World Series Game 6 Chat

by
October 29, 2019
7:50
Ben Clemens: Hey guys, thanks for chatting with us tonight. Meg and I will be here for all inevitable four hours of baseball. We’re going to let the chat queue fill up with a few questions, but I’ll throw in some links while you wait.
7:51
Ben Clemens: First, there’s an artisanally hand-crafted World Series preview that is, in my opinion, excellent:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/postseason-preview-the-2019-world-series/
7:51
Ben Clemens: Craig Edwards wrote about how Stephen Strasburg is god*:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/stephen-strasburg-is-a-postseason-god/
7:51
Ben Clemens: *not in a religious way or anything
7:52
Ben Clemens: And as a quick recap of how we got here, Jay Jaffe on Game 5:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/road-warriors-again-astros-take-third-stra…
7:54
Ben Clemens: And if you aren’t interested in the World Series, well first of all, weird place to be if that’s the case! But second of all, here’s Dan Szymborski on the Texas Rangers, in case that’s more your speed:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-texas-rangers-were-surprisingly-releva…

7:54
Ben Clemens: We’ll kick off the chat a little closer to game time, probably around the top of the hour.
8:03
tz: At first I thought you wrote “Dan Szymborski <b>of </b> the Texas Rangers”.   Thought we were facing another Friday farewell letter.
8:03
Ben Clemens: Just caaaaaasually snuck it in there 🙂
8:03
Ben Clemens: Nope, to the best of my knowledge Dan remains here.
8:04
Meg Rowley: He does indeed
8:04
Meg Rowley: and also, hi all!
8:04
Meg Rowley: Thanks for hanging out with us. I am, what is the word?, very sleepy? But also excited?
8:05
Lebron James’ Food truck guy: Why is there any real consideration for ‘Dodgers rumored to be interested in Lindor’ aside from someone on the Indians side pumping up Lindor’s trade value by suggesting a deep pocketed, prospect stocked franchise would waste valuable assets by trading for a marginal upgrade? This just seems phony, and fans who want ‘new blood’ or ‘a change’ from a team that won 100+ games are just being emotional… non-story if you ask, who wouldn’t want the guy? Am i wrong?
8:06
Meg Rowley: I say this without inside info but, on the one hand it seems deeply silly, but on the other hand, Cleveland seems very unlikely to extend Lindor, and the Dodgers are one of the few teams with a system deep enough to snag him.
8:06
Annabelle: Hi Meg and Ben!
8:06
Ben Clemens: Hi!
8:06
bosoxforlife: I am about to go into a catatonic state at the thought that this could be the last baseball game I watch until next spring.
8:06
Ben Clemens: There’s clearly a joke about this game lasting until spring in here somewhere, but I can’t quite think of the right wording.
8:06
Ben Clemens: So uh, postseason baseball games are long.
8:07
Bob: On a more serious note, will this game be a dud because one of the starters will get shelled in the 1st inning like so many post season games this year?
8:08
Meg Rowley: I’d be surprised but then again, I didn’t think Patrick Corbin would look so shaky or that Houston would take three on the road so.
8:08
5 Run Homer: Wait, Meg. Is it Fangraphs or FanGraphs? I can never remember
8:08
Meg Rowley: FanGraphs, not Fangraphs.
8:08
Ben Clemens: FangRaphs around Halloween.
8:08
Meg Rowley: I love spooky Halloween names.
8:09
Ben Clemens: Here’s our customary poll, which I forgot to put up until now:
8:09
Ben Clemens:

Who are you rooting for tonight?
Nats (Nats fan) (11.1% | 15 votes)
 
Nats (unaffiliated) (67.4% | 91 votes)
 
Astros (Astros fan) (8.8% | 12 votes)
 
Astros (unaffiliated) (12.5% | 17 votes)
 
