Winter Meetings Chat – 12/11/13

Dave Cameron: We’ll do an extra long chat here from Orlando today, so in order to preserve a little bit of a normal lunch time, we’re just going to start an hour early. Hot stove talk obviously will be a priority, but the queue is now open for your questions.

Comment From Dave
Which team is having the least eventful winter meetings?

Dave Cameron: Maybe the Orioles. All the rumors about the O’s is that they they aren’t interested in this guy or that guy.

Comment From Bkgeneral
Phillips or Espinosa a better fit @ 2b for NYY?

Dave Cameron: Infante.

Comment From Alex
The Tigers have to explore trading Scherzer right? The 2014 team looks to be going nowhere. Is a Scherzer/Jackson package possible (or a 3-way ala Granderson/Jackson 2009)?

Dave Cameron: The Tigers are still clearly the best team in the AL Central, so yeah, they can keep him.

Comment From Guest
Could you please update any Brandon Phillips chatter you are hearing

Dave Cameron: Reds would happily give him away, no one wants him.

Comment From Blade Runner
Do you really think Choo will get 7/140?

Dave Cameron: I think he signs for 7/126, the Werth/Wells/Zito contract.

Comment From Gormogon
any truth to the M’s thinking about moving Zunino? And then who the hell is going to catch?

Dave Cameron: Yeah, I don’t see it. They don’t have anyone to replace him, so I think that was just writers picking names they’ve heard of.

Comment From Guest
Fister, McLouth, left-handed reliever TBD. Good offseason for the Nationals or should they be doing more?

Dave Cameron: Hard to beat getting Fister for the price they did.

Comment From Erik
I know Trumbo has his warts, but how good are Eaton and Skaggs? Trying not to hate this deal as a Dback fan…can you help me at all?

Dave Cameron: Eaton is probably a league average player if he stays healthy, and Skaggs looks like a good back-end starter with upside. Sorry, you should hate this deal.

Comment From Matt
The “prospects” in the Trumbo deal send to AZ aren’t, right?

Dave Cameron: If you’re rule 5 eligible, you’re not a prospect.

Comment From tysymo
Anything to the Ellis-Stl noise? Still a valuable player but wondering about the impact on Wong’s playing time/development if it happened..

Dave Cameron: It’s the kind of move they should make. Nothing wrong with a job share there, and Ellis is a perfectly reasonable insurance policy.

Comment From Stefan
What is the first interesting thing you think the Cubs do this offseason?

Dave Cameron: I could see them getting in on cheap pitching. Guys like Roberto Hernandez and Chris Capuano fit the bill.

Comment From Semperty
What kind of a return could Toronto get for Rasmus if they decided to move him?

Dave Cameron: Probably not what they want. It’s one year of team control over a guy with a spotty track record.

Comment From Matt
Do you think Skaggs and Eaton had such depressed value that they wouldn’t have helped to bring a good SP in a trade?

Dave Cameron: They seem to want a great SP, not a good one. Could Skaggs and Eaton have gotten Samardzija? I’d have thought it would have been a good place to start, at least.

Comment From Bkgeneral
Think the Reds deal Bailey?

Dave Cameron: No, but I could see them moving Mike Leake.

Comment From John
The Angels have $20 million left to spend. How should they spend it?

Dave Cameron: I think they’re $20 million under the luxury tax, but that doesn’t mean they have $20 million to spend. I think they’ll sign a free agent starter, maybe Garza.

Comment From Dan
Do you see Brett Gardner being moved this offseason, and who is the most likely trade partner?

Dave Cameron: No, I think they’ll keep him.

Comment From Jack
Could Franklin for Kemp work?

Dave Cameron: Mariners shouldn’t even consider that unless Dodgers eat a lot of the remaining contract.

Comment From Froglegs Jackson Jr.
What do you think ends up happening with Matt Kemp?

Dave Cameron: I think the Mariners will trade for him, overpay.

Comment From Fish
It seems like Rajai Davis shouldn’t prevent the Tigers from being in on Choo…

Dave Cameron: It’s not Rajai Davis, it’s Andy Dirks. The upgrade from Dirks/Davis platoon to Choo isn’t that great.

