowley: I think the most concerning thing about Seager has been that  there hasn’t been much in the way of adjustment to the shift just killing him.

2:23
Meg Rowley: He adjusted the swing and hand placement back to what he was doing before this year, and August has gone much better.

2:24
Meg Rowley: He’s not this bad, and he’s always been a tinkerer, but he’s 30 now. We all start to be less our young selves then.

2:24
Bo: What’s going to be the most exciting race down the stretch?

2:25
Meg Rowley: Can we say the NL generally? There is so much more really happening in the NL.

2:25
Randall: Let’s say Felix does marginally better in the bullpen – not enough to win back a rotation spot, but acquitting himself well enough in shorter stints. Does he make the playoff roster if the Mariners make it?

2:25
Meg Rowley: Yes.

2:26
Meg Rowley: They’ll need a long guy, and you want to be the dude who opts for Casey Lawrence over a franchise legend?

2:26
Meg Rowley: I don’t want to be that guy or gal. I like living in Seattle.

2:26
Syndergaardians of the Galaxy: My friend has offered me tickets to this Sunday’s Yankee game. But I find Yankee fans to be mind of obnoxious. Should I go?

2:27
Meg Rowley: I find that my ability to deal with any fan base I don’t love (and look, every fan base has stinkers) is directly related to how invested I am in the outcome of the game. Do you care if the Yankees win? If not, go! If yes, probably still go, and relish an opportunity for personal growth.

2:27
Andy: Odor smells legit, but will he slump at all until the season’s end?

2:28
Meg Rowley: If you’re asking if I think a .329 BABIP from him is totally sustainable, no, I don’t but he sure looks more like an actual baseball player than he did at the beginning of the year.

2:29
Meg Rowley: As I often do, I opt for the he’ll be a little less good than this but not a disaster take.

2:29
Meg Rowley: lol he had a .400 BABIP in July. That’s so fun.

2:30
JD: What should the Angels do to compete next year?

2:30
Meg Rowley: Get some pitching, get some role players, hope Ohtani’s healthy, be happy they have Mike Trout.

2:30
Gary : How do you respond to the assertion that smart, data-driven baseball is making the actual gameplay boring? As a nerdy-nerd myself, it’s certainly given me a different and better appreciation for baseball as a sport, although I do have to admit, that sometimes I can’t help but agree that yeah, actually watching a game is a lot more boring.

2:31
Meg Rowley: I think that too much of anything can be boring. I like strike outs. I like home runs. I wouldn’t mind seeing the ball in play more often.

2:31
Meg Rowley: I also don’t think those things are super noticeable during a single game.

2:32
Meg Rowley: I do think we notice the later innings feeling longer because of pitching changes. I don’t necessarily want us to do something about that yet, but I think we need to keep several eyes on it.

2:32
Dodgers Bullpen: We don’t see a problem with blowing four straight games, no

2:32
Meg Rowley: Just remember: however bad you feel as a fan, they feel way worse

2:33
Gerald: Do you like prospects? Baseball prospects, to be clear.

2:33
Meg Rowley: I like them. I don’t claim to know them nearly as well as Eric and Kiley, who know them very, very well.

2:34
Meg Rowley: One of the best things about working here is not having to pretend to be able to answer questions I can’t.

2:34
Billy Beane: Hi Meg! In last week’s chat I asked if you thought my lads had a chance of catching the Astros in the AL West, and you said “not really”. Do you still think so?

2:34
Meg Rowley: I still think the Astros will win the AL West.

2:34
bae: Many A’s fans were up in arms regarding Melvin’s BP choices last night with a 7-1 lead.  Why not leave Maenea in with 2 outs in the 8th?  And why pull Pagan after two bloops? and why oh why did he use rookie sensation Trivino w/ a 7-2 lead? Why is Shawn Kelly even on the team if he cannot be employed with such a lead??  BTW, I am rooting for the A’s to win the division, M’s to get a WC and Houston (or the Yankees, tho that seems less possible) to miss the playoffs. One can dream while asking questions

2:35
Meg Rowley: I get why it seemed wonky. I also get why they are conscious of Maenea’s usage. Pulling Pagan seemed odd. I do think it is useful to remember that they have a lot more information on any given night than we do about where guys are.

