World Series Game 1 Chat
| 8:01 |
: Hey everyone, it’s World Series time!
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| 8:01 |
: baseball baseball baseball baseball baseball |
| 8:01 |
: Let’s do this!
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| 8:01 |
: Look uh… it’s the World Series. I would normally post in some lineups and such, but WORLD SERIES VERY EXCITING
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| 8:02 |
: The Rays are fun, the Dodgers are fun, this is going to be fun
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| 8:02 |
: Hi Ben! |
| 8:02 |
: Hey everyone
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| 8:02 |
: Is it weird that I want Kershaw to pitch well but for the Rays to win?
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| 8:02 |
: Does a kershaw win tonight and a dodgers sweep change his whole narrative or does he need to perform well a couple times on this stage to change it?
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| 8:02 |
 Dan Szymborski: The time has almost come. The time for baseball.
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| 8:02 |
: Not looking forward to Buck and Smoltz over praising the managers and ignoring the front offices. |
| 8:02 |
Dan Szymborski: DO YOU WANT A-ROD
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| 8:03 |
: Are they next to each other?
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| 8:03 |
: Or is this some trick?
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| 8:03 |
: And I would think Kershaw winning a ring will just make the noise quieter, not change the story
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| 8:03 |
: They’re in the same room. Glass pane in the middle is a bit confusing
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| 8:03 |
: A-Rod>Smoltz, at least A-Rod is interestingly bad. Smoltz is just a bummer |
| 8:03 |
: Obligatory cat update?
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| 8:04 |
: 5 Run Homer, I think that’s the correct take, personally. A Rod is so fun to laugh at
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| 8:04 |
: Or potentially laugh with
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| 8:04 |
Dan Szymborski: I dunno, there’s all upstairs and the moment. Cassiopeia was here a little while ago but left in a huff when I pulled her off my NAS. I heard the catlets rumbling upstairs at some point. No ide what Mercutio is doing.
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| 8:04 |
: How many years in a row would the dodgers have to lose in the postseason to convince you we live in a simulation?
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| 8:04 |
: 1.5 would do it for me, because the real world doesn’t handle fractions well |
| 8:05 |
Dan Szymborski: If humanity were to ever to develope the capacity to run such a simulation, then the prob is nearly 100% that we are in a simulation
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| 8:05 |
: Hey we made it to the World Series!
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| 8:05 |
: But the real treasure is all the COVID we tested for along the way
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| 8:05 |
Dan Szymborski: in one piece
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| 8:05 |
Dan Szymborski: uh oh
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| 8:05 |
Dan Szymborski: big text |
| 8:05 |
Dan Szymborski: dont’ know what happened but it’s gone now
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| 8:06 |
: As a rays fan who lives in st Pete and loves kershaw, this World Series is great and tragic. Don’t get me wrong, go Rays, but dodgers are 2nd only to the rays for me
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| 8:06 |
: This general sentiment seems like a lot of what I’ve heard people saying
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| 8:06 |
: And I totally agree
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| 8:06 |
: I like Mookie and Kershaw (and other Dodgers too, just them most)
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| 8:06 |
: And I like the Rays |
| 8:07 |
Dan Szymborski: There’s nobody I really hate, which always makes me sad
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| 8:07 |
:
Who you got?
Dodgers (68.0% | 68 votes)
Rays (32.0% | 32 votes)
Total Votes: 100
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| 8:07 |
: I am dumbfounded by the fact that we got this far. I suppose something good had to happen in 2020.
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| 8:07 |
:
Who you want?
Dodgers (43.9% | 47 votes)
Rays (56.0% | 60 votes)
Total Votes: 107
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| 8:08 |
: As a baseball fan since about 2013, watching the Dodgers in the postseason is Baseball to me. There’s a certain comfort in their dominance, lefty hitters striking out 40% of the time, and weird sketchy bullpen stuff
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| 8:09 |
: Nothing says playoffs like Dave Roberts just going absolutely nuts with pitching changes |
| 8:09 |
Dan Szymborski: “Relief is the opposite of starting, so I have to bring in Clayton Kershaw to face RIGHTIES!”
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| 8:09 |
: I’m probably one of few in the chat who can say they have been a Rays fan literally all their life, I was born in St. Pete in 1999. It means so much this year to be watching October baseball, and glad to be doing it with you all. Here’s to this week inspiring a new generation of Rays fans and baseball fans all over the country!
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| 8:09 |
: Hooray!
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| 8:09 |
: Also, I do think this WS will be very good for attracting fans
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| 8:10 |
: The two best teams, one of which is star-studded
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| 8:10 |
: Over/under for Randy home runs this series? 3.5? |
| 8:10 |
: With great regret, under
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| 8:10 |
: Me: Glasnow will start Game 1 of the World Series in 2020 Pirates fan from 2017: Wow! So we finally made it to the WS! Me: Pirates fan from 2017: So, is Meadows doing well? |
| 8:11 |
: :/
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| 8:11 |
: If the saying is, ‘get a trophy or go home’ does that mean that the winner doesn’t get to go home?
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| 8:11 |
: The good news is, Globe Life is quite spacious
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| 8:12 |
: Reminder for the MLB.TV crowd that radio streams are an option. Dave and Andy for the Rays are great, can’t speak to the Dodgers. Plus, area-specific commercials! |
| 8:12 |
: Randy the DH is so funny to me
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| 8:12 |
: Imagine starting Randy at DH even a month ago
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| 8:13 |
: The Rays traded for a Proven Lefty Masher ™
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| 8:13 |
: And also Jose Martinez
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| 8:13 |
: Kershaw has had the same glove for at least 10 years
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| 8:13 |
: Although I’m definitely rooting for the Rays (even as an O’s fan) I have a soft spot for the Dodgers bc I have an OOTP sim going as their GM and I’m in like 2048 so I kinda feel like a Dodgers fan now
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| 8:13 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m honestly fine with either
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| 8:13 |
: I’m for the Rays, but only barely.
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| 8:14 |
: The thing is (and I realize this is somewhat controversial), I actually really like Joe Buck as a Big Moment announcer. I think just his presence makes things seem important. But Smoltz is just… ugh. So yeah, maybe radio broadcasts are the way to go
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| 8:14 |
: I think the Joe Buck hate is overdone
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| 8:14 |
: He’s quite competent
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| 8:14 |
: Which is what you want from the play-by-play guy
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| 8:14 |
: I just think it would be cool if the Rays won. Dodgers are fine.
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| 8:14 |
: “I just think they’re neat!”
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| 8:15 |
: I hit a walkoff bomb tonight
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| 8:15 |
: That would be some trick
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| 8:16 |
: That clip of Buck and Aikman making fun of the military flyovers at a football game made me like him just a little more
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| 8:16 |
: Oh man, highly suggest listening to that if you haven’t
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| 8:16 |
: It’s kind of annoying that Gameday is ahead of the Fox broadcast
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| 8:16 |
Dan Szymborski: NOTHING IS SYNCED EVER
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| 8:17 |
: IDK if American viewers would be envious of this, but in Canada Sportset shows the MLB International feed which has Vasgersian on play-by-play and Buck Martinez doing colour which I enjoy
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| 8:17 |
: How was home field advantage determined this year?
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| 8:17 |
Dan Szymborski: record
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| 8:17 |
Dan Szymborski: or preference for costco
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| 8:17 |
: The Randy man and the Yandy man both on base, we need another rhyming Ray
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| 8:17 |
: (yandy doesn’t actually rhyme, I know)
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| 8:18 |
: How many innings do you think Kershaw will pitch tonight?
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| 8:18 |
: This first inning isn’t exactly setting up well
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| 8:18 |
: But I’ll say 6
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| 8:18 |
: Ji-Man-dy man
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| 8:18 |
: Is Manny (Margot) a close enough rhyme?
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| 8:18 |
: Randy and Yandy rhyme like Lowe and Lowe, so I’ll allow it
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| 8:19 |
: Over/under 0.5 Baby Shark references in this World Series?
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| 8:19 |
: Best over under question of the night so far
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| 8:19 |
: Wow
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| 8:19 |
: I will say over
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| 8:20 |
: But I don’t feel confident at all
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| 8:20 |
Dan Szymborski: I haven’t heard much Baby Shark
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| 8:20 |
Dan Szymborski: that’s not really as big a pop culture thing anymore
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| 8:20 |
: Pretty amazing that Verlander has a worse WS ERA than Kershaw but doesn’t have the bad big game rap at all
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| 8:20 |
: What planet is Smoltz on?
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| 8:21 |
: Which team has the better bullpen? Will it swing the series?
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| 8:21 |
: I know Hunter Renfroe has good splits against lefties for his career but I’m always shocked I still get a visceral reaction of “this is a bad idea putting him in the lineup.”
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| 8:21 |
: I think Baby Shark definitely gets a shout-out… It was only last year! (although it feels like a decade ago…)
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| 8:21 |
: A sign of the times. the clean-up hitter hit .156 during the season.
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| 8:21 |
: It looks like the big difference between Renfroe vs. lefties and righties is he walks twice as much and strikes out 2/3rds as much against lefties.
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| 8:21 |
: Tampa definitely has the better pen, but I’d say that how many innings LA needs to cover out of the bullpen will be a great prediction of the series
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| 8:21 |
: predictor?
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| 8:22 |
: Has Verlander been much better in the DS/CS?
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| 8:22 |
: Yeah, he has a 3.4 ERA overall
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| 8:22 |
: But hey, the WS is more important. If we’re assigning playoff games extra importance as compared to reg season the World Series should get EVEN MORE
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| 8:23 |
: Over/under 3.5 kershaw hankook tire commercials?
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| 8:23 |
: In the first two innings? Maybe still over
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| 8:23 |
: I wish i could agree with you Ben but I doubt if a starter on either team sees the 7th.
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| 8:23 |
: Wear a mask doo doo doo doo doo doo, wear a mask doo doo doo doo doo doo
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| 8:23 |
: That was not a promising first
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| 8:23 |
: Did Hankook have to pay extra to show Kershaw giving up an absolutely massive HR in the commercial
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| 8:23 |
: Yeah, but there’s a difference between ‘no one sees the seventh’ and ‘Dustin May is out after an inning and a third’
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| 8:24 |
: buehler doesn’t make that defensive play because his pants are too tight
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| 8:24 |
: Or Dane Dunning leaving after 2/3 which cost Renteria his job.
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| 8:25 |
: I would argue that the later decisions in that game were worse, but yeah
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| 8:25 |
: Is Glasgow the tallest RH starting pitcher in WS history?
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| 8:25 |
: Did Chris Young start a game?
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| 8:25 |
Dan Szymborski: Free taco!
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| 8:25 |
Dan Szymborski: Yeah!
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| 8:25 |
Dan Szymborski: From Taco Bell!
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| 8:25 |
Dan Szymborski: Ye…oh.
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| 8:26 |
: Is it just me or is the fact that Buehler’s pants don’t reach his shoes more interesting than how tight they are?
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| 8:26 |
Dan Szymborski: He wears David Eckstein’s pants
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| 8:26 |
: Is it more important? (Not trying to sound snarky). I mean, they’re all just elimination series. Just a matter of when you’re eliminated. It’s not like choking in G5 of the DS is fine and people say, “It’s no big deal, not like it was the WS or anything.”