Comment From John Havok
How much money would the Dodgers have to eat to get no an elite prosepct, but say a prospect in the top 25-100?

Dave Cameron: Reasonably? Half of the remaining $128M.

Comment From NarkusMaslund
How much salt should we be taking with Jays saying “we are comfortable with Ryan Goins at 2B”?

Dave Cameron: A lot of salt.

Comment From CMR
Hi, Dave – How much did the Fister trade affect players’/agents’/writers’ perceptions of the trade market for pitchers? Of the free-agent market for pitchers? Or do people consider it a strange one-off deal? Thanks!

Dave Cameron: Yeah, I think everyone just considers it an outlier and moves on.

Comment From Vic
How about an Orioles trade for Headley now that his value is down? At all likely?

Dave Cameron: They have a third baseman.

Comment From Marcus
Any chance the Reds would eat enough money on Phillips’ deal to make him a more appealing option than Infante for the Royals?

Dave Cameron: Probably not. I don’t think they’re motivated to pay someone to take him.

Comment From Guest
What did you thinkof the Angels/White Sox/Diamondback trade?

Dave Cameron: Great for White Sox, good for Angels, bad for D’Backs.

Comment From Tabulous
Does Drew Stubbs make any sense for Seattle right now?

Dave Cameron: Yep, but they’re focused on stars.

Comment From Vic
Butler getting moved at this point?

Dave Cameron: Yeah, I think they trade him, then replace him with another OF/DH type.

Comment From Morgan
If the Mariners are as flush with cash as they appear to be with the regional sports network they own now would you be in favor of the Mariners signing choo to 7/126?

Dave Cameron: No. Rather spend it on other things. Can only have so many lefty hitters who can’t hit lefties in your line-up too.

Comment From John Havok
Garza’s asking proce too high or ar some of the higher-sh level arms waiting on the Tanaka situation to resolve before they really know what they will be looking for?

Dave Cameron: Yeah, all the pitchers are waiting out Tanaka.

Comment From Fish
The Phillies don’t seem to have a plan. At all.

Dave Cameron: Agree.

Comment From Clayton
As a Cards fan, are we still the team to beat in the Central? I don’t see the Pirates possibly signing Arroyo as a big splash that would put them over the top.

Dave Cameron: Cardinals better than Pirates, but it’s close.

Comment From Alex
Anything to these Gardner for Austin Jackson rumors? Seems like this would be another payroll dump for Detroit, if it were to happen.

Dave Cameron: Doesn’t really make much sense.

Comment From Vic
Will Storen be traded to be a team’s closer?

Dave Cameron: I think Nats are happy with him as their setup guy.

Comment From Rob
Is there anything to suggest why Samardzija’s ERA has been so much higher than his FIP and xFIP the last couple years? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hold onto him and hope the ERA starts matching up?

Dave Cameron: It’s mostly extra HRs, but I think teams are still willing to pay for the stuff.

Comment From NarkusMaslund
Do you trade one of Stroman or Sanchez for Samardzjia? If so, which one?

Dave Cameron: No.

Comment From Tom
The Rays should just hang on to Price right? Trading a (near) certainty for a bag of prospects doesn’t make as much sense while you’re still a contender.

Dave Cameron: The idea that David Price is a near certainty is pretty much wrong.

Comment From Matt
Towers says they determined to leave with a SP. Who would you guess he goes after and actually has a chance to get?

Dave Cameron: I could see him deciding to meet the Rays demands for Price.

Comment From TB
Cliff Lee. He’s owed $25M/$25M/$27.5M or a $12.5M buyout over the next three years. He’s also really good. How valuable is he with that contract? If he were to be traded, assuming no money changes hands, what’s a fair return?

Dave Cameron: A couple of good prospects.

Comment From Guest
Random thing I noticed yesterday: Nick Franklin was worth 2.3 rWAR last year. Seems heavy.

Dave Cameron: Yeah, it’s based on a far too optimistic evaluation of his defense.

Dave Cameron: We have him at like +1 WAR or something.

Comment From Tom
Any thoughts on Rosenthal’s report that Price wouldn’t talk extension with the M’s, but would with other teams?