Total Votes: 135
8:09
Lunar verLander: Is there any back story as to why the “G” is capitalized?
8:10
Meg Rowley: I think David just wanted it to be obvious that those were the words.
8:10
tz: I’m sleepy like Meg, because of the game length.   Waking at 5 am EST is not a good mixer with post midnight games.
8:10
Meg Rowley: Getting up at 5 AM PT doesn’t go much better
8:10
Kiermaier’s Piercing Green Eyes: If this goes to 7 and it’s Scherzer vs Greinke, would the Nats be the favorites?
8:10
Meg Rowley: That looked awfully close live
8:10
Ben Clemens: Dan’s odds actually have this in them:
8:10
Annabelle: He looked safe live to me
8:10
Ben Clemens: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds/post-season-zips?seas…
8:11
Ben Clemens: And they have the Astros ever so slightly favored, basically a coinflip
8:11
Ben Clemens: I’ll note that when I constructed a top-down model of the series (Dan’s is bottom-up starting with individual player projections) I had the Nats as very slight favorites.
8:11
Ben Clemens: It’s close, is what I’m saying.
8:12
bosoxforlife: Lousy umpiring already. Does it ever end?
8:12
Meg Rowley: For all of us someday
8:12
Meg Rowley: I wish I loved anything as much as Eaton loves bunting
8:12
Thom: Oh boy, gotta love a first inning sacrifice bunt
8:12
Bring Back Jeff: This early? Really?
8:12
Annabelle: He was out there.
8:13
Greg: Bunting for a hit there?
8:13
Bob: Giving an out away?
8:13
Ben Clemens: Unclear!
8:13
Ben Clemens: Adam Eaton bunts altogether too much considering that he’s not the best bunter in the world.
8:13
Ben Clemens: But he’s very willing to try to bunt for a hit, that’s for sure.
8:14
Ben Clemens: John Smoltz wanted a steal PLUS a bunt, of course.
8:14
Lunar verLander: Altuve does that occasionally. Sometimes works, too.
8:14
Ben Clemens: It’s not the worst spot for a bunt, if you think you are safe reasonably often.
8:14
Ben Clemens: But that bunt wasn’t really good enough.
8:15
Guest: Gomes Barksdale and intentionally miscalling a pitch: do framing stats need a respect component?
8:15
Ben Clemens: I believe you misspelled re2pect
8:15
Ben Clemens: (trademarked by Jeter)
8:16
Andrew: Does anyone else mentally pronounce re2pect as “re two pect?”
8:16
Ben Clemens: I thought I was the only one!
8:17
Sam: Mentally and verbally haha
8:17
Meg Rowley: yes!
8:17
Ben Clemens: We’re in good company.
8:17
Ben Clemens: In Play, Run(s)
8:17
5 Run Homer: “Led team in RBI and runs” is maybe the worst way of showing Rendon’s talent
8:17
Brian CashGod: Nats showing no re2pect to Verlander thus far
8:17
Meg Rowley: Yeah does’t do justice to Rendon at all
8:18
Ben Clemens: I’m a very big fan of “The exit velocity didn’t register much.”
8:18
Ben Clemens: As if there’s a machine called the exit velocity that just measures the exit velocity.
8:19
Meg Rowley: well sometimes the radar can’t see it, ya know?
8:20
Cole’s Law: Remember when Verlander used to be a good post season pitcher….WHen does the narrative change?
8:20
Meg Rowley: When we all forget the 2017 postseason?
8:20
The Hamburglar: As much as we all love baseball, do you ever feel a little relief once the pressure filled, small sample size of October is over? It’s nice to have a break
8:20
Ben Clemens: In case you guys were curious, I did a very lazy calculation, and Eaton would need to bunt for a hit around a quarter of the time there
8:21
Ben Clemens: for that play to make sense
8:21
Ben Clemens: (Just using generic win expectancy in each base/out state)
8:21
It was my fault?: Could this score mean that a lead change is possible? Odd score and all.
8:21
Meg Rowley: I uhhh haven’t had a day where I haven’t worked in… some time, so while I will miss it and stress about other stuff, I am very excited to have a little bit of breathing room.
8:21
Ben Clemens: Is a zero run lead an even lead?
8:22
Scratched Correa: Coles law, I don’t remember verlander ever being a good postseason pitcher. The narrative is correct
8:22
Ben Clemens: I’m pretty sure Verlander’s postseason stats are great, without looking.
8:22
Ben Clemens: Yeah, 3.35 ERA, that seems pretty fine.
8:22
Meg Rowley: Yeah I think that instinct, especially lately, is a good one
8:22
Annabelle: Yes and no. A zero run lead is not a lead, but zero is an even number.
8:22
Brian CashGod: zero is indeed an even lead
8:23
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I’m with Annabelle actually. A negative-2 run lead isn’t an even lead despite -2 being even.
8:24
tz: Lazy calculations > lazy narratives > lazy comps.
8:24
Ben Clemens: My favorite lazy comp article of all time is the Grant Brisbee draft review one where he compared every draftee to another draftee
8:24
5 Run Homer: Springer good
8:25
Cole’s Law: So I think narrative’s are stupid…which is why I joke about them, every chat!!!
8:25
Scratched Correa: Coles law is my college roommate. That was total irony because I didn’t think I was getting posted. Thanks for making that happen guys
8:25
Meg Rowley: We’re writers, so we like narratives, though as an editor, I must suggest that lazy narratives are what you want to avoid.
8:25
Ben Clemens: Here it is:
8:25
Ben Clemens: https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2016/6/10/11903538/2016-mlb-draft-grades-…
8:27
Bunt defender: So, when I look at Eaton’s fangraphs page, 2019, not batting stats. He looks to have 22 bunt attempts and 9 bunt hits. That’s a .409 average right?
8:28
Ben Clemens: Yeah so I guess in that sense, you could argue it’s a good bunt! Baseball Savant shows 23 actually.
8:28
Ben Clemens: And for his career he’s 42 for 99 on bunt attempts
8:28
Ben Clemens: So I take it back. Good bunter!
8:29
bosoxforlife: I assume that doesn’t include bunts he is credited with a sacrifice on.
8:29
Ben Clemens: Nope, counts those. I just checked the flag for any ball scored as a bunt, not at bats.
8:30
nope: Good frame by gomes there
8:30
Ben Clemens: You mean, good patience by not going around the horn until after hearing it was strike three
8:30
bosoxforlife: Then his BA should be much higher.
8:30
Vicente: What % of major leaguers do you think are naturally introverts? It seems like the culture is centered around loud Type A personalities and players such as Greinke are singled out just because they’re not as social.
8:30
Ben Clemens: Oh yeah, I’m just saying, conversion rate. Batting average isn’t the most useful when failures turn into sacrifices.
8:31
5 Run Homer: Oh hey
8:31
5 Run Homer: a homer
8:31
5 Run Homer: neat
8:31
Ben Clemens: Alex Bregman is pretty pretty good.
8:31
Byron Buxton : Uh oh it’s an odd number lead
8:32
Cole’s Law: Did Bregman carry his bat to first base?
8:32
Ben Clemens: Yeah I’m curious what he was planning on doing with it.
8:33
Ben Clemens: He does like his celebrations.
8:34
Chris: At what point are you required to drop the bat? Could he take it all the way, that would have to be an out right?
8:34
Train Noises: Soto limping a bit there. Hope he just stepped awkwardly
8:34
Meg Rowley: for a home run, I’m not sure you actually are
8:34
The Hamburglar: I really enjoy players celebrating and having fun, but Bregman really gets on my nerves
8:34
Meg Rowley: I think the bit that makes it less fun is how affected it seems?
8:35
Meg Rowley: He was told his bit was funny too many times
8:35
Meg Rowley: the first few times it was great though
8:35
Ben Clemens: I find him more enjoyable when I’m rooting against him, if that makes any sense.
8:36
Meg Rowley: He’s a verryyyyy good heel. He knows right where the line is.
8:36
Nats fan: Puig celebrations > Bregman celebrations.  Puig looks like he’s just there to have a good time, while Bregman looks like a villain from an 80s movie
8:36
Meg Rowley: And also picks the right combatants.
8:36
Ben Clemens: Puig celebrations are certainly the best.
8:36
Train Noises: Bregman is a heel. Entertainment needs heels.
8:37
Meg Rowley: Agreed! And like I said, picks the right guys to go against. Doesn’t punch down.
8:37
Chris: Correa has the best celebrations on the Astros, Altuve still always looks like he’s having the best time.
8:37
Ben Clemens: I didn’t love the helmet free throw one or whatever.
8:37
Ben Clemens: But totally agree on Altuve. He just looks like he’s having a blast.
8:38
kevinthecomic: Ben becoming a grumpy old baseball writer — sad day when you become everything you used to despise — don’t worry though, it happens to everyone 🙂
8:38
Ben Clemens: 🙂
8:38
Ben Clemens: Well I thought if he was really doing it to honor James Harden he should have traveled first.
8:38
Ben Clemens: Arbitrarily taken three shuffle steps back, say.
8:39
Meg Rowley: I love that Don Kelly is the Astros first base coach.
8:39
Cole’s Law: Wow whomever designed this stadium is pretty proud of his Left field cutout today isn’t he/she?
8:39
Ben Clemens: The one Soto caught was almost *in* the little corner there.
8:40
twb: odd run lead held up, so far…
8:40
Ben Clemens: Only a matter of time though.
8:40
5 Run Homer: That’s Don Kelly? Hell yeah
8:40
Meg Rowley: Yes indeed!
8:42