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| 8:26 |
: It is, in that playing well there increases your odds of winning the WS more
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| 8:26 |
: if the goal is just to win World Series, playing well in the World Series is great
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| 8:26 |
: Mookie Betts in a non red sox uniform makes me sad 😥
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| 8:26 |
: Does anyone agree with me that Mookie has surpassed Trout as the best player in the game?
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| 8:26 |
Dan Szymborski: Someone does.
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| 8:27 |
Dan Szymborski: But I don’t agree
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| 8:27 |
: Dan <== dating himself bringing up Eckstein..
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| 8:27 |
Dan Szymborski: Everyone knows I’m 42!
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| 8:27 |
: I would still take Trout
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| 8:27 |
: I think Trout should probably move to a corner soon, though….
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| 8:27 |
: Think Smoltz is annoyed that Betts is batting leadoff?
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| 8:27 |
Dan Szymborski: Smoltz being annoyed is like yummy ginger snaps
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| 8:27 |
: No, Betts is fast
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| 8:27 |
: He probably doesn’t notice all the dingers and thinks Mookie looks like a leadoff hitter
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| 8:28 |
: Has Smoltz always been this annoying?
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| 8:28 |
: I don’t th ink so!
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| 8:28 |
: I think he got worse as time went on
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| 8:29 |
: If you had the under on 29.5 minutes into the WS for a David Ecktsein reference in the chat, collect your money at the window.
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| 8:29 |
: Renfroe is a “terrific” outfielder?
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| 8:29 |
: You know, maybe?
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| 8:29 |
: Definitely has a terrific arm
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| 8:29 |
: And he grades out really well, though I understand some skepticism
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| 8:29 |
: In 3 years, Verdugo and Downs > Betts and Price
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| 8:30 |
: I….. don’t even close to agree with this take
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| 8:30 |
: Renfroe made that one nice play last round!
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| 8:31 |
: FWIW in my OOTP save I re-signed Betts to 10/420 then traded him back to the Red Sox after two years because he only put up 5 WAR
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| 8:31 |
: I mean, I don’t think he’s great, but he’s serviceable
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| 8:31 |
: does anyone else hear “steal a base, steal a taco” to the tune of “save a horse, ride a cowboy”? just me?
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| 8:31 |
: which player in this series is most likely to be a bachelorette contestant in a future offseason
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| 8:31 |
: It would be pretty funny if not a single base is stolen this world series
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| 8:31 |
: Chris Taylor
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| 8:31 |
Dan Szymborski: Taco Bell stock soars
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| 8:31 |
: I pick on Smoltz a lot, but I could listen to him explain little details all day. Just wish he enjoyed modern baseball.
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| 8:32 |
: Tyler Glasnow struggling to find the zone? Who could have seen that coming?
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| 8:32 |
Dan Szymborski: you can always tell when some producer feeds them a tidbit
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| 8:32 |
: I really enjoyed the Ringer article on the people behind football broadcasts
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| 8:33 |
: There are a ton of spotters and stats people we never hear about
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| 8:33 |
: As a Pirate fan, I find it hard to figure out whether or not to root for Glasnow. It’s not *his* fault he went from okay with the Pirates to very very good with the Rays, but he’s sort of the encapsulation of the previous FO’s issues.
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| 8:33 |
: I actually LOVE rooting for players who were traded away from my team (Cardinals)
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| 8:33 |
: When they succeed, it’s super fun
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| 8:33 |
: Because I wanted them to succeed as prospects/young major leaguers
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| 8:33 |
: So I get to keep rooting for them
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| 8:33 |
: When they fail, who cares??
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| 8:34 |
: Given that he’s currently gloating about it on Twitter, I wonder if Trea Turner didn’t specifically steal a base as quickly as possible last year to get the free tacos.
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| 8:34 |
: It does help that he’s an advertiser for them but yeah, that’s pretty funny
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| 8:34 |
: Ben, you are one of my favorite writers here, but that take is on about the level as preferring cold pizza.
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| 8:34 |
: Wow really?
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| 8:35 |
: I will admit to feeling a little weird when players leave in free agency
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| 8:35 |
: And also when they’re playing AGAINST the Cardinals
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| 8:35 |
: But short of that, I invested mental capital into hoping they succeed, it’s fun when they do
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| 8:35 |
: Maybe it’s different when your own team has anything approaching success and every successful player traded away isn’t a reminder that the last time your team won a playoff series was before you born… not that I’m bitter or anything
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| 8:35 |
: An electric hummer sounds dirty
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| 8:35 |
: It’s always Tyler Glasnow, but when will we finally ask, “Whyler Glaswhen?”
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| 8:35 |
: I will always always always carry a flag for Edwin Encarnacion and Marcus Stroman
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| 8:35 |
: I 100% agree, Ben
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| 8:36 |
: I totally still root for guys like Puig and Darvish
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| 8:36 |
: Rooting for Yu Darvish just means you’re a human
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| 8:36 |
: Who doesn’t want to root for him? He’s the best
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| 8:36 |
: Intermission for a funny story about one of my friends
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| 8:37 |
: I have a friend who is, let’s say, a bit of a contrarian
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| 8:37 |
: He also doesn’t like the Dodgers
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| 8:37 |
: He decided he would just bet against each Kershaw start, because that’s more fun to him then betting on the Rays to win the series
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| 8:37 |
: The salt level is extreeeeeme
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| 8:37 |
: You have to root for Mets players who leave: they are finally free and tend to improve.
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| 8:37 |
: I love rooting for players who used to be on my favorite teams – I agree that it’s basically all upside, unless they play well against your favorite team, I guess
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| 8:37 |
: Oh yeah when they’re AGAINST your team
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| 8:37 |
: That’s a totally different story
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| 8:38 |
: I’m a lifelong Red Sox fan. And I think Mookie has helped fully transition me to being 100% OK with actively rooting for a player on another team. Watched him play lots of minor league ball. Loved him from day one. I watched more Dodgers games than Red Sox games and didn’t think twice about it. Hope it just comes and goes.
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| 8:38 |
: Mookie is another member of the ‘how can you not enjoy that guy?’ club for me
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| 8:38 |
: Is it bad to root against Delino DeShields Jr because of the Pedro trade?
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| 8:39 |
Dan Szymborski: Definitely!
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| 8:39 |
: Not sure what to make of this (probably nothing!) but I can’t help from noticing that the Dodgers have got to be the league’s whitest team, no?
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| 8:39 |
Dan Szymborski: I dunno if anyone tallies that
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| 8:39 |
: I’m a coward and bet on the Rays yesterday after betting on the Dodgers to win before the playoffs started. I come out ahead either way but also, yeah… I’m a coward.
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| 8:39 |
: To avoid this issue for other teams, We just sign other teams stars years after they are any good
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| 8:40 |
: I did see an excellent Twitter crop of the Dodgers’ 2-9 that said “The conspirators who planned to capture Michigan’s governor have been arrested’
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| 8:40 |
: As a Nats fan, I used to root against guys like Giolito because of our struggle with developing pitching and root for the other guys, now I root for them all after winning the WS
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| 8:40 |
: Oh yeah that helps for sure!
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| 8:40 |
: Plus, buying the knockoff Betts jersey was WAY better than a #50 Financial Flexibility Nike jersey for both my soul and my wallet.
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| 8:41 |
: I remember for a while the custom jersey makers wouldn’t let you make certain jerseys
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| 8:41 |
: like an “R Mexico” number 7 for the Falcons and so on
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| 8:41 |
: I don’t think “Financial Flexibility” quite hits that mark but it’s pretty enjoyable
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| 8:42 |
: Not sure why, but as a UCLA fan I’ve always rooted for guys like Hedges, Heyward, Giolito and Fried
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| 8:42 |
: Are those for sale? I would like to acquire one.
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| 8:42 |
Dan Szymborski: Peloton? Feels a little culty
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| 8:43 |
: Kershaw is hoisting his loose trousers near his left hip after every single pitch. My theory is that this little upward curling motion is how he counteracts the inverse downward elbow trauma that goes in the opposite direction with every single pitch.
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| 8:43 |
: I have a question about defensive WAR and Renfroe. Supposedly he suddenly improved on defense based on his numbers, but I was looking at defensive values and in 2011 Carlos Lee was the second best LF defensively. How is that possible? That makes me unfortunately doubt defensive metrics. Or am I doubting El Cabayo…
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| 8:43 |
Dan Szymborski: Defensive numbers are super volatile
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| 8:43 |
Dan Szymborski: And that’s a position with a lot of bad defenders
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| 8:43 |
: Yeah, the best thing to do is look at, say, 6 years?
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| 8:43 |
: 4 years?
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| 8:43 |
: And take an average
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| 8:43 |
: Accounting for aging
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| 8:43 |
: Why would you not sell a Ron Mexico jersey? That’s leaving real money on the table.
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| 8:44 |
: I know right??
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| 8:44 |
: If you want to just see range, OAA is probably better for outfield (I was told it doesn’t have other stuff in it though).
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| 8:44 |
: There’s a good BP article comparing the strengths of each defensive metric
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| 8:45 |
: Let me see if I can find it
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| 8:45 |
: It’s written by BP so, don’t be surprised that it loves FRAA, but I think Rob is really good at this stuff
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| 8:45 |
: My understanding is that the stuff that teams actually use is pretty similar to OAA.
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| 8:45 |
: But maybe that’s off.
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| 8:45 |
: For infield OAA is clearly better I think
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| 8:46 |
: And the methodology OAA uses is just probably always going to be best?
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| 8:46 |
: Gameday is wayyyy ahead of FOX right now.
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| 8:46 |
: “Defensive numbers are super volatile” needs to be like on a permanent banner at the top of Fangraphs
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| 8:46 |
Dan Szymborski: That’s prime ad space!
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| 8:46 |
: But it doesn’t appear to be THAT much better in the outfield because outfield is easier to figure out
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| 8:46 |
: OAA actually has complete measurements for infield, so for that, I agree.
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| 8:47 |
Dan Szymborski: I’ve started eating the candy I picked up for trick or treaters
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| 8:47 |
: I’ve stopped calling it ‘candy I pick up for trick or treaters’ and started calling it ‘candy for me’
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| 8:48 |
: My dad’s vision for a custom Pirates jersey is to just take out the ‘P’ and ‘s’ and have it just say, “irate.” Don’t think he cares what’s on the back.
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| 8:48 |
: It’s refreshing to hear Smoltz excited by the Rays pitching staff
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| 8:49 |
: He seems to like the arm angle angle
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| 8:49 |
: Does someone make Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers uniforms?
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| 8:49 |
: Good idea there’s going to be a lot fewer trick or treaters this year. Eat it before it goes bad
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| 8:50 |
Dan Szymborski: Mostly old people on my block. I give every trick or treater like a pound of candy
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| 8:50 |
: I don’t know if this is a normal first baseman thing I’ve just missed but on pickoff throws, after he tags the baserunner with his glove, Yandy takes the ball out of his glove…. and tags them with it again
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| 8:50 |
: Ben can’t wait until they sign Adam Engel, convert him to a submarine reliever and he can say the “Engel angle angle”.
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| 8:51 |
: I was wondering how on earth someone gets a nickname “Joc” so I looked at his Wikipedia page. Not only is that his given name, he has a brother named Tyger.
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| 8:51 |
: Notable indy ball player Tyger Pederson actually
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| 8:51 |
: I think he had a cameo in The Only Rule is it has to work
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| 8:53 |
: Oh yes of course, Tyger Pederson. How could I have forgotten him?
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| 8:53 |
: I know that this is very irrelevant right now, but thoughts on where Bauer goes?
