JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 11/30/20

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Ben Clemens

3:04

I did indeed know that!

A friend of mine here invited him (via Twitter, so only kind of I suppose) to his local game

He did not reply, unsurprisingly

Appa Yip Yip

3:04

If you slice medium tofu then freeze it when you thaw it literally all of the water squeezes out and it turns into a sponge that soaks up all of the sauce.

Jon

3:05

Ben, how can a voter justify voting for Andruw Jones - known domestic abuser, but not vote for Curt Schilling - known Nazi. How does a voter compare and contrast offenses across the board from a number of these players and appropriately weigh who was worse than others? I’m not celebrating or in favor of either of them being enshrined and given a platform - but it bothers me how we look aside some horrid acts but not others.

Ben Clemens

3:06

This is obviously a difficult topic to address, and I will say that I'm not completely sure what I'd do if I were a vote.

voter*

One of the trickiest things about the Hall, to me, is how to weigh on-field accomplishments against other things that may or may not be disqualifying

3:07

I truly don't know where I'd come down on each individual case for the Hall this year, and I also don't know how I feel about considering off-field things, period, in it

It's obviously very difficult to weigh the various ways people can be terrible against each other

3:08

and then weigh THAT against baseball

Alky Briggs

3:08

When will we get the word on the new minor-league alignment for 2021?

Ben Clemens

3:08

No official word but I'd guess next week at the latest? The announcements are coming in fast and furious

Jeff

3:08

Should I expect a white guy in his 30s from an Ivy league school and some family money to be the next GM of the Cubs?

Ben Clemens

3:09

That's probably your best bet! I guess of those 5 things (white, guy, 30s, Ivy Leaguer, family money)

I think that family money is the one that is least likely, followed by 30s, and then Ivy Leaguer

Adam

3:10

How long before the Texas Rangers are the all-time postseason wins leader in their own stadium?

Ben Clemens

3:10

So, I think the Dodgers won 11 games there

3:11

If you win the DS and lose the CS, you'll play somewhere between 3 and 7 home games

3:12

Peg it at 5, figure you win 50%-ish, that means you'll need 4-5 playoff runs to do it

You're around 60% to make the WS if you play in 4 playoffs and it's all coin flips, so let's say 4 playoff runs

3:13

I dunno -- 12 years?

Jeff

3:13

Will the Tigers NT Niko Goodrum?

Ben Clemens

3:13

Nah, is he even being discussed as an optoin?

I didn't realize he was eligible even

3:14

Yeah looks like he's ARB1 this year, but no, I don't think he'll get non-tendered

Jeff

3:14

What kind of contract does Yoennis Cespedes get?

Ben Clemens

3:15

1/3 with huge performance bonuses or something? Truly no clue, he's a real wild card

Appa Yip Yip

3:15

The Rangers fell off a cliff immediately after Odor punched Bautista for doing a fun and cool thing it is fate.

Ben Clemens

3:15

Can't really argue with that

Jeff

3:15

Will the Rays really NT Jose Alvarado? Saw on MLBTR he's a candidate...Averaged 98 MPH as a LHRP!

Ben Clemens

3:16

I do not think they will, because he's only Arb1 and didn't pitch much this year

So the cost just won't be very high

Guest

3:16

Which is more surprising: that Mike Mussina never won a WS, or Wes Welker never won a SB?

Ben Clemens

3:16

Wow, Wes Welker for me for sure1

Like I half thought you somehow had that wrong. He was on a bunch of good teams

Meg

3:17

What does your typical day / week as a writer look like (total hours, time spent writing vs. editing vs. stat / data searching, etc.)? Do you have a sense of how that varies among the FG staff?

Ben Clemens

3:17

Hey Meg!

3:18

(presumably not actually editor Meg, but who knows!)

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