WBC Championship Game Chat

7:01	Jay Jaffe: Good evening, folks, and welcome to our WBC Finals chat!

7:01	Guest: Why isn’t Japan starting one of Darvish/Ohtani? They seem clearly better than Imanaga.

7:03	Jay Jaffe: Ohtani started five days ago so guess they didn’t want to mess with his every sixth-day routine, but he could pitch an inning in relief. Darvish… not sure, as the complaint has been that he hasn’t been getting enough buildup here, but I’d expect he’s good for 2-3 innings tonight

7:03	Kyle Kishimoto: i theorized last night he could get an early hook for darvish to burn some USA bench bats (ex anderson starting over mcneil today)

7:03	Ann Xing: Who are the potential relievers for the US team?

7:03	Kyle Kishimoto: maybe they don’t want to use bard in high leverage, but the combo of williams/adam/bednar/pressly/ottavino will be great, with loup there too hopefully to deal with the 5 lefties stacked atop japan’s lineup.

7:03	RTJ: Hooray! I was hoping to get a chat for WBC Finals

7:04	Alex W.: Davish hasn’t been super sharp in his previous two appearances in this WBC (gave up at least a homer in both appearances). US hitters also isn’t as familiar with Imanaga

7:04	Jay Jaffe: good points both, but i can’t imagine he doesn’t figure in here tonight

7:04	Dan Szymborski: Greetings people!

7:04	Jay Jaffe: DAN!

7:04	Kyle Kishimoto: Dan!

7:05	Dan Szymborski: Sorry, I had buffalo wing sauce all over my face so I was a few minutes late

7:05	Bob: Why isn’t the game on fox! Feels like a lot of people will miss out because it’s on fs1

7:06	Jay Jaffe: Lookgin at the Fox lineup tonight; Extra, TMZ, 9-1-1 Lone Star, The Accused — I don’t know how you can cancel that Murderer’s Row of Peak Television. (eyeroll)

7:06	Jasper: I’m paying $150 for MLB.TV, but still can’t watch this game because I don’t have a cable package. Enjoy the show everyone!

7:06	RTJ: Too many players got hurt during meaningless spring training games. If players are going to get hurt anyway, isn’t there an argument to be made that it’s better to play in highly competitive games with the pressure on and millions watching?

7:06	Kyle Kishimoto: if we stopped playing baseball because of the fear of injury there would just be no baseball, injuries will happen and they’re of course horrible but the players wanted to play and yes the wbc is far more important than spring training

7:07	Dan Szymborski: Yeah, nobody cares about the results of all those spring training games. People care about this one

7:07	5 Run Homer: This opening thing is cool as hell, love the players walking in with the flags

7:08	Conor: Are you excited for the world to see Merrill Kelly’s greatness tonight?

7:08	Jay Jaffe: Talkin’ Baseball @TalkinBaseball_ Zac Gallen says they will speak of his Diamondbacks teammate Merrill Kelly alongside George Washington and Paul Revere, per @ZHBuchanan 21 Mar 2023

7:08	George: AROD being so good at the pregame stuff while simultaneously being horrid in the booth is one of those things I can never get over.

7:08	Dan Szymborski: In the pregame stuff, he just talks normally

7:08	Alex W.: Imanaga is also one of the best NPB left-handed starters. Has a good fastball with strong spin

7:08	Dan Szymborski: but live, he really wants to try and fill hours with analysis

7:08	Kyle Kishimoto: yeah, Imanaga only sat 91 in NPB last year but averaged 94.8 in his shorter appearance in the prelims with plus carry. he’s no slouch.

7:08	Dan Szymborski: but he runs out of things to say quickly during a game and tries to weave baskets out of mayonnaise

7:09	Liz: For anyone who doesn’t have cable, you can watch on the foxsports website by using incognito browser windows repeatedly (the ‘free trial’ countdown resets every time)

7:09	RTJ: ARod or Smoltz though is a complete toss up for me

7:09	Dan Szymborski: At least A-Rod doesn’t seem to dislike 90% of things he sees

7:09	George: If you had to make a super team to represent Earth against the Aliens in a galaxy baseball classic, whats your off the cuff lineup?

7:10	Jay Jaffe: I know Randy Arozarena would have to be in the outfield along with Betts and Trout.

7:09	Kyle Kishimoto: a-rod just says random stuff, smoltz seems to actively hate the game

7:09	Dan Szymborski: I might go with the aliens as there are a lot more non-earth planets

7:10	Overly Optimistic Angels Fan: How does Japan’s lineup rank relative to the other teams in the tournament? They were impressive in-pool, but didn’t exactly have the strongest competition. I’ve heard more about their pitching, while it seems consensus that Team USA is the #1 lineup

7:11	Kyle Kishimoto: i would go usa -> dominican -> japan, but those three are at the top for me

7:11	Jay Jaffe: Would love to have seen what ZiPS said about the various rosters at the outset of this but maybe that would have taken some of the fun out of it

7:12	Dan Szymborski: Problem is so many guys I don’t have any data for on some of the countries. This would be a cruel thing to make me do!

7:12	RTJ: petition to remake the all-star game as US vs World (Or other geographical combinations)

7:13	Jay Jaffe: That would be fun to do, but maybe on a rotating basis.

7:12	Kyle Kishimoto: what do you mean you don’t have advanced stats for the czech republic?

7:12	Dan Szymborski: Remake the ASG as LITERALLY ANYTHING

7:13	Dan Szymborski: And Kyle, the problem is that if someone urged me enough to do it, I would actually try, and I’d agonize too over trying to figure out the whole thing

7:14	Jay Jaffe: I demand to see translations for Shlomo Lipetz

7:13	nowionlywantatriumph: How funny would it be if Ohtani’s pitching, Trout’s on deck… and DeRose pinch-hits for him

7:14	Jay Jaffe: I think that would torpedo DeRosa’s chances of ever managing more than a sock drawer

7:15	Michael: I’m eager to see Murakami, Yamamoto, Sasaki etc. in MLB. Will their tournament performances increase pressure and possibly speed their stateside arrival? Or maybe have the opposite effect? Don’t know what to think, probably wont change much.