2:36
Nick Mar – Cake is Good: Thanks for chatting Meg! Scherzer or deGrom for Cy? Also, do you agree that whoever wins the NL Cy Young deserves the MVP as well?

2:36
Meg Rowley: I would go with deGrom for Cy Young if I had a vote.

2:37
Meg Rowley: I don’t mind having a pitcher win MVP, especially in a year like this where the gap is on the not small side.

2:37
Marvin the Paranoid Android: How do teams decide when to demote relief pitchers when the sample sizes are so small? Do they literally just judge on the performance stats or do they use other info like StatCast, coaching assessments, and so on? I’m asking for a friend.

2:38
Meg Rowley: Depends on the team, but for most all of that goes into the decision, as does availability going forward and their options. That can matter more than anything sometimes.

2:39
The Ghost of Wade Boggs: Do you think you could beat any major league player at any contest of physical skill?

2:39
Meg Rowley: No, probably not. Well, I have really good eye sight, but I’d imagine it is just average compared to major leaguers.

2:39
AKA22: Is Robinson Cano back today?

2:40
Meg Rowley: You know what? He is.

2:40
Nats Fan: Please make me feel better about the Nationals. Please. Please?

2:40
Meg Rowley: You get to watch Soto. Soto is sooooo fun. Look at him out there, being awesome, being fun.

2:41
Kyle A: Felix, Cruz both on 2019 squad? Gotta jettison age, cash in my opinion. Who’s on Meg’s want list for future Mariners assuming its feasible?

2:42
Meg Rowley: I would imagine Felix is because he is signed. I think they should extend Cruz.

2:42
Meg Rowley: My want list includes a good farm system.

2:42
Bread Gardner: How awesome is it that Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andújar give their interviews in English?  I wish more foreign-born players had the courage to do that. Similarly, I hope that American-born players who go play in, say, Japan do the same thing and make an honest effort to at least answer a few token questions in the host country’s language.

2:42
Meg Rowley: People should communicate in whatever language makes them feel the most comfortable.

2:43
Meg Rowley: There is nothing wrong with giving interviews in imperfect English. There is nothing wrong with speaking through an interpreter.

2:44
Devil Ray Jay Johnson: How many days until the spat over the Safeco Field lease leads to a headline that “Mariners Explore Building New Ballpark in Portland”?

2:44
Meg Rowley: A lot more. I don’t think there is any real risk of that.

2:44
CashGOAT: How do you feel about the Yankees? They haven’t fired on all cylinders yet this season so I want to say they’re going to be the scariest team when healthy come October, but the bullpen isn’t showing what they’re capable of and judge’s wrist possibly hindering his power for the rest of the season isn’t something to be excited about.

2:45
Meg Rowley: I still think the Astros are, if everything is working, the best of the bunch, but if you’re asking if I think the Yankees are really good and a threat in the playoffs, yes, of course.

2:45
Meg Rowley: The Yankees are and will be fine

2:46
John Rocker: This chat is TERRIBLE today, my god

2:46
Meg Rowley: Imagine pretending to be John Rocker.

2:46
JD: What are your thoughts on stalling to call up players like Guerrero Jr and Eloy?

2:46
Meg Rowley: I get why it happens, and hate that it does.

2:46
lunch: so i think they should bring back the juiced ball, simply because 35 homer freddie freeman is more fun than 25 homer freddie freeman.
perhaps i have not fully thought through this issue.

2:47
Meg Rowley: Freddie Freeman has a 146 wRC+!

2:47
Meg Rowley: Freddie Freeman is the third most valuable position player in the NL!

2:47
Meg Rowley: Love the Freddie Freeman you have, imo.

2:47
Bread Gardner: 2018 AL Playoff Team All-Stars vs. 2018 Rest-of-the-MLB All-Stars.  Who wins?

2:48
Meg Rowley: Hmmmm this is going to require me to remember who the other All-Stars were and I am going to struggle to do that, having endeavored to forget the All-Stars immediately.

2:49
Meg Rowley: Let me answer this a different way: wouldn’t it be fun if playoff teams got to borrow players from other rosters?

2:49
JH: Who would you personally rather have on your team for the foreseeable future between Acuna and Soto? It’s a fascinating question for me. Acuna’s true 5-tool abilities (and thus higher floor) vs. Soto’s theoretical sky-high offensive ceiling based on the approach he’s shown at 19 years old.

