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Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 5/6/24

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Ben Clemens

2:10

Wow now this is a fun time to remember some guys

2:11

I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't realize Dom Smith was still kicking around after last year with the Nats

2:12

I think I'd prefer Cooper, but I'd prefer neither really

Clem Benens

2:12

How conceivable is a trade that sends a back-end major league starter in exchange for an elite bullpen arm? For example - the Orioles dealing one of Kremer, Irvin or Wells for a lockdown 8th or 9th inning arm?

Ben Clemens

2:12

Oh yeah, I could totally see this

depending on what you mean by lockdown

2:13

Kremer could probably go to a rebuilding team, he's not hitting free agency forever. I'm not sure if he'd fetch, say, Mason Miller, though

In fact I'm pretty sure he wouldn't

but if you're talking about swapping with the Braves for a good reliever, maybe? I could see that

2:14

Just a fun observation of why K% is so much better than K/9:
Patrick Sandoval - 10.69 K/9, 25.7 K%
Shota Imanaga - 9.09 K/9, 26.5 K%
(Sandoval's WHIP is over double Imanaga's)

Ben Clemens

2:14

Yeah, what a great example of this

Patty Sands is having a rough one so far

no clue if that is actually his nickname

.396 BABIP and a 57.5% LOBster

M’s Fan

2:14

Are we worried about Julio?

Ben Clemens

2:14

I can't speak for you

2:15

I definitely am not

Uninvited Guest

2:15

For your article about the decline in starting pitcher innings/pitches, I wondered if you considered how the addition of the DH in the NL might affect the data since you were comparing before and after the change. If you look at just AL data, is there more of a decrease in innings/pitches? How much?

Ben Clemens

2:15

I thought about considering but I decided it wasn't really necessary. I don't care how baseball incentivizes pitchers to stay in the game longer if it does it

2:16

also there would be some weird effects in there, like the AL was a higher offense league so pitchers generally didn't last as long

kind of a tricky thing to balance

2:17

In any case, it's certainly a change, but I would say that it's not a change that is impactful enough/easy enough to measure that I felt like chasing it down

Cen Blemens

2:17

Which players have the highest Fans Watch this Game for this Player Above Average (FWGPAA)? Jared Jones and Elly?

Ben Clemens

2:17

I don't actually think Jared Jones does, for whatever reason

Elly is off the charts, Ohtani isn't far behind

I was chatting with an acquaintance who is a baseball fan and knows I work for FanGraphs, but doesn't read my stuff

last week, I think

2:18

and the first thing he wanted to tell me is that he got tickets to see Elly play here next weekend

I have Judge and Soto in that tier but I'm not sure everyone does

I think a lot of people with mlb.tv are flipping to A's games if they take the lead into the ninth because it's fun to follow phenom relievers

Mary Kate Olsen

2:18

MARY. KATE. OLSEN.

Phil

2:19

I saw a reference to Home Run Baker recently, who went into the Hall of Fame with every inning of his career at third base. Of course, the famous modern comparable example is Jeter, but Jeter played 73 games at DH (plus he's the exception that proves the rule, since the Yankees certainly should have moved him off short). If DH counts as a position, is it simply impossible to have a star player (other than a pitcher) with only one position in the modern game? It's amazing how rare it is even ignoring DH. Iván Rodríguez, who seemed like the likeliest bet of recent HOFers, played 8 games at first and 2 innings at second. Yadier Molina played 48 at first (which I have no memory of). I can't decide whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Ben Clemens

2:19

Oh man, I do remember Yadi at first and it was so strange

But he was a really good hitter for a while there

I think it's a neutral thing

2:20

It's neat that Home Run Baker did it, but it doesn't make me appreciate modern players more or less

also, Home Run is a sweet nickname

Home Run Judge would both be a great nickname and a great segment on MLB Network

TomBruno23

2:20

The Cardinals...I was there yesterday and have never heard boos like I heard after the last out. Was like, instead of seat cushions, boos were raining down from the upper deck. 86-112 since Helsley came in Top 9 against Philly. Can they go shopping at the Vibes Store for something new because things have been off for a long, long time

Ben Clemens

2:21

I really do think they need a vibes adjustment

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