Dave Cameron: Not a huge surprise.

Comment From Larry
If the Dodgers bring Kemp down to 6 x 15, what kind of prospect should a team send back to LA?

Dave Cameron: An okay one.

Comment From Bkgeneral
What do you think about the Astros alleged interest in Morse?

Dave Cameron: They need a DH, he is a DH.

Comment From Dan
Who do you think Pittsburgh will end up getting to play First Base?

Dave Cameron: I could see them landing Morrison.

Comment From Bob
Royals possible front runners for Infante…is this the best use of resources. As a fan, I won’t complain if KC gets him, but could they upgrade elsewhere for more improvement?

Dave Cameron: Infante is good, and the price seems reasonable.

Comment From Chicago Mark
C’mon! Skaggs, Eaton and ??? for Samardzija? If you think Eaton and Skaggs are league average and an innings eater it must take a lot more.

Dave Cameron: Congratulations, you’re overrating Jeff Samardzija.

Comment From Kevin
Your thoughts on Drew returning to the Sox? I don’t see the point, Bogaerts is projected to be just as productive.

Dave Cameron: If you’re not convinced Bogaerts can play short, it makes sense.

Comment From Thomas
Looking at Santiago’s peripherals, if he doesn’t improve his control is it fair to say he will be out of the Majors within a couple of years?

Dave Cameron: Probably more in the bullpen than out of baseball.

Comment From Max
I have a huge man crush on Stanton… What would it take for the Red Sox to get him? JBJ, Middlebrooks, Barnes, Ranaundo? more?

Dave Cameron: He’s not available.

Comment From Erich
I know that sign and trades are prohibited as a way to circumvent the QO/compensation process. However, what is the legality of a sign and trade to extend a guy with one year of team control left like Colby Rasmus, and then trade him with a new contract extension and more team control?

Dave Cameron: There’s no restrictions on that, but no team is going to trick a guy into signing an extension under the pretense of keeping him and then immediately trade him. It’s basically lying, and would ruin their reputation. That’s why the trade happens first, then the extension with the new team.

Comment From Catoblepas
What would you give for Kemp? There’s definitely the possibility of a resurgence, right?

Dave Cameron: I don’t think he’ll ever be what he was, but there’s a chance for him to be a solid corner outfielder. I’d probably take $100 of the $130M if I didn’t have to give anything up.

Comment From Ryan
Any truth to the Oakland turned down Myers for Anderson rumor last year? Or is that just overblown noise?

Dave Cameron: Never heard that, wouldn’t believe it.

Comment From J.D.
Doesn’t Price’s agent saying he won’t sign any extension with Seattle kill the discussions there? You must be happy about that.

Dave Cameron: Probably makes it less likely that they do something stupid, yes.

Comment From Concerned for your health
Have you left the hotel and seen sunlight?

Dave Cameron: Yeah, we’ve had dinner off the property each of the last two nights, and we’re not actually staying at the Dolphin, so we have to drive in every morning.

Comment From Tabulous
Why are you so down on Kemp after one injury-prone year? Do you think his shoulder problems are life-long? I’m not knocking you — I’m just trying to see your point of view.

Dave Cameron: He was useless in 2010 too. He’s been replacement level in two of last four years, has serious health concerns, and shouldn’t play CF anymore. As a corner OF who might not be a full-time player, he’s going to have to mash to be a star.

Comment From Guest
butler may actually make sense for the yankees, they need a RH OBP kinda/meh power guy right????

Dave Cameron: They have enough DHs.

Comment From mlstarr
Kevin Towers pointed out on AZ radio yesterday that they now have two of the seven players that had 30 HR and 100 RBI last year…so you know…yeah.

Dave Cameron: Sometimes, these are just talking points designed to get casual fans on board, but yeah, that trade doesn’t speak well of Arizona’s decision making.

Comment From Bret
Are writers at the Winter Meetings frustrated by the lack of activity?

Dave Cameron: No, we’re used to it. It was expected after last week’s insanity.

Comment From retirenutting
What happens to the Cano leftovers out in Seattle: Ackley, Franklin, Smoak — those guys are shorttimers now, right? Like a garage sale?