2:49
Meg Rowley: I love this question because I think it is hard to answer incorrectly, and reveals a great deal about one’s preferred baseball aesthetic.

2:50
Meg Rowley: I think, I *think*, I would lean Acuna, and I think that is because I really like really complete players.

2:50
David: Could we have a Yankees-Astros wild Card game???

2:50
Meg Rowley: No, but that would be amazing.

2:50
Lee: Are the Red Sox really this good?   I mean JD Martinez is awesome but other than that, they are pretty much the same team as last season.   Did they have that many guys underperform last season?

2:51
Meg Rowley: They had some pretty anemic offensive performances that weren’t likely to repeat and haven’t

2:51
Meg Rowley: They are really very good.

2:51
JH: New theory: Kyle Seager is playing through sympathy pains caused by Corey’s injury. Your thoughts?

2:51
Meg Rowley: I mean, sibling love *is* powerful and complicated.

2:51
Meg Rowley: Maybe Corey’s UCL was just feeling Kyle’s 30 though.

2:52
The Old Buccaneer: Are you a soccer fan? If so, who is your favorite team?

2:52
Meg Rowley: Not really. Relax, it is fine, I just don’t care for it, it’s not like, a whole thing.

2:53
Thor: Does deGrom deserve all the awards?

2:53
Meg Rowley: Very well might!

2:53
Oleksandr: would you rather get hit in the noggin by a edwin diaz fastball or a nelson cruz home run?

2:53
Meg Rowley: Nelson Cruz home run. Less likely to die instantly.

2:53
billsaints: Do any of you FG’ers play modern board games (Catan, Pandemic etc..)? Seems like your analytical brains would take to them quite well!

2:54
Meg Rowley: I like board games quite a lot.

2:54
Meg Rowley: I grew up playing Catan. My sister and I would get so rowdy, my parents invented a “most polite player” card. It had the same number of points as having a cultural institution.

2:55
Dan: Oakland keeps trading for relievers. Will they bullpen the wild card game?

2:56
Meg Rowley: They have Sean Manaea, so if he’s available, I imagine he starts but he has a short leash, which hey, what wild card starter doesn’t?

2:57
Dub: Baseball needs to make the games 7 innings. Its such an easy fix. Would you have a problem if they shortened the game to 7 innings?

2:57
Meg Rowley: Yes.

2:57
AKA22: Given the different voting groups, it’s possible DeGrom wins the Cy Young and Scherzer wins the MVP in the NL right? That would be amazing.

2:57
Meg Rowley: Now that would be really fun. We could probably get a week’s worth of pieces on the voting behavior of that choice.

2:58
Morbo: Do the Cubs stand a chance in the post season? And, why is the answer no? Starting pitching, they have one good pitcher in Cole Hamels and then a giant question mark.

2:58
Meg Rowley: I think this conclusion isn’t supported by evidence, but if you’re a Cubs fan, that is probably very exciting!

2:59
Meg Rowley: The rotation isn’t amazing, but the team isn’t bad.

2:59
Jart: It’s fun to watch Kershaw dominate with a fastball that never tops 92

2:59
Meg Rowley: Good Kershaw is a joy forever.

3:00
Meg Rowley: I think we’re in a new condition where we genuinely fret about his health but it’s nice to see good Kersh.

3:00
Mike Trout: 538 gives a 10% chance the As win the division. I think saying it couldn’t happen is silly.

3:00
Meg Rowley: I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, I’m saying I don’t think it will happen.

3:01
Joey Votto, RCMP: As a Reds fan, I can’t help but be kind of frustrated with Scooter Gennett’s constant talking to the media about a contract extension. I get that he wants to be in Cincinnati, but he puts the org in a bad spot if they don’t decide to give him a contract.

3:01
Meg Rowley: The org doesn’t have to do anything. We can talk about whether this is a persuasive tactic, but they aren’t obligated to do anything. Teams are fine.

3:02
lunch: what mlb player would get the “most polite player” card?

3:02
Meg Rowley: hmmmm that’s a tricky question, and I know the arrow will make this potentially controversial, but man, Rodney just seems like the best.

3:03
Gyde: What do you make of the cardinals right now? They are on a bit of a streak and matt carpenter has been baseballs best hitter for 3 months now

3:03
Meg Rowley: They’ve made it more interesting, but I still think ultimately, they get left out.