7:15	Kyle Kishimoto: murakami has a post-2025 move to mlb as part of his contract extension, yamamoto is likely to come over after next season. i don’t think the wbc changes much

7:17	Kyle Kishimoto: as a side note, i’m not a fan of the notion that non-MLB players are only interesting and worth following if they come to MLB, when i previewed team Japan at the site i intentionally didn’t say anything about which players might get posted in the future

7:15	Jay Jaffe: I think this increases the chances and the anticipation but doesn’t change the timelines

7:16	Guest: MLB.com lists the game in delay?

7:16	Jay Jaffe: Smoltz has to play 18 first

7:16	Dan Szymborski: Luckily, I already have WBC nonsense images in my collection already

7:16	Dan Szymborski: Like from the time Jim Leyland played Hosmer over Goldschmidt

7:16	Dan Szymborski:

7:17	GoBarves: I think the ONLY thing that could make this better is if we had Bennetti and Glavine. He’s so much better than Smoltz

7:18	Dan Szymborski: I was always sad that nobody ever Vinnapped Scully after his retirement for one last World Series Game 7 or an event like this

7:18	Guest: Not that I don’t enjoy it now, but would love to see this during the middle of the season(s), similar to how the world cup does it.

7:18	Dan Szymborski: I think midseason, you’d have teams be less willing to do it

7:18	Harry: WBC as a midseason tournament – lop off a week of Spring Training games, start half a week earlier, and finish half a week later. Make it happen

7:18	Dan Szymborski: Is Rosenthal really out of sync?

7:18	Dan Szymborski: Or is it the stream?

7:19	nowionlywantatriumph: I’d take Benetti and Francesa over Benetti and Smoltz.

7:19	RTJ: I wonder how good an AI version of a sportscaster trained on Vin Scully’s games would do versus Smoltz or ARod (or anyone)

7:20	Dan Szymborski: You know, I may have a good clip of Scully to train on…

7:21	Kyle Kishimoto: i like having these super high stakes games in march

7:21	grumplestiltskin: What about running pool play pre-season, and then running the bracket during a (slightly) extended all star break?

7:21	Kyle Kishimoto: wrong order oops

7:21	Guest: GO TEAMS! (I love them both)

7:22	nowionlywantatriumph: (I know baseball/softball aren’t an every-Olympics-every-time thing anymore, but come on. They’ll be in LA 2028.)

7:22	Dan Szymborski: WBC is better than Olympic baseball

7:22	Jay Jaffe: the IOC basically kicked baseball out of the Olympics. Screw the IOC

7:23	Jay Jaffe: WBC >>>>>> IOC

7:23	Dan Szymborski: In any case, a true event like this requires MLB cooperation

7:23

ryan: I think it’s fair for a fan to wish that foreign players come to the states sooner than later. I have to be at work 5:50am most mornings, so I don’t really have the opportunity to watch Japanese baseball. Obviously it’s partially selfish because it makes it harder for Japanese fans to watch live, but the sooner they’re in MLB, the sooner I can regularly see them.

7:23	Kyle Kishimoto: it’s fair to want to see talented players, the point i was making is more that american fans aren’t entitled to having the best players in the world all in MLB, NPB and KBO are more popular in their respective countries than MLB is here

7:24	ryan: Totally fair

7:24	Jay Jaffe: Who wants to come to a country where a world-class tournament is aired on a tiny cable channel so TMZ can be broadcast?

7:24	Jay Jaffe: and 9-1-1: Lone Star

7:26	RTJ: yeah but do those other countries have local broadcasts by financial juggernauts like Bally Sports?

7:26	Wireless Joe Jackson: I think you’re forgetting Farmer Needs a Wife, Jay. Now THAT’S television.

7:27	Jay Jaffe: That was last night’s excuse. Pleas, no spoilers, I haven’t watched the episode yet

7:26	inquisitor: US starting a pokemon against japan gives them a clear advantage. why isn’t anyone covering this

7:26	RTJ: this is a dumb question but what determined who is Home today?

7:27	Jay Jaffe: I assume it’s because Japan had the better record out of pool play

7:28	small e: is it just me or is the “wow look at mike trout, finally playing a meaningful baseball game for the first time in his whole life” stuff kinda overdone

7:30	Kyle Kishimoto: as an angels fan my perspective is that the “hurr durr trout and ohtani are finally on good teams” jokes are predicated on an assumption that we don’t get to properly appreciate how good they are because they haven’t been in the MLB playoffs together, which is just false

7:28	Jay Jaffe: It’s just you. The rest of us are loving it

7:29	Jay Jaffe: IMO this must be a real Eureka moment for Arte Moreno seeing what it’s like for Trout and Ohtani to play games with something big at stat

7:30	RTJ: it’s too bad billionaires are incapable of feeling shame because otherwise Arte Moreno would have egg on his face

7:31	ryan: Arte Moreno is throwing his remote at his tv every time they say that

7:31	small e: fair enough! I am definitely enjoying watching Mike Trout be great

7:32	Kyle Kishimoto: anyways Imanaga averaged 19 inches of fastball ivb that inning from a pretty flat release point, he is quite good at baseball

7:32	Wireless Joe Jackson: I’m sitting in a dentist’s chair right now, so this delay is great. Although dentistry is preferable to Smoltz in Get Off My Lawn mode.

7:33	Jay Jaffe: Mike Trout doing Mike Trout things is always fun, but I think he’s become a bit of a cipher given the Angels’ lack of success. This adds a much-needed— and very relatable — dimension to him. He can’t do it all himself, and he won’t show anyone up, but damn it, he does very much care.

7:34	Dan Szymborski: https://soundcloud.com/dan-szymborski/vin-scully?si=0ba4a5c7480c4ab799…

7:35	Dan Szymborski: Vin Scully on baseball, magic, and the Colorado Rockies

7:35	Dan Szymborski: https://soundcloud.com/dan-szymborski/vin-scully

7:35	Kyle Kishimoto: one of the last 3-1 shifts you’ll ever see, i’m gonna miss it

7:36	Guest: Horrifying link, Dan. Horrifying.

7:36	small e: I hope the lead changes every other inning tonight so we get both teams as fired up as many times as possible.

7:36	RTJ: Dan, that’s incredible

7:36	Dan Szymborski: IT was the fault of one of you!

7:36	GoBarves: MY GOD I HATE HIM SO MUCH. SHUT UP ABOUT INTENTIONAL WALKS

7:37	GoBarves: That was the last time Smoltz is going to get to me

7:37	Jay Jaffe: The benefit of chatting here is that i can almost completely tune him out most of the time.