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| 8:53 |
: I will say, if you met him you’d remember him
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| 8:53 |
Dan Szymborski: No clue.
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| 8:53 |
: If the Rays win the world series, will Jeff Sullivan get a ring?
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| 8:53 |
Dan Szymborski: I believe so
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| 8:54 |
: Which of these teams would you bet on to have a better next five or so years? Dodgers have more concentrated talent (Betts, Bellinger, Buehler) and more money; Rays get better every time they make a trade and Wander Franco awaits.
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| 8:54 |
: Dodgers
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| 8:54 |
Dan Szymborski: Money is a great way to tame the down periods
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| 8:54 |
: Mookie Betts is a great way to tame the down periods too
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| 8:54 |
Dan Szymborski: Money is a great way to tame Mookie Betts!
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| 8:54 |
: @ben that specific first base animation was always prevalent in MLB the show 11. It served no purpose and just wasted three seconds and was unbelievably infuriating.
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| 8:54 |
: Maybe he grew up on that
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| 8:55 |
: “If I were Kershaw, this is the name in the lineup I’d be scared of”
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| 8:55 |
: about Mike Zunino
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| 8:55 |
: uh….
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| 8:55 |
: I imagine his parents thinking “We like the name Jacques, but not what it implies about his nationality”
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| 8:55 |
Dan Szymborski: Don’t give him advanced data
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| 8:55 |
: Mike Zunino really tests the limits of how playable a guy is who cannot do anything good at the plate.
|
| 8:55 |
Dan Szymborski: Zunino’s most dangerous because he’s struggling and nobody expects it!
|
| 8:56 |
: meet Jeff Mathis
|
| 8:56 |
: I wrote an article this year that found the Rangers added almost a win last year
|
| 8:56 |
: a win!
|
| 8:56 |
: by pinch hitting for him
|
| 8:56 |
Dan Szymborski: Chris Davis is the most dangerous player in baseball!
|
| 8:56 |
: hm, it might have been half a win. but still
|
| 8:56 |
: Just to confirm, is this a video chat?
|
| 8:56 |
Dan Szymborski: heh
|
| 8:56 |
Dan Szymborski: tomorrow!
|
| 8:57 |
: Jeff Mathis is far beyond the limit.
|
| 8:57 |
: “Zunino swings hard, strikes out and that’s dangerous.”
|
| 8:57 |
: The thing with Zunino is that he runs into one just enoigh that expectations can be a little high. Mathis just can’t hit at all
|
| 8:57 |
: Analytics people who get World Series rings should get “ for the dork lord on his dork throne” inscribed on it
|
| 8:57 |
Dan Szymborski: Poor Voros didn’t get a ring
|
| 8:57 |
: Might be more of an Eric question, but how high will Arozarena rise on Prospect list for 2021
|
| 8:57 |
Dan Szymborski: Everyone in the Red Sox org got a ring, even some groundskeepers
|
| 8:57 |
Dan Szymborski: Poor V man got a watch
|
| 8:57 |
: Eric moved him up to 42nd in the 100
|
| 8:57 |
: Is that because Chris Davis will freak out one day and attack his teammates dangerous?
|
| 8:58 |
Dan Szymborski: He get so few outs that the analytics say they’re accumulating in his bat like a garden hose you stand on!
|
| 8:59 |
: Well that was pretty good pitching.
|
| 8:59 |
: classic Kershaw
|
| 8:59 |
: just, not the kind of classic Kershaw you think I mean
|
| 9:00 |
: What kind of classic Kershaw do you mean?
|
| 9:00 |
: like, good Kershaw
|
| 9:00 |
: rather than the caricature of him in the playoffs
|
| 9:00 |
: I have no idea how to interpret “classic Kershaw . . . just, not the kind of classic Kershaw you think I mean.”
|
| 9:00 |
: Wait, can candy go bad?
|
| 9:00 |
Dan Szymborski: Yeah
|
| 9:00 |
Dan Szymborski: see ashens on youtube trying to eat 40 year old chocolate bars
|
| 9:00 |
: I had a gym teacher in like ninth grade who was teaching us basketball, and he got into this refrain of “Passing is very important; the team that passes better usually wins,” and “Rebounding is very important; the team that rebounds better usually wins,” and then he got to Scoring, and you just saw it coming from a mile away, and luckily he stopped himself before saying the team that scores better usually wins. Anyway, Smoltz!
|
| 9:01 |
: Arozarena eligible for ROY next year..correct? Possible World Series MVP could then be ROY next year. Very 2020
|
| 9:01 |
: That is correct, though I think I mentioned that I would just have thrown him on my 2020 RoY ballot
|
| 9:01 |
: (downballot, to be fair)
|
| 9:01 |
: he was mashing in the regular season too
|
| 9:02 |
: Austin Barnes with the “I knew that was a strike before the ump called it” power walk-off
|
| 9:02 |
: That really sends a message
|
| 9:03 |
: What message, I’m not sure
|
| 9:03 |
: But a message!
|
| 9:03 |
: Why is renfroe in right and margot in left? Isn’t margot the better defender?
|
| 9:03 |
: Renfroe has a HUGE arm
|
| 9:03 |
: Dispute his other defensive metrics all you’d like, but he should play right if he plays the outfield
|
| 9:04 |
: Back to Back ROY >>> WS MVP then ROY
|
| 9:04 |
: Sadly back-to-back ROY is strictly prohibited this year
|
| 9:04 |
: By rule
|
| 9:04 |
: John Smoltz talking OPS
|
| 9:04 |
: You love to see it
|
| 9:05 |
: Glasnow is uncharacteristically painting the edges.
|
| 9:05 |
: 84 mph changeup LOL
|
| 9:05 |
: It’s really kind of insane how disproportionate the distribution of home states are for MLB players
|
| 9:05 |
: How much would permanent 28-man rosters help Mathis prolong his career? Seems like a perfect third catcher at this point, stick him aggressively in as a defensive replacement for a bat-first guy like Gary Sánchez.
|
| 9:06 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s weird that the pitchers duel is kind of a pietchers duel!
|
| 9:06 |
Dan Szymborski: Usually when you look forward to a matchup, ti’s like 13-11
|
| 9:06 |
: Pat Valaika always makes me think of Kramer’s oddball friends that he was always telling Seinfeld about. Like Bob Sacamano
|
| 9:07 |
: Regarding tall World Series starters: didn’t Randy Johnson start in the World Series?
|
| 9:07 |
: He definitely did; the earlier question was “righty pitcher” for that reason I think
|
| 9:07 |
: lmao 92mph changeup
|
| 9:07 |
: that’s just a normal guy’s sinker
|
| 9:08 |
: with crazy movement
|
| 9:08 |
: THose might have been out of order
|
| 9:08 |
: but you get the idea
|
| 9:08 |
: Chris Young wasn’t on that 2015 Royals team was he??
|
| 9:08 |
: He was, and he made two playoff starts
|
| 9:08 |
: Let’s see if they were WS starts
|
| 9:09 |
: One was
|
| 9:09 |
: iirc Young did pitch in that WS
|
| 9:09 |
: This has been a typical high-pitch-count, high-effectiveness outing for Glasnow so far
|
| 9:09 |
: Glasnow’s stuff is ridiculous. Someone just had to get him to throw strikes and not try to hit the bottom of the strike zone all the time.
|
| 9:09 |
: Pitched twice, one start
|
| 9:09 |
: Holy crap there are fans in the stands for the World Series! I can’t believe how much my frame of reference has shifted in seven months.
|
| 9:09 |
: Glasnow changeup looking like video game idea of a 2 seamer power up lol
|
| 9:09 |
: Glasnow is on FIRE
|
| 9:09 |
: Fun word to use with Glasnow
|
| 9:10 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 9:10 |
: Glasnow is ready to emerge as a superstar but the Rays system won’t let him. Cash will not allow pitchers to go through the lineup three times.
|
| 9:10 |
: I don’t think this is true, though i agree that some pitchers are held back by such a rigid system. Glasnow is just too inefficient for it to really be a times through order issue
|
| 9:11 |
: It’s not as though he’s cutting through the order twice on 60 pitches and then hitting the showers
|
| 9:11 |
: It’s actually in his contract that he has to go to 3-2 on every batter
|
| 9:11 |
: Can you think of any pitchers that have been held back by that system?
|
| 9:11 |
: I think Ryan Yarbrough is better than his role on the Rays
|
| 9:12 |
: Did you guys see Luhnow’s recent interview? Does anyone hire him this offseason?
|
| 9:12 |
: I’m not really sure, depends on how much teams are willing to get thrown under the bus after he inevitably does some sketchy stuff and gets caught
|
| 9:12 |
: I just saw a political ad and without advocating for any candidate can I implore FanGraphs readers to vote? At least as important as baseball!
|
| 9:13 |
: That is a fair statement. Everyone should vote if they are eligible
|
| 9:13 |
: Same with Snell. Do you think that maybe it’s a gameplan thing… don’t give in, don’t worry if it takes 100 pitches to get thru 5 bc we have the bullpen depth?
|
| 9:13 |
: I kind of do. So I guess you could argue that holds them back?
|
| 9:13 |
: But Glasnow just doesn’t look like he has the command
|
| 9:13 |
: I voted! Where’s my cookie?
|
| 9:13 |
: While I bemoan the fact that even the top of the rotation studs seldom go even 7, they are throwing many more pitches than a Greg Maddox did with all the K’ and BB’s.
|
| 9:13 |
: Good lord that curveball
|
| 9:13 |
: I know we’ve moved on but I can’t believe you root for former players from the org to do well. Mets fans are just too bitter I guess. Daniel Murphy; Justin turner; Travis darnaud; even Colin Mchugh went elsewhere and pitched well. Zach wheeler was a lock to pitch well.
|
| 9:14 |
Dan Szymborski: That strike two was a beaut
|
| 9:14 |
: I saw somwhere, maybe on the ringer, where they were opining that Arozarena’s flat swing made him better at attacking pitches at the top of the zone. Is this the new swing change revolution?
|
| 9:14 |
: Yeah this is a real thing
|
| 9:14 |
: Also, I don’t get this narrative that Arozarena wasn’t the best piece the Rays got in that deal
|
| 9:15 |
: People who thought that at the time were mostly people who have heard of Jose Martinez and no one else in the deal
|
| 9:15 |
: As a Mets fan, the only thing I hate more than the Yankees is myself.
|
| 9:15 |
: Wasn’t Glasnow considered most likely a reliever specifically because of that lack of command?
|
| 9:15 |
: Yeah, you can teach Tyler Glasnow control, but teaching him command? I am shocked when he was painting the edges like that today. Like, who is this guy?
|
| 9:15 |
: He’s just leveled up for the World Series or something.
|
| 9:15 |
: Smoltz: “Tony Pham”
|
| 9:16 |
: classic Tony Phams
|
| 9:16 |
: At Fangraphs everyone thought Arozarena was the prize. Every other media outlet was wrong about that.
|
| 9:16 |
: Eric was really into Arozarena b/c he’s an adept talent evaluator
|
| 9:16 |
: I was really into Arozarena b/c I really like watching him play
|
| 9:17 |
: I was into Arozarena because he has a fun name
|
| 9:17 |
: Another great reason!
|
| 9:17 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s a fun name to say
|
| 9:18 |
: If Mike Trout actually kidnapped and took the place of Hunter Renfroe would the Rays be favored?
