JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 11/16/20

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Ben Clemens

2:20

and if I'm him, I jump at that

pitch_out

2:20

Pork, it's the other white meat... did you forget your 90's ad campaigns??

Ben Clemens

2:20

My wife separates pork from red meat, lol

She considers them two different categories

I do not

Seems like those ads were effective

Dodger Fan

2:21

Favorite online strategy game?

Ben Clemens

2:21

Hm, I don't play any RTS things, but if by strategy you just mean a competitive game with decision making

I really enjoy OOTP Perfect Team mode, if you want a baseball one

2:22

But I play a decent amount of Magic: The Gathering, and it's decent online these days. Used to play some Eternal CCG, which is really good, and someone got me to try LoR for a month or two this year, though it didn't really grab me in the end.

Tom

2:22

How much do the Cardinals really need to do to compete for the NL Central title? Seems to be a weak division in 2021.

Ben Clemens

2:23

I think they need to add one impact player. One nice thing about the team's setup, even without Wong, is that they project as pretty close to average in a lot of spots across the diamond

So they could add really any 4-5 WAR projection type person

And that would be the upgrade they're looking for

Even if it's a shortstop, you could probably shift DeJong to 2B and feel okay about that

2:24

If I'm them, I just pick the player I think is best regardless of position, and try to build my offseason around them

Uncle Steve

2:24

Are you a fan of Hearthstone at all? I know Dan is a fan. Have you heard about the recent XP track controversy?

Ben Clemens

2:25

I played for a bit when Battlegrounds came out, but not really

And nah, hadn't heard about it, but i get the sense that there are a lot of controversies in Hearthstone these days

Dave

2:25

I wasn't actually very familiar with Smyly, so I had to look his #s up- the floor that he descended to with TEX in 2019 was not very appetizing.

Ben Clemens

2:25

Yeah if he's that again, oof

That said, even that terrible year he managed a 5.21 xFIP

Still reallllly bad

2:26

And boy his fly ball based pitching strategy is not great in the old Texas stadium

Moose_Bolton

2:26

Have you read any good books lately?

Ben Clemens

2:26

I recently read The Black Hole War, and I like pop science books in general, b/c I wish I were smarter than I actually am haha

2:27

Fiction-wise, I am rereading the Chronicles of Amber at the moment, a nice old fantasy series

Next on my non-fiction list is Stamped from the Beginning, but it's kinda heavy, so I'll probably keep reading some pop science books to mix it up

Adam

2:28

Will we be lucky enough to have another season with Rich Hill in it next year?

Ben Clemens

2:28

I am cautiously optimistic

He'll be 41 for all of next season -- a minus

He was acceptable in eight starts this year -- a plus

2:29

I don't think he'd cost much, and he might make the most sense with a team that expects him to pitch maybe 15 games, but someone would pay for that

Inaccessible Rail

2:29

Does anyone sign Cespedes this year?

Ben Clemens

2:29

Huh

2:30

This is a good one!

Yes, but I think it's going to be a prove-it deal

2:31

I would guess that he isn't all that interested in that kind of deal, but that he'll eventually have to take it

Adam

2:31

Rank these Cubs 2021 outcomes by likelihood: 1) extend the core, 2) one last run before a rebuild, 3) fire sale

Ben Clemens

2:31

2 -> 3 -> 1

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