3:04
Meg Rowley: There’s just too much I like better ahead of them.

3:04
Christian Shouman: Do you think the MLBPA has an issue on their hands with teams demoting high performing relievers due to them having options remaining over option-less mediocre relievers? This clearly has at least somewhat of an impact on service time and potentially earning potential for a young reliever.

3:05
Meg Rowley: I don’t think we’re seeing anything that is dramatically different than in years past and it isn’t like they have endless option years.

3:05
Meg Rowley: I don’t think that most really good relievers get demoted willy-nilly no matter the years available.

3:05
Rockie Dangerfield: Aren’t pitcher-versus-batter splits, even over any specific two guys’ careers, too small a sample to be anything more than trivia?

3:05
Meg Rowley: Pretty much.

3:06
Alvin The Chipmunk Davis: Would a super team composed of AL West players win against a super team composed of AL East players?

3:06
Meg Rowley: Depends. Is the AL West team limited in how many Astros they can field?

3:07
Meg Rowley: If not, and then you have access to guys like Trout, Paxton, Diaz, Cruz, the A’s bullpen, Matt Carpenter, etc. it would be pretty compelling.

3:08
CamdenWarehouse: crap, I missed a Meg chat. That’s no good.

3:08
Meg Rowley: Still here!

3:08
Meg Rowley: But yes, this will be the timing going forward.

3:08
Meg Rowley: Until, at least, one of our merry band needs to swap for travel.

3:08
Dub: What is your objection to 7 inning games?

3:08
Meg Rowley: I like baseball and think we should see more of it.

3:09
Bo: Generally speaking, would you say a majority of MLB managers are making “good” tactical decisions? A lot of management seems to be the soft side.

3:09
Meg Rowley: I think if I had figured out a way to objectively measure that I would be famous.

3:09
Meg Rowley: I think that most of the time, it is fine. There is a range, and there are guys who are less good, or at least less experienced, but I don’t think the differences are too great.

3:10
CompGuy: Sooooo many Matts.  You probably meant Matt Chapman, but said Matt Carpenter, but also potentially mean Matt Olson.

3:10
Meg Rowley: That was what I mean

3:10
Meg Rowley: So many Matts!

3:11
Meg Rowley: Matt Chapman, who plays in the AL West. Not Matt Carpenter. He doesn’t play in the AL West.

3:11
Wopaseft: How about some love for Lorenzo Cain? One of my favorite baseball things is well-rounded players remaining great well into their 30s.

3:11
Meg Rowley: He is quite good and it is quite exciting.

3:12
TWINMH: “I like strike outs. I like home runs. I wouldn’t mind seeing the ball in play more often.”  So… outlaw walks?

3:12
Meg Rowley: No, those are fine. I didn’t think you’d assume an exhaustive list.

3:12
Alec: Wade LeBlanc has to be all-time winner of the Polite Card.

3:12
Meg Rowley: Wade seems lovely, but I think all pitchers have a little nasty in ’em. Even the ones who throw 85 mph.

3:13
Ohtani: Will I win rookie of the year

3:13
Meg Rowley: The AL race is sort of odd, isn’t it?

3:14
Meg Rowley: I still think no, but it’s closer than I thought it would be.

3:14
Meg Rowley: Also, man, Joey Wendle.

3:14
Meg Rowley: What a thing.

3:14
Just a random person: In your opinion, should the all star game stay where it’s at or maybe be after the regular season ends but before playoffs. Were seeing many allstars struggling tremendously so far in the second half

3:15
Meg Rowley: I don’t think those things are really related.

3:15
Erik: If the Rays do some weird stuff and finish with like 85 wins but never really challenge for a wild card, did they have a good season?

3:15
Meg Rowley: I think they will consider it a success.

3:15
Meg Rowley: I think the Rays do innovative things that are really interesting.

3:16
Meg Rowley: I think if the Rays did that and spent some money, it would be especially neat.

3:16
TremendousHorsDoeuvre: Should a player like Rhys Hoskins see his WAR suffer because his team is playing him out of position and he is terrible in that position? Sure, the data’s the data, but is it his fault that he’s not contributing more to the team?

3:16
Meg Rowley: I like this question very much.

3:17
Meg Rowley: I have been thinking about this a lot lately, not with Hoskins in particular but with the theory behind defensive WAR more generally.