|
| 9:18 |
: Didn’t someone famous say strikeouts are boring.. and also fascist?
|
| 9:18 |
: I would say ask ZiPS, but there’s no way he could keep that kidnapping quiet long enough
|
| 9:18 |
Dan Szymborski: Bull Durham
|
| 9:18 |
: I am enjoying this pitcher’s duel.
|
| 9:18 |
: Clayton Kershaw being this good while clearly past his prime should emphasize just how scary good he was a few years ago.
|
| 9:19 |
: Kershaw is a really fun pitcher to watch just because the three pitches are so clearly different
|
| 9:19 |
: and all aesthetically pleasing
|
| 9:19 |
: it kind of feels like playing a video game
|
| 9:19 |
: Can we officially call this a pitchers duel now?
|
| 9:19 |
Dan Szymborski: Someone technically has to slap each other across the face with a glove
|
| 9:19 |
: Plus that backspin curveball!
|
| 9:19 |
: I think you mean Crash Davis, Dan.
|
| 9:19 |
: cHRash dAAAvis.
|
| 9:20 |
: Could Liberatore still make the Rays look bad?
|
| 9:20 |
: I suppose so, yeah
|
| 9:20 |
: I do think that the Cardinals were generally acting rationally given their internal evaluation of Arozarena
|
| 9:21 |
: But I mean, the Rays are ahead at the moment
|
| 9:21 |
: I don’t think the Cardinals had any way to forecast that Arozarena would suddenly go on a diet of chicken and rice and 500 pushups a day.
|
| 9:21 |
: delicious pushups!
|
| 9:22 |
: Slapping people is indeed how you win playoff games.
|
| 9:22 |
: Should’ve tried feeding him rice and chicken
|
| 9:22 |
: They could have asked him to do that. Just saying.
|
| 9:22 |
: The thing is, he already broke out last year
|
| 9:23 |
: The chicken and pushups are a good story but he was already bat speed god before that
|
| 9:23 |
: He’s even more that now, though
|
| 9:23 |
| 9:23 |
: Doesn’t every game start as a pitches duel? Technically
|
| 9:23 |
: Deal, taxes, and a Muncy walk
|
| 9:23 |
: Dan why?
|
| 9:23 |
: Arozarena and his eating better and exercise routine, is what Vlad Jr was meant to be. But isn’t.
|
| 9:24 |
: I’d still take Vladito rest of career
|
| 9:24 |
: But yeah, if every player could suddenly put on 15 pounds of muscle or whatever
|
| 9:24 |
: that’d be great!
|
| 9:24 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 9:24 |
: Given his diet, should his nickname be Randy ARROZarena?
|
| 9:24 |
: Oh Boom Stick
|
| 9:24 |
: Ah, this is more like what I remember from Glasnow.
|
| 9:25 |
: If Tyler O’Neill put on another 15 pounds of muscle his neck would be larger than his head.
|
| 9:25 |
: Joey Wendle instead of Brosseau against Kershaw is just so weird
|
| 9:25 |
Dan Szymborski: I thought he was going to say “righties are hitting 100 against him, lefties are hitting 200 against him, so that’s a 300 batting average”
|
| 9:25 |
: Looks like the shoulder’s okay
|
| 9:26 |
: Don’t celebrate
|
| 9:26 |
: this celebration is amazing
|
| 9:26 |
Dan Szymborski: More like Stephenglassnow amiriate?
|
| 9:26 |
: BellingeHR.
|
| 9:26 |
: DINGER!
|
| 9:26 |
: HOLY HELL
|
| 9:26 |
: Mister Glass-now
|
| 9:26 |
: nervously expecting Bellinger to pop an ankle with this new dance
|
| 9:26 |
: Like strange folk dance from a small European country
|
| 9:26 |
: Tyler GlassLater
|
| 9:27 |
Dan Szymborski: GLASNOW’S HAND DOESN’T SMELL RIGHT
|
| 9:27 |
: Damn my stream is so far behind
|
| 9:27 |
: It’s the part of a Kershaw postseason start where his team gets a lead for him to “protect” later on
|
| 9:28 |
: For the Rays, you gotta hope Glasnow doesn’t try to pitch “perfect” and nibble because his offense is putting up 0’s. Forget it, back to pitching son
|
| 9:28 |
: Bellinger’s swing at low pitches is a symphony of elegance, grace and balance
|
| 9:28 |
: Glassnow, Glasslater, Glassforever
|
| 9:28 |
: I know that landed in the bullpen but that is on the goddamn moon
|
| 9:28 |
: “Bellinger’s injury helped him hit a HR” is certainly a take
|
| 9:29 |
: It’s always fun seeing a huge homer then noticing halfway through the next AB that there was a man on so it’s a 2-run
|
| 9:29 |
: that is….. aggressive yeah
|
| 9:29 |
: I do not think that his shoulder being hurt somehow makes him better
|
| 9:29 |
: More like Tyler Glasnost
|
| 9:29 |
: I’m realizing the reason I got cut from my freshman team is that I never dislocated my shoulder.
|
| 9:30 |
: Rookie of the Year 2: Junior Varsity
|
| 9:30 |
: Just from watching today I would have assumed he had a pretty sizeable splits, but surprised that isn’t the case for Glasnow
|
| 9:30 |
: Glasnow was just totally dominant until this inning, and now he looks like bad Glasnow. I can’t really understand why Cash, who has a very quick hook for pitchers and must have seen that Glasnow was different this inning, didn’t pull him.
|
| 9:30 |
: I think Glasnow’s low splits are b/c his pitches are extremely north/south
|
| 9:31 |
: Between his arm angle and the movement
|
| 9:31 |
: It’s not like he’s throwing pitches that break into lefties’ bats
|
| 9:31 |
: Barry Bonds never took PEDs! He just popped his shoulder every morning!
|
| 9:31 |
: Smoltz is clearly not familiar with the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy…. or perhaps he’s too familiar with it? Unclear which direction that flows.
|
| 9:32 |
: My Pet theory is that “Playoff Kershaw” has to do A LOT w/ how his slider looks.
vs. Milwaukee, his best start this season, his horizontal release was 1.44 ft, horizontal movement -0.35, vertical movement 0.74, and got 63% whiff vs. SD, he had a horizontal release of 1.39, horizontal movement of -0.33, vertical movement 0.79, and got 26% whiff vs. ATL he had a horizontal release of 1.29, horizontal movement of -0.09, vertical movement of 1.02 ft with only 28% whiffs. Basically, my theory is that in his worse playoff starts this year, he was releasing the slider closer to his body, leading to a more “vertical” spin, making his slider look closer to a flat cutter than a whiff inducing slider that caused him trouble. So far tonight, I don’t have the statcast data on the spin & movement, but based on his large number of whiffs tonight it looks like it’s been “back” since the 2nd inning. https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/jf0znd/game_thread_world_se… |
| 9:32 |
: Taco Bell executives starting to sweat
|
| 9:32 |
: Free Taco!!!
|
| 9:32 |
: No taco!
|
| 9:32 |
: Not a taco!
|
| 9:32 |
: No tacos!!!!
|
| 9:33 |
: WOWWWWWW
|
| 9:33 |
: Taco Bell put in a call
|
| 9:33 |
: They took back the stolen base 🙁
|
| 9:33 |
Dan Szymborski: YOU HAVE TO PAY 99 CENTS NOW YOU BASTARTDS
|
| 9:33 |
: Big Taco has its fingerprints all over this game
|
| 9:33 |
: The taco drama is unbearable
|
| 9:34 |
: Reminds me of Laker games where Jack in the Box would give free tacos if opponents were held under 100 points, they’d start booing during blowouts when the opponent hit 100 points lmao
|
| 9:34 |
: Shouldn’t it be Dorito Loco Taco if it’s only one?
|
| 9:34 |
: Greasy, greasy fingerprints
|
| 9:34 |
: Taco Bell menu execs suddenly swapping out their bear meat with bull meat.
|
| 9:34 |
: Who the hell only wants one taco
|
| 9:34 |
: Why not a bowl of chili with every stolen base? Sigh…
|
| 9:34 |
Dan Szymborski: better not be skyline!
|
| 9:35 |
: You can have diarrhea whenever you’d like for 99 cents, but we’re all eagerly awaiting the ability to get it for free! #2020
|
| 9:35 |
: What’s the best thing Joc could be short for
|
| 9:35 |
: Jocthaniel?
|
| 9:35 |
Dan Szymborski: Jockstrap
|
| 9:35 |
: Jocorious
|
| 9:35 |
: Jocular
|
| 9:35 |
: Jock
|
| 9:36 |
: Jocathon
|
| 9:36 |
: Jocathan
|
| 9:36 |
: Jocjamin
|
| 9:36 |
: You guys are coming up with these too quickly!
|
| 9:36 |
: Jockjams vol. 2
|
| 9:36 |
: Jocinthebox
|
| 9:37 |
: Joc Full o Nuts.
|
| 9:37 |
: What ever happened to Austin Barnes’s bat?
|
| 9:37 |
: I always thought he was a good hitter
|
| 9:37 |
: And then disaster
|
| 9:37 |
: Joctor Joctopus.
|
| 9:39 |
: that was a nice recovery by Glasnow from some wildness, but I’im not sure they can keep him in at this point
|
| 9:39 |
: It actually became somewhat less of a disaster this season under the tutelage of Mookie Betts lmao
|
| 9:39 |
: Joctimus prime
|
| 9:39 |
: I advocated for him over AJ Ellis for quite a while, because it looked like he could be a genuine full-time .380 OBP guy who can frame. Maybe he’s chosen D over O.
|
| 9:39 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not tweeting Ilovetmobile
|
| 9:40 |
: Alexandria Jocasio Cortez
|
| 9:40 |
: Kershaw Slider Watch so far: 24 sliders, 14 swings, 8 whiffs.