Cole’s Law: Cole’s Law….what do you think of that Verlander not a good postseason pitcher comment now!!! You look like a fool….
8:43
Ben Clemens: Is there a narrative that has died more quickly than ‘the Astros must have some special metric that shows Yordan Alvarez is worse now, they wouldn’t drop him in the batting order without reason’?
8:43
Guest: Why is don kelly a cult hero?
8:45
Ben Clemens: If you aren’t paying a ton of attention when the Nats shift against a righty, it looks like the two base umpires are also part of the shift.
8:45
Meg Rowley: I know he is precious to many Tigers fans including a friend of mine from grad school who, hand to god, wore a t-shirt with don kelly’s face on the breast pocket to his post-wedding hang out with the young people from the wedding at a bar time
8:45
Ben Clemens: As if there’s just a great wall of humanity out there.
8:45
Meg Rowley: Is Bregman ok?
8:46
German baseball fan: Why do they  play under a roof in a city like Houston? Really dont like it .
8:46
Ben Clemens: My guess, unsubstantiated, is that it’s just too dang hot there for the majority of the baseball season.
8:46
Ben Clemens: Too dang hot/humid.
8:46
Meg Rowley: yes
8:46
Meg Rowley: it is just that
8:47
Meg Rowley: sometimes they have it open, but you need the option
8:47
Chris: And lots of rain.
8:47
Ben Clemens: The stadium that doesn’t make the most sense to me is the Twins.
8:47
Eel Ffilc: Isn’t that why the Rangers abandoned a 20 year old stadium?
8:47
Meg Rowley: Yerp.
8:47
kevinthecomic: A buddy of mine moved to Houston several years back — I said, boy, it must be great to play golf year round — he said no one plays golf in the summer, it’s too hot to even hang by the pool
8:48
Ben Clemens: But it really does look fun when the weather’s nice. The problem is, the weather is iffy for a lot of their season.
8:48
Meg Rowley: Sorta like how you need to have the roof at Chase
8:48
twb: Bregman did look like he was crying…
8:48
Ben Clemens: Where’s a hot mic when you need it? That was a very weird out-of-context shot
8:49
Tha baby cakez : Bregman realized his life might be peaking right now
8:50
Ben Clemens: I’ve brought this guy up before, but I went to an ALDS game last year in Yankee Stadium and there was an absolutely incredible heckler.
8:50
Ben Clemens: He brought out ‘Benintendi, you’ve peaked, and your skillset doesn’t match what arbitration rewards!’
8:50
Ben Clemens: So good!
8:50
Meg Rowley: that is SO specific
8:51
Ben Clemens: He also dropped ‘Hey Benintendi, I had that haircut in third grade!’
8:51
Ben Clemens: Cutting stuff.
8:51
Bran Beer: Did he react?
8:51
Ben Clemens: He verrrrry slightly turned at the haircut one, but he wasn’t playing that close to the fence and it was loud, so I’m not sure he heard any of it.
8:51
Alfredo: ‘Hey Benintendi, you’re due for some regression based on your xwoba!’
8:52
Ben Clemens: Unsure if this is official FanGraphs policy (hi Meg!) but my wife and I are going to share a nice stout.
8:52
Ben Clemens: Highwater Brewing Campfire Stout, sounds delicious.
8:52
Meg Rowley: I support your choices
8:53
Train Noises: This is probably the best in-game manager discussion of the WS
8:53
Lunar verLander: Imagine if Petriello was a heckler…so much power used for evil…
8:53
Meg Rowley: MIke
8:53
Meg Rowley: ‘s too nice to heckle
8:53
Annabelle: Thoughts on Benintendi going forward? This year was pretty disappointing to say the least.
8:53
Eel Ffilc: Carson would drink an entire Bota Box so I think you’re fine.
8:54
Meg Rowley: I miss Carson every day.
8:54
Ben Clemens: When this is your disappointing season, that’s probably okay.
8:54
The Hamburglar: Do you guys ever hear from Carson?
8:54
Meg Rowley: Indeed — doing well, being Carson.
8:54
Ben Clemens: That said, I’d be a bit worried the plate discipline regressed.
8:55
Tha baby cakez : Any fans of Left Hand Brewing milk stout out there?
8:55
Ben Clemens: I like it quite a bit.
8:55
Meg Rowley: took a walk in the garden of Eaton
8:55
Meg Rowley: i. am. so. tired.
8:56
tz: Benintendi’s at that prime post-prospect hype age, so this could be a breakout year. Or, we can all keep waiting.
8:56
Ben Clemens: It’s weird, because he kind of broke out, then un-broke out.
8:56
Ben Clemens: Maybe the heckler was right and he has peaked!
8:56
Hire Joe Morgan?: I think we should nickname Rendon The Quiet Conquistador.  Can we make that happen?
8:56
Ben Clemens: Nah, Tony Two Bags is too good to be replaced.
8:57
Meg Rowley: It’s got such nice pop
8:57
5 Run Homer: I thought Two Bags was taken by Mitch Moreland
8:58
Meg Rowley: Better player should win imo
8:58
Juan Pursuit : Rendon has never actually been nicknamed Tony
8:58
Ben Clemens: He’s an ‘Ant,’ right?
8:58
Juan Pursuit : He is an Ant
8:58
Ben Clemens: Yeah, thought so.
8:59
Lunar verLander: If two people have the same name, and it’s players weekend, and both of them go with the nickname “Highlander”, what do you think happens?
8:59
Ben Clemens: Austins Adam might be forced to test this out
8:59
Ben Clemens: You know, for science.
9:00
Meg Rowley: Eaton blows giant bubbles and has a very full beard and that would terrify me
9:01
zangler: Highlander and Higherlander based on WPA+
9:01
Meg Rowley: very, very good
9:01
Ben Clemens: I get a tiny little thrill every time I think Rendon is about to show emotion.
9:01
Not Evan: Robo-ump in the World Series: before or after 2030?
9:01
Meg Rowley: Before, imo
9:01
Bran Beer: You’re saying if you were him, you wouldn’t be Eaton gum, Meg?
9:01
Ben Clemens: What I’ve learned, this postseason, is that I’m almost always wrong.
9:01
Meg Rowley: ALSO VERY GOOD
9:01
tz: I think Forrest Whitley should be have High-lander as his nickname.
9:01
Re2pect 2bags: Do the playoffs have an impact on rendon’s free agency
9:01
Ben Clemens: Nah I don’t think so.
9:01
Meg Rowley: Nah, I don’t think so,.
9:02
Meg Rowley: heh
9:02
Hire Joe Morgan?: I get a tiny thrill every time he doesn’t show emotion when a normal person would.
9:02
Ben Clemens: You think he’s friends with Kawhi?
9:02
Ben Clemens: I sure hope so.
9:03
Adam2: What a take!
9:03
Meg Rowley: I love that this is the one good way to mean that
9:04
tz: Rendon = Kawhi.  Now that’s a NON-lazy comp!
9:04
Ben Clemens: I think it might be too much of a stretch, but they give me the same kind of vibe.
9:04
Meg Rowley: cross-sport comps are always better imo
9:04
Dennis: Is soto’s little dance offensive to pitchers?
9:05
Ben Clemens: So there was a whole thing during the Cardinals series where Mikolas shuffled back.
9:05
Ben Clemens: But when they interviewed Mikolas he said he loved the shuffle!
9:05
Ben Clemens: And was just goofing around back.
9:05
Ben Clemens: So it’s all very unclear.
9:05
Curmudge : Does Soto have a nickname?  I submit Baby Bull
9:05
Meg Rowley: excuse you
9:05
Ben Clemens: Oh boy, he already has the best nickname.
9:06
Meg Rowley: Childish Bambino
9:06
Adam2: Did Mikolas shuffle on balls? Pitchers should shuffle at him on strikes.
9:06
Ben Clemens: Mikolas struck him out and then shuffled.
9:06
Ben Clemens: Which I support.
9:06
Meg Rowley: (that nickname is courtesy of one Craig Goldstein)
9:06
Ace: Ooh… that felt like the Nats best chance (Soto against Verlander, high stress inning…)
9:06
Ben Clemens: I mean… it’s an odd lead.
9:06
Ben Clemens: Now if the Astros can somehow get to either 2 or 4
9:07
Ben Clemens: Yikes
9:07
Meg Rowley: Houston WE currently at 67%
9:08
Dennis: and WE for this game?
9:08
Meg Rowley: That is for this game
9:09
Lunar verLander: Wait, one of those hands had Ace-King of clubs, then someone drops an ace of clubs on his pocket rockets…what gives?!?
9:09
Ben Clemens: Yeah, not a strong showing by the poker fact checker there.
9:10
AntiTaubman: Is Reddick still the most un-clutch player on the Astros?
9:11
Meg Rowley: If you’re going by our clutch stat, which keep in mind concerns how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment” and also compares a player against himself (so a player who hits .300 in high leverage situations when he’s an overall .300 hitter is not considered clutch.), it’s actually Bregman
9:12
Ben Clemens: A lot of Reddick’s unclutchness always came from the fact that he had the platoon advantage far less often in high-leverage scenarios, as I recall.
9:12
Meg Rowley: Reddick does fine by that measure
9:12
Juan Pursuit : Ben – The article you linked to is very hilariously wrong. He gave out three F’s and two were Gavin Lux and Wll
9:12
Ben Clemens: I mean…. if you’re reading that article for accuracy, you’ve made a wrong turn somewhere.
9:12
Ben Clemens: This is Mickey Moniak’s grade:
9:12
Ben Clemens: Draft grade: A dinner bell that rings, a meal under a silver cloche, a beguiling aroma you can’t place.
9:13
Juan Pursuit : I was intentionally reading it for inaccuracy
9:13
Ben Clemens: Draft Grade for Juan Pursuit: A joke Ben didn’t get, a reference so subtle it was indeed perhaps too subtle.
9:14
bosoxforlife: Springer is from my home town. My only rooting interest in the series but it is still baseball, yea!
9:14
Ben Clemens: Hey, count it.