7:37	SoftballGuy: I’ve seen your Twitter feed. You can’t fool me.

7:37	nowionlywantatriumph: Now do Vin Scully reading a grocery list! oh wait:

7:38	Kwah: Merrill K-oward-elly issues the walk.

7:40	Niklas: The international broadcast is announced by Dave Flemming and Yonder Alonso. Alonso isn’t great or anything but he does get excited about the play (it was fun hearing him calling out in Spanish when the Latin American teams hit home runs).

7:40	Kyle Kishimoto: i watched some of him in previous games, i liked him as a broadcaster

7:40	Jay Jaffe: Yeah, Alonso has gotten good marks, and Flemming is good

7:41	Dan Szymborski: Merrill is the name of a character’s cousin in a 1950s movie set in Indiana

7:41	Dan Szymborski: Now I’m wondering if there’s a specific character I’m thinking of that I forgot about

7:41	Jay Jaffe: it’s not a great first name

7:42	small e: also, I think that was Yoshida’s first strikeout of the tournament

7:42	Kyle Kishimoto: it was

7:43	Jay Jaffe: 9-for-19 with 3 walks and 0 K coming in. Pretty good!

7:42	RTJ: Kelly Merrill would be a much more logical name

7:42	Jay Jaffe: Right?

7:43	Dan Szymborski: Has anyone here seen Merrilll? M-e-double-r-i-double-l, has anyone here seen Merrill? Have you seen him smile? He had a great year with the Diamondbacks, good control for the speed he lacks, has anyone here seen Merrill? Merrill of the emerald isle?

7:44	Jay Jaffe: Needed to Schwarb that a lot harder, or just a little less

7:45	GoBarves: That fastball shape looks mighty good

7:45	Jay Jaffe: i don’t think i’ve seen Imanaga pitch before this. Love the hesitation leg kick

7:45	Kyle Kishimoto: yep – avgd 19 in of carry in the 1st inning, the whiff to schwarber had 20

7:45	Kwah: Kyle Schmedium-contact on that one.

7:45	Guest: Is anyone else having serious audio/visual sync issues with FS1? I am using YouTubeTV

7:45	Dan Szymborski: I am. Drives me nuts when Robothal is talking

7:45	Floyd: I’d love Yonder Alonso to take over for Smoltz. Trying to think of another ex-player who would thrive in that role. Chris Archer eventually.

7:45	Jay Jaffe: holy moses, Trea Turner

7:45	RTJ: TURNER

7:46	Kyle Kishimoto: oh my

7:46	GoBarves: Boooooom

7:46	GoBarves: Turner!

7:46	Jay Jaffe: 5th homer of the tournament for Turner

7:46	Kwah: tHRea tuHRneHR

7:46	ryan: You fucks are like 6 seconds ahead of me, quit spoiling the game!

7:46	Dan Szymborski: I will type slower

7:49	Kyle Kishimoto: anyway before trea turner interrupted me with a blast, here are some stats on Imanaga from last year 2.26 ERA/3.24 FIP pitch mix: 54% fastball (92 mph), 4% slider, 14% cutter, 10% curve, 18% changeup

7:49	Jay Jaffe: I just wish every time Turner homered he slid into home plate

7:49	Lzfreak: Do they do a tournament mvp? It’s gotta be Turner if the US wins, right?

7:49	Kyle Kishimoto: yes, they do an all-tournament team + MVP

7:50	Jay Jaffe: Yes. Daisuke Matsuzaka was MVP in both 2006 and ’09, Robinson Canó in 2013 and Marcus Stroman in 2017

7:50	Dan Szymborski: Naturally, Turner would eventually suffer a serious injury on one of the slides and baseball would declare that Fun Time is Over

7:50	Chris: John Smoltz saying he thinks Trea Turner will win an MVP if he cuts down on his strikeouts. Looks at a career 18% K rate…huh

7:50	Kyle Kishimoto: he will win an MVP if he improves his approach and hits the damn ball harder, but we all know smoltz would never advocate for more power

7:52	GoBarves: I will not get mad at Smoltz… I will not get mad at Smoltz… I will not get mad at Smoltz… I will not get mad at Smoltz… FUCK

7:52	Guest: I will power cycle my Roku and see if that helps, Dan

7:52	Dan Szymborski: I could also train the AI on John Smoltz’s voice and make him sound like he enjoys today’s game

7:52	Floyd: The all-tournament teams from past WBCs are fantastic “remember some guys” lists

7:52	Jay Jaffe: The whole tournament is just a wonderful mix of International All-Stars and Remembered Guys. Shairon Martis, come on down!

7:52	Kyle Kishimoto: fun fact: both yuli gurriel and yoenis cespedes were on all WBC teams before coming to MLB

7:52	Byron Denniston: As an Englishman and a fan of pop culture, I see the US as the Kim Kardashian to our Kris Jenner. How do you like this comparison?

7:52	Dan Szymborski: Can we not be ANY part of that circus?

7:52	Jay Jaffe: I saw Gurriel with Cuba in 2006!

7:52	Jay Jaffe: It was so cool

7:53	Floyd: gurriel made the last out in the final for Cuba in the first WBC

7:53	ryan: Biden should give Trea a Presidential Medal of Freedom

7:54	Jay Jaffe: My (now ex) brother in law convinced me and my wife (his sister) to go see the WBC second round in San Juan in 2006. We saw Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic and DR-Cuba

7:54	Jay Jaffe: Jay Jaffe @jay_jaffe with Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic set to square off tonight in the World Baseball Classic, I dug up the lineups for the 2006 PR-DR matchup I attended in San Juan. Puerto Rico won 7-1 15 Mar 2023

7:54	Dan Szymborski: I’ve never seen a baseball game live outside of US/Canada

7:54	Kyle Kishimoto: btw check out one of Dan’s pieces about Gurriel (and jose abreu) and their CNS careers: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/should-yuli-gurriel-and-jose-abreu-be-hall…

7:55	Dan Szymborski: At the risk of being sent to Gitmo, I was kinda hoping one of the underdogs would make it to the final game, simply for the selfish reason to see more of players I don’t get to see all the time

7:56	Dan Szymborski: I’m actually surprised how well the Vin audio came out. It was trained on only a minute of him talking.