MUCH better than his last 2 games where he got 5 each out of 19 and 18 swings. |
| 9:40 |
: How about tmobileandiarejustgoodfriends
|
| 9:40 |
: Joch Ness Monster
|
| 9:40 |
: #ilovetmobileimjustnotinlovewithtmobile
|
| 9:41 |
Dan Szymborski: OK, you can be Joc McClanahan. And you are now Shane Pederson
|
| 9:42 |
: Jocomo – the court jester
|
| 9:42 |
: This whole “Joc” game reminds me that Ryan Lochte tried to trademark the word, “Jeah.” Jeah, that’s not a joke.
|
| 9:42 |
: I keep getting political commercials for a race in a district I’m not in…
|
| 9:42 |
: Kershaw just threw 82. I have not seen that in a decade.
|
| 9:42 |
: I think Glasnow is fine. That pitch to Bellinger was just in the wrong location. Down and in to a lefty is playing with fire unless you bury it off the plate inside. Bellinger has been missing more up and in, and I’m surprised they didn’t go there.
|
| 9:42 |
: yeah also sometimes you just miss
|
| 9:43 |
: You can ‘try not to go somewhere’ and still end up there
|
| 9:43 |
: aka how I keep eating In ‘n Out
|
| 9:44 |
: Would deadshot be the best pitcher of all time since he never misses
|
| 9:44 |
: Is Rue McClanahan his mom then?
|
| 9:44 |
Dan Szymborski: Grandma
|
| 9:44 |
: Kershaw. Is. Fun. To. Watch.
|
| 9:44 |
: Smoltz is great when breaking down pitching mechanics actually
|
| 9:44 |
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, stick to your lane!
|
| 9:44 |
Dan Szymborski: Smoltz has a lot to offer
|
| 9:44 |
: Yeah definitely agree
|
| 9:44 |
Dan Szymborski: And really, so does A-Rod
|
| 9:44 |
Dan Szymborski: but what they have to give is when they stay with what they know, not what they pretend to know
|
| 9:45 |
: Every booth should have one pitcher and one hitter
|
| 9:45 |
: Uh oh
|
| 9:45 |
: a solo HR just to remind you he’s still Kershaw
|
| 9:45 |
: Back when baseball prospectus first introduced me to pitch framing, they used 2 pitcher archetypes to demonstrate. Hendricks was the pitch tunnel type when everything looks the same until the last moment and Barry zito was the “I have 2 pitches that look nothing alike and you just have to try your best.
|
| 9:46 |
Dan Szymborski: There are a lot of aspects of baseball I can talk about very well.
|
| 9:46 |
Dan Szymborski: But if I’m talking about things out of my lane, like the experiences day-to-day of being a player, I have no insight
|
| 9:46 |
Dan Szymborski: so I shouldn’t offer those
|
| 9:46 |
: I wonder if Kiermaier’s wrist injury helped him hit that HR…
|
| 9:46 |
Dan Szymborski: PAIN IS THE NEW HEALTH: 2020
|
| 9:47 |
: so Chris Davis will never be in the booth after he retires?
|
| 9:47 |
Dan Szymborski: He can talk about struggling!@
|
| 9:47 |
Dan Szymborski: When Ben is back, I’m going to generate Rays nicknames.
|
| 9:47 |
Dan Szymborski: I never did the Rays this year!
|
| 9:48 |
: God damnit. I go away for 5 minutes to take a phone call and Kershaw returns.
|
| 9:48 |
: If an arm injury made you better then the Black Knight wouldn’t have lost to Graham Chapman as King Arthur
|
| 9:48 |
: I’m not quite gone yet
|
| 9:48 |
: but soon!
|
| 9:48 |
Dan Szymborski: The Black Knight’s injury was rather extreme
|
| 9:48 |
: Fewer strikeouts, more blaster fire
|
| 9:49 |
: Doing some alone time training with our dog (she’s great and also terrified of being alone)
|
| 9:49 |
: Ben, my dog also has major separation anxiety.
|
| 9:49 |
: it’s harrrrrrrd
|
| 9:49 |
: it’s so sad
|
| 9:49 |
: I feel like this chat is teetering right on the edge of “World Series chat” and “Random nonsesnse chat”, and it’s fantastic.
|
| 9:50 |
: That’s the brand you can expect when Dan and I are chatting
|
| 9:50 |
: The only constraint is your nonsense tolerance
|
| 9:50 |
: GlasTimeIsASocialConstruct
|
| 9:51 |
: I’m actually really surprised Glasnow is pitching considering how quick Cash’s hook is, especially since there are off days in the series to rest pitchers
|
| 9:52 |
: Arozarena by any other name…
|
| 9:52 |
: Who else loves Sonic and the Black Knight
|
| 9:52 |
: Kershaw FB Velo and Slider watch: Game: FB: 91.6 mph 11 swings 5 whiffs Slider: 87.7 mph 19 swings 11 whiffs 5th inning: I would pull Kershaw after the 6th honestly based on these numbers. |
| 9:52 |
: Tyler Glaswegian- a short Scottish redheaded angry relief pitcher
|
| 9:52 |
: I give Glasnow a 0% chance of pitching the entire 5th inning.
|
| 9:52 |
: MookLeadoff BBetts.
|
| 9:52 |
Dan Szymborski: Really pushing it Kwah!
|
| 9:53 |
: Alright, I’m going to head out for 15 minutes. Ruby will be here, but I don’t think she knows how to use a keyboard, so it’ll be Dan and the cats running the show
|
| 9:53 |
Dan Szymborski: YOU SAID 14 MINUTES
|
| 9:53 |
: Nice of Adames to give America’s Taco Hero a congratulatory hug
|
| 9:53 |
: Defensive indifference, no taco!
|
| 9:53 |
: Tacos! Ball don’t lie
|
| 9:55 |
: Is MLB going to fine Betts and Adames for the hug?
|
| 9:55 |
: Is Betts our only two time free taco winner? Will he wear a Taco Bell hat when he’s inducted into the HOF?
|
| 9:55 |
Dan Szymborski: There’s a big catch to the Taco Bell promotion.
|
| 9:55 |
Dan Szymborski: If there’s no stolen base, Taco Bell comes and gets a taco from YOU
|
| 9:57 |
Dan Szymborski: This Folger’s commercial is really awkward given the Jeffrey Toobin Zoom story.
|
| 9:58 |
: If Mookie gets picked off does he have to reimburse Taco Bell?
|
| 9:58 |
Dan Szymborski: I’ll say yes.
|
| 9:59 |
: If this chat goes Toobin it will not recover
|
| 10:00 |
: Mookie SBettSB.
|
| 10:00 |
: FREE BURRITOS!
|
| 10:00 |
Dan Szymborski: Did they say anything about burritos
|
| 10:00 |
: Does a double steal upgrade us all to. Gordito?
|
| 10:00 |
: swinging K’s on high fastballs are so cool lookin
|
| 10:02 |
: STEAL HOME MOOKIE
|
| 10:02 |
: Great rental that Mookie
|
| 10:02 |
Dan Szymborski: WE’RE ALL GETTING CHIMICHANGAS
|
| 10:02 |
: I am Mookie Betts, the Taco King
|
| 10:05 |
: Now he’s just trying to hit the strike zone.
|
| 10:05 |
: Have we asked why Glassnow is still pitching?
|
| 10:05 |
: At some point if this prolific baserunning continues then FoxSports has to pay for The Wall, is my understanding.
|
| 10:06 |
: Maybe Roberts can pull Kershaw after 6 after all
|
| 10:06 |
Dan Szymborski: The Dodgers had a secret plan. By starting Kershaw, Roberts can’t bring him in relief! Check. Mate.
|
| 10:06 |
: Did Roberts and Cash secretly switch places on a bet
|
| 10:06 |
: He had three innings of utter dominance and now he looks awful. Just awful. I’m surprised Zunino can even catch those.
|
| 10:07 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:08 |
: The problem with this secret Dodgers plan is that it won’t stop Roberts from bringing Kershaw in out of the ‘pen tomorrow!
|
| 10:08 |
Dan Szymborski: FOILED~!
|
| 10:08 |
: What data do you train those neural network nicknames on?
|
| 10:08 |
: I’m back!
|
| 10:08 |
Dan Szymborski: It’s a GPT-3 API
|
| 10:08 |
: ooooof
|
| 10:08 |
: if Kershaw got lit up would we see his commercial?
|
| 10:08 |
Dan Szymborski: I just give it 10 nicknames to “get” the format and let it ride.
|
| 10:09 |
: The commercial is about him getting lit up!
|
| 10:09 |
: Did we already talk about why Yarbrough is in?
|
| 10:09 |
: How is your 🐕?
|
| 10:09 |
: she did great!
|
| 10:10 |
: Not a peep, she slept half the time
|
| 10:10 |
: Police Curfew to restore order in this game
|
| 10:10 |
: I call batters batsmen
|
| 10:10 |
: Shattered Glasnow.
|
| 10:10 |
: They must think they still have a chance to win this, that’s why Yarborough is in. Why Glasnow wasn’t relieved earlier, no, we still don’t have a reason for that.
|
| 10:10 |
Dan Szymborski: Ben, we mostly talked about Taco Bell offerings while you were gone.
|
| 10:10 |
: Just seems like Cash is a big fan of thinking about leverage when he picks relievers
|
| 10:10 |
: And now he’s using a valuable pitcher in an un-valuable spot
|
| 10:10 |
: Doesn’t track
|
| 10:11 |
: How big a lead before Kershaw doesn’t even throw a pitch in the sixth?
|
| 10:11 |
: 11?
|
| 10:11 |
: In case of Emergency, break Glasnow
|
| 10:11 |
: The Dodgers support this message
|
| 10:11 |
: When do we next see Glasnow? Game 5 presumably? 2021?
|
| 10:11 |
: I have not had many/any Taco Bell offerings
|
| 10:11 |
: since the days of Chalupas
|
| 10:11 |
Dan Szymborski: Smart man
|
| 10:12 |
: Waiting for the kershaw shank redemption
|
| 10:12 |
: Dave Roberts will pitch Kershaw as much as is prudent, and then add like 47 2/3 innings for him to also pitch
|
| 10:12 |
Dan Szymborski: So far, I can use the good Kershaw image.
|
| 10:12 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:12 |
: That Betts graphic was hilarious.
|
| 10:12 |
: Taco Bell gets their money worth with this promotion
|
| 10:13 |
Dan Szymborski: As opposed to the sad Kershaw image.
|
| 10:13 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:13 |
: What is that image from?
|
| 10:13 |
Dan Szymborski: Both are mine!
|
| 10:14 |
Dan Szymborski: The first is from WWE 2k19
|
| 10:14 |
: Seriously.. How does Taco Bell not get Mookie to do a commercial?
|
| 10:14 |
Dan Szymborski: The second from the Smashing Pumpkins album cover
|
| 10:14 |
: Smashing Pumpkins album!
|
| 10:14 |
: Why is Kershaw’s head bleeding in his good pic?
|
| 10:14 |
Dan Szymborski: Because it was a brutal fight to win the briefcase!
|
| 10:14 |
: Kershaw social distanced on the bench in October 2019 before anyone knew they were supposed to
|
| 10:14 |
: Love Bellinger’s animated pissed off reactions to pop-ups
|
| 10:14 |
: It’s the only time he’s ever animated
|
| 10:15 |
: Hit a home run, it’s time for a slow walk
|
| 10:15 |
: This inning is getting out of control
|
| 10:15 |
: Chris Taylor feels real underrated in this lineup
|
| 10:15 |
Dan Szymborski: This is what happens. You lose control of the Dodgers and they bury you
|
| 10:16 |
: Did you just say that a guy who dislocated his shoulder celebrating a home run is not “animated” when he celebrates such?
|
| 10:16 |
: That’s a good counterpoint. I was just thinking of the bat flip, or rather slow stroll light flip
|
| 10:16 |
: But yeah, I forgot about the case of the jumpies he got at the end
|
| 10:16 |
: Any chance Yarby is going to be used as a long reliever this series? Because burning him in a losing effort here feels awful.
|
| 10:16 |
: I guess that’s the plan?
|
| 10:17 |
: How soon do you start thinking of pulling Kershaw here so he’s fresher if needed to start again?
|
| 10:17 |
: Not for that, but maybe just to keep him fresher on regular rest?
|
| 10:17 |
: Or, as Zazu would say, wildly out of wing
|
| 10:17 |
: First Disney song reference I’ve seen tonight
|
| 10:17 |
Dan Szymborski: Well, at least they don’t have to worry about saving their bullpen
|
| 10:18 |
: Rays w/ the 5D chess move to get Kershaw off his game by giving up a bunch of runs and making him rest too much this inning
|
| 10:18 |
: Kershaw’s FB velo dropped to 90.6 last inning when his game avg was 91.6.