3:17
Meg Rowley: More and more I think we aren’t doing a great job measuring that or even thinking through what it is we want to credit guys with.

3:17
CamdenWarehouse: Does anyone in Seattle call LeBlanc “Frenchy” because that was his name in Dirk Hayhurst’s book?

3:18
Meg Rowley: He picked it as his Players’ Weekend nickname so I imagine those who don’t might start.

3:18
Meg Rowley: I wanted him to go with Literally Wade LeBlanc because the Mariners are close to a playoff spot in part because of Literally Wade LeBlanc. But I guess he gets to pick.

3:19
Lookout Lander: Casey Lawrence officially demoted for Cano

3:20
Meg Rowley: Poor Casey. Thank you for your service, sir.

3:20
Johann Sebastian Vogelbach: Bouncing off the 7 Inning game questions: Ties in baseball? Yes, or definitely yes?

3:20
Meg Rowley: Why? Extras are great. Extras get so weird.

3:21
Rockie Dangerfield: Shouldn’t Players’ Weekend nicknames come from fans or teammates or the press or something?  Picking your own nickname is a faux pas as early as elementary school.  Why are they letting players nick their own names?

3:21
Meg Rowley: It’s literally the players’ weekend?

3:21
Meg Rowley: The whole point is for them to get to showcase their personalities.

3:21
Ozzie Ozzie Albies Free: Regarding all these people wanting to change the fundamentals of the game: baseball is a past time.  Stop thinking/worrying about everything else and just enjoy every single second we get to watch.  Stop being in such a hurry.

3:22
Meg Rowley: I think it is fine to fret about baseball and expect it to change over time.

3:22
Meg Rowley: It always has.

3:22
Meg Rowley: Worrying about something is one way to love it.

3:22
Meg Rowley: It’s when we assume the answers to address our worrying that we get into trouble.

3:23
Johann Sebastian Vogelbach: Extra innings are fun as hell, yes. But the 18 inning games are too much, and an unnecessary toll on a bullpen. Let’s say cap games at 11 innings. I feel like it could add extra fun to the game having the home team up, tied bottom 11 knowing they can either win or tie, and going all out to do so

3:24
Meg Rowley: You are entitled to your aesthetic preference and I am entitled to say “Nah.”

3:24
Meg Rowley: It’s like with writing: sometimes the best stuff comes through exhaustion.

3:24
Dan: How about retired major leaguers? At what point do you think you’d be more athletic than a former major leaguer?

3:24
Meg Rowley: I’m a writer so when they’re 50?

3:25
HappyFunBall: re: Hoskins and WAR. It’s important to remember that WAR is not a measure of how good a player is. It is at best a proxy for that. What WAR is, is a measure of how much a player has actually contributed on the field. If a player misses some time due to injury, or gets platooned, or plays out of position … he is necessarily contributing less to the bottom line. But he’s still just as good a player!

3:25
Meg Rowley: Sure, but I think we’re right to think about how positioning just generally impacts an individual players contributions to the team in either direction.

3:26
yerp: RE: Players’ Weekend
Don’t think of it as players picking their nicknames, but of publishing the nicknames given to them by their close associates. Also, stop knit-picking fun.

3:26
Meg Rowley: Fun isn’t immune to knit-picking, but yes, I’d imagine that generally, the nicknames are ones given to them by teammates or friends.

3:27
Will: Rays just got Shane Baz as the PTBNL in the Archer trade. Holy moly.

3:27
Meg Rowley: Oh whoa.

3:27
CompGuy: That AL West – AL East matchup is interesting.  I’d give the West the edge in position players but the East in pitching.  I think Sale-Severino-Snell and basically the Yankees pen plus Kimbrel & Barnes is a significant edge over Verlander-Cole-Paxton and co.

3:28
Meg Rowley: This is a fun exercise with little point but it is a fun exercise.

3:29
Meg Rowley: I suppose we’re conforming to a usual roster, which, I dunno the pitching would be awfully close.

3:29
Meg Rowley: Alright, I have to get going. Thanks everyone for the questions, and apologies for what I didn’t get to.

3:30
Meg Rowley: Same time 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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pedeysRSox
5 years ago

Marvin the Paranoid Android, remember Josh Lindblom for the pirates last season?