7:56	RTJ: how long of a leash does Imanaga have?

7:56	Kyle Kishimoto: i would assume neither starter has much of a leash at all unless mark derosa does mark derosa things

7:57	Kyle Kishimoto: HOLY

7:57	Jay Jaffe: whoa

7:57	Dan Szymborski: Whoomp!

7:57	Lzfreak: Well that was quick

7:57	Dan Szymborski: Dont’ say what for five second though

7:57	Dan Szymborski: SOMETHING HAPPENED

7:57	Jay Jaffe: Murakami with the blast, I think he’s found whatever he was missing

7:57	Dan Szymborski: I feel kinda bad that I’m eager awaiting for when MLB can lure him away

7:58	Ben Schneider: Murakami’s future contract just went up

7:58	Jay Jaffe: that home run was an international incident unto itself

7:58	Kyle Kishimoto: he hit 56 dingers last year and won back to back central league MVPs, evaluators already know how good he is

7:58	Nick: Murakami found his Norwegian wood

7:58	Simon: Bomb

7:58	ryan: It’s okay, I was looking away from the chat for that one

7:58	GoBarves: CRUUUUUSHED

7:58	Kyle Kishimoto: 115/25

7:58	Vin: we need to see the exit velo on that

7:58	Guest: Power cycling the Roku helped, Dan

7:58	Kwah: Munetaka MuHRakami

7:58	GoBarves: Could Davis and Smoltz sounds LESS interested!?

7:58	Jay Jaffe: 115.1 mph, 432 feet on that one

7:59	Ben Schneider: How rare is it to hit the second deck in Miami?

7:59	Kyle Kishimoto: Ohtani did it in BP

8:00	tim: my tv channel is broken so i have to use the spanish language brodcast and everything is 30 seconds delayed

8:00	Kyle Kishimoto: at least you get to hear some excited broadcasters

8:00	tim: at least i dont have to listen to smoltz

8:01	B: Yeah, just switch to Spanish broadcast, and I don’t understand Spanish, and yet I understand this better than Smoltz.

8:01	Jay Jaffe: FOX Sports: MLB @MLBONFOX A quick answer from Japan! Munetaka Murakami solo homer to tie this thing up! 21 Mar 2023

8:01	Jay Jaffe: adding it to the historical record here

8:01	RTJ: He seems good, but can Murakami pitch?

8:01	Lzfreak: I’m normally as critical of Smoltz as anyone, but I really enjoy him breaking down Sasaki yesterday

8:01	Dan Szymborski: He’s good when he’s actually doing that kind of thing

8:01	Jay Jaffe: he’s not without some talent, when he talks pitching

8:01	Dan Szymborski: But otherwise, he meanders into grumpy uncle

8:02	Jay Jaffe: i’ve worked with the guy and i can tell you, he’s like that off air too

8:02	Dan Szymborski: Harold Reynolds could be good too when he talked actual mechanics of doing stuff like dissecting a bunt

8:02	Dan Szymborski: then he’d go into absolute frigging nonsense out of his expertise zone

8:03	Dan Szymborski: You see, if you have an actual analyst in the booth with these guys, they could ideally do the stuff they’re good at rather than trying to play analyst

8:03	Ben Schneider: MLBN is VERY hit or miss when it comes to their analysts

8:03	Byron Denniston: What did yous guys think of the complaints about US pitching? With a lineup so stacked and the mentality here that pitchers are running backs are little more than single use plastics – the makeup of the pitching staff makes sense for int’l play, no?

8:04	Jay Jaffe: I think a conga line of maybe-not-so-famous-but-filthy one-inning relievers is the way to go, if that’s what you’re asking

8:03	RTJ: Do you think Fox execs (whoever makes those decisions) know that Smoltz sucks but either a) can’t get out of the contract or b) only care about the prestigious name?

8:03	Kyle Kishimoto: a very large percentage of the baseball watching population in the united states eats up smoltz’s anti analytic whining like candy

8:04	Dan Szymborski: Brandon Warne @Brandon_Warne The Angels 21 Mar 2023

8:04	Wireless Joe Jackson: I haven’t seen a whole lot of Merrill Kelly,but he isn’t making a great impression in this tournament.

8:04	Dan Szymborski: My gut would tell me someone like Merrill Kelly wouldn’t fare as well in international play

8:04	Dan Szymborski: because they see more guys like that

8:05	Ben Schneider: Kind of ironic, Dan, considering Kelly played overseas

8:05	Dan Szymborski: He actually wasn’t really amazing in KBO!

8:06	Dan Szymborski: He actually barely has a lower ERA kn KBO than MLB

8:06	JGG: Nothing says world championship is on the line quite like Aaron Loup, warming up in the bullpen. Oof.

8:07	Dan Szymborski: I should note that Loup has played in four World Series games!

8:07	Byron Denniston: Lars Nootbar would be my German pornstar name

8:07	grumplestiltskin: This is where that deep-plant of Nootbar really pays off

8:08	small e: is walking the #9 hitter to load the bases good? asking for a friend

8:08	Wireless Joe Jackson: Ok, that’s enough of Kelly. DeRosa’s hook has been way too slow.

8:08	Jay Jaffe: the big and most valid complaint about DeRosa is that he hasn’t managed with the needed urgency for the most part. and here we are again.

8:08	Dan Szymborski: wick @wickterrell if you say ‘Merrill Kelly’ while eating a handful of goldfish it sounds like an adverb for how ‘Murica goes about its business 22 Mar 2023

8:09	Kirk: Trea Turner has been so good that I wouldn’t be surprised if DeRosa put him on the mound.

8:09	Jay Jaffe: Imagining Dave Dombrowski sprinting onto the field to prevent that.

8:10	Fig Nootbar: Why on earth was Merrill Kelly the starter when they have Brady Singer? 🪦

8:10	Kyle Kishimoto: not that kelly is a star or anything but i would be awfully scared to put singer up against 5 lefties in a row given his pitch mix

8:11	Jay Jaffe: Aaron @BobbyBigWheel The gift shop is out of Lars Nootbaar license plates. I repeat, the gift shop is out of Lars Nootbaar license plates. 22 Mar 2023

8:12	Ben Schneider: I thought today was the perfect opportunity for a bullpen game, though the individual restrictions/limits might have something to say about that

8:12	Kyle Kishimoto: if i’m managing the USA no one besides bednar/williams/adam/ottavino/pressly is pitching after the 4th

8:13	Ben Schneider: Gallen’s prediction did not come true

8:14	Jay Jaffe: that’s a pretty solid job by Loup under the circumstances

8:15	Wireless Joe Jackson: Strong work by Loup.