Not the worst idea to pull him tbh |
| 10:18 |
Dan Szymborski: Wood’s on the roster, no? I’d just leave him out there the rest of the game
|
| 10:18 |
: This has been a looooooooooooooooooong inning
|
| 10:19 |
: I left, literally spent 15 minutes out of the apartment, came back, and still have seen half of the runs scored in this inning
|
| 10:19 |
: This offense is really as good as its built up to be.
|
| 10:19 |
: And I left after the inning started!
|
| 10:19 |
: Now Smoltz is coming out in favor of walks!
|
| 10:19 |
: He’s dangerously close to accidentally agreeing with sabermetrics
|
| 10:20 |
: aaaaand ‘they hit with runners in scoring position’
|
| 10:20 |
: sharp right turn to curmudgeonliness
|
| 10:20 |
: Walks for hitters or for pitchers?
|
| 10:20 |
: haha, hitters
|
| 10:20 |
Dan Szymborski: Oh, I also have a specific GIF for Kershaw back problems.
|
| 10:20 |
: Smoltz realizes the Dodgers advanced because of HRs?
|
| 10:21 |
: Oh certainly not
|
| 10:21 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:21 |
: The won b/c they hit with runners in scoring position
|
| 10:21 |
: (I’m listening to Diablo Swing Orchestra instead of Smoltz. I think my call is correct.)
|
| 10:21 |
: My wife has been like ‘why is Glasnow still pitching?’ for half an hour
|
| 10:21 |
: Listen it’s not crazy that he’d say walls are good for pitchers
|
| 10:21 |
: He has talked about the whole “I’d rather give up a leadoff homer than a leadoff walk” thing before
|
| 10:22 |
: But that was in the ninth, where it’s not as preposterous (though still preposterous!)
|
| 10:22 |
Dan Szymborski: As Mitch Hedberg said, no matter how good you are at tennis, you’ll never be as good as a wall.
|
| 10:22 |
: Of course you have a WWE GIF haha
|
| 10:22 |
: That leadoff HR > leadoff walk thing was extremely tedious. He also claimed that a postseason walk was worse than a regular season walk.
|
| 10:22 |
: I didn’t hear that one, but do tell
|
| 10:23 |
: Isn’t anything bad in the postseason inherently worse because of the leverage? Hate to say it, but I agree with Smoltz there.
|
| 10:24 |
Dan Szymborski: I have way worse things than WWE Gifs
|
| 10:24 |
: Haha in that sense I suppose it’s true. Presumably he’s talking about relative badness though
|
| 10:24 |
Dan Szymborski: Like Mike Troump.
|
| 10:24 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:24 |
: I think the winner will be whoever scores the most runs
|
| 10:24 |
Dan Szymborski: HEY MCCARVER
|
| 10:24 |
: I think Johan Hedberg said something similar about his profession. Maybe they are related.
|
| 10:24 |
: Oh it wasn’t simply about the higher leverage. The logic seemed to be that a postseason walk is worse because of the amount of tension and pitching with runners on base ups the tension even more so postseason walks are disproportionately worse for the outcome relative to regular season walks? Like, the expected runs scored of a leadoff walk in the postseason would somehow be higher than the same leadoff walk in the regular season.
|
| 10:24 |
: Turner has become Matt Chapman on defense
|
| 10:24 |
Dan Szymborski: Turner was always a good defender
|
| 10:25 |
: Haha yeah…..
|
| 10:25 |
Dan Szymborski: Though not Chapmannic
|
| 10:25 |
: Damn I did not expect to get a Johan Hedberg reference in here
|
| 10:25 |
: If they’re making Hercu-Liam t-shirts in Oakland, surely they can make Half Chapman, Half Chapamazing t-shirts too
|
| 10:25 |
: Justin Chapman and Matt Turner
|
| 10:26 |
: Kershaw’s hat is dissssgusting
|
| 10:27 |
: Maybe he’s been wearing the same hat all postseason
|
| 10:27 |
: Maybe he’s been wearing it since 2015
|
| 10:27 |
: They’re pushing the old Cardinals Holliday/Carpenter/Adams group for Matts Batted In
|
| 10:28 |
: MBI’s are just RBI’s where you score a Matt
|
| 10:28 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m just using Old Dan as my avatar so I don’t have to worry about dating myself.
|
| 10:28 |
: That said, they’re probably not doing great in Matts Matted In. MMI’s are where a Matt drives a Matt in
|
| 10:28 |
: Didn’t Audrey write an article on that a while back?
|
| 10:28 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:28 |
: I believe the MBI was her original creation, and then it got really weird on VEB
|
| 10:28 |
: But don’t quote me on that, I was late on the scene
|
| 10:28 |
: How many Matts are in the chat right now?
|
| 10:28 |
: Jeff Toobin was dating himself.
|
| 10:29 |
: Ben, you’re dangerous close to going the markkar route
|
| 10:29 |
: Marklar
|
| 10:29 |
: I had to look up that reference
|
| 10:29 |
: My South Park knowledge is kinda spotty
|
| 10:30 |
: Though I did watch and enjoy the Pandemic Special
|
| 10:30 |
Dan Szymborski: I was sad when I referenced 24 is the highest number and you weren’t familiar with it!
|
| 10:30 |
: Dan. Can you make Get Off My Lawn. Rant
|
| 10:30 |
: It was pretty excellent
|
| 10:30 |
: This is now officially wildly out of wing
|
| 10:31 |
: You almost had me with that Rockies tweet. I started doing the math
|
| 10:31 |
: Now picturing all the Dodgers as hyenas and Kershaw as Scar
|
| 10:31 |
: “We’re gonna kill the Rays!” “What, are they sick?”
|
| 10:31 |
: Mookie is pretty good. I wonder why the Red Sox gave up on him. *Hides from Boston people.*
|
| 10:31 |
: Not gonna be a late night in the Piercing Green Eyes household. Luckily losing to LA is so much less painful than NY or HOU. Less evil.
|
| 10:31 |
Dan Szymborski: Wendle looked angry tossing that ball
|
| 10:31 |
: Who can be mad when Mookie beats them?
|
| 10:31 |
: Mookie Betts has shown off four more tools than Toobin showed off.
|
| 10:32 |
: Smiling all the way
|
| 10:32 |
: How many years will it be until a Ranger holds the record for most post-season HRs in the Rangers’ stadium?
|
| 10:32 |
Dan Szymborski: “The ball really carries to right field here.” Anyone want take bets that he just pulled that out of thin air?
|
| 10:32 |
: Nanny McFaddle isn’t fooling anyone
|
| 10:32 |
: Mookie’s five tools: lathe, claw hammer, tape measure, throwing, socket set.
|
| 10:32 |
: Oh yeah, for sure
|
| 10:32 |
: It will be a lonnnnnng time before a Ranger holds that record
|
| 10:33 |
: This is FUN.
|
| 10:33 |
Dan Szymborski: We should not have made an Official Declaration of Pitchers Duel
|
| 10:34 |
: What do you think the odds are that no Ranger *ever* holds the record
|
| 10:34 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:34 |
: In the NLCS game that had pants rippling winds it seemed like it was blowing out to right. Smoltz’s observation seems like a reasonable summation of the last 8 games.
|
| 10:34 |
: Too late, Dan. You owe us all gyros.
|
| 10:35 |
: Smoltz wants more sac flies!
|
| 10:35 |
Dan Szymborski: .With such a lead, I won’t even have to pull out Kershollum
|
| 10:35 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:35 |
: Little does he know that’s not a sac fly
|
| 10:35 |
: So if Kershaw’s done, what’s #thenarrative
|
| 10:35 |
: Why isn’t Alex Wood warming up?
|
| 10:35 |
Dan Szymborski: That’s what I was wondering. Just stick him in for mopup
|
| 10:35 |
: That is a horrific Kershollum
|
| 10:36 |
: was that bullpen ball 5D chess to waste time?
|
| 10:36 |
: Archaic Smoltz takes never get old.
|
| 10:36 |
: Holy maskless fans, Batman
|
| 10:36 |
: new narrative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_King
|
| 10:36 |
: It won’t be but I’d be happy with that
|
| 10:36 |
: Fleming seems to be finding the Dodgers lineup tougher to deal with than my Alma Mater Greenville University Panthers in the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference back in the day.
|
| 10:36 |
: Aren’t they supposed to wear masks in the stands?
|
| 10:37 |
: It’s Texas, Ben! Masks are outlawed for at least half the population
|
| 10:37 |
: Two contrasting takes on Texas mask laws here
|
| 10:37 |
: I’m almost certain they were supposed to wear masks but that’s a tough thing to enforce
|
| 10:38 |
: Where does the contract for Mookie Betts even start ?
|
| 10:38 |
: In LA
|
| 10:39 |
: World Series MVP is Mookie’s to lose now, right? Or too soon?
|
| 10:39 |
Dan Szymborski: Too soon
|
| 10:40 |
: Did they have to tell Betts to smile there or is he just naturally radiant?
|
| 10:40 |
: No that’s just how he looks
|
| 10:40 |
: Kershaw is out! I don’t recognize this world. Is the nightmare which is 2020 ending?
|
| 10:40 |
: He glows
|
| 10:40 |
: Mookie got us free tacos so i feel like not giving him MVP is just wrong at this point.
|
| 10:40 |
: He has, in fact, won MVP in every WS in which he’s won the nation free taocs
|
| 10:40 |
: tacos*
|
| 10:41 |
: I’d rather have a taoc, whatever that is, than a Taco Bell taco honestly
|
| 10:41 |
: I am very tempted to try exactly one Doritos Locos taco in my life
|
| 10:41 |
: Preferably after a few adult substances of one type or another
|
| 10:41 |
: Are Doritos Locos tacos even good
|
| 10:42 |
: I don’t know!
|
| 10:42 |
: It’s a question I’d like to know the answer to, because they could be awful or great and neither would truly surprise me
|
| 10:42 |
: One is the right number. By two, you’ve reached your annual sodium limit
|
| 10:42 |
: Doritos Locos Tacos are, indeed, good. And if you’re a vegetarian, you can get them with beans!
|
| 10:42 |
: The doritos locos taco is totally fine, but this is coming from someone who likes taco bell – I don’t think it’s a substantial upgrade on the regular hard taco, and neither are as good as the soft taco
|
| 10:43 |
: doritos locos tacos are inferior to regular taco bell tacos
|
| 10:43 |
: EVERY TAKE IMAGINABLE
|
| 10:43 |
: If Baz pans out… The Pirates might regret that Archer trade.
|
| 10:43 |
: They’re a cheap taco with dorito shell instead of a regular shell. If you aren’t a snob about cheap tacos, and like doritos, you’ll prob like it
|
| 10:43 |
: Still too soon!
|
| 10:43 |
: Don’t mention beans around Dan
|
| 10:44 |
: Dan gets very touchy about bean-related topics.
|
| 10:44 |
: Bigger accomplishment for Friedman: the 38% drop in payroll between 2015-2019 or accepting the league’s gifts for the feat (Betts, Pandemicball WS)?
|
| 10:44 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure MLB created COVID to reward Friedman.
|
| 10:44 |
: Do we think that Kershaw is being taken out early so that he can potentially come back for Game 4?
|
| 10:44 |
: I do not
|
| 10:44 |
: I think that’s a ‘down 3-0’ kinda move
|
| 10:45 |
: Why does nobody think about me or celebrate me like they do Mookie Betts? I’m so flexible!
|
| 10:45 |
: But Dan, are you sure they didn’t?
|
| 10:45 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m not 100% positive about anythign. But I’m at least 95% sure.
