JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 3/20/23

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 3/20/23

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Ben Clemens

2:16

Not after accounting for matchups

Mexico is much better than Cuba, and then also the US has already won, so obviously the US is the favorite even if they're worse than Japan

I would have made the US and Japan even going into the elimination rounds, though

Oaktown Blues

2:17

Am I foolish to bet the over on the A's this year? They're not gonna be good but sportsbooks think they won't clear 60 wins, which seems overly pessimistic

Ben Clemens

2:17

I don't think you're foolish. I think there's some expectation that they're going to keep trying to tear down baked in there

But really, what else is there to tear dowN??

Dave

2:17

If the Yankees made O.Cabrera their full time left fielder he would be the ___th best LF in the game.

Ben Clemens

2:17

Spitballing here: 13th

not bad!

JJ

2:17

Any thoughts on the game terrraforming mars? You a fan?

Ben Clemens

2:18

Yeah, love it. It's a bit heavy for frequent play, but I find the engines really satisfying to spin, and I love the flavor

Trees -> oxygen -> points -> trees ->cities, you just keep spinning and spinning and I enjoy games with loops like that

Grant

2:18

Have you played Blood on the Clocktower? and do you generally enjoy social deduction games?

Ben Clemens

2:18

Never played, I generally like them but don't get much chance to play b/c I don't have a big group to play them with

Liz

2:19

How much does bad defense *actually* hurt a team, compared to how agonizing it is to watch? The Red Sox have made three errors and a couple non-error misplays in four innings of today's ST game and it is excruciating.

Ben Clemens

2:19

Oh bad defense hurts, but errors hurt disproportionately much to how much they matter

I completely sympathize, though

There's nothing more frustrating to watch (or enjoyable if it's gifting your team baserunners) than a flubbed defensive play

2:20

The ones where they don't get to the ball? You either don't notice them or forget them. But when the ball hits their glove and then doesn't turn into an out? Ooooooh it's maddening

Ed

2:20

Hey Ben. How many ABs this season for Josh Lowe and TJ Friedl? Any guesstimate on their respective OPS and stolen base numbers? Thanks.

Ben Clemens

2:20

Roster Resource and our depth charts are the place to go for playing time projections

It'd be foolish of me to think I can beat those

John

2:20

Who delivers more WAR this year: Byron Buxton - perpetually hurt but awesome when he plays; or Jarred Kelenic - post-hype, top 5 prospect who's only disappointed, thus far but by all accounts looks great at the moment?

Ben Clemens

2:21

EZ Buxton for me

If he plays half a season, I think that'll be enough

Not that Kelenic is bad, but Buxton is one of the best players in baseball when he's healthy

bosoxforlife

2:21

I have asked this of other Fangraphs contributors? The Braves have clearly embarrassed the other front offices with their early signings and the rest of the game is playing catchup. When do you think is the optimal time to get a young "probable" star and, of course every player is unique, but do you have any thoughts on length and amount?

Ben Clemens

2:21

I think that's a really broad question that is absolutely beyond the scope of a tossed-off chat answer

2:22

But generally speaking, I think that the more budget constrained you are, the more you should look into going the JRod/Carroll/Franco route

that's assuming you develop someone like that, obv

and the more budget you have, the more you should try the Braves' breadth-based approach

RTJ

2:22

I'm excited to watch WBC tonight with all this hype for Roki Sasaki. Are you buying the hype?

Ben Clemens

2:22

So far I am!

17 perfect innings in a row, he's gonna be fun to watch

Brett

2:23

As a Yankee fan am I right to be extremely worried about the rotation injuries and depth? Outside of Cole it's a lot of hopeful wishing right now.

Ben Clemens

2:23

Let me just say this: The Yankees have our best projected rotation

2:24

so like, you're a Yankees fan, you should worry that it's only the third-best team money can buy instead of the best, that's what you do

But they have enviable depth, it's really hard to have enough pitching for EVERYONE, not just the Yankees

They go pretty deep with viable pitchres, which really helps

Hampton

2:25

Luis Arráez surprised me in the WBC as to how well he hits & hits for some pop. I'm a little surprised the Twins traded him.

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