8:15	Dan Szymborski: Spending the commercial break generating Trea Turner propaganda posters.

8:16	Byron Denniston: My not yet two year old niece just did several pull ups. I’ve got to step it up in life

8:16	JP: I like Kondoh’s swing. Easy/loose hands, good rhythm and timing. Bat path generally looks geared for loft, but can flatten or arc based on pitch location/count. Short levers help too but not hard to see why he’s a strong BB:K ratio guy.

8:16	GoBarves: DeRosa hasn’t managed well, but not hitting Ohtani 2nd has been a mistake. Kondoh has hit with like 22 runners on the last two games and Ohtani only like 2. (all numbers estimated)

8:18	Dan Szymborski: I was always a fan of Dick Togo in Michinoku Pro WRestling

8:19	Wireless Joe Jackson: Trout has taken a lot of pretty fat first pitches for strikes the last few games.

8:19	Keita: How are the Diamondbacks going to stretch out Merrill Kelly for the opening week? He pitched less than 40 pitches…

8:19

dejajoue: The single aspect of FOX’s coverage I find most grating is the repeated insistence on framing the competition in terms of how players are preparing for their club teams’ regular season, the outcome of this winter’s hot stove, etc. This is arguably the most important game between two national teams in the history of the sport, for one night I do not care how good of a fit Citizens Bank Park is for Trea Turner.

8:19	Dan Szymborski: It’s going to be a natural given the audience

8:21	RTJ: Freeland is a, stereotypically speaking, perfect name for a USA pitcher

8:21	el tim: What would the Japan team’s record be if they played in the AL Central?

8:21	Kyle Kishimoto: 100 wins ez

8:21	Dan Szymborski: Togo’s windup would drive me nuts trying to hit himn in MLB The Show. I dread facing Tyler Anderson

8:22	RTJ: going against my country here, but having Ohtani close out the 9th inning versus the top of the USA order would be compelling television

8:22	Dan Szymborski: Do you really need a scouting report for Schwarber? He looks like the player he is

8:23	Dan Szymborski: I don’t mean that in a mean way

8:23	Jay Jaffe: not a threat to bunt

8:24	Dan Szymborski: Schwarber walks up to the plate and you may have no idea who he is and you think “OK, he’s going to hit a fastball 450 feet and then walk by the other dugout and eat my sandwich

8:24	Jay Jaffe: legit LOL here

8:24	Orioles2024: Right…biscuit eaters ain’t devouring curveballs.

8:24	BK: If we don’t get Trout vs Ohtani tonight, we riot, yes?

8:25	Byron Denniston: More velo on this Togo guy and he’d have some ML potential

8:25	Dan Szymborski: He’s kinda having a Fernando Rodney inning

8:25	Ben Schneider: The plot twist will be Trout pitching to Ohtani

8:26	Orioles2024: We all know Turner is amazing, but his WBC has been really amazing.

8:26	dejajoue: 2013 WBC champion Fernando Rodney

8:26	Kyle Kishimoto: 2013 all WBC team member Frenando Rodney!

8:26	Dan Szymborski: Nice save on that one

8:27	Dan Szymborski: Go t-mobile!

8:27	Lzfreak: It seems like a lot higher percentage of Japanese pitchers throw splitters. I’ve always assumed it’s taught more consistently there. Is that true?

8:27	Kyle Kishimoto: splitters made up about 10% of pitches thrown in NPB last year, in MLB it’s 1-2%

8:28	Dan Szymborski: They do and they still have tumbling 1980s Dave Stewart forkballs

8:28	Byron Denniston: What a savage splitter

8:29	bernbp5: Isn’t the NPB ball smaller, making spitters easier to throw?

8:29	Dan Szymborski: https://japaninja.pro/difference-between-american-baseball-and-japanes…

8:30	bosoxforlife: Togo’s last splitter moved an amazing amount

8:30	Kyle Kishimoto: +2 ivb 14 hb while killing 1100 rpm, great stuff from togo

8:31	Jay Jaffe: stop talking to DeRosa while Shohei bats

8:32	Dan Szymborski: If Freeland gets hit hard, we become the Dominion of America

8:32	Joe: why would you do this when Ohtani is up?

8:32	Joe: Is the splitter the new market inefficiency?

8:32	Kyle Kishimoto: it’s been theorized that more and more mlb pitchers will learn to throw one, a splitter doesn’t require the natural wrist orientation that a good changeup does, which would be especially useful for supinators who throw sweepers

8:32	Jay Jaffe: the pitcher kept us a Freeland

8:32	small e: I don’t mind most in-game interviews but manager ones can go away forever. They never ask or say anything interesting! It’s pointless!

8:33	ROY Volpe: Does DeRosa get a MLB job from this?

8:33	Kyle Kishimoto: i think he disqualifies himself from mlb jobs from this

8:33	Dan Szymborski: They could probably say anything

8:33	Lzfreak: Is there a reason why the US didn’t pick a real manager?

8:33	Jay Jaffe: real managers are busy with their real teams

8:33	Dan Szymborski: “We’re here with manager Mark DeRosa. Apparently you’re the manager and your name is Mark DeRosa.”

8:34	Dan Szymborski: “Yeah, we’re working hard and the Loopy would rather win a game than lose a game like all the players that ever existed.”

8:34	Dan Szymborski: “Thanks Mark DeRosa. Manager, Mark DeRosa.”

8:34	Davy Andrews: Hi everybody!

8:34	Kyle Kishimoto: hey Davy!

8:34	Dan Szymborski: Hey Davy!

8:34	Ben Schneider: What I find amusing about DeRo is that he speaks the same way as Manager as he does on MLB Central–same phrases, excitement, etc

8:34	Kyle Kishimoto: exactly, he’s a network personality not a manager

8:34	B: Meanwhile, FOX Desportes interviewed Daddy Yankee throughout the Ohtani AB, so….