|
| 10:45 |
: Taco Bell is the real winner here tonight is my takeaway from all this
|
| 10:45 |
: This ad buy is so smart
|
| 10:45 |
: Promotion, whatever
|
| 10:45 |
Dan Szymborski: See, all the taco talk makes me want a taco, but I just buya good taco
|
| 10:45 |
: Yeah, but I don’t think you’re their target audience
|
| 10:46 |
: Why can’t it be like, steal a base, steal a Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich instead?
|
| 10:46 |
: Steal a Base, End Global Hunger
|
| 10:46 |
Dan Szymborski: Here, now you won’t want a taco.
|
| 10:46 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 10:46 |
: I would sign up for Ben’s idea.
|
| 10:46 |
: One fewer blunt and Bellinger makes that catch
|
| 10:47 |
: Rays versus [chloro] Floro [carbons] is the defining battle of our times. No surprise this inning has become very heated.
|
| 10:47 |
: okay this one is a gem, Kwah
|
| 10:47 |
: At least they put scare quotes around “tacos”
|
| 10:47 |
: Is it wrong to prefer the Beastie Boys version of Bennie and the Jets?
|
| 10:47 |
: juuuuust what a 7-run game needed, a mid-inning pitching change
|
| 10:48 |
: Big win for the Rays to get a high leverage Dodger reliever into the game. Dave Roberts has entered the chat.
|
| 10:48 |
: Yes. It’s wrong to prefer any version of “Bennie and the Jets” or anything by the Beastie Boys.
|
| 10:48 |
: Manfred in shambles
|
| 10:48 |
: New next year: ‘four batter minimum”
|
| 10:48 |
: Are you 100% positive about being 95% sure?
|
| 10:48 |
Dan Szymborski: 87
|
| 10:48 |
: Note: Affects only Dave Roberts and Tony LaRussa if he ever returns
|
| 10:49 |
: My dad taught stats for a while when I was a kid
|
| 10:49 |
: He used to give me confidence intervals for how long it would take us to do a thing
|
| 10:49 |
: Go to the grocery store, arrive at our destination, etc
|
| 10:49 |
: I always thought they were preposterously wide
|
| 10:49 |
: LIke we’d be driving 30 minutes and he’d say he was 99% certain we’d get there in 90 minutes
|
| 10:49 |
: or less
|
| 10:50 |
: Now whenever I hear confidence intervals I get flashbacks
|
| 10:50 |
: All the other dads were raising their sons to be major leaguers, Ben’s dad was raising him to write for FanGraphs, I love it
|
| 10:50 |
: He would be very proud to hear that
|
| 10:50 |
: Dan, would you classify this as Roberts getting “too cute”? I think I would
|
| 10:50 |
: Roberts is totally too cute!
|
| 10:50 |
Dan Szymborski: I would as well
|
| 10:50 |
: half of all statistics are made up
|
| 10:50 |
: I’m the real Dan. The other is an imposter. Somebody please stop him.
|
| 10:51 |
: My dad did the opposite. He always claimed complete certainty about everything when he was usually just pulling it out of his butt. He was a salesman.
|
| 10:51 |
Dan Szymborski: Your dad is A-Rod?
|
| 10:51 |
: I didn’t know we were playing Among Us at FanGraphs
|
| 10:51 |
: shit.. “too clever” was the line from the articel. Looks like I was getting “too cute” too
|
| 10:51 |
: Umpires are supposed to be chosen on merit for the playoffs, no? how is Laz Diaz doing the WS?
|
| 10:51 |
Dan Szymborski: Like they’re chosen for merit
|
| 10:51 |
: Played my first game of Among Us yday (it’s hard to get enough people together)
|
| 10:51 |
: My chat name is a direct pun on Bennie and the Jets for what it’s worth.
|
| 10:51 |
: it’s a blast
|
| 10:52 |
: Belli and the Betts
|
| 10:52 |
Dan Szymborski: I haven’t played it yet
|
| 10:52 |
Dan Szymborski: I’ve played Town of Salem though, which is the same concept
|
| 10:52 |
: Smoltz is amazed by Brosseau’s .500 batting average on grounders
|
| 10:52 |
: He even mentioned that it’s on 26 grounders
|
| 10:53 |
: How does he not get that 26 grounders are only 26 grounders?
|
| 10:53 |
: Dan sus
|
| 10:53 |
: Ooh Among Us is so good. Eventually you’ll have to flip a bunch of options because competent crew members can just win every time, but it’s still so good
|
| 10:54 |
: Is it time to take Kershaw out yet?
|
| 10:54 |
Dan Szymborski: SZYM INNO
|
| 10:54 |
: Kershaw Too Cowardly To Handle Seventh, Dodgers Collapse
|
| 10:54 |
: (potential headline tomorrow)
|
| 10:54 |
: Also this game is getting somewhat interesting again
|
| 10:55 |
: Pulled kershaw too soon… It’s bizarro world
|
| 10:55 |
: Good news for LA here: they have an odd lead
|
| 10:55 |
: (but above 4)
|
| 10:55 |
: Town of Salem is Werewolf/Mafia. Among Us has some minor actual gameplay outside of the arguments, so I think it’s rather different. I’ve found both ruined by toxic communities when I’ve tried them, though, so I’ll stick to Patriots & Redcoats with real people or playing solo games until that’s possible instead.
|
| 10:55 |
: A Rod’s reasoning was that a grand slam can’t beat you and a solo home run can’t tie you
|
| 10:56 |
Dan Szymborski: True, but it’s the same basic concept of an imperfect information social deduction game
|
| 10:56 |
: true of a 5 run lead too
|
| 10:56 |
: Should I watch The Wicker Man (1973) again or continue with this game?
|
| 10:56 |
Dan Szymborski: You have to watch the REMAKE
|
| 10:56 |
: What about a zero run lead?
|
| 10:56 |
: Not sure how up A Rod is on number theory
|
| 10:56 |
: is zero even, and all that
|
| 10:57 |
: But Ben, you want EVEN leads!
|
| 10:57 |
: See that was the soundbite
|
| 10:57 |
: But after you focus in on his logic
|
| 10:57 |
: It’s still ridiculous but he actually just means you want to be up by four or more
|
| 10:57 |
: I do like that ‘a grand slam doesn’t beat you’ is obviously untrue of a 2-run lead
|
| 10:58 |
: but look
|
| 10:58 |
: A Rod’s nickname is A Rod, not Alex “Internally Consistent Logic” Rodriguez
|
| 10:58 |
: You’d obviously rather be up by 2 than 3 duh
|
| 10:58 |
: Cloro Floro Carbons evaporated
|
| 10:58 |
: Wickerman sounds like the last name of a Rays reliever
|
| 10:58 |
: Dan: Really? You are saying the one with Nicholas Cage is better??
|
| 10:58 |
Dan Szymborski: No, but I’m giving him a worse idea
|
| 10:58 |
: WOW
|
| 10:58 |
: wowwwwwwwwww
|
| 10:59 |
: Exit velo guesses on that one?
|
| 10:59 |
: 105.6 per statcast
|
| 10:59 |
: v1-6tor Gonzalez
|
| 10:59 |
: *when you try your best but you don’t succeed…*
|
| 10:59 |
: That’s how you know you aren’t going to win
|
| 10:59 |
Dan Szymborski: I’d even trust Kenley with this lead!
|
| 11:00 |
: Although do anonymous baseball names get any better than former OAK minor leaguer J.P. Sportman?
|
| 11:00 |
: That really helps pace of play as it likely keeps Baez out of this game.
|
| 11:01 |
: Do you guys think Baez warms up at a glacial pace too?
|
| 11:01 |
: I never pay attention
|
| 11:01 |
: Well, >95% win probability after 11 o’clock means it’s bedtime for me. Thanks for hosting this odd and enjoyable taco-themed chat, Dan and Ben!
|
| 11:02 |
: For the seventh inning stretch: 
|
| 11:02 |
: Nick Cage, in a bear suit, punches a woman in her face: https://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lskwcq4N9K1qkei6p.gif
|
| 11:02 |
: Since losing my job I’ve had Simpsons Seasons 2-8 on repeat 24/7. Give me a favorite episode or gag
|
| 11:02 |
Dan Szymborski: 
|
| 11:02 |
: Baez is in a perpetual state of warming up
|
| 11:02 |
: season 3 ep 17
|
| 11:03 |
: Who is the anti Baez? It used to be Buehrle but who now?
|
| 11:03 |
: Is that for a movie or does Nick just do that? Tough to tell
|
| 11:03 |
: doesn’t look like Pitch Info has 2020 data yet, but as of 2019, Brent Suter:
|
| 11:04 |
: Brent Suter!
|
| 11:04 |
: It’s in only 17 innings but he’s 3 seconds faster than the next-fastest
|
| 11:04 |
: That’s kinda crazy
|
| 11:04 |
: Gonzalez looks like he is wearing some small mammal’s pelt on his head
|
| 11:04 |
: 
|
| 11:05 |
: To be fair, I think Suter is negatively affected by the speed of his pitches. They take days to get up there…
|
| 11:05 |
: If you want to celebrate killer B’s, you can either remember the Houston Astros of a generation ago, or you can watch that terrible Nic Cage movie.
|
| 11:05 |
: Look say what you want about Nic Cage but he tries shit, some of it truly wild, and I think that’s cool. He acts in like 3409% more movies than anyone else
|
| 11:05 |
: Plus sometimes he just falls off the mound because he’s working so fast
|
| 11:05 |
Dan Szymborski: Dont’ blame us, it’s just most of you really want to talk about Nicholas Cage and Brent Suter
|
| 11:05 |
: Brent Suter was insane in Game 1 of WC series. Felt like he was on the mound for about 10 minutes before getting lifted
|
| 11:06 |
: I brought up Baez, but the chat really went to town
|
| 11:06 |
: Suter* rather
|
| 11:07 |
: What’s next for Fangraphs? A film project: The Brent Suter Story starring Nicolas Cage. Giving the fans what they want.
|
| 11:07 |
: We were dangerously close to having to talk about the game again
|
| 11:07 |
: But Victor Gonzalez put an end to that
|
| 11:07 |
Dan Szymborski: 5G DOESN’T MAKE THE SOUND QUALITY MAGICALLY BETTER
|
| 11:07 |
: Nic Cage doesn’t have an agent, it’s just a robo-line that says “yes” to every film request
|
| 11:07 |
: Who, in their right mind, dislikes Nic Cage?
|
| 11:08 |
: Who here had actually heard of Victor Gonzalez before this postseason?
|
| 11:08 |
: I had, but it’s my job. I would assume most people hadn’t
|
| 11:09 |
: Are Brent Suter and Nic Cage the same person?
|
| 11:09 |
: Has anyone ever seen them in the same place at the same time?
|
| 11:09 |
: I had, but…duh.
|
| 11:10 |
: He pitches so fast because he has so many movies to shoot
|
| 11:10 |
: Everyone get ready to wait 14 minutes between each pitch!
|
| 11:10 |
: Suter could star in a movie about Cage… he has time to spare waiting for Baez to pitch
|
| 11:10 |
: BTW as a man who pretends to have a British accent in this chat room….The original Wicker Man is considered a gd classic in British cinema. Christopher Lee did it for free! He even paid out of pocket to do publicity! He called it his best work!
|
| 11:10 |
: Wow… González last appeared on a prospect list here in 2016.
|
| 11:10 |
: He debuted in 2020
|
| 11:10 |
: I mean I know he’s a reliever but still
|
| 11:12 |
Dan Szymborski: You know what would end Lowe’s slump? A better pronunciation of his last name.
