JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 11/16/20

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Ben Clemens

2:50

They're into taking a lot of bites at the apple, which is smart

But hey,s ometimes they sign Felix and Hamels

I do like their strategy of getting multiple people though

Go Ms

2:51

Dipoto says playoffs are in reach with bullpen upgrade... do you agree?

Ben Clemens

2:52

Uh.... not really?

Or well, it depends on what 'in reach' means

2:53

With steps forward from two starters plus finding two real outfielders (Haniger is just a mystery at this point) plus Evan WHite and Shed Long realizing 75th percentile outcomes, yes

Is that in reach? Unsure

Dave

2:53

It's easy to forget about paying Hamels $18M for 3.1 inning when the team wins. Hard to forget about paying Jed Lowrie $20M for 7 AB over 2 seasons when the team loses.

Ben Clemens

2:54

Totally agree with this

I think both of those signings were fine, though

The Braves are going about things in an intelligent way; they have a young core that they've locked in at below-market levels, and they take a lot of cracks at filling the space around it

2:55

If I had the Freeman/Acuna/Albies/Soroka/Fried core, I'd be doing more or less what htey were doing

Dan

2:55

Have we passed the point where a team with unlimited money could build a WS favorite with only free agents?

Ben Clemens

2:56

Let's do this in real time for some random reason

I like doing realtime queries b/c eh, why not

C Realmuto

2:57

1B Santana, 2B LeMahieu, SS Semian, 3B Turner, LF Brantley, CF Springer, RF Joc/Puig platoon, DH Ozuna

rotation Bauer/Tanaka/Morton/biiiiig drop off

bullpen Hendriks/Hand/Treinen/Rosenthal/Soria/others

2:58

I don't actually think that's better than the Dodgers even then lol

I guess you'd be taking Turner away from them, which helps

2:59

But nah, you'd be a contender but not a favorite

Guest

2:59

I was hearing DJ wanted 5/$125 but fangraphs has him around 3 years $30-$40MM, seems like a HUGE disconnect. If he would take the 3/$40MM he is an easy yes, if he wants the 5/$125, yanks should sign simmons and move torres back to 2B, thoughts?

Ben Clemens

2:59

If he wants 5/125, yeah, I don't think that's happening

3:00

I honestly think they should consider making the Simmons/move Gleyber play anyway

But if he wants, say, 4/60

3:01

I could see him coming back and they just have Gleyber fake it at short for another 2-3 years

Go Ms

3:01

Do Mets go for Theo Epstein?

Ben Clemens

3:01

I do not think so

That's not how I picture Cohen wanting to make a splash

Guest

3:01

I don't know if that's better than the Dodgers either, but it's a lot easier to build a World Series favorite when we stipulate that no other contenders get to sign anyone substantial in free agency.

Ben Clemens

3:01

Part of the beauty of signing everyone is that no one else gets to!

Tacoby Bellsbury

3:01

Christmas is near. The better half and I have played Ticket to Ride, Azul, 7 Wonders Duel and Fluxx to near our burnout points. Do you have references for other good quarantine two-player games for semi-competitive play? (We do have to share a living space after all.) If so, what baseball player would the game or games be, and why? (See, now it's on topic!)

Ben Clemens

3:02

A friend of mine just borrowed some two-player games from me because he and his gf are staying in a place without much internet access for a bit

I lent him Ascension and Asante, both of which I tihnk are awesome

If you want a more cooperative one, Codenames Duet is pretty fun

And if you're willing to add a little complexity, Seasons is great

3:03

But I like your list quite a lot already, and totally agree that game burnout exists

also haha as far as I'm concerned, board games are on topic

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