9:14
Mayo and Cabbage: Springer’s been cold tonight…about time for a homerun
9:14
Ben Clemens: Didn’t he, uh, smack a double off the wall?
9:14
Ben Clemens: Like, two innings ago?
9:15
Ben Clemens: When I watch Rendon fielding I think he’s slow
9:15
Ben Clemens: But he’s just so smooth
9:15
Not Evan: It’s weird when umpires announce balls in plain English (“ball, outside”) but make some weird made-up grunt (“heur-ehr-eet!”) to announce strikes. I do not understand this convention.
9:16
Eel Ffilc: So Soto is a childish child? Is there a story I’m missing behind that?
9:17
Meg Rowley: Craig felt that some of Childish Gambino’s lyrics spoke to Soto’s game and the experience of watching him
9:17
Tha baby cakez : He is a young babe Ruth
9:17
Meg Rowley: also that
9:17
Dennis: it feels like the astros score in the first alot. do they score more in the first inning then in other innings?
9:17
Meg Rowley: a moment
9:18
bosoxforlife: Time to pop some corn, pour lots of melted butter on it, open a cold one and enjoy the rest of the season.
9:18
Ben Clemens: Do you have a popcorn popper rather than microwave?
9:18
Meg Rowley: No, they scored the most runs (127) in the fifth
9:19
Ben Clemens: I feel like that’s the way to go, but I’m not much of a popcorn person.
9:19
bosoxforlife: I still do it in a 3 quart pot on the stove with oil.
9:19
Ben Clemens: Oh fancy.
9:20
Lunar verLander: According to the poll, there are 23 people who are a fan of one of these teams. To these 23 I ask, how y’all holding up?
9:20
Juan Pursuit : Not well
9:20
twb: after all the jewelry commercials, what’s the cultural convention for months of salary you’re supposed to spend on an engagement ring?
9:20
Ben Clemens: I have heard a lot of things but I feel like having a convention is just silly?
9:21
Ben Clemens: Like what a weird scale.
9:21
Meg Rowley: it’s a hilariously high $$
9:21
Ben Clemens: Talk to your significant other, decide what you guys want to spend
9:21
Meg Rowley: yup!
9:21
Ben Clemens: You don’t have to specifically talk about it before getting engaged, just talk about it in the general context of ‘if we get engaged.’
9:21
Ben Clemens: Some people care a lot about having a glacier.
9:22
Ben Clemens: Some people don’t.
9:22
La Pantera: the range of topics tonight is significant.
9:22
Ben Clemens: Last chat of the year! Gotta show off our range.
9:22
AntiTaubman: Seems a bit premature before this game ends to call it “last chat of the year”
9:23
Ben Clemens: Nah, we’re just not on the roster for tomorrow.
9:23
Meg Rowley: oh yes the last postseason chat for me and Ben also
9:23
Not Evan: What’s the rangiest topic you’re fluent in?
9:23
Ben Clemens: Sounds like a goal for the chat!
9:23
Lunar verLander: Not until tomorrow’s game goes 23 innings
9:24
Roger: Rosenthal dropping truth bombshells about win-loss record.
9:24
Meg Rowley: Ken is good at this.
9:24
Ben Clemens: Imagine the excitement when Meg and I run from the writing dugout to the writing bullpen to warm up to tag into the chat.
9:25
Meg Rowley: “WE ARE HERE AND HAVE NOT BEEN DRINKING WHY DO YOU ASK?”
9:25
The Hamburglar: I like the analysis on Verlander’s “bad” WS starts….Really, really wish they gave that context to a lot of Kershaw’s postseason starts….
9:25
Ben Clemens: Strong agree.
9:25
tz: Who’s the writing bullpen catcher?
9:26
Andrew: Oh I’d love a thoroughly sloshed chat in the 16th inning or so
9:26
Ben Clemens: It’s Meg, as she has a twitter avatar with a catching mask on.
9:26
Ben Clemens: Which makes it very confusing when she too is warming up.
9:26
Meg Rowley: Damn straight
9:26
Meg Rowley: I’m versatile
9:26
twb: any Central Waters fans in the chat? they have the best stout imo
9:27
Ben Clemens: If you could get it out of Wisconsin, I’d be more into it.
9:27
Ben Clemens: As it is, I have it when we go see my wife’s family.
9:27
Not Evan: How many drinks is too many to respond to a work email? I stop answering after four, which is when it starts feeling risky.
9:28
Ben Clemens: I had my rule at two, back when I worked in a field where this was more relevant.
9:28
Meg Rowley: Agreed
9:28
Hire Joe Morgan?: I feel like Verlander’s fastball flattens out when he overthrows.  Is there any way to test that?
9:28
Ben Clemens: There absolutely is a way to test it. I have not done that way.
9:28
Ben Clemens: But you could basically just look at the Bauer Units (spin/mph)
9:29
Adam2: At how many drinks do you stop tweeting?
9:29
Ben Clemens: You misspelled ‘start’
9:29
Sharp: Don’t tell me Bauer Units are an official thing…
9:29
Ben Clemens: They are not. Just a Driveline term.
9:29
Alfredo: ‘Overthrowing’ doesn’t necessarily mean higher velo though
9:29
Ben Clemens: Yeah, if it’s not velo, then it’s probably untestable?
9:30
Ben Clemens: Without data we don’t have publicly.
9:30
Sharp: I’m a fan with the concept, but not so much of the namesake
9:30
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I get you.
9:30
Meg Rowley: Mannnnn Brantley
9:31
Ben Clemens: I’m a big fan of actually doing the units and conversion
9:31
Ben Clemens: since it’s rpm and mph
9:31
twb: does the fair/foul matter on a catch?
9:31
Andrew: Odd that they even mention that it was a fair ball there
9:31
Meg Rowley: yeah not sure what that was about — might have just emphasized it weirdly?
9:32
tz: Like “how many Altuves was that ball away from being foul?”
9:32
Train Noises: If he dropped or overran it then it would have mattered
9:32
Ben Clemens: Revolutions per Mile
9:32
Meg Rowley: well sure, but that’s not what that phrasing/emphasis implied
9:33
Jeff: Bloom’s list of priorities with the Red Sox: 1. destroy Andrew Friedman’s no doubt legendary 38% drop in payroll with the Dodgers and 2. win?
9:33
Ben Clemens: Don’t forget to out-years-of-control the Blue Jays.
9:34
CatchTheseHams: How do you decide fair or foul when a fielder on the line drops a ball? Just where the ball drops? Or does the fielder being in fair or foul territory matter?
9:34
Ben Clemens: As I understand it, what matters is where the ball is when it makes contact with a fielder.
9:34
Ben Clemens: Not where the fielder is, but where the ball is when it touches the fielder.
9:35
Frustration: So are we ignoring that Robles didn’t go around yet was rung up by the home plate umpire?
9:35
Ben Clemens: Haha I mean, not even the worst Robles strikeout decision this series!
9:35
The Hamburglar: Strasburg is staying with the Nats, right? Cant see him switching teams
9:35
Meg Rowley: I can — I think he’ll opt out
9:35
Ben Clemens: I think he’ll leverage the chance of an opt out to remain with the Nats.
9:36
Ben Clemens: A la Kershaw
9:36
Dennis: wow so nats can lose Rendon and Strausberg?
9:36
Ben Clemens: Yep. They actually have a shocking number of ‘contributors’ hitting free agency considering that their core is young.
9:37
Train Noises: He’ll be the #2 FA pitcher after Cole won’t he?
9:37
Ben Clemens: Kendrick, Zimmerman, Daniel Hudson, Baby Shark…
9:37
Meg Rowley: Yes
9:37
German baseball fan: I hate when home plate umpires dont ask for help on check swings when there is no reason not to ask for help.
9:37
Ben Clemens: Yeah, agree.
9:37
The Hamburglar: I have a late business dinner date so have to leave, Have a great night.
9:37
Ben Clemens: Have fun!
9:37
tz: Couldn’t they have locked up Mookie before bringing on a GM trained on dollar stretching?
9:38
Meg Rowley: I mean, yes, they could do it whenever they want with the right number
9:38
Roger: Re: Opt Outs: Have we seen anyone actually opt out and sign with a different team, instead of just using it as leverage a la Kershaw or Sabathia or ARod?
9:39
Ben Clemens: Off the top of my head, Greg Holland, amusingly.
9:39
Ben Clemens: Though that was a player option rather than an opt out.
9:39
The Hamburglar: Wait, what? That guys stole my username? The REAL Hamburglar does not have a late business dinner
9:39
Ben Clemens: Well that’s quite confusing.
9:39
Ben Clemens: Would you say that he…. burgled…. your name?
9:39
Ben Clemens: I’ll show myself out.
9:39
Meg Rowley: didn’t expect his burgling to involve your identity
9:39
tz: How did the Nationals acquire Hudson??
9:39
Ben Clemens: Deadline trade.
9:40
Alfredo: Greinke opted out from LAD, went to Arizona
9:41
Lunar verLander: What’s the difference between an opt out and a player option?
9:41
Ben Clemens: So, I’m not a CBA expert, but as I understand it, it comes down to how salaries are counted for the cap?
9:41
Ben Clemens: Because if a contract has roller-coaster style salaries, they take an AAV to apply to the cap
9:41
Ben Clemens: With some unspecified discounting for deferred, Nats-style ones.
9:41
tz: Ok, I did NOT ask the Hudson question!!!
9:42
Ben Clemens: My my my.
9:42
Ben Clemens: So if you have a player option, that, I assume, wouldn’t get AAV’ed?
9:42
Ben Clemens: But an opt out would?
9:42
I’m Ben Clemens: Boo
9:43
Ben Clemens: Well this just gets more and more confusing.
9:43
Ben Clemens: Hold on, I didn’t write that stuff about the CBA and opt-outs
9:43
Meg Rowley: lol moderators are in blue EVERYONE RELAX WITH YOUR TRICKS