|
| 11:12 |
: So Chris Bassitt was working really quickly in the Wild Card series, so I got in the habit of running a stopwatch when he caught the throw from the catcher
|
| 11:12 |
: He was like 10-15 with no runners on
|
| 11:12 |
: Baez is at about 20
|
| 11:13 |
Dan Szymborski: Sadly, I never found any kind of useful predictive information from pace or changes in pace
|
| 11:13 |
: People who shop at Lowe’s are confused by Brandon Lowe
|
| 11:13 |
: You can probably predict fans’ enjoyment
|
| 11:13 |
: The Rays are going to add to this team, right? Like at some point they just kinda have to move people…I like that they finally moved towards full time starters again and have more coming through
|
| 11:13 |
: It kinda feels that way to be honest
|
| 11:13 |
Dan Szymborski: Maybe we need to publish WAR per minute.
|
| 11:14 |
: He should go by Brandon Low-way, with the accent on the e at the end.
|
| 11:14 |
: I think they’re not as into their infinitely modular lineup deal as they were three or four years ago
|
| 11:14 |
: But they can only play with what they have, as it were
|
| 11:14 |
: There have been times when Baez was legitimately at like a minute per pitch in previous years
|
| 11:14 |
: I have to say, I didn’t expect Joe Buck to be bringing up Arozarena’s minor league numbers
|
| 11:14 |
: Going by WAR per minute, Greg Maddux looks even more like an all-time great
|
| 11:15 |
: Barrel Hands is a very sabermetric friendly nickname
|
| 11:15 |
: The best part of barrels is that it used to be used to mock Eno
|
| 11:15 |
: and sabermetrics generally
|
| 11:15 |
: Good thing he isn’t named Brandon Depot .. that could get interesting
|
| 11:15 |
: And now that people can see what a well-struck ball actually is, it turns out Hosmer wasn’t much of a barrels hitter all along
|
| 11:15 |
Dan Szymborski: He’d probably say it Brandon Dee-pot
|
| 11:15 |
: That might have been the quickest Baez inning of all time
|
| 11:16 |
: Or go with the Men in Blazers intro Rebecca Lowe pronunciation (loo-wah)
|
| 11:17 |
: How many blues are the Rays allows
|
| 11:17 |
Dan Szymborski: There’s a House of Blues, so you can have a lot of blues
|
| 11:17 |
: On my screen on Gameday, he took about five minutes to throw his first pitch, then threw like six in about four seconds. I have to admit, making such drastic changes in pace impresses me and seems like a possible advantage.
|
| 11:17 |
: now that’s quick pitching
|
| 11:17 |
: I prefer WAR/nanosecond myself
|
| 11:17 |
: Dan, I think you’ve said in the past that you incorporate MLB postseason numbers into your projections. Do you do the same with minor league playoff statistics?
|
| 11:17 |
Dan Szymborski: Yes
|
| 11:17 |
Dan Szymborski: If the minor leaguers were a thing. 🙁
|
| 11:18 |
: A lot of blues, apparently: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_blue
|
| 11:18 |
: Dan,I suspect the helmets are left over from a little league team.
|
| 11:18 |
: How many rooms in a House of Blue.Full House of Blues starring a pair of insufferable twins.
|
| 11:19 |
: There would be infinite shades of blue, technically, but I don’t want to be shallow and pedantic
|
| 11:19 |
: Joe Buck gets it
|
| 11:19 |
: Joe Buck absolutely trolling the Boston faithful now
|
| 11:19 |
: OK Joe Buck is good now
|
| 11:19 |
: Aggressive trolling!
|
| 11:19 |
: Joe Buck has been great this game
|
| 11:19 |
: Credit where credit is due
|
| 11:19 |
: Full House of Blues Tv sitcom gold
|
| 11:19 |
: When you hear the term “Go Blue!” what team do you think of?
|
| 11:19 |
: Michigan for me
|
| 11:19 |
Dan Szymborski: Michigan
|
| 11:19 |
: 1-2-3 is the same time in any units for the World Series
|
| 11:20 |
: Wow Ken dropping ‘financial flexibility’ to mock the Red Sox
|
| 11:20 |
Dan Szymborski: The rate of mask wearing in the crowd is underwhelming
|
| 11:20 |
: Absolutely, heard it in a Dodger reference the other day for the time.. thought maybe I had a regional bias
|
| 11:20 |
: Wow an extended troll job. This is incredible
|
| 11:20 |
: The Fox crew is going off
|
| 11:21 |
: Of course Smoltz is the one trying to defend the Sox’ decision
|
| 11:21 |
: lol Smoltz is trying to say something positive
|
| 11:21 |
: But he just
|
| 11:21 |
: He got lost midway through the sentence and said “I’m sure there’s…..’
|
| 11:21 |
: Isn’t it true that Mookie was pretty set on going to free agency anyways? I don’t remember
|
| 11:21 |
: *correction* González was back in the 2020 updated prospect list — it’s just that there hasn’t been a “Keeping up with the NL West” article yet, so the only links on his player page are the ’15/’16 lists
|
| 11:22 |
: We don’t know for sure, of course, but the scuttlebutt I heard was that he was going to go to free agency if he didn’t get a deal he liked
|
| 11:22 |
: The deal the Sox offered him was reportedly in the low 200 million range
|
| 11:22 |
: Obviously not as he didn’t make it to free agency…
|
| 11:22 |
: Is mookie lebron because trout is Jordan?
|
| 11:22 |
Dan Szymborski: No baseball player can be James or Jordan.
|
| 11:23 |
Dan Szymborski: Don’t blame Betts for you Roberts!
|
| 11:23 |
: Per MLBTR, they later offered him 10/300
|
| 11:23 |
: Josh James begs to differ
|
| 11:23 |
: Jordan Hicks, too
|
| 11:24 |
Dan Szymborski: YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN MURDER
|
| 11:25 |
: Blaze Jordan?
|
| 11:25 |
: Great prospect name
|
| 11:25 |
: Why is this pitching change happening
|
| 11:25 |
: Legitimately no clue
|
| 11:26 |
: For some reason I can’t shake the conviction that Bellinger’s true talent level is greater than Betts’, am I crazy?
|
| 11:26 |
Dan Szymborski: A little. Bellinger is god, but Betts is better
|
| 11:26 |
: Max Muncy is clearly his civilian name.. but what is his superhero alias?
|
| 11:26 |
: Apparently Cool Papa Bell’s given name was James
|
| 11:26 |
Dan Szymborski: Maxibillions.
|
| 11:26 |
: I hope Blaze Jordan becomes awesome, just because it will be fun to see his name. Though the inevitable stoner memes will be painful.
|
| 11:26 |
Dan Szymborski: Cool Papa is way better than James
|
| 11:26 |
: The good news is we’re already using up all the memes on Bellinger
|
| 11:26 |
Dan Szymborski: Sorry Jameses here. But it’s true.
|
| 11:27 |
: Lebron Cool Papa would work
|
| 11:27 |
Dan Szymborski: Cool Papa Madison
|
| 11:27 |
Dan Szymborski: I’m Rick Cool Papa!
|
| 11:28 |
: On a trip once, my wife and I met an Italian guy who was oddly a huge Knicks fan
|
| 11:28 |
: He at one point is like “Oh do you know James? James LeBron? The Knicks will sign him!”
|
| 11:28 |
: I’ve played Call of Duty before; I do not doubt the stoners’ ability to come up with more memes no matter what.
|
| 11:28 |
: I now mainly think of him as James LeBron
|
| 11:28 |
: Cool Papa and the Giant Peach
|
| 11:29 |
: Has there ever been an adequate explanation given for why nicknames used to be awesome but are now uniformly awful?
|
| 11:29 |
Dan Szymborski: We have no style.
|
| 11:29 |
: Will Smith’s face as he walked away was awesome
|
| 11:30 |
: It was a ‘Yeah sure whatever you say gramps!’ look for sure
|
| 11:30 |
: Given names used to be awful and now we give better official names, so we don’t need the creativity of nicknames to fix them.
|
| 11:30 |
: What a contrarian take
|
| 11:31 |
: Is Smith the fast catcher in baseball? Before when he was running, I had to remind myself that he’s a catcher
|
| 11:31 |
: Third-fastest, actually
|
| 11:31 |
: Realmuto can fly
|
| 11:31 |
: Would you risk letting Wood close it out?
|
| 11:31 |
Dan Szymborski: Sure
|
| 11:31 |
Dan Szymborski: If you can’t hold a 5 run lead why are you on the roster
|
| 11:31 |
: If Kershaw has a bad industrial accident we could call him 3 Fingers Kershaw .. but that is a little extreme.
|
| 11:31 |
: Blaze is a great name meme or not, bring it on
|
| 11:31 |
: I was excited for Alex Wood to be back in LA
|
| 11:31 |
: Hasn’t quite panned out that way
|
| 11:32 |
: There is nothing from modern times that compares to like, the Splendid Splinter or the Say Hey Kid. Cool Papa as we’ve covered. I just don’t know what happened! The greatest closer ever, Mariano Rivera? Let
|
| 11:32 |
: ‘s call him “Mo”!
|
| 11:32 |
: Mike Trout as Millville Meteorologist is good but no one uses it
|
| 11:32 |
: Mariano didn’t need a nickname, he had a cutter
|
| 11:33 |
: They’re still doing good nicknames some places
|
| 11:33 |
Dan Szymborski: That’s why I use computers!
|
| 11:33 |
Dan Szymborski:
|
| 11:33 |
: Seung-hwan Oh was both Stone Buddha and Final Boss
|
| 11:33 |
: speaking of great facial expressions… lets go Joe “Pout Pout Fish” Kelly
|
| 11:33 |
: La Tortuga is great for Astudillo
|
| 11:34 |
: Okay Final Boss is great. Seung-hwan Oh was… not (in MLB, anyway).
|
| 11:34 |
: The Buffalo for Wilson Ramos
|
| 11:34 |
: or the Polar Bear for Pete Alonso
|
| 11:34 |
: Marcell Ozuna used to wear “El Oso Grande” on player’s weekend, maybe he will again
|
| 11:34 |
: Big Bear, excellent
|
| 11:34 |
: Polar Bear Pete is good too
|
| 11:34 |
: Let’s not forget Big Sexy
|
| 11:34 |
: Final Boss is one of the great nicknames ever. In the US, I don’t think a video game nickname would catch on. Still considered not mainstream.
|
| 11:35 |
: Blaze it up is all I’m sayin
|
| 11:35 |
: His call-up is just going to be a barrel of memes
|
| 11:35 |
: Gotta love the old days where deaf players were nicknamed Dummy
|
| 11:36 |
: There are SO MANY old players nicknamed Dutch
|
| 11:36 |
: Scrabble is a good nickname for the guy whose last name i can’t spell
|
| 11:36 |
: Rzcepesykpisnekski
|
| 11:36 |
: roughly
|
| 11:36 |
: John Smoltz is not a fan of parallax
|
| 11:36 |
: Marc the lefty®
|
| 11:37 |
: Joe Kelly had a hand in the last out of the game
|
| 11:37 |
: On that note, I’m going to go eat dinner with my patiently waiting wife… thanks Jenna!
|
| 11:39 |
Dan Szymborski: Thanks for comiogn all!
|
Meg is the editor-in-chief 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 Bluesky @megrowler.fangraphs.com.