8:35	Jay Jaffe: It’s not that DeRosa can’t get there, but he’s nowhere near ready to manage

8:35	Dan Szymborski: I saw him at the All Star Softball game we were at in Cleveland I’m still not sure who that is

8:35	Hugh Duffy: Last manager for Team USA in 2017 was Jim Leyland who had been retired since the 2013 season. They’re either hiring someone old or someone young.

8:36	Jay Jaffe: Right, they’re not getting anyone who has the job currently.

8:36	Dan Szymborski: I was only half-listening – did I miss a commercial for Luftwaffles?

8:37	Orioles2024: Dan, I had chili with kidney beans tonight. You’re welcome.

8:37	Dan Szymborski: Oh, you had two separate dishes?

8:37	Dave: Orioles didn’t have chili. He had sloppy joes with beans

8:37	Orioles2024: It (they) were delicious.

8:38	Lzfreak: I wonder if TLR was available

8:38	Jay Jaffe: i think they, uh, lost his number

8:40	dejajoue: what is Konami advertising behind home plate?

8:40	Dan Szymborski: looks like liquor

8:40	Davy Andrews: Question for the group: Do you think Sasaki goes to the rosin bag every pitch because he thinks the little cloud he creates upon release makes it harder to pick up the pitch? I’ve been saving this once since last night.

8:41	B: Hate to say it, but Joe Maddon: He’s a Big Name Guy that all the viewers will know, is great for an in-game interview, is available, and may still have some of that skill at managing lots of big personalities in big games.

8:41	Henry: https://www.konami.com/games/prospi_a/ it’s a phone game

8:41	Dan Szymborski: I was kinda hoping it was an ad for Suikoden VI, but not such luck

8:41	Thomas: Been seeing a ton of enthusiasm about the tournament from some of the more casual baseball fans I follow on social media. I really hope MLB takes advantage of this moment. This tournament is so good for the sport

8:42	Dave: Are they using the MLB ball? The Japanese ball is tackier, might explain it

8:42	Davy Andrews: I had not thought of that, Dave!

8:43	The 6ix: Every Japanese hitter has his own theme music from those trumpet guys in the outfield. What would your theme song be?

8:44	Davy Andrews: Maybe “Conquest.” That would be a fun one.

8:43	Dan Szymborski: What TLR’s up to, I presume.

8:44	Dave: To paraphrase Meg, its kinda crazy we have to fret so much about something as fundamental as the construction of the ball

8:45	szakyl: “DOUBLE the steals”? Stated dead serious?

8:45	Jay Jaffe: I hadn’t heard anything Smoltz said for two innigns until that, but that sound you heard was my eyes rolling back in my head.

8:45	Dan Szymborski: And that’s 3-1

8:45	Kyle Kishimoto: YOWZA

8:45	dejajoue: ball go far

8:45	Kwah: Kazumyard Okamoto

8:45	Jay Jaffe: woof

8:45	bosoxforlife: Even Arrozarena couldn’t have brought that one back.

8:46	GoBarves: What do we think the global number of viewers there is for this game? Could it be the most watched baseball game ever? Which Fox somehow decided to hide on FS1?

8:46	Kyle Kishimoto: the games where like half the japanese population was watching were night games, this is 8am for them on a work day. probably not gonna win in terms of viewership

8:46	Davy Andrews: 103.1 mph

8:46	Lzfreak: Maddon would’ve been good. Ron Gardenhire would be another option potentially. Always had a reputation as a player’s manager and he’s been retired a few years so he’s available

8:47

Jay Jaffe: Maddon would have been fine. Honestly if you’re going to use the US manager job to give somebody his first taste of the bright lights and pressure, it probably doesn’t need to be the Ivy-educated white guy who already has a job at MLB Network. Give me more Benji Gil/Hensley Meulens types who should already be MLB managers

8:48	liam: what’s the league equivalency for npb? was it like quad a?

8:48	Kyle Kishimoto: NPB is a major league.

8:48	Lzfreak: In a one game situation like this, what’s the advantage of pitching Freeland here? Why not have your best pitcher pitch early and go down the line?

8:48	Kyle Kishimoto: yeah its pretty questionable having him in against these righties at the bottom of the linup

8:49	Kyle Kishimoto: all right and with that i have to head out for the evening (and bike to my other job in a windstorm) – enjoy the game everyone!

8:50	Jay Jaffe: good night, Kyle!

8:50	Davy Andrews: Bye, Kyle!

8:50	bosoxforlife: Benji Gil gained my admiration last night when he said “baseball is the winner tonight”.

8:50	Davy Andrews: I know people don’t love manager interviews, but I don’t mind them and especially liked Gil’s.

8:50	Dan Szymborski: Cya Kyle!

8:51	Jay Jaffe: “Japan advances but the baseball world won tonight,” said Gil. Yeah, that was classy and on point.

8:52	Henry: Also – the last LHP on the roster + low leverage + Japan has a LLLLL part of the lineup. I’m Japanese and I’m happy to see the US manage like this but I would’ve kept him for higher leverage situation

8:52	Wireless Joe Jackson: I just don’t like manager interviews during an at bat!

8:53	Ben Schneider: Drew Spencer had a great interview from the dugout. You could how much it meant to him for GB to be in the WBC

8:55	Jay Jaffe: Michael Baumann @MichaelBaumann The problem with the U.S. rotation isn’t that the starters are bad, it’s that what they’re good at is much, much more valuable over 162 games than it is for one start a week turning the lineup over twice and getting out. 22 Mar 2023

8:55	Davy Andrews: Jay and Dan, I’m still waiting on your answer to the trumpet walk-up song question.

8:56	Kwah: Mark DeR-overturns-a

8:56	Jay Jaffe: Can they do “Uncontrollable Urge” by Devo? That’s been my walkup music of choice

8:56	Jay Jaffe: the El Paso Chihuahuas played that for me when i got to throw out a first pitch in connection with my book.

8:59	Davy Andrews: Ok yeah, that would be fantastic with horns.

8:57	Dave: For Dan, its clearly the Imperial March

8:57	Dan Szymborski: Nah, this would be mine

8:57	Dan Szymborski:

8:57	Davy Andrews: That’s amazing. The few times I’ve had walk-up music, I had to recalibrate it. I picked “Run Run Run” by VU, but it got my heart going too fast. I had to pick something more mellow.

8:58	Joe: What record would the best NPB team have in mlb?