Dave Cameron: Smoak is unaffected. Franklin will be traded, Ackley is an OF for them now, if he’s not moved too.

Comment From Evan
Would Sanchez + two other non-Stroman prospects of the Phillies choice be enough to get Cliff Lee?

Dave Cameron: Way too much.

Comment From Meano Eno
Where is your name tag thing???? How am I supposed to know this is the real Dave Cameron and not the British guy???

Dave Cameron: It took a half hour for me to notice I didn’t have my name display setting on. Whoops.

Comment From ryan
Can you give us just a brief description of where and how meetings between agents and teams take place there? Do teams have their own suites and agents/players go to those rooms?

Dave Cameron: Yes, teams have suites, and if they want to meet in person, they can just invite people to come over for a face to face. A lot of it done through text/phone/email though.

Comment From Tabulous
You’ve recently called Nick Franklin a glorified version of Kelly Johnson. How is that not worth Matt Kemp? Do you think Kemp’s injury is really that bad/long-lasting?

Dave Cameron: You trade for contracts, not for players.

Comment From Oren
I feel like the Tigers have made themselves a worse team this offseason, and while they saved some money dumping Fister, I don’t see them in much better shape to lock up Boras client Max Scherzer. Since they look done with big moves, thoughts on their offseason?

Dave Cameron: Doubt they’re actually done.

Comment From Bubbles
How irrational is this scenario: cubs blow past draft spending limits this summer, lose a pick(or two) with the intention of signing one or more comp pick free agents in 14 offseason. I oversimplified this, considering the forum, but I have yet to hear anything close to this strategy mentioned by media. Thanks for your work.

Dave Cameron: I’ve heard the Yankees are thinking of a similar thing with the international market next summer.

Comment From Guest
Any rumors about Roberto Hernandez? I thought for sure he’d be the cheap kind of inning eating pitcher that would go quickly in a market with such inflated prices at that top.

Dave Cameron: The pitching market is stuck until Tanaka goes. Everyone is on hold, basically.

Comment From Zack
I know it isn’t likely to happen, but does Choo to the Orioles make any sense at all?

Dave Cameron: I don’t think so.

Comment From Morgan
Are the reports coming out that the Mariners are considering keeping Franklin as a super utility player accurate?

Dave Cameron: M’s are just saying stuff. If they were going to use Franklin as super utility guy, they wouldn’t have given Bloomquist two year deal.

Comment From Daniel
The Rays just seem like a Logan Morrison spot

Dave Cameron: Rays seem like an Ike Davis spot.

Comment From Rusty Trumbo
Great for White Sox? You call Eaton an “average” regular and they got rid of a decent back-end starter in Santiago. How is that “great”? Maybe good.

Dave Cameron: Santiago isn

Dave Cameron: Santiago isn’t very good.

Comment From Lets Go Bucs
Wilson of the Pirates for Gregorious of the DBacks. who hangs up first?

Dave Cameron: Come on.

Comment From retirenutting
As an M’s fan, do you think there’s any upside left in Ackley to be a Neil Walker sort of 2B with better defense?

Dave Cameron: Not that kind of power, but I still think he could turn into a good player.

Comment From Guest
Is it possible that Seattle can get Bautista. If so would it take a lot to get him? Since he would provide the M’s with the right handed bat they need.

Dave Cameron: No reason for Toronto to trade him.

Comment From Guest
What are the odds Smoak is on the spring training roster for the Mariners?

Dave Cameron: He’s their starting first baseman.

Comment From Nats Fan
So dave why is it that we see the same two teams do numerous trades with each other ie nationals athletics probably at least 6 trades in the past couple years.

Dave Cameron: GMs have better relationships with some of their peers than others.

Comment From Nick
Who do you see the Giants pursuing for LF? Or do you think they should just stick with Blanco?

Dave Cameron: Eno is writing about this right now, post should be up in 20 minutes.

Comment From Matt
What was the motivation for NPB to agree to the new posting system? Isn’t it pretty much guaranteed to shift money from their clubs to their players?

Dave Cameron: Yes, that was the point of the agreement. I think MLB basically strong-armed them.