9:43
James: So the consensus is that Strasburg, relative to ‘’most hyped pitching prospect ever’’, has neither disappointed nor exceeded expectations?
9:43
Ben Clemens: I think I’d give him a slightly exceeds
9:43
Meg Rowley: Don’t listen to that imposter!
9:44
Not Evan: Moderators are actually in grey for us, and our own comments are in blue.
9:44
Meg Rowley: oh good grief
9:44
Spartacus: We are all Ben Clemens here
9:44
Meg Rowley: [extreme janet from the good place voice] not a ben
9:44
Guest: I always though player options were at the end of of a contract and opt-outs were in the middle?
9:45
Ben Clemens: Sure, but it’s just semantics, right? Like you could have a two-year contract with a player optoin for two more years
9:45
Ben Clemens: Or a four-year contract with an opt out after two
9:45
Ben Clemens: When I modeled them up in the offseason I treated all of them as player options
9:45
Meg Rowley: How do the camera folks always know where their families are?
9:45
Ben Clemens: As in, assume nothing and the player has a choice to add a second contract to the first
9:45
Ben Clemens: But it’s all semantics (plus potential cap math)
9:46
Bran Beer: Their own families? Or players’ families?
9:46
Meg Rowley: Players’
9:46
Mad Joe-Don: The player options hang from the top of the cave and the opt-outs reach toward the top.
9:46
Spartacus: Isn’t there a section for players families? I’m basing this on for the love of the game.
9:46
someone: I’m not sure how it works now, but player option years at least used to be AAV’d. The Beltre contract with the Red Sox had a low value player option in it as an accounting trick to get under the Luxury Tax.
9:46
Ben Clemens: So to be clear I have no idea, but this random someone sounds authoritative.
9:47
abgb123: Team and mutual options are not considered guaranteed and not factored into the AAV, but player options are treated as if they’re guaranteed years for the purpose of calculating AAV (unless there’s a gigantic buyout). This is to prevent teams from offering no-brainer options in an attempt to circumvent the luxury tax.
9:47
Ben Clemens: Bam thank you!
9:48
La Pantera: because players families sit in a designated section, generally.
9:48
Meg Rowley: there’s variation though
9:48
Bam: No problem, Ben.
9:48
Meg Rowley: they aren’t all in one place, just a lot of them
9:48
Ben Clemens: The chat is locked in tonight.
9:49
Ben Clemens: You guys don’t freeze up in the postseason, that’s for sure.
9:49
Adam2: BUNT!
9:49
mattie: should have bunted
9:50
Tyler: Why bunt when you can hit homers
9:50
Ben Clemens: Adam Eaton has two of the true outcomes
9:50
Ben Clemens: Plus the most lyin’ of outcomes, a bunt.
9:50
Ben Clemens: A true man of extremes.
9:51
Dennis: How many bunt comments did the chat just get!  LOL
9:51
Ben Clemens: Dennis, you can’t even begin to imagine.
9:51
Ben Clemens: Or, you probably can. But a lot!
9:51
Adam2: Does John Smoltz dislike Halloween or modern baseball more?
9:51
Ben Clemens: I find Smoltz’s Halloween take refreshing.
9:52
Ben Clemens: Halloween is great if you want to celebrate it, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to dress up.
9:52
Ben Clemens: Unless you have kids, in which case, shut up grinch
9:52
The Hamburglar: What’s his Halloween take? I’ve somehow missed this
9:52
Ben Clemens: He thinks it’s too commercialized
9:52
Hire Joe Morgan?: It’s hard to argue with that….
9:53
Ben Clemens: Yeah Buck asked him about what he was doing for Halloween
9:53
Ben Clemens: In the hey we are friends lets’ talk non baseball things that we do as friends
9:53
Ben Clemens: kind of way
9:53
Ben Clemens: And Smoltz was just like, I don’t care for it.
9:53
Sharp: He wants us to go back to cowering in the dark, fearing the spirits, playing small ball
9:54
The Hamburglar: I guess it’d be more weird if Smoltz was REALLY into Halloween, and just couldnt shut up about it
9:54
Train Noises: And we just got notice my wife aced her teacher certification exam. So no matter how this game goes it’s a good night.
9:54
Ben Clemens: Congratulations!
9:54
Lunar verLander: Congrats, Mrs. Train Noises!
9:55
Ben Clemens: In Play, But Not For Long(s)
9:55
Meg Rowley: i’m sorry, i got so distracted i forgot to chat
9:55
Train Noises: That’s odd….I just got notice that my wife DIDNT pass her teacher certification exam
9:55
Ben Clemens: Oh we’re doing this again huh?
9:55
Dystopian Future: Juan Soto out of play, bat drop(s).
9:56
Ben Clemens: That bat carry scores the highest possible on the Troll Index
9:56
Train Noises: Good news for the Astros, it’s a 1 run lead for the Nats.
9:56
twb: they should have stopped at Eaton, they’ve only got an odd lead now instead of tied
9:57
Ben Clemens: Well they should just try their hardest to get another run here.
9:57
Adam2: Soto should have just carried it to 3rd and handed to Bregman.
9:57
CatchTheseHams: I barely knew anything about Juan Soto before this World Series. He’s my favorite player now.
9:57
Ben Clemens: Soto isn’t exactly an unknown or anything.
9:58
Ben Clemens: But he’s raised his profile SO MUCH this postseason
9:58
Ben Clemens: He’s just such a delight.
9:58
Meg Rowley: This is why I think it matters to have enthusiasts on the broadcast
9:58
Rock: Sorry, I was on top of CatchTheseHams for the last two years.
9:59
divcoman: I have to think that MLB is not going to like this business where hitters are carrying the bats to first or even beyond.
9:59
Ben Clemens: Maybe this is naive, but…. why not?
9:59
bosoxforlife: Soto can hit but I had to be revived after I saw his name as a finalist for a Gold Glove in LF.
9:59
Meg Rowley: Yeah, I mean, the bar out there is low but it did seem goofy
10:00
Hire Joe Morgan?: Good work by Budweiser to have the beer guy in a commercial already.
10:00
Ben Clemens: Wow!
10:00
Cam: Is it me or do the Astros need to try something different w Soto?  It seems like the high fastball keeps getting hammered
10:01
CatchTheseHams: I knew Soto was really good but I didn’t know I loved him <3
10:01
Meg Rowley: he was seeing a lot of breaking stuff a game or two ago, wasn’t he?
10:01
Meg Rowley: What day is it? Who am I?
10:01
Ben Clemens: Yeah as it turns out, Soto is everyone’s favorite.
10:01
Shirtless Bartolo Colon : Carrying the bat to first should be ok, imho.
10:01
Ben Clemens: Bartolo let’s be real, you didn’t make it to first base often enough for us to have a good sample of what you’d do.
10:01
German baseball fan: Over under on “the shutdown inning” being mentioned?
10:01
Ben Clemens: 2.5
10:02
Dystopian Future: Bartolo always carried the bat almost all the way to first, for reference.
10:02
Ben Clemens: This is old, but:
10:02
Ben Clemens: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/23802/pebble-hunting-b…
10:03
Mad Joe-Don: What about cradling the bat like a beloved child as one rounds the bases?
10:03
Meg Rowley: love it
10:04
Jermome Walton: What about riding the bat around the bases like a pony?
10:04
Meg Rowley: love it even more
10:04
Adam2: Do you think when the Nationals play in Detroit Soto says to his teammates, “This is Comerica”?
10:04
kdl: Related to HR celebrations… Reminder that Sean Doolittle is so awesome he’s offered to donate to the HR hitters charity if someone moonwalks after homering off him
10:05
witch stuffs: how about riding the bat around the bases like a weeeetch’s broom? hi
10:05
This is Lude-i-cris: Did they start at the pitchers mound when they measured that one
10:05
Meg Rowley: soooky
10:05
Ben Clemens: They measured that one in Celsius.
10:05
Meg Rowley: spppoooky
10:05
Meg Rowley: whatever, I know words
10:06
TKDC: I feel like Soto was kind of a jerk… to the first base coach.
10:06
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mind much though.
10:06
Ben Clemens: You hit the dingers, you do what you want, in my opinion.
10:07
CatchTheseHams: I was hyperfocused on that Bartolo Colon article but the Reddick single snapped me back in. I could’ve been there all night.
10:07
Ben Clemens: If I accomplish nothing else in this chat, I hope I got people to read some of my favorite baseball articles.
10:07
This is Lude-i-cris: I wish Springer wasn’t up in this spot. Since we decided earlier that he’s cold and all
10:07
Meg Rowley: but he hits dingers
10:08
Dystopian Future: Every baseball player is cold until suddenly they’re not.
10:08
Ben Clemens: Except Trout.
10:09
Nate: Most players are cold… it’s almost November
10:09
5 Run Homer: “Every player is hot or due” -Sam Miller
10:09
Tha baby cakez : I think trout was cold once, for like a few weeks
10:09
jonnyzuck: springer has done a lot of good work helping kids with stutters
10:09
Meg Rowley: Yeah, seems to be a good egg.
10:09
Ben Clemens: True story, I wrote an article about John Gant going 0-for-25 that I think got me hired by FanGraphs.
10:09
Ben Clemens: And that Bartolo article was the inspiration.
10:10
Meg Rowley: It was a piece of yours that jumped out, yes.
10:10
TKDC: Reddick moving awfully slow
10:10
Byron Buxton : This odd number lead is in danger
10:11
Ben Clemens:

10:12
Ben Clemens: “Just don’t hit it to the corners.” John Smoltz laying down some wisdom.
10:13
Tha baby cakez : Altuve got carved up there
10:13
kevinthecomic: not a single pitch thrown in the strike zone to Altuve
10:13
Ben Clemens: I love that baseball is a thing where you can say those two things.
10:14
J: I think the managing in this series has been fine, generally but Corbin instead of Doolittle as the (potential) fireman is a bit odd right?
10:14
Ben Clemens: Super odd. I have generally agreed with the managing but I think that Corbin has been handled oddly.
10:14
Adam2: Wasn’t the 1st pitch changeup in the zone?
10:14
Ben Clemens: Haha yeah it might have been, I barely remember anymore.
10:14
Ben Clemens: What with me being busy watching Altuve’s soul leave his body after the swing.
10:15
Ben Clemens: In Play, Disappointment(s)
10:16
kevinthecomic: Buck sounded like he was trolling Smoltz there when he said “and the defense was aligned {pregnant pause} perfectly
10:16
Meg Rowley: I mean, he grounded out but I just spent 10 minutes on IMDB to fact check a joke 5 people will get so
10:16
Dystopian Future: I have to remind myself every ten minutes or so that Asdrubal Cabrera is still playing and is in fact starting very important games here! You could even say the most important games.
10:16
Meg Rowley: have had this thought once a game this postseason
10:16
Ben Clemens: Wouldn’t you love an announcing pair that openly mocked each other?
10:16
Meg Rowley: even the ones Asdrubal isn’t in!
10:17
AntiTaubman: How did Trea Turner go from being a mediocre defender to straight up bad this year?
10:17
Meg Rowley: The injury can’t help
10:17
Guy Smiley: The Tigers broadcast partners came to blows a couple years ago
10:17
kevinthecomic: Mario Impemba and Rod Allen got into fisticuffs up here in Detroit, does that count?
10:17
Ben Clemens: That absolutely counts!
10:18
Meg Rowley: Isn’t one or the other of them in Boston now?
10:18
Chazles: Just from the eye test it seems like trea’s been doing well defensively in the playoffs. Do the advanced metrics back that up?
10:18
MJ: Really wish Hinch would’ve let Verlander go out there for the 6th for a chance at a quality start
10:19
Meg Rowley: has made some Not Good throws
10:19
Meg Rowley: Trea, not JV
10:19
Meg Rowley: though ya know, him too
10:19
Ben Clemens: I mean, kind of both!
10:19
Hire Joe Morgan?: If we get to game seven, it’s Greinke with Urquidy behind him, right?
10:19
Ben Clemens: Is that to kind of confuse the batters?
10:19
Ben Clemens: Seems like it’d be a waste of a fielder though.
10:19
MJ: Scherzer with Corbin behind sounds pretty good for the Nats
10:20
Ben Clemens: Everyone’s into these two pitchers standing near each other plans these days.
10:20
Dystopian Future: If there’s any pitcher that doesn’t need a pitcher’s helper it’s Zack Greinke.
10:21
hot pepper stout: man, Gurriel has been REALLY good at 1B. I can’t remember thinking that about a 1B in the playoffs recently
10:21
Ben Clemens: Watching Paul Goldschmidt is like that for me.
10:21
Ben Clemens: Gurriel has been very impressive too.
10:21
Ben Clemens: Also when LeMahieu has to range to make a play, it feels like cheating.
10:22
Ben Clemens: Like, you’re using a great defensive second baseman at first? What?
10:23
sucramrenrut: Robles has looked pretty lost at the plate this series.
10:23
Enlightening Round: Did the strike zone just get bigger this half inning?
10:23
Ben Clemens: Yeah, not his finest series.
10:23
Meg Rowley: baby zone, doo doo doo doo doo
10:23
Jeremy: Semi-serious question: would you be allowed to position a fielder so that the pitch appeared to be coming out the fielder’s chest? Seems like it could make it hard to pick up pitches if the team was wearing home whites.
10:24
Meg Rowley: I think the home plate ump could tell them to move, but also, how tall is this fielder??
10:24
Dystopian Future: The Stanky Rule exists for the situation you’re describing, Jeremy.
10:24
Ben Clemens: Also, Ben Zobrist did this against the Cardinals this year!
10:24
Ben Clemens: He would get in the batter’s line of sight and jump around.
10:25
Ben Clemens: The umps didn’t call anything, but after the game some Cardinals made comments about it being bush league, and he didn’t do it again.
10:25
German baseball fan: What has Robles done to the umps?
10:25
sucramrenrut: You’re never going to be able to mess with the release point except with a submariner. That’s why the batter’s eye is way up there.
10:26
Ben Clemens: Started going around the horn too early.
10:26
Meg Rowley: yeah, this is my thing
10:26
Steve Nebraska: Robles is getting jobbed
10:27
Frustration: Victor now rung up on 3 out of 4 abs with bad calls
10:31
Don Slaughterhouse Five: Why do the astros have a train in their stadium, but the name is short for astronauts..?
10:31
Ben Clemens: I happened to look this up yesterday. They built the stadium on the site of a train depot.
10:31
Appa Yip Yip: Space train
10:31
Meg Rowley: like a monorail?
10:31
Joe: Monorail. Monorail. Monorail.
10:31
Ben Clemens: Or space train.
10:31
Thom: that was a nifty play by rendon
10:31
Ben Clemens: It glides as softly as a cloud.
10:32
Meg Rowley: for a moment Stras thought he had that
10:32
Dystopian Future: Can Anthony Rendon Secretly Teleport? My column.
10:32
Ben Clemens: So someone was asking if this postseason could change Rendon’s contract.
10:33
Ben Clemens: If he suddenly revealed he was a literal sorcerer, then yes.
10:33
Lunar verLander: I love how, when a ball is deflected by a pitcher, they always throw their hands up like “wait, where did it go?”
10:33
Thom: pitchers inadvertently getting in the way of groundouts stresses me out so much
10:34
Joe: What dnd skill would be most useful in baseball?
10:34
Ben Clemens: I’m out of my depth here, but uh… something teleportation-related if that’s a thing.
10:34
Ben Clemens: Bunt for a homer every time.
10:35
Ben Clemens: You could just teleport to first, teleport to second, and so on.
10:35
Dystopian Future: A serious question; if someone could legitimately teleport, would MLB ban them? I assume they would, right?
10:35
Ben Clemens: Oh for sure.
10:36
Meg Rowley: they’d ban them teleporting
10:36
Meg Rowley: i doubt they ban their whole person
10:36
Dystopian Future: Also, in what sport would teleportation be most useful?
10:36
Meg Rowley: rock climbing
10:36
Frustration: Nightcrawler wouldn’t be good at baseball. Have to take correct angles and judgement
10:36
Ben Clemens: On the other hand, his home run robbery gifs would be something else.
10:37
Meg Rowley: re DND, from a baseball type who takes these things appropriately seriously:
10:37
kevinthecomic: what if you could hit a ball into a black hole? — take of the tape: 437 light years!
10:37
Meg Rowley: perception
sleight of hand
constitution checks for pitchers
10:38
Ben Clemens: If sleight of hand is a thing, that sounds like it would make for a good framer.
10:38
Hire Joe Morgan?: Do we think Strasburg gets another inning, given that they had Corbin and Hudson up and there’s no margin for error?
10:38
Meg Rowley: imagine he gets oneish
10:38
Lunar verLander: Dang, Scherzer so intense, he’s warming up for tomorrow’s game to intimidate the Astros…
10:38
Alex Bregman’s Rabbi: If this goes 7, is there any possibility we see Cole at all tomorrow?
10:38
Meg Rowley: scherzer warming
10:38
Ben Clemens: Oh definitely.
10:39
Brandon M: Scherzer warming seems a little foolish, no?
10:39
Meg Rowley: what if scherz is just fuckin’ with them
10:39
Ben Clemens: If he’s coming in, then yes. If he’s just seeing how his back does, then no.
10:39
Meg Rowley: oh did swear
10:39
Meg Rowley: sorry
10:39
John: Part of me wants Scherzer in the game and part of me is deeply concerned for his health
10:39
Meg Rowley: Yeah, I have worried about this
10:39
Alex: Dylan there was a swear
10:40
Dystopian Future: Are there still people that get upset about swearing?
10:40
Albert: I like to imagine that Dylan is not an editor, he just hates swears
10:41
Meg Rowley: on the pod, it is more a concern in case people listen in the car with their kids
10:41
Rick: The Toronto Maple Leafs head coach just said post-game “you’re not gonna outscore anybody at playoff time”. Thoughts on this strategy?
10:41
Meg Rowley: here it’s mostly a goof
10:41
Ben Clemens: I mean, maybe he was referring to the Leafs specifically
10:41
Ben Clemens: In which case, fair play there.
10:42
Meg Rowley: Davey also did a swear
10:42
Ben Clemens: In Play, Then Out of Play, Then Weird Rule(s)
10:43
Ben Clemens: Wow uh
10:43
Ben Clemens: That was not a good call?
10:43
Meg Rowley: that seems like a not good call
10:43
Ben Clemens: That was just the umpire making the game about him.
10:44
Alex: That call is why people have conspiracy theories about rigged games
10:44
Ben Clemens: To be clear, the games aren’t rigged!
10:44
Ben Clemens: But that was atrocious.
10:44
Meg Rowley: that was… not good though
10:45
stever20: why doesn’t Fox have a Dean Blandino/ Mike Perrera on their broadcasts????
10:45
Ben Clemens: I think umpires would not be pleased with it.
10:45
Ben Clemens: But also, it would be maybe more boring for baseball?
10:46
Ben Clemens: “Well, Joe, that pitch was a strike because the batter swung.”
10:46
Dystopian Future: Wait they can review this?
10:46
Ben Clemens: I don’t think so!
10:46
Ben Clemens: This is confusing.
10:46
Guest: Why call interference when he didn’t impact the throw at all??
10:46
Ben Clemens: They just felt like it, it seems.
10:47
Andy: I’m not a rules expert, but I’m a bit curious how you can out of the base line while literally on the base.
10:47
Ben Clemens: Aaron Judge could do it.
10:47
Meg Rowley: Will they call this a “rules check”
10:47
Thom: I enjoyed when Dale Scott was a guest on Effectively Wild, I’d like hearing him on a broadcast in that kind of role
10:47
Ben Clemens: Seconded.
10:48
hildebeast21: Turner is really fast, even in slo-mo.
10:48
Dystopian Future: See, if Trea Turner could teleport, we wouldn’t have this problem! Just saying.
10:49
Hire Joe Morgan?: Smoltz is advocating beaning the runner to elicit an interference call.
10:49
Ben Clemens: That’s what infield coaches generally teach, in fairness to him.
10:50
Meg Rowley: lolololol trea is gonna get a letter tomorrow
10:50
Thom: omg trea turner calling out joe torre is hilarious
10:50
Hire Joe Morgan?: Is Turner yelling at the umpires to check with Joe Torre?  They kept muting him.
10:50
Meg Rowley: Indeed
10:50
Ben Clemens: He’s certainly yelling at the umps and using Joe Torre’s name.
10:50
Ben Clemens: The content of that, I can’t confirm.
10:51
Ben Clemens: You know what an important development of all this is? Trea Turner’s hair is excellent.
10:51
Ben Clemens: And that’s after being in hats and helmets for hours!
10:51
Meg Rowley: wow
10:51
kevinthecomic: told ya, how can you reverse a judgement call
10:51
Meg Rowley: you just do it — it’s all a construct
10:53
The Hamburglar: This is embarassing for MLB on the biggest stage
10:53
Ben Clemens: I certainly don’t understand why you would call that without huddling up with the other umps first.
10:53
Ben Clemens: There are three people with eyes on that play.
10:53
Ben Clemens: In Play, Justice
10:54
Ace: I’m a die hard baseball fan, and I can’t believe this. If I was a casual fan who watched a 7 min delay for them to make the obviously wrong call, I’d turn off my TV.
10:54
Ben Clemens: Yeah uh, that was just awful TV in addition to being awful.
10:54
Sam: Did Anthony rendon just save baseball?
10:54
Ben Clemens: See? Sorcerer
10:55
Lunar verLander: That HR was clearly a gimme call by the ump
10:55
Chaim Bloom’s Underpants: He’s at least a level 15 wizard
10:55
Meg Rowley: sorry, my chat screen just crashed with the force of that home run
10:56
Angry Stros Fan: Underrated choke by Hinch hoping for an extra inning from Peacock there?
10:56
Ben Clemens: Eh
10:57
jonnyzuck: rendon’s HR has to be an out everywhere other than Houston and Boston right?
10:57
Ben Clemens: Yeah that was a Houston special.
10:57
5 Run Homer: Davey got tossed
10:57
Meg Rowley: Yeah, that’s the right thing
10:57
Enlightening Round: Could there be a worse show than Masked Singer? Granted I’ve never seen it
10:58
Ben Clemens: You should give it a watch. I thought that and then tried an episode and it’s fine.
10:58
Byron Buxton : There can always be a worse show
10:58
Ben Clemens: Yeah like, I’m not saying watch it live with a watch party and such.
10:58
Ben Clemens: But if you have nothing else going on, it’s okay.
10:59
Meg Rowley: I should be clear, I think it is the right thing that he get mad and tell them
10:59
Brian CashGod: Congrats Davey Martinez!!
10:59
Thom: if only all of our bosses would fight as hard for us as martinez just then
10:59
bosoxforlife: The umpire is Sam Holbrook who made the infamous infield fly call against the Braves in the 2012 WC game.
10:59
Ben Clemens: Yeah, maybe he was playing 4D chess and was tired of being hated only in Atlanta.
11:00
5 Run Homer: Poor Chip Hale
11:00
Meg Rowley: (he’s managing from the clubhouse, it’s ok)
11:00
bonanza: more like Sham WholeCrook
11:00
Ben Clemens: Points for originality.
11:00
Chazles: I feel like davey should have tried to take the inning break to calm down instead of (rightfully) going off on the ump. Who knows if hale will handle the bullpen well?
11:01
Ben Clemens: Eh, presumably they have a binder.
11:01
Ben Clemens: Also presumably Davey can just stand down the hall and send a runner out.
11:01
Alex: Binders full of pitchers
11:02
Commander Canteloupe: “Yeah but…that was a pretty lengthy delay for *that*.” -Buck responds to Rosenthal’s explanation of the head sets
11:02
Ben Clemens: Joe Buck is announcing a perfect game.
11:02
GerryLikeGary: Can anyone provide an example of a call that isn’t a judgement call?
11:02
Ben Clemens: Something like a swinging strike caught in the glove or something.
11:03
Ben Clemens: But yeah, ‘judgment call’ is a dumb term.
11:03
Ben Clemens: ‘those little intangible rules like pass interference’
11:03
Ben Clemens: Good God John Smoltz read the room.
11:03
Meg Rowley: (which is reviewable now)
11:04
John Smoltz: I’m reading this room right now.
11:04
agam22: Will George Springer ever break out of this slump?
11:05
someone: Okay, the explanation of that the umps were actually doing has me even more confused. What the heck?
11:05
Meg Rowley: So umps can ask for a rules check
11:05
John: Stras 8? Seems like a batter by batter situation
11:05
bosoxforlife: Does Strasburg come out for the 8th?
11:05
Meg Rowley: to make sure they understand the rule correctly
11:06
Meg Rowley: they aren’t reviewing the action per se, just the meaning of the rule itself — now what do they do if they had it wrong? that I’m less clear on
11:07
He Hate Me: They should only be able to watch replays at actual speed, not in super slo-mo. They use it too much as a crutch.
11:07
Meg Rowley: but that doesn’t address the issue of the folks at home seeing it in super slow-mo
11:08
Ben Clemens: It’s underratedly weird how Hinch is using his low-lev guys in high-lev spots and vice versa.
11:08
Frustration: Great question to poll re Strasburg and the 8tj
11:08
Ben Clemens:

Stras in the 8th??
Oh Yeah (85.6% | 239 votes)
 
Oh No (14.3% | 40 votes)
 
Total Votes: 279
11:08
Dystopian Future: I think Pressly is still aching, and he has for now turned into a low lev guy.
11:09
Ben Clemens: This could definitely be the case.
11:09
Ben Clemens: And they have better ways of checking that than I do.
11:09
Ben Clemens: Just so weird to see a bunch of really important at-bats taking place and Osuna (yeah yeah yeah) and Pressly not get involved.
11:09
Alex Bregman’s Rabbi: Jared Diamond just tweeted that Joe Torre came on the field to talk to an umpire
11:09
Ben Clemens: Nobody tell Trea Turner.
11:10
GerryLikeGary: I challenge your swinging strike judgement call:

11:10
Ben Clemens: Haha well, look, that highlight is amazing but.
11:10
Ben Clemens: Not really baseball.
11:10
Ben Clemens: Or like, not really a good exmaple. I think that was just game fixing.
11:11
James: Pressly isn’t healthy. He’s lost like 3 mph since his injury.
11:11
Ben Clemens: I mean, if they thought that, then why have him on the roster? It’s very confusing.
11:11
Dribbles: What do they call Asdrubal around the clubhouse? I feel like it would be Droobie based on Sam’s article from a while back
11:11
Ben Clemens: Cabby
11:11
Ben Clemens: 100% cabby
11:12
Ace: Meg, what’s the WE for the Nationals right now? I’d guess like 85%, but i “feel” like its about 50%
11:12
Meg Rowley: 92%
11:13
Uh Oh: I don’t think we want to know what Eaton’s nickname is.
11:13
Ben Clemens: Oddly it’s also Tony Two Bags
11:13
Meg Rowley: that feels high to me, a scaredy cat
11:13
Ben Clemens: No one really understands why.
11:14
Adam2: It’s too bad this Adam isn’t Adam Lamb, because then he’d obviously be Sacrificial Lamb
11:15
Geoff: Who would be the favorites in a Scherzer-Greinke Game 7 according to zips?
11:15
Ben Clemens: Astros, but basically a coinflip. 51.something to 48.something
11:15
He Hate Me: Who’s Adam Lamb?
11:16
Ben Clemens: Don’t think he exists, but there’s a Jake Lamb.
11:16
kdl: 1% Bud Selig calls it a tie?
11:16
Ben Clemens: Haha well the somethings add up to 1.
11:16
Wire Fan: What is Doolittle’s nickname?  Domore? DL would be insensitive and IL doesn’t make sense
11:17
Ben Clemens: On Twitter he’s Obi-Sean
11:17
Meg Rowley: (sorry pals, am doing a little editorial wrangling)
11:17
Dystopian Future: Surely it’s just “Doo”
11:17
Ben Clemens: Oh in the dugout, def yeah.
11:18
weezy: wonder if Altuve was out of the baseline
11:19
Vince Coleman: Rendon has been really good on 3rd all playoffs, and all year in fact. He is a little better than his reputation to my eyeballs.
11:19
Ben Clemens: Isn’t his reputation…. very good?
11:20
Frustration: Regardless of teams or situations, are we ok with Joe Torre going onto the field to talk with umps between innings?
11:20
Ben Clemens: For me it’s a hard no.
11:20
Ben Clemens: If that happened I hope he faces discipline.
11:20
Ben Clemens:

Stras in the ninth?
Run it! (81.2% | 229 votes)
 
Doolittle please! (18.7% | 53 votes)
 
Total Votes: 282
11:21
DJ: Makes the whole situation even worse for MLB, very questionable of Torre
11:21
Ben Clemens: Yeah I find that to be incredibly awful on his part. What is the upside here?
11:22
Brian CashGod: wait what’s wrong with Torre checking in with the umps?
11:22
Ben Clemens: What is he going to say to them that isn’t a problem?
11:22
Ben Clemens: Like, there’s nothing he can say that helps the game.
11:22
Ben Clemens: And lots of things he can say that involve biasing their opinions.
11:22
Ben Clemens: ‘You need to make a makeup call’
11:22
Ben Clemens: Would he say that? No
11:23
Ben Clemens: But what is he saying that’s helpful?
11:23
Nate: OK, the umps have had a rough patch here and tensions are running high, but I think they can settle in here and job Robles out on a called strike and get back into a rhythm here
11:24
Meg Rowley: I really hate that Siri commercial
11:24
bosoxforlife: A complete game in the World Series would warm every bone in my body, but send every true disciple of sabremetrics to their grave.
11:24
Ben Clemens: It’s not super clear whether leaving him out there is so bad!
11:24
Ben Clemens: Super low leverage, and you get a benefit tomorrow.
11:24
Not Evan: If you’re in court and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts whispers in your judge’s ear, you’ve got a pretty great case on appeal.
11:25
Alex Bregman’s Rabbi: I admit I voted to take Strasburg out in the 8th but also voted to keep him for the 9th
11:25
Ben Clemens: Now that is spicy.
11:25
He Hate Me: not super clear?  Isn’t he in the fourth or fifth time through the order??
11:25
Ben Clemens: Yeah but it’s low leverage and the bullpen being fresh for tomorrow matters.
11:26
Ben Clemens: Like, I get that it doesn’t feel low leverage, but up three with three outs left.
11:26
He Hate Me: And I voted for him to pitch both the 8th and 9th
11:26
Ben Clemens: Well if you’re just trying to maximize your odds of winning this game, I’d take him out.
11:26
Ben Clemens: But if you’re trying to maximize your odds of winning the series, a fresh bullpen is nice.
11:27
Pyrex: Theory: put your worst umpires out for the World Series to make the implicit case for robot umpires. Joe Torre’s 4d move
11:28
Ben Clemens: 500 readers in this chat, don’t think I’ve seen anything like that before.
11:28
Ben Clemens: Nice crowd!
11:28
lukewarmtakes: Pyrex, the lack of Joe West and Angel Hernandez disproves your theory.
11:28
Ben Clemens: Well he can’t make it *that* obvious.
11:28
Monkeyepoxy: i just got here, is the room as mad at umpires as Baseball Twitter?
11:28
Ben Clemens: Indeed.
11:29
Meg Rowley: Turner should just stand on the bag and refuse to move forever
11:29
York: I’d like Trea Turner to check swing and ask for an appeal to Torre.
11:30
Meg Rowley: “I live here now, this is my home, welcome to the living room that is also where I sleep and also, it’s a square.”
11:31
Section329 : Trea should have taken his bat to 2nd
11:31
Meg Rowley: yesss
11:31
This is Lude-i-cris: Eaton is still a three true outcomes hitter
11:31
Meg Rowley: I’m offended by how bad an actor A-Rod is
11:31
Ben Clemens: Eaton keeps discovering new true outcomes.
11:31
Brian CashGod: to be fair, a base is about the size of a San Francisco apartment affordable on an MLB salary
11:32
Ben Clemens: As someone who rents an apartment in SF…. look, you’re not wildly off base here
11:32
Ben Clemens: Unlike, say, Trea Turner.
11:32
Meg Rowley: lol
11:32
Ben Clemens: Oh boy guys, still an odd lead.
11:32
Meg Rowley: “I went to Rice”
11:33
Ben Clemens: Rendon sent that ball to Rice.
11:33
Ben Clemens: Now Strasburg is definitely staying in.
11:33
Tony Two Bags: Unstoppable Force of Doubles
11:34
Appa Yip Yip: Do you think a player would rather win playing for their childhood team, or win against their childhood team?
11:34
Ben Clemens: Uh, for?
11:34
Ben Clemens: Is this close?
11:35
Robot Nats: How did we go from over-emoting Harper to ice in the veins Rendon and Strasburg?  Also, viva Strasmus!
11:36
Ben Clemens: Well Soto is taking up Harper’s mantel.
11:36
NickG: If Strasburg pitches a CG, it will prove analytics wrong and all teams will have to fire their GMs!
11:36
Ben Clemens: That’s how it works actually!
11:36
Alex: That shot of Greinke was gold
11:37
Ben Clemens: Greinke looks like he just found out the World Series was going on and had to get out of bed to watch.
11:38
justabitoutside: Appa Yip Yip: That question reminds me of Will Ferrell as Harry Carey asking Jeff Goldbloom if he’d rather me the best scientist in his field or have mad cow disease
11:38
Ben Clemens: Well… I can’t say I get this.
11:38
Ben Clemens: Why taake him out here?
11:39
Scherzer’s Piercing Blue Eye: Rizzo realized he was going to get fired if Stras finished and got the word to Chip.
11:39
Wire Fan: Put Rainey in to create a save situation for Doolittle?
11:40
Jacob DeSpaniel: I guess they just want the matchups?
11:40
Ben Clemens: Like, maybe? But Strasburg is really tough on lefties
11:40
Ben Clemens: And honestly, it’s a five run lead?
11:41
Ben Clemens: The only reason is if they’re trying to have him go tomorrow. But if they are, why’d he get the first batter?
11:41
Ben Clemens: And also, why in the WORLD use Doolittle here?
11:41
Hire Joe Morgan?: Ben, you think Strasburg’s available tomorrow?
11:41
Ben Clemens: In extreme emergency only.
11:41
Ben Clemens: And I wouldn’t even attempt it.
11:42
Ben Clemens: But I’m trying to be generous with my guesses here.
11:43
German baseball fan: Maybe to boost Doolittle’s confidence for tomorrow?
11:43
Ben Clemens: Welp.
11:43
bosoxforlife: Thank you both for chatting. These are very enjoyable.
11:43
Ben Clemens: Thanks everyone for showing up!
11:43
Ben Clemens: They are very fun for me as well.
11:43
Ben Clemens: Draining, but fun
11:44
Scherzer’s Piercing Blue Eye: Does the full Fangraphs team chat for a game 7?
11:44
Ben Clemens: I’ll be available on short rest.
11:45
Ben Clemens: The actual group is Dan and David Laurila.
11:45
Ben Clemens: A real All Star crew.
11:45
The Hamburglar: Who the hell is Dan and David Laurila?
11:46
Ben Clemens: Touche
11:46
Ben Clemens: Dan is like quite clearly the best chatter.
11:46
Ben Clemens: No offense to me or Meg or anyone else.
11:46
Wire Fan: Does it seem like Fox is making a concious attempt this WS to avoid the CF camera shot while signs are being given?
11:46
Ben Clemens: 100% yes and they did this in the ALCS too.
11:46
Meg Rowley: well that was rad
11:46
Ben Clemens: G
11:46
Ben Clemens: G
11:46
Meg Rowley: and praise be that that call in the 7th didn’t matter!
11:47
Sam: Thanks, Meg and Ben! Have a goodnight everyone
11:47
Ben Clemens: Goodnight everyone!
11:48
Meg Rowley: Night all! Thanks for hanging!





 

Meg is the managing editor of FanGraphs and the co-host of Effectively Wild. Prior to joining FanGraphs, her work appeared at Baseball Prospectus, Lookout Landing, and Just A Bit Outside. You can follow her on twitter @megrowler.

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stever20member
4 years ago

the MLB umpires are going to HATE and I do mean HATE the Fox postgame show. ARod in particular skewering them…

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