8:58	Davy Andrews: This is a good question and I don’t know the answer to it.

8:59	Dan Szymborski: Can you imagine Jeff Trout NOT getting a chance at AAA with his line?

8:59	Dan Szymborski: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=trout-001je…

9:01	Jay Jaffe: Probably looked at Tom Kelly cross-eyed in spring training and that ended his career.

9:00	Dave: Better than the A’s at the very least.

9:05	Jay Jaffe: Daughter just came in to ask me to tuck her in and I told her after this half-inning, so she just sat down on the floor and is watching with me

9:05	Dan Szymborski: Jeff Trout had pretty good translations as mid-80s 2B go

9:05	Dan Szymborski:

9:05	Davy Andrews: Hi! Thanks for the song!

9:05	small e: “we’ve got Ohtani Watch as this game goes on” — sentences I love to hear

9:05	Ben Schneider: It’s easy to forget that Schwarber revived his career with the Nationals

9:05	Davy Andrews: Some of us remember it well because it’s all we have.

9:08	spiderbyte: Anyone think there’s a chance to see Ohtani pitch tonight? Personally I don’t think so, I think they just didn’t want to say that

9:08	Davy Andrews: I don’t think I’d be completely shocked. More importantly, I really hope to see it.

9:08	bosoxforlife: Schwarber’s 2 months with the Red Sox was some of the most impressive hitting I have ever seen.

9:09	Davy Andrews: He’s awfully fun when he’s on.

9:09	Joe: Still in! How?

9:10	Dan Szymborski: I was going to make AI Smoltz, but it’s going to require more work to get just him talking

9:10	Dan Szymborski: Oops font

9:10	Davy Andrews: My ears!

9:10	Henry: Gotta get through this LLLLL part right?

9:11	Davy Andrews: We’ll seeee….

9:12	bosoxforlife: Is anyone else as impressed with Barksdale as I have been?

9:12	Dan Szymborski: Screw you, TEAM STRINGER BELL

9:12	Kwah: Szymborski on the Cyberdyne payroll, making one keystroke error that causes SkyNet to enslave humanity.

9:14	BK: Do you think the averages will double, John?

9:14	Wireless Joe Jackson: Oh shit, enslaved by AI Smoltz. This is truly the darkest timeline.

9:14	Davy Andrews: I read this as Al Smoltz, like short for Albert or Alexander.

9:15	Joe: Does Smoltz not know they were not in the shift, or…

9:15	Dan Szymborski: Al Smoltz, head of the Chicago Outfit

9:15	Dave: Stringer was soft. Marlo ate his lunch

9:15	Davy Andrews: I get the sense that it’s the last game of the tournament and the broadcast team might be running out of fun facts.

9:15	Dan Szymborski: Marlo ended up trapped in the world that Stringer wanted to be in

9:15	Orioles2024: Jay, I know you were gearing up for tonight, but I sorely missed your chat today. That is all.

9:16	Jay Jaffe: Aw, thanks. I’ll be skiing next week at this time, so you’ll have to wait for me to get back to my usual (newish) timeslot.

9:16	Sharps: This would have been the perfect time to test out other broadcasters for an inning at a time

9:16	Davy Andrews: Live, public auditions during the championship game!

9:17	Jay Jaffe: on that note, i’m outta here, my left wrist is killing me from typing these PPRs but I have five teams to go. Time to tough it out.

9:17	Jay Jaffe: enjoy the rest of the game!

9:17	Davy Andrews: Godspeed!

9:18	Davy Andrews: OHTANI ALERT

9:19	Orioles2024: Ohtani to the bullpen! Love it!

9:19	RTJ: Yu forgot his water so Ohtani is generously bringing it out to him

9:19	BK: Ohtani

9:19	Davy Andrews: RTJ wins.

9:19	Floyd: What’s the over/under for the year we’re done with Smoltz? And will we hate the next guy just as much? I say 2028 and absolutely.

9:19	Dan Szymborski: 2055

9:20	Dan Szymborski: Late-Stage Joe Maddon wasn’t that open-minded

9:21	Ann Xing: Is Ohtani in bullpen?

9:21	Davy Andrews: He is indeed.

9:22	Kwah: Itoh versus JT Realmuto, a Godzilla cinematic universe blockbuster coming in 2028

9:22	Davy Andrews: This is what I was talking about. They ran out of fun facts and now they’re just reading something straight off wikipedia.

9:22	Floyd: Joe Maddon is the example you use to describe and relate “open-minded baseball manager” to a national audience

9:23	Dave: I remember Smoltz and Ron Darling being in the same both one playoffs. And someone, somewhere decided that Smoltz was the guy to promote. Hopefully that person is required to listen to Smoltz’ commentary as long as the universe exists.

9:23	Davy Andrews: Hard to overstate just how good the GKR booth is.

9:24	Davy Andrews: I’ve never tried alfalfa! I usually use buckwheat (as opposed to wildflower) when I want the honey flavor to shine a little more through in a baked good. Please feel free to drop some knowledge if you’ve got it.

9:24	Byron Denniston: Better honey: buckwheat or alfalfa?

9:25	Davy Andrews: Just to be clear: Baking questions welcome when I’m on the chat.

9:25	Dan Szymborski: screw that, orange blossom honey!

9:26	bosoxforlife: When you get past 80 you can no longer do too much so rather than watch, listen and chat, I just watch and chat. I should know the game well enough by now to not need announcers to tell me what I am watching (and I can avoid John Smoltz) (chuckle)

9:26	Guest: how many splitters have been thrown?

9:26	Davy Andrews: Savant says 29 so far.

9:26	Dan Szymborski: EVER?

9:26	Dan Szymborski: At least several

9:26	Wally Canseco: Joe Maddon is also the example my uncle used to pitch and open marriage to my ex-aunt.

9:27	Kwah: Checkedricswing Mullins

9:27	Orioles2024: Baking question…if you’re teleworking tomorrow, is it acceptable to get baked on Busch Light while watching this game?

9:27	Davy Andrews: I genuinely forgot that Busch Light was a thing.

9:27	Dan Szymborski: Guess it depends on the job?

9:27	Dan Szymborski: Nobody though to ask me to be sober while working

9:28	Orioles2024: Dan, I knew we were kindred spirits.

9:28	Dan Szymborski: Nobody would wish similarity with me on themselves!