Comment From stonecutter7
If tanaka doesn’t get posted this year, what are the chances he decides to wait until 2016 and (in theory) pocket the twenty million.

Dave Cameron: Not very good.

Comment From Teddy
What makes a gm so much better at trading than others, i mean i assume they all have the same information available so why are some gm’s willing to do what others would think of as ludicrous?

Dave Cameron: They don’t have the same information, nor do they value things the same way.

Comment From Jake
Does it look as though the Cardinals are going to do anything other than try and get an Ellis-level player this offseason?

Dave Cameron: They’ve already gotten Peralta/Bourjos. Their work is mostly done.

Comment From Charlie
There’s been lots of talk about inflation. On rough estimations so far, where do you have the S/win value at?

Dave Cameron: Between $6M and $7M.

Comment From Dave M.
Do you think Will Middlebrooks can add some more patience to his hitting approach? He hasn’t shown much of it in the majors so far, but he’s still just 25.

Dave Cameron: Guys get more selective as they get older.

Comment From Guest
So is there a formal structure to what execs do at these meetings? Like actual meetings in board rooms where they all get together and talk about baseball executive stuff? Or is it just getting everyone in the same place so they can just talk at the hotel bar?

Dave Cameron: Teams have some formal events. They meet with their minor league affiliates, have receptions for their employees, there’s committee meetings. It’s mostly just a lot of sitting in hotel rooms, but there are some actual events.

Comment From Seymour
the overrating of Skaggs/Eaton is pretty stunning. Complete unknown as to what level either will be ML contributors. Eaton likely *nice* leadoff hitter but pretty big variance factor. Skaggs can be anywhere from #2 to #5 SPer. Trumbo is the cheapest power hitting OF corner available. Snakes far from got buried in that deal, esp dealing from their own surpluses to supplement weakness.

Dave Cameron: Players with short track records aren’t “complete unkowns” any more than veterans are “near certainties”. The need to describe players in cliches like this speaks to the misevaluation of skills.

Comment From Daniel
Nicest executive / former player / other writer at the meetings? Funniest?

Dave Cameron: No one says a bad word about Jonah Keri.

Comment From Jay29
Can you summarize the new posting rules and what they mean for teams looking to sign Tanaka? I’m still not sure I understand them after reading Eno’s article.

Dave Cameron: When a player is posted, he becomes a de facto free agent, and can negotiate with any team. The team that signs him has to pay an additional $20M tax in addition to the contract.

Comment From kramer
Who has more trade value Lynn or the Shark? Lynn has 1 more year of team control, is 2 years younger and their #’s are crazy similar

Dave Cameron: Shark doesn’t have Lynn’s platoon problem, has better stuff.

Comment From Dave M.
What kind of role does sabermetrics play in the draft? Quite a few statistics seem difficult to track across so many leagues (UZR, baserunning, plate discipline, etc.). What statistics that are difficult to obtain would be the most useful in drafting?

Dave Cameron: There are different statistics that are predictive of future value than ones that describe past value. You don’t necessarily want to try and create UZR for a high school kid.

Comment From Jon
Pirates close to Cardinals? They were 14 games worse by Pythag last year and now they’ve lost Burnett, Byrd, and Morneau and probably shouldn’t expect star-production out of Marte and Martin again. Cards will have regression too, and will lose runs from RISP normalizing, but it seems to me they went into the offseason with a considerably better roster than Pitt, and they’ve improved it from there.

Dave Cameron: Stop looking at pythag.

Comment From Brian
What kind of contract would you give Stephen Drew?

Dave Cameron: I don’t think I’d give up a draft pick to sign him.

Comment From mlstarr
How do you as writers interact with team personnel at the meetings? Do they come down and talk or is that also through texts, email, phone?

Dave Cameron: There are official daily meetings with the GM/manager and local beat writers for on-the-record quotes. The off the record stuff is almost all phone.

Comment From ryan
Are writers (Rosenthal, Olney, etc) allowed on the floors that teams have their suites, or is everyone else kept in the hotel lobby?

Dave Cameron: It’s a hotel, you can go wherever you want, basically. But no one is just going to camp out outside a closed hotel room door.

Comment From Zack
Is Brett Gardner an above-average baseball player?