9:28	Davy Andrews: Does anybody else adore Japan’s unis? They look both sharp and amazingly comfortable.

9:29	Charles: Yes

9:29	Cap: Love the unis. Japan-Mexico yesterday was an excellent uniform game, too.

9:29	ryan: I’m praying they have Shohei close

9:30	Orioles2024: Davy, Busch Light is the nectar of the Gods. Come onboard.

9:31	Guest: What is the relationship between spin and velocity for a fastball? Are higher velocity fastballs better at producing spin? Would a really high spin, lower velocity fastball be better than a lower spin, high velocity fastball?

9:31	Dan Szymborski: Driveline had a simple primer some years ago, I’ll have go see if I can find it

9:32	someone: late post, but news in japan reporting that Ohtani available for one inning (most likely the 9th)

9:32	Davy Andrews: More like someone helpful.

9:32	Dave: Didn’t Driveline label a stat the Bauer to explain this? Might want a mulligan on that one now…

9:33	Davy Andrews: Extremely, extremely regrettable. That one is RPM/MPH, I believe.

9:33	Dan Szymborski: https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2016/11/spin-rate-what-we-know-now/

9:33	Dan Szymborski: Considering how many people we’ve liked or loved that turned out EEK, we need a lot of mulligans probably

9:34	Dan Szymborski: Chris Benoit had been my favorite wrestler!

9:34	Kwah: Adam versus Yamada — NYTimes Spelling Bee nerds have no choice but to pull for the Japanese hitter here.

9:34	Guest: not to be controversial, but I think baseball is grand

9:34	Dan Szymborski: indubitably, chap!

9:34	Thomas: Jason Adam’s pants are at Robbie Ray levels

9:34	Davy Andrews: Fun fact: I was at a concert in December and I happened to meet Sam Ezersky’s dad. He was very nice, but he seemed surprised that his son was famous enough that a stranger would know about his son.

9:35	Kevin Z.: The flags are too big on the hats

9:35	Davy Andrews: Absolutely. and some of the flags just don’t work on the hats. Israel’s is very redundant, for example.

9:35	Guest: Say Ohtani bats in the 8th, does he have ample time to warm up for the 9th?

9:35	Davy Andrews: There is no such thing as impossible for Shohei.

9:36	Dan Szymborski: We may or may not have Ben joining us, he was having electricity issues

9:38	small e: ohtani trying to jog back in as unintrusively as possible is very funny

9:40	Davy Andrews: Look, I’m sorry about this one, but I promised Ben that there would be a lot of bad jokes in his absence.

9:40	Kwah: Haven’t seen an Adam miss his target by this much since he was trying to convince his wife to not eat that apple.

9:40	RTJ: I’m no John Smoltz but I think the US needs to score some runs soon or they may lose

9:40	Fig Nootbar: The WBC logo looked like a rainbow. He’s playing under protest 🌈

9:42	Guest: Does anyone know what kind of balls they’re using? I know NPB balls are smaller. I would assume mlb balls, but that seems like a massive adjustment for npb players.

9:42	Davy Andrews: I would love to know, but it is an extremely hard thing to google.

9:42	Dan Szymborski: I laughed at Smoltz trying to feign interest in that Nootbaar anecdote

9:43	Dan Szymborski: How removable is face paint?

9:43	Dan Szymborski: Like is that dude going to be flag guy for like a week at work now?

9:43	Dan Szymborski: I’ve never worn face paint

9:44	Dan Szymborski: Ah, I see that guy in the front row who decided not to commit and just went as Generic Founding Father

9:44	Dave: soap and water, unless he messed up

9:45	Dan Szymborski: I thought M&Ms weren’t going to alive anymore

9:45	mickycoy: I literally can’t find any info about what kind of balls theyre using

9:45	Dan Szymborski: baseballs

9:45	Wally Canseco: “I’ve never worn face paint” # three top 10 regret of a chatbot.

9:46	RTJ: my friends once accidentally used deck paint to paint themselves for a sporting event. It did … not go well

9:46	Guest: I don’t mind Smoltz that much, but I do cringe a little when he says, “So-and-so-prospect is property of…”

9:46	Davy Andrews: I don’t love it when people say that either.

9:49	Wireless Joe Jackson: McNeil doing the hard work. US needs some baserunners.

9:49	Zac: Rawlings is has a landing page to purchase soffit Al

9:49	Guest: Sac bunt would be perfect right here

9:50	Davy Andrews: Not sure whose burner account this is.

9:50	RTJ: the sac bunt comment made me literally L O L

9:50	BK: Mike Trout Time

9:51	Davy Andrews: 107.4 mph off the bat from Mookie there.

9:51	Wireless Joe Jackson: Betts chooses to advance the runner without giving an out away.

9:51	ryan: trout should really slide those runners into scoring position here

9:51	Davy Andrews: I will be disappointed when these end.

9:51	Guest: Right where we want them, now Trout can bunt the runners and bingo bango 2nd and 3rd

9:51	Fig Nootbar: anyone else see Ota’s massive hickeys? Man probably thinking about his good times in Tokyo and not the AB’s

9:52	Davy Andrews: 99% sure they’re from cupping, but I like where your head’s at.

9:52	Dan Szymborski: NO WONDER THE ANGELS ARE BAD

9:52	Dan Szymborski: Is cupping still a thing? How cute

9:53	Davy Andrews: I would be a little curious to try it.

9:53	RTJ: see this proves definitively that he should have bunted there

9:53	Joe: Is cupping some sort of unmentionable act?

9:53	Dan Szymborski: Oof

9:54	Davy Andrews: Just said, “Oh no,” very loudly.

9:55	Davy Andrews: Very disappointed no one has pointed out that Goldy should’ve bunted there.

9:56	Davy Andrews: Quick question: Has anybody been seen that AT&T commercial that takes place in Jones’ Bones Barkery tonight? I saw tons of it the last couple games, but haven’t seen it at all tonight.

9:57	Dan Szymborski: You know what would be a surprise here? A bunt.

9:57	Hugh Duffy: No Barkery commercials tonight.

9:58	ryan: why is bednar not bunting here

9:58	RTJ: I don’t know why they don’t put on the hit and run with the bases empty here

9:58	bosoxforlife: Tough inning for a right-hander.

9:59	Hugh Duffy: Tough inning for a pitcher.