Dave Cameron: Yep.

Comment From Jill Bames
What percentage of GMs look at WAR (do you think)?

Dave Cameron: A lot of teams have their own versions calculated internally, so they’re not necessarily looking at our WAR, but most GMs are looking at some kind of WAR type metric.

Comment From Josiah
What’s your least favorite sabremetric statistic? Meaning something like OPS+, ERA+, etc.

Dave Cameron: Pythagorean record.

Comment From Jeff
Jeremy Hellickson for Ike Davis? Who says no and what would it take?

Dave Cameron: Davis won’t cost nearly that much.

Comment From Jim
Who do you hang out with primarily at the winter meetings?

Dave Cameron: Appelman.

Comment From _David_
Choo is 17th in wRC+ since 2008. He’s pretty good, right?

Dave Cameron: He’s a +3 win player.

Comment From Semperty
Would the meetings be worth going to as a Sports Management major in college?

Dave Cameron: Depends on your goal. If you just want to people watch, sure. If you’re trying to get a job, I’m not sure how useful it is.

Comment From KCP
I notice that defenses of the DBacks side of the Trumbo trade seem to ignore that baseball involves fielding and running, not simply hitting. And that hitting involves contact and patience, not simply power.

Dave Cameron: The recent focus on “right-handed power” to the exclusion of other skills is just weird.

Comment From Guest
How big is that white Christmas tree by the MLB Hot Stove desk?

Dave Cameron: Ridiculous. It takes a half hour to walk around that thing.

Dave Cameron: (Slight exaggeration)

Comment From ethan
Maybe a stupid question, but will the value of a win ever decrease? It seems the cost is just skyrocketing at this point?

Dave Cameron: It could decrease if the television bubble collapses and the worldwide economy has another recession. Barring that, though, no, it’s going up forever.

Comment From Kris
Why do you think financial analysis lends itself to baseball analysis? Michael Lewis and Jonah Keri have both made the jump to both. Is it the combination of numbers and human behavior that makes analysis of each so similar?

Dave Cameron: People who are good at reading markets can apply those skills to different kinds of markets.

Comment From SMC
I’m curious. What’s wriong with pythag? It’s not the be all and end all, but it’s useful and has predictive value, no?

Dave Cameron: It serves no real purpose. If you want to actually try and evaluate a team’s true talent level in the past, there’s no reason to stop at runs scored and runs allowed without stripping out the factors that influence those and probably aren’t skill. If you’re trying to predict the future, you want a forecast for players actually on the roster, not a meaningless number put up by players who were on the team last year.

Comment From Luke Emija
Dave, what do you see Tanaka getting if he gets posted?

Dave Cameron: $125-$150M.

Comment From A. Lane
Team WAR > Pythag? When is Pythag useful?

Dave Cameron: You don’t really want to use Team WAR for what people use pythag for either. If you’re going to do some kind of calculation like that, you want BaseRuns or something similar.

Comment From Daniel
what kind of lamborghini does appelman drive?

Dave Cameron: The kind that says “Hyundai” on the back.

Dave Cameron: That’s his rental car this week, anyway.

Comment From Joel
Wait, who’s watching the dog?

Dave Cameron: Combination of doggy day care and the wife.

Comment From EdgarHOF
Do execs/writers actually talk with “normal” people at the meetings? (not for inside info, just about the game/business in general)

Dave Cameron: Sure, if you see someone you want to say hi to and they’re not busy, they’ll probably talk to you.

Comment From Greg
Isn’t it entirely possible that Trumbo is better than Eaton (who was terrible last year) and that Santiago is better than Skaggs (who was also terrible last year)? Santiago was a solid pitcher last year. The D-Backs also got rid of Bauer last year before he imploded, so maybe Towers is smarter than we give him credit for.

Dave Cameron: Maybe you should evaluate players by things other than last year ERA?

Comment From Paul
People should be careful attributing expertise to Michael Lewis and Jonah Keri. They’re both Journalists who covered both financial analysis and baseball analysis that does NOT make them analysts of either regard. It’s demeaning to people who spend their lives actually doing that work that someone who writes about it is considered an expert (happens all the time where science authors are considered scientists despite no actual training in anything other than journalism).

Dave Cameron: I don’t think these guys pass themselves off as experts. They’re very up front about the fact that they are writers.

Comment From Jeff
Why so high for Tanaka? Darvish’s success + lower posting fee?

Dave Cameron: Yeah, the right to negotiate with everyone is going to drive his price way up.

Comment From Guest
In a past chat, you mentioned how the NBA’s SportVU. It seems an amazing product. I also read that it is used in soccer. Are you aware of this hitting baseball any time in the not-so-distant future? I realize there would be hurdles, but seems like it’d be more than worth it.

Dave Cameron: The closest thing would be something like the Trackman system. There is no single system that is installed in every MLB park yet.

Comment From Santos
I thought “normal people” couldn’t get into the winter meetings, that you had to have some kind of association with MLB to get in?

Dave Cameron: Nope, you can just come hang out in the hotel lobby all you want.

Comment From Tabulous
Weird stalker moment: you apparently take your dog to the vet’s office my sister works at. She told me they had a guy come in and try to explain his job, and her co-worker didn’t understand. So you had to ask if they’d seen Moneyball, and then my sister got it and knew I would know you. She was impressed I knew the name of your dog and asked if you knew I was stalking you. (These are your readers!)

Dave Cameron: The world is small.

Comment From Fangrapher
Fangraphs is incorporated in Arlington, VA. Do you guys have an office down in Arlington, or just Appleman’s house?

Dave Cameron: There’s no central FG office.

Comment From lol
What does it take to get Owings from the Diamondbacks, considering their logjam in the middle-infield.

Dave Cameron: Probably someone white and scrappy.

Comment From Matt
Why did MLB/NPB go with a fixed-$ cap on the posting fee rather than say, a percentage of the final contract value?

Dave Cameron: I have no idea. A percentage of total salary seems so much easier.

Comment From zack
Who would win a brawl between Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs?

Dave Cameron: I think we would, because R.J. Anderson doesn’t actually exist.

Dave Cameron: Also, Ben Lindbergh is like 4 feet tall.

Comment From benzedrine
Given your exposure on national TV, does anyone think you are in charge of Fangraphs, instead of Appelman?

Dave Cameron: Yeah, a lot of people. Met with an agent yesterday who was surprised to learn it wasn’t my company.

Comment From Jeff
Why doesn’t Appelman write? I want to know his opinions on baseball stuff!

Dave Cameron: No, you don’t.

Comment From Alec
My understanding: Appleman’s brainchild and he is basically the CTO, while you are in charge of operations?

Dave Cameron: Not really. He’s still heavily involved, and runs the business/data side of things. I’m in charge of content, basically.

Comment From Ryan
How long before the players’ union fights to change the qualifying offer system? Will they simply wait until the year the CBA ends (2016)?

Dave Cameron: Yeah, I think they’ll stick it out for a few more years.

Comment From Guest
Did you draw the shortest straw? Sure sounds like the Winter Meetings kind of suck.

Dave Cameron: The social aspect is fun. I have a lot of friends that I only get to see every few months at events like this. The rest of it is useless.

Comment From Sammy
Do you think Matt Carpenter will improve moving forward or have we seen his ceiling ?

Dave Cameron: Last year was his peak.

Comment From chuckb
If you were an AL GM, how would you treat the DH? Would you try to have a full time DH or shuffle guys in and out based on splits, players needing days off in the field, etc?

Dave Cameron: I’d probably try to run a platoon of guys who can at least fake it in a corner OF spot if necessary. That way, they also serve as your 4th/5th OFs.

Comment From _David_
For the price of Nelson Cruz why not approach the Rays and see what prospects they will sell you?

Dave Cameron: I don’t think MLB will ever allow teams to just straight up buy players from other organizations. It would be kind of fun, though.

Comment From Guest
Would the Mariners be wiser to pursue Scherzer instead of Price, assuming the price in traded players is less?

Dave Cameron: Yes.

Dave Cameron: Okay, we’ll shut this down for now, but depending on the afternoon happenings, I might come back and chat for a while again later today.

Dave Cameron: Thanks for hanging out, everyone.